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!

30 good point! I ride around 16 miles a week on my bike and I walk about 5. I don't do any other though....no gym or workouts.

I'm 36, size 8, 5ft 2, around 8 stone. Today I've eaten:

7am - Porridge with chopped banana.
10am - Crumpet with peanut butter
1pm - Salmon fillet, huge salad, avocado. Handful of grapes. Packet of crisps.
3pm - Piece of carrot cake (it was someone's birthday at work)
5.30 - Small bag of cashew nuts and a raw carrot while I was cooking tea.
7pm - Lamb and butternut squash tagine with cous cous.

That's a pretty average day for me.

Dieting can't be good though surely as wouldn't it slow down your metabolism? Surely the key is 30mins - an hour of vigorous exercise every other day, with occasional resistance training? Works for me! I eat what I want.

I can see what everyone is saying, but just in case it is useful, here is a fairly typical day's food for me.

Breakfast: yoghurt with fruit, what fruit varies by season.
Mid morning snack: piece of fruit
Lunch: One or two slices of bread with cheese, sometimes tomato salad.
Afternoon snack: A biscuit or two (home made, fairly healthy made with nut butter or powder and not too sugary), or fruit or whatever strikes my fancy
Dinner: Fairly large portion of something starchy (rice, pasta or whatever) with lots of veggies and something a bit proteiny (could be meat, chicken, ham or nuts) big salad. Bread and cheese if I feel like it. Small portion of pudding (something indulgent, like chocolate, or ice cream, or cake).

This will vary slightly seasonally, a bit less starch and more fruit/veg in the summer, a bit more starch and sugar in the winter. About twice as much pudding and sugar during my period than otherwise .

I don't drink at all, and don't eat until I am over full, but I never go hungry. I am fairly active and do a little bit of exercise most days (not loads).

Am somewhere between 8 and 8.5 stone, 5'4. My weight has varied which seems to be hormonally driven (pg and bf) but has been between 8 and 8.5 stone except immediately after pg since I was in my 20s (in my 40s now).

This is really helpful. It's just so useful to see what individuals do on a daily basis!

I'm 164cm and 54kg, I'm not sure of the bmi but I look slim. I'm 36 years old.

I take regular exercise. Aerobics class, weights session and 2x swimming.

I eat what I feel like, sometimes it's more and sometimes less.

Yesterday I had
Leftover roast potatoes refried in olive oil (two handfuls) one onion fried with four rashers of streaky bacon and a fried egg on top.

One slice of ham
One packet 30g I think of crisps
One packet of twiglets and perhaps 25g of cheddar
125g of steamed salmon
200g roasted new potatoes
100g broccoli
100g courgette fried in olive oil
1 snickers bar approx 50g

Today I had
2 boiled eggs and three hand cut slices of toast, two with butter, one with marmite
Two tablespoons of leftover pasta with basilica sauce
A handful of ready salted crisps
A teaspoon of pesto sauce.

30something I wish it were that simple. I used to do at least that much exercise- I made me so hungry I ate more and didn't lose any weight at all

I'm a size 8 (occasionally a 6 depending on the shop) and am 27.

I work in an office full time. My diet is actually not that brilliant in terms of variety but it's OK. I tend to have a half-baguette with cheese or ham for breakfast, a salad with protein or soup or sometimes a sandwich for lunch and a normal evening meal (nothing total crap but not particularly virtuous either). I have a sweet tooth but try to satisfy it on 70% cocoa chocolate most of the time. I will have pudding if eating out.

I drink quite a small amount, either red wine or gin and tonic, probably no more than 10 units a week. I don't drink fizzy drinks ever because I don't like them and I don't take milk or sugar in tea or coffee. The rest of the time I drink water.

I don't really do any formal exercise but I end up walking around the office a lot and I live in London so will often walk around the city, taking the tube etc.

I do three 10ks a week and resistance training once a week. I wouldn't say I was more hungry though.

I'm a size 10 and 33. On a typical day I'll eat 2 slices of toast with peanut butter for breakfast, something like beans on toast, soup or a sandwich for lunch with fruit and crisps and a homemade family dinner - pasta, curry, main and veg, sometimes a yoghurt for dessert but not every day. I occasionally snack later on - it depends what I've had in the day. I don't eat a lot of sweet things like biscuits. I drink squash, juice or redbush tea, the odd glass of wine. We eat out or get a takeaway once every few weeks (more for financial reasons than diet). I walk a lot - dd1's school is a mile uphill and I walk when the weather and time allow.

I was a 12-14 pre dd1 but I lost a lot of weight breastfeeding and having her meant we didn't go out as much as I was more aware of my diet because I wanted her to eat properly so I've been able to keep it off.

I hope that helps.

I'm fairly slim (size 10-12) and I know it's because I eat less than I used to.

I crept up to size 14-16 a few years ago and have just slowly reduced how much I eat, but not what I eat.

I don't eat breakfast and have a very light lunch (home made veg soup usually) and don't snack at all during the day.

I don't drink hot drinks during the day and this stops me from eating bicuits and snacks.

I keep a bottle of water on my desk and a wee cordial squirty thing.

But from 8pm til midnight I'm a trougher and a wine drinker. Currently munching on oven baked cauliflower-parmesan snacks and a glass of merlot.

I have a normal - rarely healthy - dinner at 7ish then munch and snack non-stop until bedtime.
I only do natural excercise i.e. cycle half a mile to work, walk regularly 10 minutes into town etc. No gym or structured excercise.

