Average, healthy eating

[Hoghedge10]

I'm over weight, I also think I might have an eating disorder. I binge eat and also have incredibly unrealistic ideas about how much an average person eats.

I'm thinking of going to my Doctor, however I would really appreciate some ideas of how much an average person eats and exercises. I understand not everyone is the same and there are extremes on both ends but some realistic idea of how a fully functioning adult eats would be incredibly helpful.

If you are an 'average' (whatever average is?!) Person with reasonably healthy eating patterns would you mind sharing an average meal day for you and what, if any exercise you do.

Cut off!

Conscious effort to not try and rush it, i want ot to stick.

Anyhow, sorry!! Your post resonated and this has been radically life changing to me already so wanted to share!

Breakfast - hard boiled egg & coffee
Mid morning snack - piece of cake
Lunch - soup & piece of fruit or 2
Dinner - shepherd's pie, peas & broccoli. Pudding small bowl of apple crumble.
Evening - coffee & 2 pieces choc.

Slim size 8-10. I try not to eat too much bread/carbs.

I'm a normal healthy weight, but that doesn't mean I'm healthy! I eat loads of choc / biscuits sometimes. My meal portions aren't massive though, I use small plates.

Yesterday I had Greek yog, fruit and granola for breakfast, about 3 heaped spoonfuls each.

Lunch was 2 pieces of toast with 2 scrambled eggs and avocado.

Dinner was lentil pasta in a creamy sauce with salmon, peas and spinach. A cereal bowl full portion.

I also had an apple, a creme egg, some cake and a slice of toast with peanut butter as snacks, and a small glass of wine in the evening.

In the week I eat healthier low carb lunches like bean soup or stir fry with no rice.

I have a massive appetite. Absolutely huge. Man sized. I am constantly thinking of food and what I can eat next and when. I get a huge amount of pleasure from food.
I am size 10 (size 8 on top due to non existent tits) This is purely and simply because I deny myself what I actually want to eat. I feel like I am on a diet every day of my life.
Average day:
Protein yoghurt and granola
Tuna wrap and crisps/soup and toast/avocado and egg on bagel
Stir fry/ready meal/pasta bake
Snacks are a biscuit in the evening, fruit (provided by work, else I wouldn't eat it)
I drink endless amounts of decaf coffee and tea to try and fill the void. I go to the gym 5 times a week.
I log what I eat and when I log at weekends, I eat what I want, and it's regularly 2500-3000 calories per day over the weekend.
It's not a miserable existence, as I do enjoy my food still.
But if I had three wishes, one of them would absolutely be that unhealthy food was good for you.

@Bigoldhag, that's a great post. Really inspirational and YOU are smashing it ! 🙌

Not sure how average I am but I have to work very hard to stay slim and by slim I don’t mean Vicky Beckham slim, I just mean a normal weight for my height (5’7).

I do HIIT workouts 3x a week, yoga or Pilates twice a week, I’m starting week 4 of the couch to 5k programme tonight and I make sure I get at least 10k steps a day but it’s usually between 12 and 20k steps.

Eating wise breakfast is usually porridge with skinny syrup, choc shot, a banana and grapes or I’ll have the same toppings on weetabix or special k. Lunch is usually eggs or salmon and veg, sometimes a jacket potato with tuna and salad. Dinner we have all different things, tonight I’m making ramen. I apply portion control so make sure I’m not overloading a bowl/plate. Snack wise I only have fruit and nakd bars tbh. Once a week I’ll have a treat like a plain mcflurry after swimming with DC or DH will bake a cake and we’ll have it with custard (small slice).

Yeah, it isn’t fun but it’s the only way I can maintain a healthy weight. If I eat junk and don’t exercise as much the weight piles on.

Breakfast - one of: bowl of low sugar cereal, muesli or porridge; or two pieces of whole grain toast with peanut butter; or a banana and Greek yoghurt with seeds and a drizzle of honey on top

Mid morning snack: piece of fruit or a couple of biscuits

Lunch: bowl of soup and a bread roll; or a sandwich; or a salad

Afternoon snack: slice of malt loaf with lurpak lighter or popcorn or crisps or a piece of cheese

Dinner: hot meal like chilli con carne and rice, lamb stew, pasta bake, fish and veggies etc.

At about 9pm I have a crème caramel or a low fat yoghurt or a couple of dates or a bit of chocolate.

It means I end up eating something about six times a day which is probably not what you're "meant" to do but I get too hungry otherwise! I keep the portions small and try and pick healthy options.

I think I'm a fairly ordinary eater. My bmi is about 24, so on the high end of normal. I could do more exercise but I walk a lot.

Breakfast: boiled egg, toast, tea, mandarin

Coffee: coffee with a scone or couple of biscuits. Maybe some fruit.

