To ask you all a question about weight?

[Onceinabuemoon]

If you are slim and in good shape. What's your diet like? Do you eat a healthy diet, do you exercise regularly and so on? What I mean is do you work at keeping in shape, even if it's not difficult for you personally? Or are you slim but live on coffee and fags?!

If you are overweight or know you eat a bad diet and don't exercise, do you feel a bit rubbish? Or are you bigger but feel healthy and great?

The reason I'm asking is although I've never been overweight, I've always been bigger than I'd like upper end of a healthy weight. I eat what I want and don't really exercise and I don't really feel particularly healthy. Tired a lot, bad pms, feel unfit.

I can lose weight ok if I try and have often lost a stone but find it a real drag, hate limiting calories, hate cutting out food groups. Always put it back on. I figured I'm going to try a different way. Instead of disliking my body and trying to change it, I'm going to try and forget altogether but try eating better and exercising to feel healthier in the hope things will fall into place.

I'm just interested to hear how others manage their diet/weight really.

[CosmoClock]

It works better for me onceinabluemoon it is extreme, but when you know you''re going to eat next to nothing and tomorrow will be fine, mentally it's easier!

[Onceinabuemoon]

I think I forget what hunger feels like too. Also forget the difference between feeling satisfied and stuffed.

[mistermagpie]

I'm slim and pretty much eat what I want, but I'm very active and watch portions. There is a difference between eating what you like and eating loads of what you like. I eat chocolate every day but only a small amount (less than a standard bar), I also eat crisps but the kind that are less than 100 calories a packet. I never buy 'low fat' anything, just choose the lower calorie or smaller size of standard options.

I exercise too. I've got two young children and rarely drive plus I run a couple of times a week.

I don't claim to be healthy, I hardly eat any fruit and veg (maybe two-three portions on a good day) but I am a 'healthy' weight with a bmi of 22 (and had a baby three months ago).

[TriJo]

I'm about a stone and a half overweight - I really struggled with comfort eating while I was on maternity leave and coping with a newborn and my husband's mental health issues and I just never lost the baby weight. I try to eat reasonably healthy but do give into temptation sometimes. I'm 8 weeks with DC2 and trying to control the weight gain, I have less scope for healthy gain this time as I'm starting with a BMI >25.

[SmokyRobinson]

I am a healthy weight (bmi 23) and feel much better when I exercise loads. I am watching what I eat most days, but never count calories. Just eat healthy food and try not to eat processed/fatty/sugary foods too much. I will feel well if I do this, and start to feel sluggish and bloated if I eat crap for a few days in a row and if I haven't done any exercise.
So, yes, I have to work for it, but I also am the only one who feels the benefit of doing so, so that motivates. (This is how I keep mentally healthy, I go downhill in my mood otherwise)

[AyeAmarok]

I have always been at the low end of the healthy BMI range, I enjoy being active and eat what I like (although I don't like kebabs, fried chicken or pizza hut type food). I would run a couple of times a week, often just 10-20 minutes, but sometimes I'll sign up to a 10k/HM for example.

At the moment I'm underweight, because breastfeeding a 7mo is taking its toll, so I'm not doing as much running but am instead walking a lot with the pram. Looking forward to getting back to my normal self soon though.

[EllaHen]

I'm slim and unfit. Spinal issues limit the type of exercise I can do. I don't feel unhealthy though.

My attitude to food is that it's fuel. I hate being uncomfortably full. I guess it's portion size that keeps me slim.

[revolution909]

I'm 5'3, 9st, size 6/8. I eat and drink more or less what I like (within moderation) and definitely eat whatever I want on Saturdays. I exercise for about 11-12 hours every week. I used to be obese, so being slim for the first time since I was born (I was a fat baby!) Is a big deal for me

[EyeSaidTheFly]

I am slim. I eat healthily and am active but one of the bigger differences between me and slightly larger friends is that I really pay attention to how hungry I really am. If I'm not very hungry, then I won't eat much. If I'm hungry then I'll eat till I'm full - but no more. I don't conflate food with comfort, boredom or anything else, really. This makes it easy to stop.

However, I personally believe that chronic weight patterns are profoundly related to your relationship with your body, with yourself and with other areas of your life.

I'm sure I'm going to get a flaming and there will be loads of other posters going on about metabolism but I think it is so much more about your unconscious and how you relate to the world around you - the space you occupy and the burdens you bear.

