Is this too much?

[user1497545304]

Sorry, posting here for traffic

But here's the rundown: I'm 35, and I literally cannot stop eating, I'm always hungry. I realised the other day after spending 2 weeks with my friend and her family in France that well... I eat a ridiculous amount more than they do. I've also realised that I don't really know what a 'normal' intake is... (My bmi is just about in the healthy range... I could definitely lose some)

Here's yesterday, a fairly typical day (sometimes it's more though, especially if I night binge)

7am before work: 2 cups of tea (semi skimmed) 2 pieces of toast with butter and an apple

9am once at work: hot cross bun and a cereal bar

11am ish, hungry again: mars bar and cup of tea

Lunch break: foot long subway melt , subway cookie and banana

3pm, home from work: bowl of cornflakes with semi skimmed, 2 muller lights, cup of tea

5pm starving so made quick dinner of pasta, tomato sauce, a bit of frozen veg, and I won't lie lots of cheese
About 4 or so choc digestives for dessert plus another cuppa

7pm: bag of salt and vinegar crisps

About 9ish? Hungry as usual so had peanut butter sandwich

11 or so, straight before bed: handful of peanut m&ms

Please try not to judge, I'm well aware my diet is shite. But I just want your honest opinion? If you have a healthy relationship with food, what's a typical day of eating for you? Or what's a 'normal' ish intake? I'm dying to know!

I can totally relate to what your saying as I feel I eat loads but I am also hungry often. I am recently diagnosed celiac and also have an under active thyroid. I am 5"5 and 10 stone 2 and stay consistently the same weight regardless of how much I eat.
For me breakfast is porridge with a spoonful of syrup, banana and a glass of OJ
Mid morning snack apple, pear and a yogurt
Lunch at work will be a gluten free ready meal, at home I never know what to cook so end up making pancakes with syrup
Afternoon snack is normally a slice of gluten free cake
Tea is a home cook meal such as roast dinner, shepherds pie, sausage and mash type things at this time of year
Evening snacks can range from nothing if I am up early for work to whole boxes of chocolates, sweets, ice cream.
Last week I ate 3 full boxes of milk tray throughout the week 😔
I honestly think it is boredom rather than hunger

That’s a lot of not very good food. I would change it bit by bit, a few months changing it is nothing in the long run if it then means you stick to it rather than cutting everything immediately then binging so look at changing habits one by one 😀

Maybe start this week with just making sure you drink two litres of water a day, still have your teas by all means but make an effort to finish the water by bed time. You might find you automatically eat a little less by concentrating on getting water down and using normal eating time for that, plus at least then it’s definitely not confusing hunger for thirst.

The next week focus on a healthy breakfast then cutting out second breakfast and so on changing one thing at a time, either realising the snack isn’t needed at all or changing it for fruit / veg options with just one treat a day, you will get there.

It's the frequency that surprised me the most. You basically eat every two hours. I would never be hungry for lunch if I had a mars bar at 11. Are you really bored at work and filling this boredom with food? I find keeping myself busy helps. I'd say even without drastically changing your diet, if you ditched your mid-morning, mid-afternoon and late night snacks, that would gradually teach you you don't need to eat that often. Good luck!

It's a pretty crap diet as I'm sure you know and of course all that sugar is causing your blood sugar to fluctuate so your body is telling you you're hungry. Reading that list it seems to me that you don't plan meals, it's all grabbing a subway or cooking something very quick because you're hungry (or at least think you are) and I'm guessing it's become a habit. There's no sign of any thought about nutrition. Then of course you're 'hungry' again and you're unthinkingly eating more crap.

I'd suggest you start eating things like porridge or eggs with whole grain toast for breakfast.

Bring a packed lunch to work so you're not tempted by takeaway sandwiches etc. I usually have things like a large mixed salad with protein such as cheese, fish or beans (obviously you could have lean meat I just don't eat meat) homemade soup, cheese salad sandwich etc.

Plan your meals and shop according to what you've planned.