Lunch: sandwich, small bowl of soup, few tomatoes, olives, pickles, things like that

Afternoon: an apple

Dinner: regular home cooked meal, but plenty of veg, my plate would be a third protein, third carbs, third vegetables. Portions aren't huge.

After dinner: a square or two of chocolate. I'd only rarely have pudding.

My downfalls are crisps and booze. I try not to buy crisps and if I do I portion control by never buying sharing bags. I have a glass or two of wine probably 4 days a week, which I should cut down on.

I have the same issues as you, OP. I am currently dieting by calorie-counting, but I'm so confused about what is normal and what is undereating or overeating. Here is an example of what I am currently eating in a day:

Breakfast - Actimel yogurt with no added sugar or fat (about 250 calories)
Lunch - Leftover chicken stew (about 400 calories)
Snack - Salt and vinegar rice cake (43 calories)
Dinner - Spaghetti Bolognese with salad (about 520 calories)

I am losing weight with this, but the portions feel so small to me and I have no idea how I could ever have a treat like a packet of Doritos or cheese and crackers without putting on weight.

I decided it was time to sort out my totally disorganised eating habits in January. I also use the nutracheck app and don't really restrict anything but I do count all calories. I've lost 16lbs in 5 weeks.

A typical day for me

Breakfast; poached egg, 2 rashers of bacon, 1 sausage, tinned tomatoes and sometimes a slice of toast

Lunch; 3 crisp breads, cottage cheese, celery, apple

Dinner; fish or meat with vegetables and occasional baked potato.

I snack on aero choc mousse or hula hoop pufts or Carr's melts with dairylea

Normal calorie requirement for a woman is 2,000 daily
Add up the calories of what you are eating normally for a few days and average it out?
Obviously, if that 2,000 is made up of vegetables and protein, that's better than cakes, biscuits and carbs.
Nearly all food states the nutritional value on the packet - you can get fancy apps and stuff, but just start with noting it down on a sheet of paper.

I'm not a health guru but tend to be healthyish

A typical day

Breakfast - fruit and yoghurt / fruit and fibre cereal / weetabix

Lunch - soup and bread / avocado toast/ chicken salad wraps

Dinner - chicken rice and veg / veggie pasta bake / stir frys

I don't tend to snack but if I do it's normally a light babybel or fruit :)

OP Might this help? About proportions of different foods:

www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/healthy-eating-plate/

The authors say that different people will need different quantities of food, depending on activity level etc etc.

Unprocessed food much, is much better for you than processed.
www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/318630

This is for children, but if you are trying to cut back, it might be useful for portion control:
www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/kids-healthy-lunchbox-guide/
Towards the end of the webpage, it has something on snacks, with the important message, keep them small.

I am lucky in that I love exercise and sport so that bit comes easy to me. I run, use my spin bike, cycle and walk a lot during the week.

The food bit is harder. I force myself to eat oily fish and green veg for lunch three or four times a week, with fruit and yogurt for breakfast. It's a real trial though as I don't really enjoy it.

Then I just eat crap - lots of chocolate, cake and ready meals the rest of the time.

@livingthegoodlife

Breakfast - hard boiled egg & coffee Mid morning snack - piece of cake Lunch - soup & piece of fruit or 2 Dinner - shepherd's pie, peas & broccoli. Pudding small bowl of apple crumble. Evening - coffee & 2 pieces choc.

Slim size 8-10. I try not to eat too much bread/carbs.

Breakfast and lunch defo not "normal" imo on this one. Defo an under eat throughout the day although tea / pudding is normal.

Absolutely not a personal attack to this person- if this is what works for you cool. Just letting OP know, as she asked for what's normal.

Women in my family (including my grand-mother), who are healthy and reasonably slim:

breakfast: coffee and slice of toast, or a yogurt, or a banana, or some cereals.
The occasional pastries when going away or staying with friends.

Lunch:
starter (veg, or pate or any starter really)
meat or fish + veg,
cheese, a yogurt or a fruit

cup of tea, sometimes 1 biscuit in the afternoon.

diner:
soup, slice of ham, or cheese, sometimes an omelette.
a yogurt

If and when invited by friends or to restaurant, eat what they are given, and make much bigger meals without blinking. if there's cake, they eat cake, they like cake . Tend to try eating too much in the evening as give them stomach ache when they go to bed.

Reasonable portions, and just no need for "treat food" and constant snacks every single day, or to eat more than an apple or a banana after a couple of hours of exercise.

You would be very welcome over on the low carb boot camp threads. Very friendly and supporting for anyone following low carb for health and / or weight loss.

Only in the UK is it considered "normal" to eat and snack constantly, and to have a diet based around potatoes, and pasta.

nothing wrong with pasta, pizza, jacket potatoes... once in a while, but the love for stoggy and heavy food is very cultural.

