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

Just normal food. Pasta, sandwiches, salad, burgers, curry, fish, meat, cakes, biscuits, veg, eggs, cheese, fruit...

I don't particularly limit my portion size, but I do tend to stop eating when I'm full, or not eat if I'm not hungry, and don't drink much alcohol.

Dp (female) is slim - a size 8/10 and I am not (size 18/20). We eat the same meals - all home cooked, well balanced, lots of veg, some carbs, some protein. The difference between us is the snacking - she doesn’t and I do! . We both drink tons of water every day but I also love wine/gin and she doesn’t drink alcohol. When I’ve had a drink in the evenings i’ll hunt out the chocolate and she doesn’t feel the need to snack at all. We both swim regularly but she also cycles to work every day whereas I get the bus and she runs 5-10km a week...

So it’s small-ish differences between us - and we’ve both lost over 2 stone since joining Slimming World in January - she joined really to keep me company and has gone from a size 12-14 to a size 8-10 and now is really skinny! I’ve got another 3 stone to go... . I can see logically that if I gave up on be alcohol and chocolate and cycled to work I’d get there much quicker, but losing 1lb a week at the moment feels do-able and sustainable in the long term.

For me it’s about making small changes (I used to eat bigger portions and eat way more crap during the day - all that’s stopped) that I can tolerate. The swimming has also made a big difference to how fit and energised I feel.

Reducing portions, cutting down on the crap and upping the exercise if you can is hopefully the way to go!

I eat all sorts. Tons of crap, tons of good stuff. But all in small portions. So my lunch today will be a salad about size of my fist, with half a chicken breast and spice/ dressing.
I had one slice of toast and boiled egg for breakfast. I'm currently snacking on yogurt with gronola. Later I'll pro a ly have a magnum. Tonight we have steak and corn on the cob for dinner.

Can you not see how the second half of your sentence directly contradicts the first?

Not really. IMO 'restricting' is when people say 'i'm not eating carbs or chocolate' so make every conscious effort to avoid them and punish themselves if they eat them. Everything in moderation is to have a sandwich if you want it, a slice of cake or a take away but not every day and i feel this approach creates a better relationship with food.

I eat everything and anything

I agree with butch. I don't avoid high GI but I don't particularly want that sort of food. I also think that if you want a cake, have the cake, not eat something else instead of it, then something else instead of it...

I'm slim but have to watch what I eat to stay that way - I track on MyFitnessPal and eat about 1600 calories a day, split into 3 meals and two snacks. A typical day for me would be -

Breakfast - Home made smoothie with berries, spinach, cucumber and banana, a bowl of protein oats

Snack- apple

Lunch - omelette with turkey bacon, cheese, spinach, tomato and spring onion

Snack - Perkier bar or similar

Dinner - Chilli con carne with rice

I have the odd gin and tonic (or 4) at the weekend but I plan it and save calories. And I do let myself have the odd treat - we're having takeaway pizza tomorrow - I'll probably eat a whole one to myself but as a one off it's OK!

Lots of vegetables. I pack every meal out with vegetables.
If I make a chicken curry/sweet and sour then I add peppers, mushrooms, onions, sweetcorn etc. Broccoli and green beans are nice in a korma. I make more than I need and freeze portion so on the days when I cant be bothered to cook and tempted to grab a takeaway, I can stick one in the oven and be done.

Portion sizes are the main thing, as suggested before, look up the suggested portion sizes and you'll see just how small they are! I always do more vegetables though to stop me feeling hungry and snacking after.

I try not to buy too many unhealthy snacks but always have something in the cupboard in case I really get a craving, otherwise I'll just go to the shop and overindulge.

It also depends on how much exercise you do. I eat lots because I do a lot of exercise.

Mostly vegetables for main meals (stew, soup, curry, salad), and always greek yoghurt and fruit for breakfast. I'm vegetarian.
I don't eat bread, pasta, rice etc because they make me ill, but I do drink quite a lot of alcohol. I don't ever think about calories.

I'm 44 and I've previously dieted when aged 22; 27/28; 31; 38/39. I've done both Atkins and Slimming World properly; diet at 22 was an exclusion diet to deal with chronic fatigue and I very briefly tried Weightwatchers but didn't get on with it.

I've never been as heavy as you but at my heaviest was probably about 18stone. I've been lighter in the past five years overall than I've generally been as an adult but a year ago I gave up sugar, caffeine and alcohol to help me cope with stress and anxiety. I'm honestly not sure what weight I was/am now (cause I didn't do it for weightloss) but I'm slimmer at the moment than I've ever been as an adult - not "slim" but into normal BMI, can climb hills, etc.

Which does come down to lifestyle choice... I do cheat with the alcohol, but pay for it if I do because it brings back the sugar cravings really badly. Generally I'm fine though and I have genuinely hit the point where most sweet things don't appeal because the negative impact outweighs the momentary high!

I find it easy-ish to stick to because I can't have sweets or chocolate or ice cream or sugary drinks or cakes or biscuits or whatever - so there's no calculation involved! I stick to a rough guide of 4g of sugar per 100g being the max so can have bread but not all bread. And if I crave a treat then I have a packet of crisps or some nuts.

As other folk have said, what works for each person will be different but if you're already contemplating how you will maintain then your current diet isn't going to work for you because you're already clear that you can't stick with it forevermore - which is basically what you need to do with any successful diet to maintain.

Tbh I just eat whatever I feel like but work out a lot. I do also have a high metabolism and appreciate it is not that easy for everybody.

Porridge, veg, rice, fish and eggs mainly. I eat carbs every day but not at every meal. I love a big bowl of pasta, but would usually have that for dinner only once a week.

Other days I will have lower carb dinners like stews, omelette, curry / tagine with quinoa or brown rice etc.

