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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Is this a lot of food for an adult in one day

271 replies

dogexplosion · 13/04/2023 19:33

Adult female:

Breakfast - bowl of cereal with milk, apple juice
Lunch - chicken toastie with side salad and a few crisps, water
Snack (lunch was early) - beans on toast, 2 biscuits
Dinner - homemade chicken curry and rice with peas, water

Is this too much?

OP posts:
Babsexxx · 14/04/2023 06:26

Yes as your beans on toast is a extra meal two slices of toast and a tin of beans with no butter alone your looking at 600 calories believe it or not!

Thequeenofwishfulthinking · 14/04/2023 06:30

I think it’s fine. I probably eat a similar amount sometimes more. Everyone is different. If you input the details and portion sizes into a nutrition app you will get more information such as fat content, carbs and calories. Are you hungry before meals?

hopsalong · 14/04/2023 06:32

I don't think it's a lot. And beans on toast are great. FWIW I ate yesterday:

Almond croissant, large latte (whole milk), glass of apple juice, satsuma

Pasta with tuna and tomatoes, cheese, green beans, a few dates, a yoghurt

Some liquorice all sorts, some crisps, an apple, some almonds, maybe something else I have forgotten

Fish and chips (in a pub), mushy peas, olives, vegetable side, two pints of ale. (Didn't eat all the fish and chips because was very large.)

I didn't take much exercise because it was raining. If I had done a lot I would have eaten more in the evening. I am on the thin side of normal (five nine, bit over nine stone).

BibbleandSqwauk · 14/04/2023 06:35

@Babsexxx obviously it depends on the bread being used but my bread is 55cals a slice. I'd probably use about a third of a tin of beans so that snack would be more like 200-250 cals in my house.

MultipleVeganPies · 14/04/2023 07:05

MN is full of people with disordered eating and this kind of thread brings them all out. Witness the horror at “all those carbs”

glad to see some people are not yet affected though 🙂

Plannersareus · 14/04/2023 07:11

piedbeauty · 13/04/2023 21:21

That is a weirdly specific amount of food. Do you have issues around eating?

Show quote history

You can never win on these type of threads, many posters are saying the OP was not specific enough about quantities to provide a meaningful response. I've posted exactly what I ate. I don't have issues with food just a good memory of what I consumed today.

Heatherbell1978 · 14/04/2023 07:12

This is a ridiculous thread. If you ran a marathon on the same day then no it's probably not enough. If you spent the day on the sofa and are 5 stone overweight then you might want to cut out the snack.

TheObstinateHeadstrongGirl · 14/04/2023 07:34

00100001 · 13/04/2023 23:38

So...what do you eat?

Show quote history

I think MN should brace themselves for what I’m gonna describe, some people will need smelling salts..

Yesterday I had

Chocolate buttons for breakfast
Creamy Garlic mushrooms on sour dough with a can of coke for lunch
prawn cocktail crisps as a snack
sausage butty for dinner
Krispy Kreme donut
4 cans of Dr Pepper throughout the day

TheObstinateHeadstrongGirl · 14/04/2023 07:34

PS I’m thin

BansheeofInisherin · 14/04/2023 07:36

Ah I used to be able to eat like that. Then I turned 45. My thyroid is fine.
OP hasn't been back so another wind up thread.

LapinR0se · 14/04/2023 07:43

TheObstinateHeadstrongGirl · 14/04/2023 07:34

PS I’m thin

I’m not surprised you’re thin, that’s a small
amount of low-nutrition food

Onegingerhead · 14/04/2023 08:21

Unless portions are absolutely huge and the adult in question is really sedentary, it sounds ok. I wouldn’t be gaining on this.
Active, mid 40s, currently losing weight successfully and not really starving myself

CurlyTop1980 · 14/04/2023 09:11

TheObstinateHeadstrongGirl · 13/04/2023 20:33

I’m not sure being thin is ever worth having such miserable bland food in your diet.

Show quote history

I'm not thin! That is what I ate yesterday.

mumlikeaboss · 14/04/2023 15:41

Zhougzhoug · 13/04/2023 19:42

Biscuits are not “scarily” high calorie! There are 72 calories in a hob nob. Why is that scary?

Maybe because it's not so difficult to eat 10 of them if you're not concentrating 🤣

mumlikeaboss · 14/04/2023 15:43

TheObstinateHeadstrongGirl · 14/04/2023 07:34

PS I’m thin

Ah but are your insides healthy? 😁

What's being thin got to do with anything 🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️

mumlikeaboss · 14/04/2023 15:46

Blackalice · 13/04/2023 23:48

I am honestly in shock how little some people eat. How do you function?? Any other big eaters here??

I can pack away 3000 calories in a day without turning a hair 😁 but I'm over 6 foot tall...

Itakecreaminmycoffee · 14/04/2023 16:28

hopsalong · 14/04/2023 06:32

I don't think it's a lot. And beans on toast are great. FWIW I ate yesterday:

Almond croissant, large latte (whole milk), glass of apple juice, satsuma

Pasta with tuna and tomatoes, cheese, green beans, a few dates, a yoghurt

Some liquorice all sorts, some crisps, an apple, some almonds, maybe something else I have forgotten

Fish and chips (in a pub), mushy peas, olives, vegetable side, two pints of ale. (Didn't eat all the fish and chips because was very large.)

I didn't take much exercise because it was raining. If I had done a lot I would have eaten more in the evening. I am on the thin side of normal (five nine, bit over nine stone).

