To wonder what posh Mums cook for dinner…

[Primrosecottagelover]

I have just seen Pippa Middleton’s bikini photos on the DM. Three different bikinis so far, washboard abs & nothing jiggles as she chases three kids. She could easily pass as a fibreglass mannequin. I’m wondering why it is that the Middleton women and affluent women (even middle class at my child’s school), always seem to be so impossibly slim. I struggle with my weight and I would love to see the groceries, fridge contents, packed lunchboxes and dinner plans of the other half. Obviously I know what healthy eating and cooking is but, the bodies of Mothers these days is next level. Why am I struggling to keep my tummy from flopping out while women in their 40’s pull off wearing linen mini shorts (not in UK) and high waisted jeans.

How tall you are you? 41kg really is tiny - like Olympic gymnast size.

PM is an athlete. I believe she has taken part in both triathlons and marathons so it's hardly surprising she has the body that she has. I imagine she does eat healthily but you can't participate in things like that whilst eating nothing. I think she looks great and some of the comments on here are spiteful and unwarranted.

I can't comment on the OP really as I don't know any posh people. But my body shape is slim like hers, just not nearly as toned. For me and anyone else I know similar to me I would say the starting point is the genes we have.

Just looked at the photos. You'll probably find she can eat quite substantially with that amount of muscle.

I battled with my weight from teens onward. Was very focused on being as skinny as possible and ate very restrictively but could never maintain any loss, yoyoed for years. The thing that changed everything, and that has given me the best body of my life in my 40s, is building muscle. I now have to make sure I eat enough calories to maintain my weight, or I lose weight very easily. I'm now bmi of 19.5 with 19% body fat. I eat healthy, with a focus on getting enough protein and fibre, most of the time. The difference now is I can go for a night out, or on an all inclusive holiday, or have an indulgent Christmas and not gain weight. My lifestyle before I built muscle meant that any deviation from my restrictive diet would result in instant weight gain. It was so depressing. Honestly - anyone feeling like they have to starve to be slim - work on building lean muscle. Life is so much more enjoyable now.

And on top of all of this - she is the future queen's sister and she is going to have a lifetime of being photographed, some with permission, some without.

I could do to lose a few pounds, but the incentive isn't always there. But I am bloody sure if I was regularly going to end up in glossy magazines, and know that my looks and physique were going to be the topic of numerous threads on numerous forums, I think that would be the daily incentive to ensure I always looked as good as I could.

I’m early 40s bmi 21.5. I do anywhere between about 4-6 hours of exercise per week. Eat what I want which is mainly a balanced diet but I don’t deliberately restrict anything. Stomach is flat but don’t have abs. Partly genetic but mostly because of the combination of exercise and a healthy diet. Work a very busy stressful job as does DH. I also don’t attach any emotion to food so if I do eat something higher in calories I don’t spend the next week feeling guilty. I’ll enjoy it just continue with my generally healthy diet.

She most likely exercises and eats a normal healthy diet. I doubt she is depriving herself. She probably can eat 2000 calories a day as she is active.
I am as slim as PM. I eat normal food. I try to limit UPF as much as possible but I don't deprive myself. I don't eat massive portions.

Most independent schools prioritise sport, so it's a habit formed early. State schools used to, but I don't think they do now. I used to do three afternoons PE a week.

Remember, really posh people feed their children early, then eat an adult ‘supper’ later. Those hearty ‘family meals’ only happen occasionally.

MC children tend be whippet thin, I think their portions are very small and loads of sports.

I thought she was rumoured to follow the Louise Parker method. At least before W and C wedding.

What is your routine? I need to do exactly this!

Two separate women I lived with during the course of my life who were as skinny as this both had undiagnosed eating disorders. One was bulimic and the other would starve herself for days, then eat nothing but cakes, crisps, chocolates - non stop cycles of this.

Both needed extensive dental work, and both had really foul tempers and issues with their menstrual cycle.

Incidentally, both from European countries that are known for particularly slim women. Neither smoked.

I believe it can be done healthily, but I have yet to witness it personally in a woman over 40.

My sister maintains a very healthy weight over 40, but doesn’t have a six pack, doesn’t attend a gym. She eats only twice a day and eats hardly any carbs, and only ever snacks on fruits. She doesn’t eat a chocolate or a biscuit for months at a time.

People are rarely objective about themselves, remember super fat super skinny? Both might say they eat normally. What is obvious is that calories of the thin ones are a lot less than they burn so if once a week they eat it seems like wow where do they put it? But the rest of the week they had been undereating probably. Or a fat person not eating much at a dinner party but the rest of the week been overeating.

The way I look at it is that it's basically their job.

If I spent the time I spent working on exercise, meal planning and beauty treatments, I'd probably look totally different to the way I look now

You're asking the wrong question. You should be asking what slim mums eat. Wealthy women are often OW and poor ones rail thin.