Unlike some others I do snack, but only out of hunger, never out of boredom. I find I am more likely to overeat if I approach lunch / dinner starving.

I’m 50 and not slim, losing weight at the moment.

What’s working for me at the moment in this hot weather is

Eating very little during the day - waiting to see if the hunger passes which it does 90% of the time
Drinking a lot of water
No alcohol
No sugar
Few coffees - if out Americano rather than milky ones
A piece or two of fruit during day if really hungry

Proper supper but normal size helping without much carbs

I think one meal a day is fine for me. I don’t exercise much.

My meals are child's portions and don't consist of anything processed , I snack on fruit , nuts , bowls of quinoa, salads , healthy sandwiches -to name a few .

I'm 46 and size 10 (used to be 6/8 - all hail, perimenopause!), and I watch what I eat. No sugar, low carbs, lots of fruit and veg, minimal animal protein, lots of veggie products. I usually skip breakfast - I find most traditional breakfast things too stodgy, cereal included.

I'm a big peckish right now, so I'm currently snacking on two unsalted, plain rice-cakes. I'll have some lunch in about a half-hour, which will probably be chicken and salad today, or (rarely) a chicken sandwich.

I'll occasionally go ape and eat half a small tub of ice-cream or some chocolate, but I notice the effect within a few days, so I don't do it often.

I also try to exercise at least four times a week (fast walking/slow jogging/weights/planks), but that's fallen by the wayside in this heat, and it shows.

*bit peckish.

Probably more "big" though

Could do with losing a few pounds myself but have never been over around a size 14 and usually hover at 10-12. So fwiw I try to avoid sugary treats, snacks, second helpings. Several nights a week with no alcohol. Stay active. Don't drink fizzy drinks/juice/iced coffees etc, just water or tea.

Always cook from scratch, no takeaways, no fast food ever.

I do everything everyone is saying and it makes no difference.

I was always slim - as long as I didn't overeat or just eat a load of burgers and chips I could pretty much get away with eating most things and drinking alcohol. Then I reached 50 and the menopause came along and life changed - I'm 54 now & I find it so hard to keep the weight off and have gained about a stone and a half.

I do everything everyone suggests I don't eat carbs, sugar, sweets, rarely eat chocolate or cake or sugary snacks, don't eat crisps, or fatty food (I do love cheese but I try to limit it) I eat a lot of veg and salads - if I have a dressing it will be home made out of balsamic vinegar and lemon or mustard and honey) and keep my portions fairly small. I eat very few carbs (maybe a slice of toast with avocado on for brek) and never with my my evening meal and rarely eat dessert.

I cook my own food from scratch, don't eat ready meals and rarely have take aways and I don't particularly have a large appetite. I never drink sodas or sugary drinks - I don't like them. I don't drink milky coffees and usually drink herbal teas or cups of Yorkshire Gold tea with very little milk in - maybe a table spoon.

I used to exercise (windsurfing, swimming, walking, running, gym, HIT) but once I reached the menopause it made no difference to my weight - except for minuscule weight losses that quickly went back on when i stopped even for a short time - so I got despondent and I just can't motivate myself to exercise any more. I do walk a lot though.

I'm perfectly fit and healthy but I'm not slim and put weight on much more easily than I used to. My post menopausal friends all seem to have been able to maintain their slimness. Fed up of it really.

I diet strictly in the week (1200 cals a day) and eat whatever I want at the weekends. Am losing about 2lb a week doing this so it seems to be working.

Exercise helps immensely- when I did HIIT 3 times a week as well as jogging I could eat what I wanted and stay a size 8. Life got in the way of this so I have to really watch what I eat now.

Forgot to mention the weight was much much easier to keep off when I was vegetarian- so I think meat plays a part.

@Chipsandgin

I’m definitely someone who struggles with weight - I mean, obviously I’ve overeaten for years to get here but generally when younger, I out in weight more easily than many and am of the big boob and bum variety.

My activity levels are non-existent atm owing to SPD which is slowly resolving. On the plus side, before losing 3 stone my knees hurt so much I was barely able to walk up the stairs without wincing and now I can trot up without any pain.

I’ll be starting some proper exercise when my core can take it - pelvis is shot after two babies - one enormous and one big.

I think portion sizes and snacking are the biggest culprits. If you can get your portions and snacking under control, it will go a long way.

I am thin, and admittedly have never struggled with my weight. I do think that there is a genetic component to this, but I also think my habits are quite different to the habits of many others.

Today I ate:
All bran with strawberries and full fat milk, plus a banana - breakfast
Ham sandwich - lunch
Cadbury chocolate - afternoon snack
Chicken schnitzel and chips - pub dinner
Bulla chocolate coated vanilla ice cream - dessert

Not the best example of what I typically eat. It tends to be more like this:
Porridge with banana - breakfast

Fruit (oranges, mandarins, strawberries, blueberries, kiwi fruits, pears all featuring heavily at the moment), 2-3 tablespoons of plain vanilla yogurt (not Greek, just plain ol' yogurt), a Birds Eye steam fresh bag of veggies, and either a banana or a Vegemite sandwich - lunch

Dinner could be anything - spag bol, lasagne, chicken pie, meatballs, big plate of roast veggies, sausages and mash, steak etc. all feature quite often. I eat a lot at lunch, so dinner is quite small (half a piece of NY steak, one sausage etc. bulked out with lots of veggies).

I will typically have something for dessert.

Because I eat like this 80% of the time, I don't watch what I eat the other 20%.

But I also walk between 6 and 8.5km every day.

@Merryoldgoat yeah definitely give your body a rest for a while- however I would strongly recommend swimming, you can go at your own pace and it doesn't cause too much strain.