But if you are typically a bit overweight - and don't like it - then I'd probably guess that it is a manifestation of some sort of stress/disappointment/frustration in another part of your life. Until that gets resolved then I suspect that you are always going to struggle to lose it.

[AHedgehogCanNeverBeBuggered]

Comtesse has it right - not eating when you're not hungry is a really handy skill to learn (and it is a skill - not something that comes naturally to most people, but it can be programmed into you).

I'm slim, always have been, but I do watch what I eat and exercise regularly. It does take discipline but you get used to it I think. It also depends a lot on your upbringing - to me it's not normal to eat cake or chips every day, my parents were keen that nothing be banned but unhealthy foods were occasional rather than an everyday occurrence. The friends I have who grew up with chips every day and unrestricted access to chocolate/biscuits/crisps find it really hard to self-regulate, and having never been pushed to eat fruit and veg they find it a struggle to eat a varied and healthy diet as adults.

[gwenneh]

I'm overweight by quite a bit, but like some others, the healthiest I've been. My V02 max is great, my bloodwork all looks fantastic -- great cholesterol, normal blood sugar and A1c, etc.

I eat a carefully weighed, measured, and balanced 1400-1600 calories per day. I don't eat until I feel "belly hunger" even if it annoys DH that I don't join in for family meal times, eat only to satiety even if that means wasting food, and eat protein, carb, and fat at each meal. I've never been a snacker so snacks just aren't a thing for me. Nutrition has been fairly easy to control.

Exercise is riding 2-3x per week plus going to the gym 2-3x per week for weights. I like big lifts, and squats are the best.

Am I losing weight? No, but I have underlying medical conditions that make that very difficult. So I'm settling for being on-paper healthy and able to do the things that I love, which are play with my children, ride, and play roller derby.

[Cantusethatname]

I'm BMI 21 and have been for years. I don't like formal exercise but I walk the dog every day and when I borrowed a fitbit I do over 20000 steps in my normal day. I do eat what I like including cakes and biscuits and crisps and I have a glass of wine every day, but I don't eat if I'm not hungry and I stop when I'm full.

[MaidOfStars]

I'm thin but have to work at.

Age teen-38, BMI around 23 (guess). Couple of hours exercise a week. Paid little attention to diet and ate what and when I wanted.

38-now, BMI 19. Many hours of exercise (running, team sport, weightlifting). Count macros and restrict calories on weekdays, relax at weekends.

I drink a lot of coffee!

[Nowheretoturn40]

Just done my BMI - 18.

Always been slim but this is probably the lowest weight I've been in 46 years. A combination of stress & no money. Its hard to actually remember the last time I had an actual meal - completely got out the habit. If I am offered a meal I will only ever take the protein option (hope its fish) with salad/veg. No a great advert for a diet.

[BadTasteFlump]

I'm 5 ft 10 and a size 12 - for the last ten or so years my BMI has been around 21/22 which I'm happy with.

For me it was finding out I needed to go onto a low carb diet for health reasons (high blood sugar). Since then I don't worry at all about food portions or fat levels - as long as whatever I eat is low in carbs (generally I try and keep it in the single figures per 100g), I stay at a healthy weight - and my blood sugars keep steady without any meds, which is the main thing. But staying slim is obviously a bonus

I know 'low carb' is 'in' now so lots of people scoff at the idea, but for me it was definitely the right choice for health reasons.

[pensarefun]

I am being treated for an eating disorder right now, but normally I am
around 9 stone (5'8") and very fit.

I am a good and competitive runner, and I swim and do boot camp.
My exercise is my hobby.

My diet is varied. The core is good but I have plenty of not such healthy stuff. Weight wise, over the years I've realised that I naturally just adjust my calorie intake over a week or so e.g. if I've had a large meal out (including pudding, which we don't usually have at home), I'll just naturally feel less hungry the next day or so and eat accordingly.

[Lancelottie]

I'm upper end of a healthy weight for my height and finding (like a PP) that what worked at 25 doesn't work at over 45.

I'm new to this world of actually actively having to try to stay a healthy weight. How to goodness does anyone work out their calorie intake and exercise needs to within 100 calories of their target? I have a pedometer on my phone - one app will say I've used 100 calories during a walk, a different app using the same pedometer will calculate it at 50. Huh?

