What do you eat if you’re slim?

[Merryoldgoat]

I’m sorry but I really don’t know.

I’m very fat and have been yo-yo dieting for years to the point where I don’t know what a normal healthy day-to-day diet is. I know all the various weight-loss diets etc but it’s the normal eating I struggle with.

I’m currently on a LONG weight loss journey and have lost 3 stone so far but I want to keep it off once I’ve lost it.

I like healthy food and a variety of food - I’m just trying to understand what slim people eat on a typical day.

In particular I’m really interested in what you have for family dinners.

I’m hoping things that can be batches cool feature as I need to save time where I can.

Thank you for reading my very boring AIBU

There are two kinds of slim people.
Those who have never put weight on and never diet and those who stay slim through careful diet and good habits.
A real problem is my husband who is a MASSIVE foodie but doesn’t gain weight like me
This suggests your DH falls into the first category. So do I. I've never dieted and weigh the same at 60 as I did at 20.
So my diet may not work for someone like you.
Breakfast ;AllBran, skimmed milk, coffee.
Lunch; a bread roll with salad and egg, greek yoghurt and fruit, water;
Dinner; A cooked meal such as spaghetti Bolognese or meat and two veg. Big portion .No puddings.
Supper, wine and crisps or tea and cake.

So no snacks during the day, small breakfast and lunch and a big dinner.

As a general rule I don’t snack. I don’t buy biscuits or anything like that so if I’m peckish for crap it’s a ten minute walk to the shop which usually puts me off!

Breakfast: 2 slices toast
Lunch: a small portion of dinner left overs
Dinner: big helping of whatever, usually vegan often veggie - chilli, curry, stir fry, lentil spaghetti Bolognese etc. But regardless of how much veg is in the dish I ALWAYS have half my plate of fresh steamed greens

Just to echo an earlier poster. I also drink very little alcohol. Would never open a bottle of wine at home tbh. I prefer spirits when I go out.

Another thing I read recently with weight loss is that your daily calorie intake should be reduced as your weight comes down. That's why it's hard to maintain weight loss and it plateaus. So I was told not to go below 1200 calories a day, but leave some room to reduce calories. I eat around 1500 calories a day, on average. That may be more on one day but less on others. I like to average my calories over the week rather than a strict daily quota.

Slim people simply eat small portions. I have a very slim friend who eats chocolate every day, but eats very little else. She doesn't like food much except chocolate. A lot of naturally slim people I know really are not that bothered about food.

Porridge with frozen berries - breakfast.
Fruit and nuts - morning and afternoon tea.
Pea and ham soup-lunch
Protein powered with creatin - post workout.
Steak, bake spuds and salad dinner.
Water and the odd skinny coffee.

lastqueenofscotland I also don't keep stuff in the house with the idea that I have to walk to buy things if I want them. It stops random snacking, but I love food, so will happily walk for 30 minutes to buy something I like.

Stevesmithmum those spuds look fab

Just exercise.

If you exercise you tend to move a lot more in normal life so you burn a lot of calories just being.

If you don’t over eat (so don’t smash out 8 kitkats a day) but exercise a decent amount and stay active in general life, you will keep the weight off. I wouldn’t reccomend starvation diets.

Just eat well, healthy and repair your metabolism

Well I’m very fat now so not terribly pleasant but to give you an idea I’ve lost 8 inches from my waist, 3 from my bottom and 1 from my breasts

You've lost loads already - you've done really well. Be proud of yourself! I've just thought, another thing I've taught myself is that I realised I don't actually 'enjoy' that full feeling after a meal. So, now, because I eat slower (I tend to have a mouthful and then put my knife and fork down which physically slows everything up), I recognise more quickly when I've had enough and so I just stop eating despite not finishing. It's annoying when I'm really enjoying the food but I hate that full feeling more afterwards so I'm happy to do that.

OP as someone who loves food, one thing I have found helpful is to have a big salad with no dressing as a meal. Simply lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes and mushrooms. It does stop hunger cravings, but is very low calorie. Also low calorie soups do the same.