Batch cooking might help so you only have to remember to take a portion out to defrost the night before, then when you come home in the evening it's just a few minutes to reheat and steam some veg/boil some rice or whatever.

Stop buying the crisps, biscuits and chocolate! If they're not there you can't binge on them. Oh and only bring a small amount of cash to work so you can't be tempted, bank card stays at home until you've broken the habit.

You can do it Op but you have to put the effort in.

Doesn't it just depend on what type you are?

I am overweight. In order to not gain any weight, I don't eat until the evening. Then I will have a home-cooked meal - tonight an aubergine-based moussaka, one plateful. I have 2 glasses of a sugary drink in the day, just water otherwise, and a gin and tonic in the evening. Anything else, I will gain weight. And I do a job where I am on my feet for at least 5 hours a day.

Some people are just lucky.

You've way tom much REFINED carb in your diet. You're putting it in one end and it's coming out the other. I'd ditch the bread elements, pasta too. Try and eat more fruit and veg as fillers. Have soup for lunch. Switch to brown rice as a main carb.

I could easy eat that but would absolutely be packing on the pounds. How do you feel with that diet? Is your skin ok? Do you feel like you have much energy?

If you do want to cut down I recently lost 2 stones by sticking to a very boring diet during the day, doesn't matter what it is but the same thing every day and then at night have your meals planned so you look forward to eating it. So I would have 2 belvita and a youghurt for breakfast (I understand not healthy but I am never doing the same thing every day so it was the only way to be consistent. A massive bowl off soup for lunch (I buy Cully and Sully from Tesco because I'm too lazy to make my own). If I am hungry inbetween I only allow myself to have a fruit or a vegetable. Then after dinner I don't eat anything.

Have ou asked your GP for a CLO test for H-Pylori the bacteria which is the precursor to stomach ulcers which has been the link to stomach cancer. I was constantly hungry and hungrier once I had just eaten. I had to give a poo sample and was diagnosed with H-Pylori. Once this was treated with a fortnight of 200 anti biotics (must have been well estalished becuase following a throat endoscopy sample was taken from my stomach lining came back positive. Another fortnight of 228 antibiotics this time including bismuth a metal type of antiseptic. It worked.

Since then I have not felt constantly physically truly hungry and given up alcohol and start my day with two eggs. The protein stops the carby sugar blood sugar level peak and trough.

Make a GP appointment. It's a quick test.

I'm trying myself to drink more water although in the beginning it was hard I'm finding it easier the problem is I'm peeing so much more to the point it feels like I'm weeing more than I'm drinking am I going mad?

I put the food into MFP and below is what it's come out as. It isn't great but just seems really sugar laden tbh.

@tealandteal what are you talking about?! Of course that’s a lot of food! Adding protein might make OP feel fuller for longer but it’s also more calories so she’ll gain weight.

To be honest, if your weight is healthy and stable, it might just be normal for you to have a huge appetite. Do you do a lot of activity?

People will tell you to eat protein to fill you up etc but that doesn’t work for me or lots of people.

My daily diet.
One piece rye toast, with one egg scrambled. For breakfast.
Banana and apple for a snack at 11, sometimes a nature valley bar.
Lunch is a skinny soup, and rye toast, or salad with some meat. A small choc snack.
Walnutsare a good snack, rice cakes or rye toast again (mince pies this month too),
Dinner is a normal meal, cottage pie with lots of veg, dirty rice with heck chicken sausages, homemade curry, roast chicken, something like that. Nothing after dinner ever.
I drink tea with semi, and lots of herbal tea throughout the day.

The amount of sugar you are consuming is unhealthily high, so even if your BMI is good, you’re blood sugars/ cholesterol are possibly being affected.
Your diet is not evenly balanced, you need more protein, and veg, less sugar. All that crap is fuelling your hunger, sugar makes you hungry...
As a pp said, are you drinking enough water, that can make you feel hungry?

Sorry, should say you need to look at the first column of numbers for what you're having. The second is my limit, it wouldn't necessarily be right for you.