At 39 I'm in pretty good shape and happy with my food/excercise/weight/shape but I know this will become more difficult to maintain over the next ten years.

Although it goes against a lot of advice, I know that I stay slim by not eating breakfast and eating very very little during the day.

30 I never "exercise" as such anymore - no time - but I am temperamentally slightly impatient and so will always walk a bit fast / walk a journey of a mile rather than wait for a bus / take stairs rather than lift - it is just a lifestyle thing for me.

Also I'm a SAHM so not sedentary. And rarely drink alcohol anymore (sends me under the table).

I snack if I need to though, and I never limit how much dinner I'll eat (other meals are quick).

Well, this won't go down well - nor do I recommend it but I do snack a lot and also pick at chocolate, sweets etc through the day. Thing is, when I've been picking a lot - I skip meals. I rarely have a proper lunch.

I've weighed around 9st since I was 20. I'm 5'7.

I guess snacking a lot AND eating normal meals will eventually make you fat.

It's all about calories in versus out.

FWIW I found that I lost weight without trying post dc when I started to do sit ups. Somehow having stronger abs seemed to make me feel full sooner, and I lost weight as a result (I noticed myself eating less, but was full so didn't want any more food).

It is specifically sit ups rather than exercise, I started exercise very soon but because I had diastasis couldn't sort out my abs for a while. No idea if this is causally related or not, though.

I am 6ft and weigh about 10stone.
Today was standard, I ate:

Breakfast - slice of wholemeal toast with butter

Lunch - edam with whole grain mustard on 2 slices of brown, 3 x chocolate digestives

Dinner - plain couscous with peas stuffed in an orange pepper, lots of broccoli and quorn fillet.

Drink tea both decaf and normal and water in the day, sometimes have 2 small glasses of wine in the week evenings more at weekends

As for exercise, I am active but don't work out iykwim.

I don't believe dieting works long term. I have always found that the key to losing weight and keeping it off is to only eat when you are truly hungry, eat whatever you want ( no food is to be banned) eat mindfully and stop as soon as you are satisfied (not the same as being full). Body led calorie control I guess.

I don't drink alcohol either. A rare night out around once every 2 months then I will have about 3 wines and get properly merry.

Lots of interesting tips and info- thanks so much for taking the time to share!

I am not slim I am size 16 but I am losing weight atm and I have been shocked at how little I can eat before I either stop losing or start gaining.

I tracked 2 weeks at 1700 calories and gained 1.5 pounds.
2 weeks at 1500 and stayed the same
and finally in the last 2 weeks at 1300 I have lost 2 pounds.

I walk around 2 miles a day back and forth to the school and I try to do some extra as well all though I am not great at doing it daily.

today I had

1 slice of toast and 2 slices of bacon (fat removed) with tomatoes
mushroom baked potato (mushrooms with quark and herbs)
Gammon, Mashed potato and green beans.

I'm size 8, 32, 5'4".

Today I had:
Granola with Greek yoghurt
1 caramel shortbread
Spicy prawn noodle soup
Two cups of tea
Tonic water

I'll prob have some nuts or chocolate later on.

This is a usual weekday. I stuff my face eat much more at the weekends, and have wine most weekend nights. I walk about 3 miles a day, do weight training twice a week and try to go for a long run at weekends.

Lifelong size 10-12 - BMI c.21

Food intake has not really changed over the decades; I have never eaten breakfast ( not a morning person, and could never face food ) but usually have something mid morning which constitutes a brunch - two slices of toast would be normal.
Then an evening meal ..... largish portions, meat or fish based with a couple of veg or salad in the summer.
I have never been a snacker, but will eat a packet of crisps in the evening if I really fancy some, or fruit, or a piece of cake or some chocolate, anytime ...... just not every day.
Almost never eat biscuits, never touch sweetened drinks, drink little alcohol.
Awash with tea most of the time!
Daily dog walking is the extent of "exercise" - unless you include mad games with young DGC

Not sure any if that will help, OP but you are welcome to the info. I have never been hung up about food or what I eat, so it was quite hard to think through actual intake!

I am also short (just under 5 foot 2 - which probably makes a difference to how much I actually need!)

Sustain it long term by making the habits sustainable ones rather than diet ones.

Half an hour door to door of reasonably vigourous jogging, 5x per week.
No snacking between meals except fruit or veg. Use the eatwell plate/ NHS guidance on portion sizes as a template for meals (that is, enough protein, enough wholegrain complex carbs, and definitely enough vegetables). Have full-fat dairy, less of it, rather than low-fat/full of sugar or sugar substitutes. I don't drink alcohol or sugary drinks; and dessert, if I have it, is plain yoghurt with fruit.

sothis this is exactly the sort of problem I'm having. Sympathies.

Haven't read whole thread sorry.

I'm usually a size 8/10 (currently a pregnant whale)

I have a whole tub of Pringles, or a cake, or a massive pizza and beer session at least once a week.

I don't eat much during the day and do walk everywhere, I'm on the go all day and can't stomach a big lunch - all my eating gets done in the evenings so it must be harder for me to put on weight! I don't eat breakfast, can't stomach good until at least 11am. Ideally I eat a light lunch at 11.30, a light dinner with children at 5 and then treats all evening

I prioritise my calories and don't eat for the sake of it - no fizzy drinks or sweets.