The pics above are from my food diary.

Additional pics that day are:

Obviously different things work for different people, but this has worked for me and I feel great on the way that I eat. I try not to eat starch and sugar because when I do regularly, I grow a pad of fat on my stomach (It’s quite amazing the way it pops up). It was REALLY REALLY hard for the first few weeks, because my body craved sugar really hard, but it got better.

Apart from the low/no carb thing I basically eat normally. Lots of meat and vegetables and cheese and nice salads and fish and things, some fruit, no sodas. I do have occasional treat cake or chips - maybe once a week - because it’s nice to have something to look forward to, and makes it easier to say no the rest of the time.

I really enjoy food, and this way I still get to enjoy eating, I just don’t eat some things. I also try to eat more slowly, and stop when I’m not hungry any more, rather than when I’m full.

My quick cook spuds are microwave for a few minutes while over heats. Throw in oven for about 20 minutes on about 200-220 to crisp up the outside. I don’t use butter or anything...they’re quick to cook and taste great. All crispy on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside .

Your body shape, appetite, balance of hormones such as leptin and ghrelin (which control appetite and the feeling of fullness) are predominately to do with genetics. So, a 5'8" naturally slim ectomorph body shape with a high metabolism and a small appetite, good balance of hormones could tell you their diet all day long but if you have a tendency to store weight, a slow metabolism, big boobs or bum or both and an imbalance of hormones/don't get the 'full' signals then just you trying to eat the same as them isn't going to work sadly.

As far as all the naturally slim people I know - other than being very active also have very little interest in food generally. The ones who are slim against the odds (because they are genetically pre-disposed to be bigger but fight it) work hard at it constantly, restrict food, go hungry a lot of the time/are very conscious of restricting calories, spend hours in the gym etc - but a weekend of going off the rails (or rather eating and drinking as they like - having a sociable weekend with friends for example) will cause a 5/7lb weight gain that then needs working off with sacrifice and dedication for weeks after!

Sadly I'm the second type - and an ex-personal trainer so managed with a lot of dedication to be slim for a while, then big again now on a mission to be smaller but with an understanding that it isn't simple and will require a lot of hard work. It can be done though & a 3 stone weight loss is amazing. What is your activity level like? (asking as regular exercise can raise your metabolism generally which can really help your weight loss/body shape)..

In practical terms, I think breakfast is the most difficult meal to work out (lunch and dinner foods it’s easy to lead the carbohydrate out of and UK breakfast is almost always starchy): on a normal day I’d have eggs or yoghurt with nuts and seeds for breakfast, and coffee with lots of milk (semi or whole), which makes me feel full until lunch.

I rarely eat between meals and never have sugary drinks. I do try to eat healthily e.g. watch fat intake (athough not carbs!) and try and make sure that I have enough fruit and veg. I don't think about quantity though but I don't love food that much so perhaps eat quite small portions.

chipsandgin You have nailed it.

I’m 5’6” and about 9 stone, mid 40s. I eat like a horse but I’m vegan and don’t drink much. Never have takeaways, cook from scratch stuff like chilli, curry, spaghetti bolognese etc. My big downfall is sugar, I eat loads of it. You’re right, bulk cooking helps as you’ve got something in ready and the temptation is less to grab something quick and easy and less healthy. Good luck!

For me (size 10, 5ft 7), I have to watch what I eat. For years I have had various things I adhere to:

No lattes or cappuccinos - coffee is Americans or filter with splash of milk
Other drinks are tea/water and limited alcohol (now I’m pregnant I’m drinking a bit of tonic water but mostly fizzy water)
No fruit juice - wasted calories. Just eat the fruit instead
Hardly any fried food - that would be a massive treat eg chips in a pub when eating out
If I’ve had a big or treat meal I’ll be careful what I eat for a few days afterwards

Breakfast is small museli/yogurt bowl made at home night before with fruit
Lunch - m and s salad (one of the 350 kcal ones eg tofu bowl), fruit eg melon pot
Snacks- four squares dark chocolate and an apple
Dinner - protein, veg, carb (lots of veg)

At weekends I’ll have brunch - eggs, avo, spinach, tomatoes, toast - that will keep me full til dinner.

