Is there anyone who just eats normally?

[Peanutss]

I can't believe the amount of threads where the OP claims to eat only a boiled spinach shake for breakfast, plain cous cous for dinner and a salmon fillet with veg for tea. With of course, only an apple as a snack in between.

Is there anyone like me who just has a bowl of cornflakes for breakfast, a meal deal for lunch and then whatever I can be arsed putting in the oven for tea? I'm beginning to wonder if I'm massively unhealthy in comparison to most or whether people are just making this up.

I can't be doing with all this competitive eating.
I'm like you OP, toast for breakfast, sandwich for lunch, normal dinner like casserole, fish and chips, roasts etc.

My DS has severe allergies so even he thinks people who cut foods out for no reason are daft.

Can't believe people are slagging off sandwiches. lololol

this makes me think of Joey

You only have to look at what is sold in the shops and people supermarket trolleys to know that most people are not eating mung beans for lunch and an enormous salad for tea.

I eat "normal" food I think. Just less of it because I am doing MFP.
Yesterday was nutella sandwich for breakfast, rice and roast chicken for lunch and dinner (was at work, eat when I can and what I can keep down as heavy activity flares my IBS and reflux). Snack was some chocolate and a glass of wine.

Today, breakfast = egg and chips. Lunch will probably be nothing and dinner might be keema and rice. Something DS will eat and I can knock up between visitors basically.

I've just inhaled 2 bowls of coco pops for breakfast with no witnesses 😁🤷🏻‍♀️ poached eggs and avocado can get in the bloody bin.

Oh those posts!. They make me laugh too!! I love eating healthy most days I really actually do, but it doesn't always go to plan, I'm also sensible I eat real food (sometimes) in real quantities (always) amd im rarely seen with out a bottle of water, i get gross skin if i dobt have loads of water daily.
yesterday I had
B: one of them yoghurt cereal bars 3 Cups of tea (and 2 cigarettes...😞....rings shame bell on self!)
I then had a snack abouy 11...it was 2 butter croissants with added butter... mmmm 🙈🙈🙈
For lunch I felt guilty about the croissant so I had a steamed chicken breast with a salad and no dressing... followed by an apple,
Then come dinner time I couldn't be arsed fannying about with so I made minced beef and onion I'm gravy served with buttery mash potatoes and cabbage
Once DS was in bed I was peckish so I demolish a bag of peanut M&Ms
Then I felt guilty about that so I had an orange 🤣🤣
Some days I'm a freak and eat the healthiest meals otherwise I am a trier. I always ensure meals at balanced with some.preotein and veg and 5/7 days are cooked from scratch...wether thays standing there doing it, or launching it in the slow cooker for the day I try not to buy processed but there's always some hiding in the freezer somewhere for lazy days emergencies

Where else except an anon forum, oh keyboard warriors, would we find women proud of the fact they ate badly some or most of the time? And if not badly, then not optimally to help them stay healthy?

It's a kind of inverted snobbery.

At my age ( early 60s) I see a lot of my contemporaries dying or with chronic diseases, all linked to lifestyle.

If you want to eat rubbish, or just not spend much time thinking about what you eat, that's fine but don't be so ignorant as to believe it won't catch up with you one day.

None of us 'healthy eaters' are good ALL of the time- but to be really honest, I feel so unhealthy on sweet stuff and refined carbs if I pig out that it's not something I want to do.

If you don't know how to cook meals that are both healthy and nice, and would rather have a cake or chocolate or horrible ready meal, full of sugar and 'padding' to make it tasty, then you need to up your game! Good food is lovely.

jingling I am late 50s. The illnesses or deaths I see linked to lifestyle are smoking and lack of physical activity. Eating bread is not linked to illnesses.
And people who live a healthy lifestyle get ill too. The person my age who lives the healthiest of anyone I have ever met has developed a heart problem. Living healthily reduces the risks, it does not eliminate it.
Same reason that my dad who has always lived unhealthily is going strong with no issues at all. I thought he would die young. He had an increased risk of dying young, but beat it.

And people own their bodies. They can choose to live unhealthily if they want. Often those who live the unhealthiest lifestyles have very poor mental health. If you have a serious diagnosed mental health problem you are far more likely to lead an unhealthy lifestyle and die young from physical problems.

And when I was a young adult I lived an incredibly healthy lifestyle. I have suffered so many bereavements and losses in tragic circumstances that I am often just managing to get on with life. A healthy lifestyle is way down the list.
Also the reason you are more likely to live a healthy lifestyle if you are very well off. Far easier if your life is easier.

