If you are short and thin please tell me what you eat?

[Guine]

I am 5 ft 3. Have lost 25 pounds. Have a goal weight of 125 pounds. I should add that I have PCOS which means I put on weight easily.

Just wondering if you can only be that slim if you have a naturally high metabolism/are very active.
I’m on a lot of dieting forums and many people (my height) say it is just not sustainable for them to be below 10 stone.

But having said that you see plenty of slim people who don’t appear to be massively restricting.

I consume 1300 calories to lose weight. Exercise 3/4 x a week.

Just figuring out my goal.

Also meant to add, I rarely drink alcohol and never ever skip a meal, especially breakfast. A high protein breakfast keeps you fuller for longer. Think overnight oats with yoghurt/ nut butter: seeds etc.

5’4” here. I weigh between 7.5-8st and always have. I probably have a pretty unhealthy diet - lots of fruit but also chocolate, cake, sweet cereal, lots of carbs daily. I eat big portions, have trouble stopping when full, and snack on UPF throughout the day.

BUT I am extremely anxious and move around constantly. Can’t just sit - always jiggling. Walk everywhere I can. And don’t drink alcohol or anything other than water.

My mother is small and thin despite also eating badly.

Loads, compared to most people on this site. I'm a selective eater though. Autistic and diagnosed ARFID as a child though I'm much better than I used to be. I'm too thin at the moment - 5"4 and 45kg, I'm normally around 48, but I have awful anxiety and I'm going through a bad time right now due to some life circumstances. When I'm well my diet is like:

Breakfast - protein bar, fruit, coffee. Too much coffee, I'm trying to cut down on caffeine.
Lunch - sandwich with quorn ham and tomatoes, full fat yoghurt
Dinner - potatoes, veggie sausages, veg, dark chocolate or another protein bar.
Snack: fruit or nuts or similar in bar form. Maybe another yoghurt.

Its very repetetive, but I've counted calories before (trying not to lose more weight) and I need at least 2000 to maintain, bare minimum. I think its because I have anxiety and no car. I do normally go to the gym a few times a week but life circs have put the kibosh on that right now and its made 0 difference to my weight. I do get comments like "I wish I had your metabolism" but honestly its no pleasure to me, I'm averse to many foods and anxiety kills my appetite. I'm an eat to live person.

One thing I would say though is I don't drink alcohol. Its just really bad for my mental health.

I weigh about 110-115 (virtually never weigh myself so not sure exactly!) and I'm your height. I am tee total, I eat every few hours so I never really get hungry. I'm pretty active, I don't ever diet or count calories but I do eat really healthy, only because I enjoy it. It makes me feel good.

I eat Stuff like cheese on rye, and sweetcorn with carrot, for lunch, baked potato and tuna for dinner, that kind of thing.

my mum is 5ft 2 and weighs less than 8 stone wet. She eats a massive bowl of porridge for breakfast every morning, has an apple mid morning, eats things like scrambled egg on toast, veg soup, hummus and and veg sticks and more fruit for lunch, usually eats fish and vegetarian for dinner, maybe chicken once a week, rarely eats cheese or dairy (soya yogurt), skimmed milk in tea and coffee but mostly drinks herbal teas, no soft drinks and hardly ever drinks alcohol, and if she eats carbs she'd consider 2 new potatoes a portion. She's in her 70's but relatively active. I regularly feel faint when I stay at their house and she expects me to eat the same

I’m 4ft 11 and about 7st 2lb. I don’t eat that much really and just eat to my appetite on days I’ve done more exercise I’m generally more hungry so eat more those days. I can’t sit and eat a big meal I’m more little and often.

i was 9st 12lb 10 years ago and I took up running and became much more mindful of what I eat and if I’m hungry. It took me a good couple of years to lose weight but I’ve managed to keep it off.

I guess it’s metabolism for me. I get hungry quickly but can’t actually eat much at a time. So if we bought a cake from a bakery, I’d have to half it and eat the second half another day.
Typical day for me would be
Breakfast: one or two boiled eggs with two slices of sour dough and a cup of tea.
Lunch: chicken or falafel pitta filled with salad and cheese. Handful of crisps.
Dinner: whatever is normal but I wouldn’t have more than a fistful of each part of the meal.

drinks are water, plus three cups of tea.
snacks are a protein smoothie with kefir and usually a chocolate biscuit or similar.
I don’t drink alcohol

i weight 7.8 stone and I am 5ft3

Are you OK? Sounds like you have disordered eating and at the very least will be very nutrient deficient. Would be worth having a chat with someone as 800 calories isn't good for you.

I'm 5 foot 4 and stay between 7 stone 9 and 8 stone. Here's quite a detailed log for you if that helps?