Obviously if your wealth gives you access to cosmetic surgery so you need have no 'imperfections' that takes you to a different level, but tbh the only woman I know who's had a 'mummy make over' is a receptionist without a partner.
The figure you are talking about is partly genetic, because some women at perfect weight will never have that balanced proportion, and the rest is diet and excercise. Either a good whole food diet with very little processed food and calorie controlled (which is cheap actually) or having very little money and barely eating at all. Excercise can be a carefully curated program from a PT, hours in the gym or simply lugging small children and their equipment up stairs, on and off buses and walking everywhere because you don't have a car.
Being wealthy makes everything easier, but your figure is what you eat and the excercise you do, and the best diet to stay slim is one of the most affordable ways to eat.

I dress for myself.

I think it’s a bit of a cop out to say - oh, they’re wealthy, can afford help so have the time to exercise. ……. It’s more they want to look well, fit into nice clothes, etc. They know to do this they need to eat good food and exercise regularly.

Most of us can find time to exercise if we really want to, from a 30 workout on a mat at home to exercise out of the house. We can cut out processed food and watch portion size. You don’t need to spend hours cooking to eat healthily.

It’s lack of education around nutrition and an over reliance on processed foods that makes people fat. Cut out the alcohol, sweets, biscuits, jars of sauces, crisps, bread, sugar, processed foods, etc and weight will drop off. Some amount of daily exercise (and very few can truly say they can’t find 15 minutes a day for home exercise). Once you get used to eating healthily, you really won’t miss the sugary, processed foods.

Uggggh. This skinny shaming competitive ‘lol these women have no lives’ because no sugar and too many chefs shit makes me crazy.

So I am a 6. 5 foot 8 and small of everything. I work 50 hours a week and do my own cleaning. I live on jam sandwiches and cheese, and exercise is my joy. You can see my muscles and I like that.

We all have different priorities and I am so sick of the sly, eye rolling tone evident in this thread.

A typical weeks dinners in our family might look like
Monday- curry with left over chicken from roast & rice
Tuesday- stir-fry with leftvover chicken, lots of veg and rice
Wednesday- salmon, potato & veg
Thursday - spaghetti bolognese
Friday- homemade pizza and salad
Saturday- home made fish and chip, peas
Sunday- roast

Edited to say everything cooked from scratch, so no jar sauces etc.

For breakfast we have porridge or yogurt with fruit or bagels. On the weekend i might make pancakes.

Im slim, almost same age as pippa and kate and definately don’t live off any of the suggestions i’ve read above (and not posh!). Plenty of my friends are slim in their 40’s - key is balance and not eating crap. I have 3 proper meals a day (definately not always homemade), don’t snack and walk everywhere I can (around work). Weekends we do walks with the kids. When I say I don’t snack, also don’t deny myself anything - if im meeting a friend for coffee, i’ll have a cake. But I wouldn’t sit at my desk eating a pack of biscuits every day.

I think half of the problem with weight in this country is people genuinely don’t realise the amount of calories they put in and modern lifestyle doesn’t help burn them off. For example, a standard shop bought sandwich, crisps and drink for lunch can be upto half the calories you need in a day (2000 for an active adult). If you’re working at a desk, you are not going to burn those calories and you’re not going to be an active adult unless you walk to work. I still eat a sandwich for lunch and often crisps too, but I bring my own and choose healthier crisps.

Everything is about balance and we do need to encourage active lifestyles as much as possible rather than just looking at what we eat.

Everything in moderation!

I eat healthily mainly. Don't drink often. Eat fish, chicken, salad because I like it.
Exercise sometimes. Eat chocolate sometimes. Start my eating at lunchtime with breakfast ( usually porridge, nut and fruit).

I'm in my 50’s, still the same size as I was at 16.

Sometimes I think the huge focus on ‘diets’ just increases the stress and the focus on denying foods - which makes us want them more. A cycle of dieting, not dieting and gaining weight because of the period of denying and then wanting again.

I wouldnt say the P or K Middleton have great body genetics or shape (torso too long, big shoulders hipe too narrow), it's all that sports and lifestyle.

Other people do their cooking and other people look after their kids. Being a Pippa, or another mega-groomed woman, requires the amount of work and attention that the majority of us put into our work and family lives. It costs.

This isn't "never been on a diet". It's just not a yo-yo diet. This is similar to what I eat apart from the small appetite and it's a permanent healthy eating plan. You've either been brought up by someone who follows this way of eating or made a conscious decision to follow it at some point.

Admittedly when you do make that decision and stick to it for a while, it's easier because you get to the stage when you don't want to eat sugary processed food.

I'm in my 50s, size 8, 52kg

Exercise most days, 3 meals per day, not many snacks

I think many people think their diet is more healthy than it really is. A few weeks using Myfitnesspal to track diet and exercise is eye opening