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 have always been slim, 5'3 and fluctuating between 7 and a half and 8 stone. I rarely use the car so walk everywhere, have an active job and I fidget like nothing else. If you're not a natural fidgeter, you can train yourself to be, research reckons that it explains why some people are naturally thinner than others even when eating similar amounts. I also stop eating when I feel satisfied, not full full, hate the feeling of actually feeling full rather than not hungry. If I have an Indian takeaway for example, will get 3 vegetable side dishes (am veggie) instead of a main with boiled rice and that can stretch me for 3 meals and I never finish the rice. I snack on nuts, don't portion it out, just pick on a few here and there throughout the day. I never buy diet versions of stuff as think they are gross and eat a lot of 'good' fats. don't be afraid of stuff like nuts, avocadoes, olive oil, eggs etc, using little amounts (i.e. drizzle of oil, half an avocado, palmful of nuts) is beneficial and won't make you gain weight.

yesterday I ate:

two mini chocolate bars, a cereal bar and crisps (grabbed from the junk food cupboard as was late for work)

had a few nuts, dry muesli and strawberries mid morning as always keep some fruit and bits at work

had half day so made myself some guacamole and had that on 2 bits of toast with tomatoes

made thai green tofu curry for dinner, had small pudding bowl sized portion

picked at nuts inbetween lunch and dinner, drink normal tea, coffee, fennel tea

sorry for the long post, hope I don't sound too wanky! been asked this before in RL so got me thinking about it.

I used to be a scrawny 10 back in the day, eating a very restricted calorie-controlled diet, as recommended by Slimmig Magazine. Not sure if anyone can remember back that far, but it basically proposed eating any old crap as long as you came in at under 1000 calories. I was slim, but my eating was dysfunctional. I think these habits have died hard: I still eat crappily but more of it. I'm a 12 now, heading for a 14. I'm 55 and it's bloody hard! I used to be able to lose 8 pounds in a week. Not now!

My daily eating is:

breakfast-couple of cups tea/ coffee. No food, but today I've eaten a banana.
lunch: tin soup plus some bread plus something sweet. I aim for fruit (but usually end up with sweets).
snack: 5pm ish-tea plus a couple of Rich Tea or similar.
Dinner/ tea: whatever I've made, but a smallish portion, plus something sweet.

I don't drink much, try to walk everywhere, desperately try not to snack. If I get desperate, I buy some vapes to keep my mouth occupied.

I've noticed the "big portion" thing too. I can't help but notice what other people are eating in restaurants. The portions are enormous and many people eat more than one course. I can't usually finish one course! So my struggles must originate elsewhere: unhealthy food, restriction, snacks and too much filling up on carbs, like bread. And butter. And sweets.

I think one problem is that appetite becomes decoupled from physiological need and becomes increasingly linked to craving and compulsion

I thoroughly agree with Cleopatra's fidgeting.

If you look at slim people (naturally, not the stick-thin dieters) they will have a lot of nervous energy - always drumming fingers, moving knees up and down etc. They will be tidying the kitchen whilst you're talking to them, or sorting something or other - this applies to males and females. They aren't the sort of people who spend hours slumped in front of the telly vegging whilst stuffing in a jumbo bar of Fruit & Nut.

I am slim, but I don't think I'm super health - I have virtually no muscle tone. Dh is overweight. When I look at the two of us, who live in the same house, eat the same food etc, I think a lot of it does boil down to snacking. I never eat crisps or eat between meals. Dh will eat dinner (man portion), and then be hunting around for something else at 10pm, because "I'm a bit peckish". Also, if I'm not hungry, I don't eat anything. If it's lunchtime and dh is not hungry, he would still happily eat a Roman banquet.

I never want to eat if not hungry, food is just not appealing

In case you're wondering I am still here reading and inwardly digesting all of your helpful posts.

Suzanne sounds like one of my sons who has been stick thin at times and has utter control over his weight without difficulty. He worked hard to get up to 9 stone over the summer (he's a tall teenager). He says it is harder to eat more than to eat less because eating more means getting up from a chair and walking to a kitchen which is surely logically a lot more effort than sitting still and not eating. His logic cannot be faulted but for many of us who often eat too much it doesn't quite work like that - we have all the energy in the world to rush to the kitchen to stuff our faces. It was certainly interesting hearing his perspective particularly over the summer when he was deliberate eating a lot more - two corn on cobs at lunch with massive £8 pieces of steak and baked potato and his efforts to eat when he was not hungry in order to get up to 9 stone. He would be just like Suzanne - never want to eat if not hungry. most of us are not like that. It is dead easy to eat double our needed calories even of healthy good foods. We would have survived famines for a million years pretty well but it's not so useful a skill now.

I also have a rather tall and thin son, where as I am short.

is it really so rare, only wanting to eat when you feel hungry?

