To ask what you think of my average "working day" food?

[Stamen196]

Just got off phone to doctors. BMI is 37 and I need to get it down to below 30 for many reasons.

Background: I carry my weight relatively well so am a size 16, but this doesn't help as I just let it creep up without many people seeming to notices. I have PCOS, not planning on kids so no particular issue with fertility, but it does affect my ability to lose weight and metabolism.

I would say this is my average working day:

• Breakfast: 6.30am. porridge with honey or fruit and fibre with milk). Cup of tea.

-Snack: 10ish. Usually a mini kit kat or apple, or both if I'm hungry!

• Lunch: 12.30. Soup and bag of low cal crisps such as pop chips for lunch, and maybe a yoghurt if I'm home or an apple. On a particularly bad day, a couple of biscuits.

• 3.30pm: Afternoon snack. If I'm out it's a skinny cappuccino. If I'm in, whatever is in house. I am tired and energy levels low and so reach for 2 biscuits (not if I've had biscuits at lunch though). 🙄

• 8pmish: Dinner. Usual types of thing such as jacket potato, mushroom risotto, salmon stir fry or pasta, but probably a bigger portion than I realise. Veggies in there though. Some sort of sweet thing afterwards... Usually chocolate.

I only drink wine at weekends but I tend to stick to 1 glass. But my weekend diet is probably way worse with a meal out or takeaway featuring at some point!

What do you all think of my average day of eating compared to your own? Is it awful? Any tips would be very gratefully appreciated.
Do you worst....I need it!

You've said your diet is worse at weekends and that could easily sabotage any weight loss even if you eat healthily on the other 5 days. Obviously it depends on what exactly you eat, but a takeaway or meal out could easily come in at 2000 calories which is like adding another whole day's worth of food. I don't know if this is the case for you but don't make the mistake of thinking that if you eat healthily in the week you can eat whatever you like on a weekend and still lose weight!

It's probably been done to death but there is an awful lot of sweet things in there. They give you a quick pick me up but don't fill you up and will probably make you feel hungrier, in the long term.

Download my fitness pal and accurately record everything you eat for a few days. Then set yourself a weight loss goal of 2lb per week. You have a lot to lose and a high bmi so this should give you a pretty decent calorie allowance. You will probably find that you can meet that allowance by stripping out all the sugary stuff. You will also be surprised how quickly you get used to not eating that much sugar (I'm talking from experience here - cake is my nemesis and always trashes my maintenance if I have it more than once or twice a week because the sugar cravings come back)

Is your soup homemade? Canned soup can be quite high in calories

I've just done a tot up on MFP and I reckon I eat between 1800 and 2000 calories on week days.

My TDEE is about 2000 calories.

Think of your entire day's intake. Is 50% of it vegetables and fruit (emphasis on veg)? If not, start there.

I don't get a takeaway every week, sorry. I might cook a nice home cooked meal, or go out for lunch.

When I mentioned big boned, I just meant that my frame is pretty large for my height and I also am quiet muscly. I just mentioned that because someone questioned why I am a size 16 with BMI of 37. I'm not using it as an excuse now, although I have done in the past!! I'm taking the BMI as what it says on the tin.

@Porthesia

Is your soup homemade? Canned soup can be quite high in calories

It's really not.

And as for 'You eat a hell of a lot more than I do - most of which is sugar - and I run 50-odd miles a week
With wine and takeaways at weekends as well, I think you have your answer as to why you have a BMI of 37', well I can counteract that by saying that it sounds like the OP eats better and less than I do, and walks further, and I somewhat miraculously have a BMI of around 26/27 and am a comfortable size 14.

OP, are you sure your TDEE is only 2000 calories - mine is 2100 to 2400 on 10-15k steps per day, 12 stone, age 47.

@Stamen196

I've just done a tot up on MFP and I reckon I eat between 1800 and 2000 calories on week days.

My TDEE is about 2000 calories.

Little things add up quickly. Things you don't even realise you are eating. MFP is a hassle, but if you use it properly it will highlight the areas you need to change a lot better than this thread will.