I do love food but don’t see the need to eat loads. I have noticed friends and colleagues who are overweight will eat lots and then not regulate their intake to make up for it. A colleague who was like this has had good success maintaining weight loss doing 5:2 as she found it hard to be restrictive.

You’ve done amazingly losing three stone! All the best.

I eat three small meals a day of whatever we are having. I don’t avoid foods, and if I fancy a biscuit or a packet of crisps I will have one. That way I find I don’t crave the foods. I try and drink mostly water and have fizzy drinks or fruit juice as a treat. I run around 15 miles a week which has made a big difference and I’ve lost three stones and kept it off for over two years now.

It's just portion control in most cases IME.

People are great at kidding themselves (as in the 'I eat healthily but I'm overweight and I don't know why' crowd).

A 'healthy diet' could be weetabix and banana, chicken and salad sandwich, carrot sticks as a snack and spaghetti Bol followed by fruit.

But a 'normal' amount that slim people have would be two weetabix, two slices of whole meal bread, spaghetti Bol that has a load of veg in and one piece of fruit.

I see people struggling with weight who'd have four weetabix, four slices of white bread, plus mayo, a large portion of just-mince spag Bol and three pieces of fruit in an evening...but still be confused why they're overweight as it's all 'healthy' and no snacks.

I'm slim ( currently a UK 10) - it's all in the portion size for me.

I eat what I like, when I like. I have butter. cheese, bread and a couple of glasses of wine most evening.

I just eat smaller portions than most people - I find less than half a small pizza is enough for me with some salad. I rarely eat fruit, avoid popular fads for "healthy" foods (yes smoothies I am looking at you) and avoid anything with artificial sweeteners in preference to a proper sugar version.

I have a big breakfast most days. Something like bacon (always fried), egg, mushrooms and toast, or an omelette or a bacon sandwich. If I just have cereal I tend to need something like a chocolate croissant by 10am.

I'll have maybe a pack of crisps around 11. Then lunch will be a sandwich with some fruit and a chocolate bar.

Dinner varies hugely: steak and chips with salad (loads of dressing on), creamy chicken and bacon pasta, nachos and chilli was the last 3 days. I never worry about what I'm having but we never have more than the recommended weight of meat/fish (most people will eat twice this in my experience). We weigh out the rice/pasta etc and use less than what they recommend as a portion (if we cook what is apparently is a portion there's always loads thrown away).

Why I think I'm slim (5ft10, 9stone3, size 8) is partly luck but partly that I drink mainly relatively healthy drinks: never fizzy drinks for example. Also I don't drink very much alcohol. If I want some wine or cocktails I'll have some and not worry about it, but that doesn't happen very often. I never really eat anything past 6pm (if I do it'll be a piece of toast or 2 biscuits for example) and my dinner portions are fairly small.

chipsandgin Spot on.
It's all in the genes.
I used to be smug and think I just had a better diet because I never put weight on. I also don't exercise.
In fact I now think if everyone ate exactly the same as me some would put on weight and others would stay slim.
I said above that I never gain weight but I do lose it quite easily if I'm ill even if I eat the same..

I eat quite healthily but I don’t overthink it. I try to follow that rule -Eat food, not too much, mostly plants. Seems to work for me. I can’t do diets, I suffer from migraines and every single diet I’ve attempted has exacerbated them. I’m better off eating sensibly, exercising frequently and listening to my body.

I have lost a bit of weight recently, I’ve been running for a while but have found walking more effective in terms of weight loss. I probably walk about 10 miles a day at least, it’s not hard due to where I live. I also do some strength training. The combination seems pretty effective.