To think this isn’t the right foods to live on?

[KaleBeans]

DD is fairly young still (but old enough to choose what she’s eating since I’m not always seeing her all the time).

A typical day would be:

Breakfast: A banana, whole orange and mini cathedral city cheese.

Lunch: Jacket potato with butter and cheese. Or a tomato soup with slice of bread and butter. Or a ham sandwich with a pack of snapping Jacks and Kit Kat. On a Friday a portion of small chips.

Fruit: Whole pocket of pineapple fingers, sometimes x2. Watermelon. Half a cucumber. Celery stick with cream cheese. Smoothie.

Dinner: Often nothing. Sometimes pesto pasta with cheese.

Drinks at least 2 litres of ‘lemon infused’ water a day

This isn’t enough protein, is it?!

It's really not that bad?

That’s a lot of sugar and very little protein or complex carbs.

Two litres of artificially sweetened “water” will kill her appetite too.

Sidge it isn’t artificial, just sliced lemon in plain water with ice

It didn’t seem too bad until the lack of dinner

I’d include a protein and complex carbs at lunch and protein at dinner, carbs are very convenient though!

Encourage her to have more eggs, fish, chicken, pulses, nuts, yogurt etc

There’s not really any vegetables at all which I think is a huge concern

Oh apologies, I thought you meant it was that lemon flavoured water you can buy which is artificially sweetened. My mistake.

Why does she not eat dinner?

Her age would help people to say but if she's very young this doesn't seem awful. The fruit is good. Maybe add some eggs, nuts and vegetables.

Forgot to add that she will eat a Greek yoghurt as a snack, about 5 out of 7 days a week! But no dinners really. No vegetables so no proper nutrients

Why isn't she eating dinner. That is the biggest problem.

how old? I don't think it's a bad diet at all.

She could have a selection of crudités and dips or steamed broccoli/greens on alternate days and aim to have different combo of fruit salads each day

She’s 22. We’re very close. I’m a bit concerned for her eating habits. Have explained this to her and she hasn’t told me to back off, just wondered what to do as she says she’s happy

She will eat salmon with lemon for dinner if she comes for tea though, or mackerel, anything like that etc

It's quite a lot of protein, surely?

Cheese, then butter and cheese or ham, the more cheese.

How old is DD? I think I'd be more worried that it doesn't sound like a huge amount of food overall, and it is quite repetitive. She could do with adding in more veg and maybe varying the sources of the protein. But it's really not awful.

What age is she? Rarely eating dinner seems a little off to me?

Does she seem full of energy, and content enough?

Or are you worried there is something causing lack of appetite/ a strained relationship with food?

How old is she?

Is your worry that she's not eating enough or that she's deliberately not eating enough?

I have one DD with a similar diet and she just has a very small appetite. If my other DD ate that I'd be very worried as she naturally has a much bigger appetite so would be depriving herself deliberately.

@KaleBeans

Forgot to add that she will eat a Greek yoghurt as a snack, about 5 out of 7 days a week! But no dinners really. No vegetables so no proper nutrients

I agree she should eat more veg, but the way you phrase this makes me wonder if you're a bit OTT with eating. Veg aren't the only source of 'proper nutrients' (whatever that is supposed to mean).

She’s a nurse and also breastfeeding so I didn’t think it to be enough at all. She’s still like a little girl in my eyes so I worry sometimes didn’t want to say her she at the start of thread as I know loads of people would tell me to keep out entirely etc

Its healthier than a lot of peoples diets. With that kind of diet, if she's a healthy weight I'd leave her to it. Maybe get some protein cereal or cereal bars in if she'll have those as snacks but I wouldn't push her to eat differently, we all have our own eating pattern, it's best to let her listen to her body.

She’s 22...Leave her be.

It’s fine. If she’s having jacket potato at lunch, for example, she really doesn’t need another hot meal in the evening.

I hardly ever eat breakfast. Sometimes I don’t eat lunch either. Then I’ll have a substantial dinner. I eat when I’m hungry.

Seems fine to me. She's 22! She can make her own decisions about food.

It doesn't seem a lot if she is skipping dinner and restricting treats.
Anorexia is about control or lack of control using food intake to take control.
Is she very slim?

If she's an adult and a healthy weight. Stay well out of it. How would you feel if someone started criticising the way you eat?

If she’s having jacket potato at lunch, for example, she really doesn’t need another hot meal in the evening.

Really? I thought that was really bad. A jacket potato is hardly having a stuffing lunch