I was in a similar position to you, OP. I was very sporty and could therefore eat whatever I wanted and not put on weight. Over the years, this meant I totally lost sight of what a 'normal' portion of food looked like, and DH was just as bad.

A few years ago, I had an injury that meant I had to stop running and cycling, but I was still used to making and eating the same quantities of food and the weight piled on.

What helped me get portions back under control was signing up to Hello Fresh for a few weeks. The bags of rice/potatoes that come with each pack looked pathetically small for the first few weeks, but I soon 'normalised' my idea of a standard serving, and have managed to continue that. Equally, when I buy a pack of mince, I now split it into two and freeze one half, because I know that if I cook with the whole pack, DH and I will eat the lot between us, by having a normal portion, then going back for seconds, and then picking at the leftovers through the evening. The trick is just not having the extra around!

Breakfast and lunch are easier, because I do a standard bowl of cornflakes + soup/sandwhich/sushi from somewhere near my office, but breaking the dinner bad habit was the tough one for me.
If you don't want to sign up to a hello fresh type service, just have a few weeks where you follow recipes to the letter, including weighing out every ingredient. It is amazing how quickly you learn what a portion of potatoes should look like!

I'm 5 foot 7 and just under 10 stone. Typical day for me is:
Brek - Porridge made with milk, with honey and berries
Lunch - Tuna/cheese/ham sandwich with avocado and bit of salad
Dinner - Spag Bol/Chilli/Sausage and mash

3 cups of tea, lots of water, fruit and nuts through the day and prob 2 choc biscuits.
Exercise is 3 times a week classes and walk the kids to school and back 4 times a week - 45 mins a day.

I'm not exactly slim as I've always been pear-shaped, but I've lost weight this year and am now a healthy weight. I eat healthy but fairly normal meals , eg 1 piece of toast and marmalade for breakfast, salad with chicken, avocado and sweet potato for lunch (so a hearty salad not just leaves), tea might be shepherd's pie, pasta with sauce, salmon with veg and potatoes. I do have a pudding if I feel like it, but not every time, and I have a glass of wine most evenings. But I do have smaller portions than I used to.

IME, the more sugary things and refined carbs you eat, the more you will crave them. I don't know why but this happens with me. If I get into the habit of eating them less (even if I don't cut them out completely), the cravings disappear.

I do get hungry and need snacks, but I try to fill up the fridge with things like leftover veg that I like (e.g. if we're having carrots, broccoli, sprouts etc. I cook too much and then it's in the fridge the next day to pick at) and also I have a few almonds for a snack and that seems to really work - fills you up very well.

I do eat less than I did and I think now I'm in my 40s, I just don't use as much energy. But also, it's not as hard as you might imagine because you get used to it and then you don't feel the need for larger amounts of food.

I am obese wow scary to actually admit to that albeit on the internet! This used to be my typical menu:

B 2 slices wholemeal toast with butter/peanut butter
L Sandwich with 2 slices of wholemeal bread (ham usually or egg mayo) with butter, mustard & rocket, sometimes a pack of S&V crisps
D Roast chicken breast, baked potato with butter, lots of veg/salad & a (bread) wrap

Drinks were couple of cups of tea 1 or 2 coffees all with skim milk, no sugar. Lots of water. Far too much in the evenings with DH.

Way too much carbs for me. Now I eat the following & I write everything down:

B porridge 27g OSS sachet with water, tea with skim milk, ww cheese string
S banana & cappuccino
L 2 boiled eggs 1 tsp mayo 3 dark rye ryvitas & salad with tomatoes
S 2 mandarins & decaff cappuccino
D Roast chicken breast, computer mouse sized baked potato with fat free cottage cheese, lots of veg/salad

Drinks still the same as before and I have cut back on the wine. I've never had a sweet tooth luckily, my problem was too many carbs, not enough protein and not enough fruit/veg - oh and too much wine!

I've lost 6.5 kilos (a stone) so far. I'll go from my size 16 & BMI 33 to a size 12 with a healthy BMI of 23.4. I'm 5'8" so this is a good weight for me. Any lighter and I start to look like a beanpole!

I'm very physically fit (gym 5 days a week, horse riding, dog walking, cycling, active lifestyle) and I don't eat bread or cheese at all, neither do I drink tea or coffee. Aside from those exclusions I eat a lot of fresh fruit and vegetables, chicken, some pasta, tofu and natural yoghurt, plus nuts and seeds. I do also have treat when I want it be it chocolate or chips but not more than twice a week. I am a muscular size 12.
Eating well for the main part (this doesn't mean eating all the "low fat" products but eating wholesome filling foods) and being active is the best solution. You don't have to be in the gym everyday if you don't want to be, but finding something that suits you and that you find fun is key, be it daily walks, cycling, a weekly class etc.

