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!

I am slim I think, weight about 9st 10lbs and am 5ft 7in bmi 22 (I think!)

I think I eat quite a lot and I snack a lot as well!! However I do think genetics play a part as both my parents are slim and also although i'm not overweight I don't think my diet is particularly good.

Fwiw in a typical day I eat.

2 slices of toast with margarine and marmite.
Banana
cheese sandwich
bag of crisps
a yogurt
a chocolate biscuit (a few more than one if I am at work )
pasta with pesto and tuna - cheese grated on top
fruit with yogurt
a few more biscuits....

I do think portion size is important though as I do stop eating when I am full and can't eat a large amount on one go, generally anyway.

I'm always in the biscuit tin! I just had 4 with a cup of tea.

I'm really not sure what I'm doing to stay slimish. One month i logged my eating on my fitness pal and I ate well over 2000 calories each day and my weight stays the same. I'm a bugger for toast/bread/carbs.
I do exercise but even on weeks when I didn't the weight didn't alter. I think I'm generally active which helps but I'm scared my metabolism will shut down when I'm 40.

Slim people who snack tend not to have big meals.
Heavy people who snack do so and then eat big meals as well

Slim people who do not snack have bigger meals but often skip meals

Many of those Hollywood stars you see in the tabloids eating burgers in long lens shots are secret adherents to ADF (ie they eat every other day)

I am trying to watch it a little - I actually put some weight back on over the last few weeks and I am ebf a 5 month old - I'm sure that shouldn't be possible!

I think I actually get full quite quickly so don't eat big enough meals but am then hungry an hour later. Will tackle it properly next year though

Interesting about slim people having smaller meals - when I'm out at a restaurant, I often genuinely could not physically eat what my friends are eating. That probably helps me, as I do snack a lot...

I really think that some people are like Eco- friendly cars and some are gas guzzlers.

The gas guzzlers need a lot of fuel and therefore not only can but must eat quite a lot to be healthy.

The Eco friendly bunch just don't need a lot and if they eat more will put on weight and be unhealthy.

The problem comes partly because society gives us a norm as to now much we need to eat and people try to eat that much rather than what they need. If you are an Eco friendly car then it might be disappointing but you need to listen to your body and stop eating when full and not snack because it's nice if you don't feel really hungry.

That is half the problem anyway.
The other half is junk food, processed food and stuff with no nutritional value.

Breakfast:
Porridge, mixed seeds and nut sprinkled on top and fruit.

Lunch:
Olives, feta, salad, maybe some flat breads or breadstick and dip or soups

Dinner:
Tonight stir fried chicken, onion, pepper, broccoli, cauliflower, sweetcorn and peas with a tiny portion of noodles, salad.

Drinks tea, no sugar or hot water and lemon - no snacks here but if I do its a banana or apple.

Do yoga and walk everywhere at least 40 mins a day

I'm a size 8 and age 50 - I usually work towards 1000 calories as I'm teeny and fast the next day if I pig out on a takeaway or cake!

I eat all day every day and people keep asking me if I've lost weight.

I have chocolate spread on toast for breakfast, Basics crisps and chocolate for snacks whenever I feel like it, a main meal for lunch and another for dinner. Maybe I've got worms.

Breakfast: banana and clementine; lunch: ham salad wrap plus packet of popcorn; no snacks; dinner: two chicken fajitas, clementine and probably a glass of wine this evening.i have a sedentary job and am only 5ft 3in so don't need to eat much. This is how I got to have a mid level BMI and lose nearly three stone in the last year.

Also I have lots of time, so I sleep and do exercise, and when I'm doing them I'm not eating.
If you can get enough sleep, you won't crave sugar/caffeine to keep you going.
When you exercise you feel a bit of an energy rush and (even for swimming) as long as you have enough water you won't feel really hungry afterwards.

Don't let your panic about a lower bmi diet put you off losing weight. It won't be worse than the weight loss diet.

Don't panic about missing out, you won't.

I eat one main meal a day at tea time.

I don't eat dinner unless it is a special occasion. I don't often eat breakfast, but will have something around 11.am. Maybe a bit of toast, or sometimes just a handful of grapes etc.

I don't snack. I have the odd day where I buy some sweets for the children and pick at them though.

I also go out to eat once a week and eat a massive burger with chips. If I don't go out to eat I will have a take away instead.

I don't exercise much at all. I walk to the school and back and walk the dogs, but I really don't do much besides gentle walking.

I used to weigh over 13 stone at 5ft and lost just over five stone a few years ago. I keep my weight down by watching my portion sizes. I don't not eat breakfast/lunch due to worrying about calories, I genuinely don't feel hungry or fancy eating during the day. I never have.

I don't know what I weigh as I no longer weigh myself. Size 10.

Breakfast usually something like bacon, peppers, 3 egg yolks (I just don't like whites). Lunch when I'm here usually something like salmon and veg, may be nuts and raisins if I'm hungrier. Dinner tonight was chicken and stir fry veg. No snacks usually but 3 what I feel are big meals. Tends to be paleo eating. I only drink water ever.

You can find on line calculators for how many calories you need to stay the same weight (although I don't count calories myself).

I think it's more about finding a way to eat for life with goods you like rather than cutting things out and dieting (as 90% of those on a diet put on more than they lost).