@Lemonweightloss thank you! I appreciate im coming off a bit preachy, but this is honestly a game changer.

The reality is is that people who’ve never overeaten habitually or been overweight just don’t understand with all the will in the world!

So I am a three meals a day (home cooked) with an occasional snack.

breakfast - Porridge with fruit
Lunch - homemade soup of some kind (usually root veg or tomato base).

Dinner (examples from last week) - scrambled eggs with mushrooms on toast-pasta with sauce/meat- burger (no bread roll) with spinach & beetroot salad

Snacks can be fruit-yogurt etc. Also have a bit of chocolate (1 section).
Never touch fizzy drinks. Tea-coffee-water-occasional juice or ribena.
Usually have one shop bought meal a week (Friday night usually).

Exercise can be a 4/5 mile run, cycle somewhere or yoga/HIIT exercises at home. Also do a lot of walking, listening to a podcast usually.

Good luck. My one top tip is don't turn exercise etc into a debate in your head e.g. You don't want to go for a walk, you are going for a walk regardless.

I think we all eat ‘normal’ here, and all average size.

One thing that’s helped increase veg consumption and healthier eating in general is I always make extra with dinner even if one thing like veg , as then more likely to have with something for lunch or alongside next dinner rather than if we have to cook the second half from scratch

We had leftovers for lunch today which were actually a mixture of the last two nights dinners and fridge random bits.
Roast veg couscous, roasted new potatoes, tzatziki, green beans, beetroot, Brie.
If they hadn’t been pre done We would have just had a toasty or something with fruit.

Breakfast and lunch defo not "normal" imo on this one. Defo an under eat throughout the day although tea / pudding is normal.

a heavy diner is not "normal" for everybody. I like the irony of judging someone for not being "normal" because they have ...different habits - especially when the post is completely honest and mention cake.

Someone eating less than you does not mean they are "under eating".

I think my eating habits are pretty ‘normal’ (well apart from the fact we are vegan) and fairly healthy. Not always been this way though as lost over 3 stone since beginning of first lockdown, maintained for approx 6 months now. I try to eat a lot of protein as I am menopausal.
Breakfast: coffee with I slice seeded bread and peanut butter. Followed by protein shake mid morning
Lunch: (this is our main meal usually) tofu/ pulses etc with lots of veg (at least half a plate) and a small portion carbs. Meals might be stew, lentil bolognaise, stir fry, homemade burgers and potato wedges with salad
Dinner: salad with tofu or other protein and maybe a few new potatoes
Snack: Greek style soya yoghurt

Exercise: mix of weight training, stretching and cardio exercises. I jog 2-3 times a week for 25 mins and do 30-45 mins workouts on most other days. Sometimes a little more if I feel like it.

I do a lot of exercise, 12500 steps average over a year and I run 20-30 miles a week, so bear that in mind when thinking about this! I have a normal BMI, about 22.5, and I'm quite tall. Both the amount of exercise and height influence what a normal day's eating looks like - a smaller person who did less exercise would eat less than me i expect.

Yesterday:
Breakfast: oatsosimple porridge with skimmed milk, 2 americanos
Then 10k race with an additional 1.3 miles warm up, and quite a bit of walking around London

Lunch: Flat white, small fresh orange juice, sweetcorn fritter with poached egg, guacamole and added halloumi

Snack : some salt and vinegar crisps and a velvetiser hot chocolate

Dinner: we had a special valentines meal, so was 3 courses, i ate all the starter but about 2/3rds of the main (beef wellington) and half the dessert. cocktail to start and a glass of red wine.

Today:
Breakfast: baked frittata, and i also ate the other half of the leftover dessert. 2 americano coffees.

snack: single speculoos biscuit, 2 aniseed twists.

lunch: prawn and bulghur wheat salad, usually around 600 calories (my husband and I share kbk meal deliveries for lunch)

there'll probably be another snack before dinner, and dinner will be from hellofresh.

I don't drink that many times a week, maybe twice.

@Confusedtraveler

Breakfast and lunch defo not "normal" imo on this one. Defo an under eat throughout the day although tea / pudding is normal.

a heavy diner is not "normal" for everybody. I like the irony of judging someone for not being "normal" because they have ...different habits - especially when the post is completely honest and mention cake.

Someone eating less than you does not mean they are "under eating".

So OP asks "would really appreciate some ideas of how much an average person eats".

I personally don't think that coffee and one boiled egg for breakfast is how an average person eats breakfast.

Egg with toast is average. Egg with avocado is average. Egg with beans is average.

One boiled egg on its own is not average.

Absolutely not a personal attack on people who eat like that. It's their body and their choice and everyone is different. However I wouldn't say this is how an average person eats.