To ask how much slim people eat in a day?

[InSpaceNooneCanHearYouScream]

I know this is an odd question, but bear with me! I used to be a normal healthy weight when I was young, but over the years my BMI crept up to 30. I've been battling with my weight for the past few years, and have managed to wrestle my BMI down to 27. But I've yo-yo-ing up and down for a while, and I think I've lost sight of what a normal daily food intake looks like.

My worry is that if I manage to get down to a BMI of 23 or 24, with a reasonable amount of activity per day, how will I manage to sustain it long term? I know how to eat healthily, but I also like the odd takeaway, wine and occasional junk food. I suspect that slim people maybe just don't eat that much? Except for the few with high metabolisms of course.

So, it would be really helpful for some slim people in their 30's, 40's, or older, to give me a quick example of their daily diet. Thanks in advance!

while I'm slim my weight is creeping up - because I don't exercise and have snacks at work. Work is a killer for my weight. On my day off, I don't snack and walk a lot with school/preschool runs and walks into town.

I was in great shape on maternity leave!

Forget BMI. Think about how you feel in yourself. And have you tried alternating days where you don't eat much with days where you do?

Btw a takeaway can be a grilled chicken breast kebab with salad. Stuff like that helps.

Sorry if that sounds wankily patronising. But it helps me...

My friend follows the Slimming World eating plan and she eats much more than I do yet is slimmer than me. She's a size 8 and I'm a size 12. I can never keep up with her portions. She doesn't scrimp on the wine or takeaways either.

For me it seems to all be down to exercise. I seem to eat a lot better now than I used to and although I was never a heavy drinker, I barely have alcohol at all now. I have put on 1-1.5 stone over the last 7 years since I stopped going to the gym regularly after a health problem. Got back into it just in time to get pregnant and now can't justify spending time away from DD on my days off to do it. Instead I try to walk a lot and watch the choccies and portion sizes. I also gave up fizzy drinks completely. Would love to drop at least half a stone, but think I need to up the exercise more to do so. Watching what I eat on its own isn't enough!

I'm late thirties and the same weight as when I was a teenager - just over 8 stone - and I think the answer is I've never really snacked. I am an obesity specialist and most of my clients constantly snack. It also helps that I don't have much of a sweet tooth and have always been active - not exercise as much as movement. I walk fast, run up the stairs etc. Food wise you have to listen to your body and regulate properly, so if you eat loads one day, your body should want to cut down the next.

the simple answer is 'the same as they burn off'. That figure varies with size, gender, activity and genetics.

Sedentary work means you burn fewer calories. You know the answer.

I think I eat quite a lot but when I'm full I'm full and I can't eat more.
Breakfast is museli/yogurt/juice.
Lunch is a sandwich (two slices) fruit and crisps or cake.
Dinner is well anything dinnery. Tonight was stir fry beef, mushrooms and broccoli with rice.
Sometimes I might have a beer in the evening and at the weekend a glass of wine.

Mmmm. I did slimming world and lost 10lbs, but got a bit fed up with the lack of wine and chocolate. Sigh. I know I shouldn't focus too much on BMI, but I don't feel comfortable at this weight. I would really like to get back to a size 10/12. but then my tits and arse will probably look like empty flaps of skin

My average day:
Breakfast. Toast or cereal like weetabix with chopped nuts and banana. Or porridge.

Lunch: Sandwich and crisps or salad with houmous. Fruit and yoghurt.

Tea: Tonight's was stirfry. Half a pack of noodles and veg either a chilli sauce and cashew nuts.

I would also have a couple of biscuits in the evening, or some cake at break time if it was a birthday. Sometimes the odd bar of chocolate. My bmi is 23. I'm 5ft6 and weight 10 stone.

Oh, and half a bottle of wine on a Friday. Sometimes share a big bar of fruit and nut with DH on a Friday too.