I’m 5ft 6 and just under ten and a half stone. I walk about 17,000 steps a day Monday to Friday, so am fairly active. That seems like loads of food!

A typical weekday for me would be something along the lines of:

Breakfast - Greek yoghurt with cinnamon
Snack - cereal bar
Lunch - sandwich with ham and cheese, packet of Quavers, Milky Way
Dinner - chilli with rice, tortilla chips, and dips

That was Friday, so we had pudding, but we only do that Friday and Saturday. I batch cook so we have easy weekday dinners - the chilli was made on Sunday and frozen in portions. In the overall batchthere were three peppers and a punnet of mushrooms as well as beans and tomatoes to try and get the veg levels up.

I always feel really hungry too. My bmi is right in the middle of the healthy range. I have a sweet tooth and am constantly looking for sugary snacks. I eat huge portions and snack throughout the day. I usually have a bowl of porridge for breakfast and by 10am I’m starting to shake/feel a bit sick with hunger. My husband can’t believe it and I think he thinks I’m just greedy but I start to get light headed if I don’t eat something quickly. I do often wonder how other people can eat so little and go so long between meals.

Elfsie
You probably aren’t eating enough, that’s no way to live. Have you tried 5:2? Sounds like you could easily do it, and then eat more normally on other days.

I think @Anniversarysavings’ suggestion of trying to change a little at a time is excellent- more water sounds like a great start

Also OP do you always eat like this? I think it’s extremely unusual to eat similar amounts, each day, for years on end. Most people aren’t that regimented and when they pick a daily food diary to share quite often pick an extreme- healthy or unhealthy- and forget about all the average days in between?

I reckon I'm in the same boat as you - eat a lot of shit but could Lose a little. I put on a stone last year in 3 months due to being a greedy bitch stress of exams. I don't think it's unusual but I don't think it's normal
Either which probably doesn't make sense. For me it's a lack of being aware of what I'm eating and realising when I'm actually full. Last I checked my BMI was 25 so teetering on the edge.

You're eating crap food. That's why you're hungry so soon after eating. The only decent thing on your list was the banana and "a bit of frozen veg"
Choose foods that are slow burning and keep you fuller for longer.

Breakfast:
Porridge with seeds mixed through and a little honey on top or
Poached eggs on wholegrain toast.

IF that doesn't tie you over until lunch you can make a smoothie to take to work and leave in the fridge.

Lunch could be a warm chicken salad.

Afternoon snack one slice of rye bread with thinly sliced cheese and tomato. grilled.

Dinner - ditch the pasta and have dinner closer to 6, not 5. You need protein. Assuming your not vego? Meat and veg cooked to your liking.

How can you have sugar before bed and still sleep? I would be buzzing.
Maybe try to get to bed an hour earlier. If you skip the dessert and the cup of tea, maybe have a herbal tea instead, you might find you fall asleep easily at a decent time?

So easy to give someone diet advice when making assumptions though - sometimes I don't get to bed til late because it's the only time I get a moment to myself after getting the kids to bed and finishing housework. (and yes DH helps me with this)

I'm the same age as you if that's relevant.

Aus84 that diet is SO different from OPs I’m surprised you’ve even suggested it. Like she’s going to ditch all the food she enjoys just like that

Capri sun, the ops diet needs to be that different, aus34s diet looks healthy.

You don’t need to eat like that to be healthy setting unrealistic goals is setting yourself up for failure

You must have a very high metabolism to burn all that off and not put weight on...if you have never dieted that's probably why.you would only need to cut out the crap and you would loose a tad.

I'm not sure if this will help but this is my average day.

7 am green smoothie.
9 am poached egg on toast.
lunch Either a sandwich, chicken & rice, or a salad with goat cheese and hemp seeds.
2 pm Banana and sweet treat if I'm craving chocolate.
6 pm Chicken, baked potato, and cucumber salad OR some combo. I eat a ton of protein and veggies mainly. Rarely pasta.
9 pm snack apple with peanut butter, sometimes some popcorn.