The crisps you are eating are 120cal, depending on the biscuit they are around 50cal each, Choc bar in event is around 220cal and the mini Kit Kat is 120cal. That's 510 calories EVERY DAY on junk! If you are aiming for about 1,200 - 1,500 calories a day this is a huge portion of that, not to mention the fact they are empty calories and the sugar content.

How much porridge and Honey do you have for breakfast? I also had this breakfast and know exactly how much I have - it might be helpful to compare so you can have more awareness of portion sizes.

Start today - be the person you want to be.

Also as others have said, big/heavy bones is a myth

OP, I'd say your lunch looks way too light, unless your soup is really chunky and almost "stew", with pulses in it. That would never satisfy me, anyway, I'd be chewing my hand off by 3pm. More food needed here, with good protein and some carbs and a pile of salad, and you'd not need that afternoon pick me up as much. You may still need something as that's a long time between lunch and dinner though.

This is a great source of high protein recipes - and if you like his recipes then I really recommend his series of high protein handbooks. They're pretty cheap, and downloadable.

www.foodforfitness.co.uk/high-protein-recipes/

(The chicken satay I made was from the website - it was lovely!)

Sorry 'event' should be 'evening'

Ok forget your supposed TDEE - try calories and see how you go. Like I said upthread you're unlikely to eat what the internet says your TDEE is due to yo yo ing.

My typical day:

Breakfast: 2x large boiled eggs with 6 Melba toast crackers (no butter). 2 cups black coffee.

Mid morning: 2 rich tea biscuits, 1 banana. Black coffee

Lunch: ALWAYS homemade soup (today was chicken and sweetcorn chowder) with a flatbread (no butter), bag of low-fat lentil crisps, can of diet lemonade.

Dinner: homemade beef bolognese with extra veg, 20g wholewheat pasta.
Pudding: fruit salad with Alpro plain yogurt.
Decaf black coffee.

There are 😱 obviously loads of carbs here, but I lose weight like this. I’m following the WW Green plan and I’ve lost 4 stone in a year. I can’t recommend it enough, totally sorts your portion control out and the app is amazing.

I lost weight much faster than this on a low-carb plan but I missed crisps and chocolate! 😆 If I wanted to low-carb now I’d switch to the WW Blue plan where fish, lean meat and eggs are all 0 points.

I think you need to track your calories. Everything you've put sounds fine. But you wouldn't have BMI of 37 if it was actually fine.
Def cut out the biscuits, chocolate and crisps. And track all the other calories. It all adds up quickly.

I think you need to add more protein and a bigger and healthier portion of lunch.

I have pcos and was advised by my consultant and the dietitian to increase protein and veg/salad at meal times.

Sadly I find I really have to keep a strict eye on what I eat, otherwise my weight /BMI go over the healthy range. Metaformin can also help weight loss.

@BarbaraofSeville Oh, I think I meant BMR not TDEE! I've checked again and TDEE is actually coming up as 2366 calories.

Soup is a mixture of home made, tin or posh carton stuff depending on time, budget and mood!

That tdee does sound low unless you are short. I'm a moderately active 5'4 50 year old with a bmi of 25 and mine is just short of 1900.

I use MFP. This was 1200 cals (55 cal yoghurt not pictured) no dressing on the feta salad
Just for a visual!
Weigh and track everything, I'm 5ft 10 and losing but it's slow

Cross posted - sorry!

Your diet doesn't sound awful to me, but you'll need to make sure your portions are ok. The KitKat and crisps and biscuits aren't optimal and at least one if not two of those need to go - they're just empty calories and don't fill you up.

Tbh I eat way more crisps and cake than you but I exercise an hour a day at least. Steps aren't a great measure of exercise, unless you're going out for a walk to get your steps in rather than moving from desk to kettle.

More lean protein, especially at lunch
More veg (not fruit)
Fewer refined carbs
Ditch the daily crisps, dailt kitkat, daily chocolate.

Are you drinking enough water?

I do think my metabolism is screwed due to the yo yo as others have said, but also I'm definitely eating the wrong things.

@Bahhh

Big boned is kind of bollocks.

I agree.

@lemuriformes Thanks. I'm checking it out!