It’s mind-boggling to me that someone the same height as me can eat all this and be 9 stone. I haven’t been 9 stone since I was about 11yo!

As I posted before, I eat 1000-1200 calories per day, very little, and really struggle to get down to 10 stone. I’m currently 10.5 down from 12 stone at Christmas. It’s coming off reeeaaally slowly.

I have a friend who eats around 2000 calories per day, is 5”2” and weighs about 8 stone - also drinks like a fish. It’s gutting!

TheOrigRights · 14/04/2023 16:32

*As I posted before, I eat 1000-1200 calories per day, very little, and really struggle to get down to 10 stone. I’m currently 10.5 down from 12 stone at Christmas. It’s coming off reeeaaally slowly.

I have a friend who eats around 2000 calories per day, is 5”2” and weighs about 8 stone - also drinks like a fish. It’s gutting!*

If both people are eating to their hunger then the one with fewer calorific needs shouldn't feel hard done by.

I'm mostly surprised at how many people know how many calories they eat, though I think MN is very much not representative of society in this respect.

Itakecreaminmycoffee · 14/04/2023 16:40

If both people are eating to their hunger then the one with fewer calorific needs shouldn't feel hard done by.

Im not eating to satisfy my hunger though - I’m eating to try and get to a healthy weight! I don’t enjoy only being able to eat that amount - and yes I DO feel hard done by😂

Vegetus · 14/04/2023 16:48

I would bet my life on the fact you're not eating 1000-1200 calories, food labels can and do lie by as much 20%. If you cook with oil are you measuring or estimating a table spoon? Same with everything else all these little things add up. I get called crazy by some of my friends for weighing out a portion/rice pasta but when I see them dish food up it is mental to me what they consider a portion of rice.

I don't particularly track my intake all that much anymore I aim to hit 120g of protein a day and the rest falls into place as I've been at it for so long I'm pretty accurate. Go to the gym 5 days a week and nearly always get 10k steps in. I used to be 17 stone I'm now 10 stone. Lost weight slowly and steadily over about 2 years and have kept it off easily with lifestyle changes.

My diet is no different to how I ate at 17 stone other than portion sizes. All my decisions on a day to basis are different, I don't use lifts unless it's absolutely necessary, I park further away from shops I do everything in my power to not be sedentary as I think that was my biggest issue. Looking back on it I was a slob who'd tried evfery fad diet under the sun and was convinced I was destined to be fat forever. It all changed when I joined the gym and found a form of exercise that I enjoyed and wanted to be good at.

gogohmm · 14/04/2023 16:57

I eat quite a bit less and am overweight. That said without portion sizes it's hard to say if it's what I consider a portion of curry and rice or a bowl of cereal.

For comparison I have either toast with butter or cereal for breakfast. Herbal teas. A light lunch eg 3 crackers with cheese or a salad with cheese, or a sandwich with two slices bread, water and fruit or carrot sticks. Normal dinner for me is a small ish plateful (they are 3/4 size of normal ones). Alcohol only at weekends/special occasions. I'm still gaining, menopause!!

Itakecreaminmycoffee · 14/04/2023 17:10

Vegetus · 14/04/2023 16:48

I would bet my life on the fact you're not eating 1000-1200 calories, food labels can and do lie by as much 20%. If you cook with oil are you measuring or estimating a table spoon? Same with everything else all these little things add up. I get called crazy by some of my friends for weighing out a portion/rice pasta but when I see them dish food up it is mental to me what they consider a portion of rice.

I don't particularly track my intake all that much anymore I aim to hit 120g of protein a day and the rest falls into place as I've been at it for so long I'm pretty accurate. Go to the gym 5 days a week and nearly always get 10k steps in. I used to be 17 stone I'm now 10 stone. Lost weight slowly and steadily over about 2 years and have kept it off easily with lifestyle changes.

My diet is no different to how I ate at 17 stone other than portion sizes. All my decisions on a day to basis are different, I don't use lifts unless it's absolutely necessary, I park further away from shops I do everything in my power to not be sedentary as I think that was my biggest issue. Looking back on it I was a slob who'd tried evfery fad diet under the sun and was convinced I was destined to be fat forever. It all changed when I joined the gym and found a form of exercise that I enjoyed and wanted to be good at.

Nope, weigh/track everything too. Exercise daily and am active throughout the day. Don’t use oil/butter or anything. Don’t eat bread/pasta/rice so can’t underestimate that. Drinks are water/Diet Pepsi and 100ml skimmed milk in coffee each day - rarely drink alcohol. I just think it’s hard for people to grasp that some people just can’t eat the same as others and be slim. Everyone’s different!

TheOrigRights · 14/04/2023 17:12

Itakecreaminmycoffee · 14/04/2023 16:40

If both people are eating to their hunger then the one with fewer calorific needs shouldn't feel hard done by.

Im not eating to satisfy my hunger though - I’m eating to try and get to a healthy weight! I don’t enjoy only being able to eat that amount - and yes I DO feel hard done by😂

Do you exercise?

Itakecreaminmycoffee · 14/04/2023 17:15

I do brisk walking for an hour most days plus a 30 min Caroline girvin online tutorial (weights) - pretty active lifestyle too, I don’t sit around during the day. It’s baffling I know - I’m convinced my ancestors were hefty farming types and my body is designed to hold on to the weight🤣. I have thick wrists/ankles, size 7 feet/hands the same size as 6”2 dh - petite I am not!

ALongHardWinter · 14/04/2023 17:27

Sounds perfectly normal to me.