I'm slim (size 8). Today I've eaten;

Breakfast: big bowl of porridge with raisins

Lunch: bowl of pasta with pesto and green beans

Snack: a bag of chocolate raisins

Tea: chicken kiev, peas, baked beans

Few cups of tea, glasses of water and orange squash

I'm a size 8-10 (after losing 2.5 stone earlier this year with slimming world). Today I have eaten fruit and fat free yoghurt for breakfast, 2 large bowls of pasta with broccoli and tuna at lunchtime and trout, couscous and salad this evening. Will probably have a glass of wine and a small snack later on this evening.

I have always been slim (now in my late 40's). I follow my own invented "No S" plan:

No Sugar (never eat pudding, never drink sugary drinks), no Seconds, no Supersized portions and no Snacking. Except Sometimes on a Saturday or Sunday.

It's not a diet, as it is permanent. But I have never been above BMI 21 even though I eat 3 proper meals a day and those include whatever I like - I love chips, for instance.

It might of course just be luck! I also walk around 10,000 steps a day and go running which probably also helps although I don't exercise excessively.

I'm 45, 5' 3" and weigh about 8 stone (BMI 20). I always eat whatever I want, but I think I have a small appetite. This is what I would have on an average day:

Breakfast ~ 2 cups of coffee with full fat milk and sugar, 2 crumpets with butter, marmite and a cheese slice.

Lunch ~ a wholemeal roll with butter and roast turkey, a packet of crisps, some chocolate or a big chocolate chip cookie and an orange

Dinner ~ 2 steak fajitas, something chocolatey or some sour worms and a couple of glasses of wine.

I walk about 3-4 miles a day during the week with my dog (more at weekends).

Some people will swear it's 80% diet and what you eat is as important as the calories, however, I find that for me the key is exercise. I can eat tiny portions but if I don't do a lot of exercise the weight will just not come off.

I had an aunt who was always slim and elegant and her trick was to stop eating before she felt full. I really think that, apart from healthy eating and exercise, that is the best policy.

Thank you all so far- really helpful. But special I don't know the answer- people who say ' just put less in' have obviously never struggled with hunger and cravings. If it were easy or simple, we would all be slim!

I think it's about eating healthily on a daily basis, keeping junk food to an absolute minimum, and not drinking wine daily if you're over 40 (sorry).

Today I had: decent-sized bowl of muesli for breakfast; two rounds of houmous and salad sandwiches, handful of nuts and a satsuma for lunch; two largish helpings of lentil spag bol for dinner, and a square of dark chocolate. Plus tea and coffee.

That's a relatively unhealthy day for me - I'd normally have more fruit and veg than that (and no chocolate).

Oh and moving around of course - I've been in the park for 2.5 hours this afternoon.

I'm slim. I eat a banana for breakfast and sometimes I have cornflakes or 2 weetabix too. I have nothing for lunch because I never feel like it. I do have something like a sandwich or salad with prawns at about 3 so it's a late lunch/early tea? Then at about 6.30 I eat with the DC and DH.

We have your normal dinners....baked potato for instance with chilli....or a stir fry with rice...no meat. Or curry...vegetarian.

On Sundays or Mondays we do have a roast dinner but it's always chicken. Hardly any red meat ever...often vegetarian foods. Snacks are fruit and occasional packs of crisps. I make muffins now and then but we don't have biscuits in the house aside from crackers which the dc mainly eat with cheese.

I do have tea and coffee with 2 sugars and half milk.

I think it is also worth asking how much slim people exercise!

Yy I never eat until im full and have small portions but I never feel hungry iyswm? Also walk 4 miles a day and run around after toddler. Am a size 8

Hi, you say you used to be a normal weight when younger, what has happened in the years till now? Have you been dieting?

When I was a very slim size 8 I would have

Breakfast 1 weatabix
Lunch sandwich with 1 slice of bread
Dinner omelette and salad
White tea, no sugar.

Think I was severely malnourished tbh so I wouldn't recommend my diet. Now I am about 1/2 stone overweight but too lazy to diet!