Today is a typical day of eating
Breakfast 9am : smoothie with avocado, strawberry, blueberry, banana, full fat greek yogurt (3 heaped dessert spoons) and a heaped teaspoon of peanut butter and 3 heaped teaspoons of cocoa powder
Lunch 2pm: cheese on toast with 2x gluten free bread ends (they're thick but small) and full fat mature cheddar. Brown sauce for dipping. Handful of strawberries with a generous dollop of whipped double cream
Cup of rooibos tea with organic whole milk
Dinner will be homemade tomato sauce, gluten free brown rice pasta, lidl vegetarian sausages, and cheese grated on top. Dessert will probably be more fruit (kiwi or strawberry) and another cup of tea. Then before bed I'll provably have a peanut butter oat bar or some dried fruit and nuts

I don't exercise much as I have M.E but i do try and walk 25 minutes 3x a week and also get out in my garden. I avoid UPFs as much as possible, don't drink alcohol, avoid soft drinks, dont eat out or get takeaways (due to intolerances). I also tend to eat similar things each day at similar times. I've been the same weight since I was 12 years old and I'm now 32.

I think there is a big difference in maintenance of 8-9 stone across your life vs losing weight and maintaining at 8-9 stone.

i think if you are in the latter camp you need to be very disciplined and set yourself up for success and consistent indefinitely
eg. Same 14 dinner meals where you know the macros on rotation
same breakfast every day
weigh yourself daily
no alcohol or v limited

i am 5”3 and had to eat between 1300-1500 to maintain and 8.5-9 in my late 20s plus gym classes and just could not sustain it after I got injured.
im aiming to maintain at 10 st when i finish losing baby weight this time as i dont think i can commit to disciplined eating and gym x 4 per week

I’m 5’5 and weigh about 8.5st but I don’t generally weigh myself or count calories. I don’t have any scales. I’ve never been on a diet. I’m late 50s. I eat breakfast and evening meal, usually, and only sometimes lunch. I work full time in a sedentary job. I eat chocolate every day,- a crunchie or the like. It’s quite carb heavy too. However, I don’t drink alcohol at all or eat meat. Snacks are usually fruit and hummus and nuts.

But how much?

I'm 5ft and about 7st10. I have always eaten whatever I want, including quite a lot of snacks and rubbish every day! But I am vegetarian and eat reasonably healthy meals most of the time. Think I must have a naturally fast metabolism but I am approaching 40 so this may change. I have been pregnant and/or breastfeeding for the last 4 years and that is really using up a lot of calories, during the newborn stages I was constantly starving! I realise having a baby is not a practical weight loss tip 😆

The lack of green veg or balanced diets on here is scary!

OP, I'm 5 ft 1 and around 8 stone 10. Typically I eat yogurt, berries, nuts and seeds or eggs, spinach etc for breakfast. Lunch is a chicken salad with lots of veg, soup with gluten free bread or leftovers from the night before. Dinner is fish or meat with green veg or a veggie curry with brown rice type thing. I don't really snack but if I do it might be hummus or peanut butter on oat cakes or veg and hummus or cacao made with almond milk. I try to do 30 different plant based foods a week, 6 to 8 veg a day, including 1 fruit, and around 90 grams of protein a day. But I don't strictly track it.

I’m your height and goal weight. I have to keep my calories at about 1200 a day to maintain it. Anymore and I start to gain. The difference between what my tall friends and I can eat is heart breaking!

Hi OP, well done on the weight loss, it’s great to feel healthier. I’m 5 ft 1 and 7 and a half stone, which is a size 6 for me. I would be heavier if I exercised as I’ve little muscle since I stopped last year (I’m vowing to start again so I feel more vital). I think my meals are anywhere between 600-800 calories a day, as I eat fairly high fat high carb even though it’s from scratch as I am a sucker for fatty savoury salty cheesiness. I’ll be honest, I do nothing to maintain this weight other than I don’t snack because I was raised to eat proper meals and then wait until the next meal time, we didn’t have money for more. I don’t eat sugar either, i don’t have a sweet tooth unless I’m hormonal. I think this has given me a good grehlin and insulin set up. I don’t know if my weight is genetic or because of my eating habits for sure, but I think it’s eating habits as not all the women in my family are like me. Please do not skip meals - you will mess up all those important internal systems. I would say that the scale is a nonsense compared to how you feel and look. My scale says I’m heathy but I couldn’t run the length of myself - doesn’t sound right to me.

I eat what I like (and not very healthy) but the biggest difference I’ve found is walking a lot vs sedentary. If I don’t walk a lot I start gaining, and walking has been more useful than going to the gym for weight loss.

a typical day might be:

1. porridge with fruit and whole milk and 2 lattes
2. one of those ravioli packs with olive oil or leftovers eg pasta salad or a meal deal.
3. dinner usually something like curry, shepherds pie, chili, protein + veg tray bake.
4. Always something sweet in the evening eg one piece of chocolate or share a slice of cake with DH.

But we eat out a lot too and I’d happily have a massive Chinese takeaway on a weekend.

Have PCOS and Wright about 115 pounds.