Metabolism plays a huge role. And that goes beyond how much exercise we get - it's things like how much we jiggle our feet or fidget or whatever.

I am slim (used to be scrawny) and always thought of myself as someone who ate whatever she wanted/didn't diet, etc. But the fact is, I did eat less than many people. I ate when I was hungry, and much of it was crap, but I didn't eat huge volumes of food. Also, if I was keyed up over stressful things in my life, I ate less, and I was frequently stressed.

A friend of mine pointed out to me that I don't eat beyond being hungry. She'd noticed that I rarely finished all the food on my plate. I hadn't given it much thought, but it is true. I eat when I am hungry (and often go hungry for a while before getting around to eating) and then I gobble down my food until I am no longer hungry and then I stop. I know many people will clean their plates even if they are aware of no longer feeling hungry because they think that they "shouldn't waste food." I also know some people don't really sense fullness one way or the other, but just finish all the food in front of them.

technically am v lean at the moment (oh the thrill of being assessed under 'athlete mode' on the gym Tanita thing recently [smug]) and I eat (on a good day) 3 meals and 3 snacks a day: porridge first thing (with water, maybe cinnamon nutmeg maybe fruit maybe almonds maybe flaxseed) banana at 10:30 am lunch is usually a spinach (and various veg) omelette (but sometimes in the evening instead) something at about 4pm (microwaved apple with nutmeg and cinnamon and dollop of greek yog) and am working on a bit of variety in evening meal (but preference is for roast veg with either feta if no feta in omelette or salmon) and 10:30pm snack is usually greek yoghurt with blueberries but invented a better one of 12 beanitos (pinto bean ones) with a slice of that cheddar with chilies in divided between them to make 6 little sandwiches

Fabulassie you've described me there, totally.

I don't eat unless I'm hungry, no matter what the clock says.

When I do eat, I stop as soon as I'm full.

I also don't drive, so I walk everywhere.

(if I want any kind of social life whatsoever obviously that involves eating out or eating stuff other people have thoughtfully prepared but I think it's what you do most of the rest of the time that counts. Am also quite physically active, run 5 or 6 times a week, have to ride horses most days, walk dogs about 10 miles a week, addicted to yoga, and am starting a strengthening routine at the gym with a trainer to ward off injuries)

Breakfast - medium size bowl of cereal (shreddies or Rice Krispies) with semi skimmed milk.

Lunch - varies. Recently - Tin of soup plus two slices wholemeal toast, macaroni cheese, stovies (mince and potato thing), noodle stir fry. Followed by fruit and/or yogurt.

Tea - varies. Recently - 3 chicken fajitas (chicken, peppers, spinach, refried beans); spaghetti bolognese with veg mince; chicken and lentil curry with boiled rice and half a chapati; 3 grilled venison sausages with mash, peas and carrots.

Snacks 2 or 3 from - a wispa, a couple of Jaffa cakes, couple of oatcakes and cheese, banana on toast, an apple.

Drinks- tea with one sugar and semi skimmed milk, water, fruit juice.

I only eat what I feel like and lose my appetite when stressed.

Ps am 37, BMI 19.

Pps I don't drink alcohol at all.

Hi

Am preg so won't give a food run down as I'm just grazing due to sickness. However normally I'm a 10-12 and I think I'm in control of food rather than the other way around which is an important point.

A lot of habits around food stem from childhood. So look at the messages and habits you've picked up. Are they helpful?

Imo biggest problems sabotaging

Sugar-highly addictive substance with no nutritional value. And artificial sweeteners are just as bad

Wheat-similar properties to sugar. Addictive. Messes with blood sugar.

Portion control-were you brought up to always finish your meal? Stop eating the second you're full. Share a pudding or eat half

Er my phone is haunted!!

Meant-problems sabotaging weight loss.

And to add:

Eat full fat food as nature intended. Eat enough protein. Low fat/fat free foods are tampered with and are often less nutritious.

Avoid "factory food" eg if you'd struggle to make it yourself then it's probably not really food. Eg margarine-"a food- like substance".

Basically eat real food and avoid packaged food with dubious ingredients.

yep, defo avoid the 'food like substances' :o

I have been skim reading and just wanted to add re potion size that this is a key factor, so for example of I had pasta pesto with tuna for dinner, it would not be piled high infact it would not be piled at all. There would be enough to cover the base of a dinner plate and if I am having salad with it less than that. And unless I am starving I rarely eat everything on my plate.

I picked my dd up from the cm a few weeks ago and was shocked at the portion size of one the other childs dinner. The child is only 10yo, already very over weight and her dinner was piled high. Not the cms fault as this was what her mother had provided for her and felt was a suitable portion for her

Hehe chicken