[dontcallmelen]

I'm in my fifties & have always been very slim, menopause hasn't made any difference either, which I thought it might, I have never had a big appetite & cannot eat three meals a day usually I have a yougurt/muesli for breakfast, no lunch & fairly small evening meal try to eat plenty of vegetables, don't eat a great deal of meat, not keen on fruit.
I don't have a sweet tooth, very rarely eat chocolate do like a bit of cake now & then, I love cheese & salty snacks.
I try too walk as much as I can, I don't exercise as I have a heart condition, am currently looking to join a yoga class again as I enjoyed it before & benefited from the meditation/relaxation.

[KirstyLaura]

I'm classed as obese shockingly, but I think I look more overweight than obese. I've always been heavy, even when I physically looked much smaller pre children. I eat what I want and i'm not very active other than a physical job. Family dinners are generally healthy and homemade, but i'm rubbish at making breakfast and lunch - i'd rather snack. Lack of sleep from work exhausts me and drains my motivation to watch what I eat. I'm liking the sound of limiting calories one day then more the next. I've tried SW and it worked well, I'm just so tired from night shifts I can't get any motivation together. I need a rocket up my arse

[TabascoToastie]

I've always been really skinny and I think it must be genetic (though both my parents are fat) because I've never had to do anything. For most of my life I wasn't that bothered about food, often forgot to eat, and I'm not really a fan of sugar (can eat half a chocolate bar and wrap it up). I eat some junk like pizza, curry, crisps, but I probably do eat smaller portions than some people. I guess lots of people eat more than they realise. But I have much larger friends who diet a lot and I definitely eat a lot more than them.

However, I went on medication 18 months ago that turned me into a food monster. I was just ravenous and would binge eat all the time, like bags of doughnuts and large bags of kettle chips, as well as three big meals a day. I gained maybe 12lbs, which is a lot for me, but on the other hand a year of basically constantly binging on junk food would cause a larger weight gain than 12lb in most people. So I think I just have a high metabolism. I am one of those very nervy people who fidget and can't keep still.

[seventhgonickname]

Weight slides on between 40-50 and much harder to shift even limiting calories.I eat healthily just too much and a bit of a bread addict.I am slowly loosing weight and not punishing my self,just whittling away pound by pound.It takes a long time to learn new habits but by the time I'm near where I want to be I'm hoping to have retrained my appetite.

[FakePlasticTeaLeaves]

I am slim but I actively have to work to stay this way. I put weight on basically looking at an ice cream.

I work out at least three times a week and eat healthy, having the occasional food blow out/booze night obviously, or I'll incorporating booze into a day i.e. I'll eat a bit less if I know I'm about to drink a bottle of prosecco. I can't stay thin without actively trying and maintaining a lifestyle like this (boo hoo!)

[Chickydoo]

Am 5 ft 7 & weight 8 stone 5
I am 50, exercise every day.
So quite toned for an oldie

I have never been overweight, however I am sure I could be if I ate loads of biscuits etc.
I am quite controlled I can eat a couple of bits of chocolate & then stop.
I do have a couple of treats each day.
Today no breakfast
Exercise then work.
4 hob nobs & a coffee.
Lunch Egg & Salad Sandwich
A cornetto & Diet Pepsi.

I might have a yoghurt later
Dinner tonight is homemade green Thai curry.(prawn)
I will have a beer (or two)
I don't eat meat only fish
I guess around 2000 Calories.
Never much more

[MikeUniformMike]

Haven't read the full thread but if you exercise regularly (e.g. running) you will find the PMS nowhere near as bad. I used to get bad PMS and all that bloating just disappeared when I started moving.

Some exercise will make you slender without losing weight. Weights and spinning, for example. You will look much slimmer but your weight will probably not change.

Some exercise is not so good for weight loss especially if you eat a lot of carbs.

A good healthy diet and exercise will probably help a lot. Aim for at least 5 a day (9 a day if you can) and eat some protein and fat but keep the carbs fairly low. Have Cake, mayo etc as a treat.

[WilmaFlintstoneandPebbles]

Hi,

Mid 30s, 5'7" and a size 8-10. 2 pre-school children too if that makes a difference. Always been slim but found I have lost more weight after having children as in preparing their meals and looking after them I often find it hard to make time to eat 3 meals a day. I don't snack, often have just a coffee for breakfast then sandwich for lunch and a home cooked evening meal with a glass of wine. Rather than think about losing weight re-frame the question as 'how would you like to feel?' For example I like to feel strong so do kick-boxing once and week and Zumba to feel sexier! Summer is a time for peeling back layers and running around with my children so I want to feel confident and slimmer so eat more salads. Honestly the diet trap is restrictive and depressing and sounds in your case like you don't need it just eat regularly and move more.