To feel well over 40, you really have to try and be healthy. It's not like being a student. It's not about vanity. It's health and feeling well. You do have to be mindful of carbs, unless you want to look 5 months pregnant with shit skin and hair and energy
I keep reading this,(and I'm only just over 40) but I don't find it to be true for me.
If I drink too much or eat a lot of cake or donuts or something then yes-bloated, shit skin, no energy.
Just "carbs" in general? Nope, I eat lots of carbs. I often eat a massive bowl of brown rice with vegetables and soy sauce, or a load of paella with chorizo but it doesn't make me feel bad, my hair has always been wild so that's not changed, and I get compliments about my skin.
I just don't buy into this idea that fat=great, have loads, carbs=lethargy and bad health.
Reasonable amounts of vegetables, not too much sugar, plenty of fresh air and excercise, and the rest you can pretty much play by ear, whatever age you are.
There's a post up thread by a lady who is 60 ( and slim) basically saying the same.

, I feel so unhealthy on sweet stuff and refined carbs if I pig out that it's not something I want to do
That is disordered eating. You can eat a bar of chocolate without pigging out. It sounds as if you have issues around eating?

Brown rice is incredibly healthy. I also have it often with meals. And I never look 5 months pregnant unless I actually am.
What makes my skin look like shit is alcohol, and friends agree this affects them.

I like this thread. It's relaxing.

Yesterday I had:

Breakfast brought to me in bed by DP. He'd mixed together some bircher muesli and granola. It was very nice and probably about a bajillion calories, but I take no responsibility because I didn't make it.

Lunch - spicy tomato and chickpea soup. A packet of corn thins. An apple. Then it was a student's birthday, and her friend had made a cake and brought it in, so I had a piece. It was nice.

Dinner - salmon fillet baked in the oven. White rice. Stir fried veg. Roasted spiced cauliflower.

All very healthy, I think you'll agree. Shame I then fucked it up by eating an entire packet of McVitie's digestive thin chocolate sandwich biscuits and then getting up at 11:30pm and eating two buttered crumpets washed down with a hot chocolate. Time of the month. Meh.

women proud of the fact they ate badly some or most of the time?

I think the problem is that people are being made to feel bad for eating food that is perfectly good for you with a bit of rubbish now and again. It's not about being proud to eat rubbish, it's about saying that it's ok to indulge sometimes and it's ok to enjoy your food. I eat loads of veg, I eat it in curries and stews and with a roast and in all the hearty food that I like. It's important to remember that whilst obesity is no doubt a serious problem it's not the only kind of disordered eating and enjoyment of food, even bad food in moderation, is the healthiest thing for body and mind. Let's not forget that health isn't all just food and exercise is just as important.

Also the reason you are more likely to live a healthy lifestyle if you are very well off. Far easier if your life is easier.

This is very very true.

marymarkle, fantastic post.

There’s a terrible confusion between ‘good’ food that’s good because it tastes and looks nice, and ‘good’ food that’s good because it’s ‘healthy’.

A normal diet, which includes ‘processed’ food, will not contribute to ill health. There is no such thing as healthy eating, as it’s largely understood on here. The human body is a wonderful thing that can extract nutrients and excrete waste very efficiently, whether that’s from a Big Mac and fries or steak frite from a ‘darling little brasserie’.

Food mythology really pisses me off.

drspouse - I buy my bread from an organic baker, my butter direct from a farmer producer and cheese from cheesemongers with reputable non industrial suppliers. By “processed” I mean factory foods.

Thanks. And some of what passes for healthy eating here is not.

It's not about being proud to eat rubbish, it's about saying that it's ok to indulge sometimes and it's ok to enjoy your food

Yes!

Also I don't eat ready meals every night. I just don't cook fresh very often. If you must know, me and OH had salmon parcels from Tesco last night with mash and veg. I don't see that as ridiculously unhealthy but it took me less than 5 mins to put it all in the oven. I'm okay with that, I don't enjoy cooking. I have other stuff to do in the evenings that I need/want to do.

Tonight, we will probably have the quiche that the kids enjoy. And afterwards, if I want to, I'll have some chocolate!

PS. I've just had an apple for elevensies. Go me.

MariaNovella there is really nothing wrong with eating two slices of bread picked up from Tesco. It's all a bit mental.

maria You can buy decent food in supermarkets too. I use a local butchers and fishmonger and the supermarket.

MariaNoverella that must be expensive.

Also the reason you are more likely to live a healthy lifestyle if you are very well off. Far easier if your life is easier

Agree with this too

MariaNovella you just made the quintessential MN post. Love it.

My bread is woven from moonlight-harvested spelt by pixies, and my cheese is made using unicorn milk and made by hand using only unvarnished wooden implements made before the industrial revolution.