I agree with the comment above that if you're slim you tend either to eat big meals and no snacks or else snacks plus lighter meals. Most of those who are larger are doing both or even almost continuously eating all day long and usually when they aren't hungry and usually because of hikes in their blood sugar caused by processed foods and sugar which spike them up and quickly crash them down when they then feel they need more food all the time.

I naturally average out at about 2000 calories a day at 5ft 2 and BMI 22/23. If I have an excess, then that tends to sate me and balance out. I eat normal foods, avoiding low fat and sweeteners. I notice I fill up more effectively on fats and protein than carbs. I drink minimal alcohol. My (overweight) DM always commented about me leaving something on a plate, which has a truth. I rarely eat to bursting, and don't clear a plate on principle even for a couple of mouthfuls.

I like exercise and do a couple of classes a week and some running. I'm now lighter than I was in my 20s having lost two rounds of baby weight. I think I do better quality exercise now, that keeps pushing me rather than my old classes which were too monotonous.

Iam 5'10 and 9 st4lbs

Yesterday I ate
Two slices toast (pumpkin and sunflower seed loaf) with butter and marmite, 2 cups of tea
A banana
Few slices cucumber
Green tea
Greek salad (feta, olives, salad leaves, dressing etc)
Half a lidl marzipan bar
Cup of tea
Beef casserole, mash, dumplings

Today I had
Two croissants jam and butter, cup of tea
The other half of the marzipan bar
Greek salad and a chicken breast, cup of tea, glass of water
Tea and two chocolate biscuits
Spaghetti bolognese, grated cheese, a lemon yogurt, water
Cup of tea in evening

I eat a similar amount most days and seem to stay the same size

MrsMook Have you checked your TDEE - because at 5'2" its likely to be significantly under 2000 ....

(I'm 5'5", 49, 9st and my resting TDEE is 1550)

50g porridge oats made up with water and 10 raspberries

Coffee with 2 sugars

Chicken gyoza soup from crush.

Water.
Red fruit tea.

Pack of sweet and salty popcorn.

Health and happiness sushi box from itsu.
Fruit pot from itsu.
Pack of milk choc mini size corncakes.

Snack pack of dried mango.

To much sugar I know.

5ft2, BMI 22. My diet is hugely variable. Some days I eat almost nothing, others I eat a bit too much. I try to: always eat when I'm hungry, and not wait till I'm starving. Stop as soon as I feel I've had enough. Not eat "diet" foods: low fat, reduced sugar etc. have fat and protein at every meal: I get through a lot of whole earth peanut butter!. Not have things in the house that are just empty calories: chocolate, biscuits, ice cream. I do bake 1-2 x a month. If I do want chocolate I go out to the corner shop specially. Maybe 1-2x a fortnight.

I was raised with really unhelpful ideas about food: good food vs bad food. Clearing your plate. Treat foods, banned foods, food as rewards. Hiding bad foods. My mother's pre-occupation with her weight. I try to get past this, especially with my DCs. My older son 4.5 will leave cake etc uneaten because he knows it's not rationed.

I'm 31, 5'5, and I'm 53-54 kg,
I have always been slim,I never diet, but very active, go to the gym atleast 4 times a week, for an hour and half, move alot all day, try to eat sensibly, don't drink, or eat junk food,

For breakfast I either take 2slices of sourdough bread with smoked salmon, melon ,blueberries and coffee, or pot of full fat Greek yogurt with handful of almonds , one slice bread,with honey, some fruit and coffee,

Lunch is either pasta or salad,

Snack two slices of kallo dark chocolate covered rice cakes with coffee,and some dried apricots,

Dinner is what I normally cook for the family,

We sometimes eat out on weekends, and i like to bake too, although I try to bake healthy bakes, mostly from the green kitchen App which is fab!

watching what you eat is important but its not as important as exercising,

I've lost 3 stone on SW this year & now within healthy BMI but still loosely follow the principles which sees me maintaining or losing a small amount each week (0-1lb).

My 'rules' are:
Make sure 1/3 of my plate is 'free' food (mainly veg & most fresh fruit). Add extra veg to recipes, pile plate with salad/veg

Breakfast either porridge with fruit or Grilled mushrooms, tomatoes, scrambled egg, baked beans etc
low fat or fat free (limited oils, fat free yogurt, skimmed milk, very little cheese, lean meat etc)

Snack on fruit or raw veg regularly before I'm starving hungry

Little or no sugar (no sugary drinks, cakes, biscuits etc) I usually have a small square of dark chocolate for a sweet hit

Rarely eat bread (& therefore butter )

Sometimes I do feel like I could gorge on an entire box of Pringles or swop my 'omelette & salad' lunch for 'cheese & pickle sandwich with crisps' lunch BUT I like how I look far more than I want the stodgy food so have learnt to step away & make better choices..

I'm slim and I have a bowl of coco pops for breakfast, a few breadsticks, tomatoes and ham for lunch, a bar if chocolate for a snack and something like pesto pasta with salad and sausages for dinner. Ill have couple of bits of fruit at so e point too. Loads of tea and coffee. I do loads of dashing about though and probably walk 4 miles a day. I also keep portion sizes small.
Also, its not like I've never had hunger or cravings as one poster suggested, its just that when I do feel really hungry or desperate for food (which I do, especially when my baby wants loads if breastmilk) I just ignore it as I do t want to over eat and get chubby!

Thankyou all! Really insightful!