I’m 5’1 and weigh about 7.5 stone. I can eat what I want and don’t put on weight, but I’ll caveat that by saying that it’s clearly genetic as my mum, sisters, aunt, cousins all have the same build and my dad was quite slender as well. I also have a smaller appetite than most people, and walk almost everywhere.

Typical day of food for me:

Breakfast: Cereal (mini wheats or similar) with milk
Morning snacks: Choc chip brioche, couple of biscuits
Lunch: Sandwiches (cheese and ham, ham and tomato, chicken etc) made with white bread
Afternoon snacks: Another brioche, apple or another piece of fruit, maybe a bar of chocolate if I need a boost at work
Dinner: Something like spaghetti bolognaise, stir fry, risotto, or something more basic like chips and sausages (once a week)
Evening snacks: a biscuit or a few pieces of chocolate

I don’t drink much - maybe one glass of wine in the evening at weekends.

But as I said, I think it’s genetics and having a smaller appetite compared other people. For example, if I had a big lunch, I wouldn’t cook a main meal for dinner as well - I’d do a sandwich or scrambled eggs or something, so my food intake would be the same as a normal day.

I’ll have a coffee and a few cups of tea during the day, but generally only drink water after that.

Im 5'2 and 7.1 stone. Naturally petite and really dont watch what I eat - great little figure when I was younger, now 47 just simply not toned despite not changing weight for years and years.

Genetics for sure - sister and mum are the same - although less 'gangly' than me. I'm also a fidget and find it hard to sit still.

Foodwise, I dont really watch what I eat and go by hunger really - and have no issue with alcohol consumption... that said, the only thing I don't do (as I guess my appetite is naturally small) is snack. Im that type of annoying mumsnet beast, who wouldn't have a starter as 'I couldn't possibly, it would put me off my mains...' 😁

It really would.

Same here @Bananasatchristmas - if we’re out for a meal, I know that I won’t manage a full three courses. I tend to skip the starter and go for main and dessert.

I'm 5'3" and 8 stone 3lb

I rarely eat carbs at mealtimes so that helps and means I can have treats like cake and wine if I fancy it

I eat fruit / yoghurt for breakfast
Salad for lunch or picky bits
Regular dinners just not pasta, bread etc

I only serve myself small portions and now I'm used to it.

Like tonight we are having an Indian but I'll share it with my husband and he will have some onion bhajis with his.

Wow that is slim!! Do you do a lot of exercise or do you think it's metabolism?

I think sustainable lifestyle change is better than 'dieting'. If you follow a dull restrictive diet then you'll end up going too far in the other direction eventually and it'll cancel it out.

I recognise I'm probably very lucky in terms of metabolism/genetics, but I also think prioritising fruit and vegetables and whole foods and avoiding UPF is the best thing you can do. I'd focus on getting lots of healthy food in rather than specific calorie limits or anything.

As an example, I eat Fage greek yoghurt, granola, a flaxseed and cinnamon mix and maybe some strawberries for breakfast. Couscous with olives, feta, cucumber, tomato and maybe some bread and fruit for lunch. Vegetarian chili with brown rice, guacamole and cheddar for dinner. Nuts, (ideally small amounts of) chocolate, and Itsu seaweed packets for snacks. For me these foods perfectly tread the line between delicious and (un)healthy.

I’m 161 cm which I think is 5’3 and 49 kilos (below 8 stone? sorry I’m not in the UK). I eat overnight oats with at least four types of seeds for breakfast and the rest of the day varies. I prioritise vegetables and pack as much as 10 different ones a day. I watch my portions and I snack on small things like mochi and fruit.

I very rarely drink alcohol and eat meat only 2-3 times a week.

I cook a lot of Asian and especially Japanese food at home, probably it’s not very authentic but good enough for me.

If I eat out or order food I usually pick healthier alternatives like sushi or Indian food. With Indian I never order naan (gluten intolerant) and I divide the standard portion into dinner and lunch because they tend to be huge.

I’m quite active and I have to eat over 2000 kcal a day otherwise I keep losing weight, but I’m definitely not sedentary (walking, hiking, running, doing martial arts, yoga, I love to be on the move).

I’m over 40, never been overweight although at my highest BMI I looked very round and my feet and knees hurt. I don’t like chocolate but used to survive on a 1 kilo pack of winegums a day as a poor student (they were one euro a pack).

I'm the same height and currently weigh 10st 5. But at Xmas I weighed 13st 9.

Weekdays I eat 1600 - 1800 calories.
Porridge at breakfast
Crackers and a soft cheese, small pack of crisps and little bit of chioclote at lunch plus fruit.
Protein shake mid afternoon
Tea like pasta, Jack potato, homemade chix kebabs.

No wine or evening snacking at all.
But don't fast either.

At the weekends I eat up 2200 calories and enjoy wine and allow myself toast at breakfast.

I also walk 18k steps a day and take x3 inositol which is meant to a natural supplement for pcos and I would say def helps me