To ask what you think of this typical food intake?

[ivyball]

This is what I’ve eaten over the last 7 days.
Does this seem like too much food to you or not a lot of food?
Female 5 foot 2.

Day 1

4 egg omelette with 2 pork chops and red pepper, sweet corn.
Snacks - half a 900g pack of cheddar cheese and half a 200g pack of mixed nuts spread out and picked on over the day.
5 cups decaf coffee.

Day 2

3 chicken thighs and 2 chicken legs with some veg.
Snacks - half a 900g pack of cheddar cheese and half a 200g pack of mixed nuts picked on throughout the day.
5 cups decaf coffee.

Day 3
4 egg omelette and pack of prawns, sweetcorn and spinach.
Snacks - half a 900g packet of cheddar cheese and half a 200g bag of Mixed nuts.
5 cups decaf coffee.

Day 4
Half a roast chicken picked at.
Snacks - half a packet of 900g cheese and half a packet of 200g nuts to pick throughout the day.
5 cups of decaf coffee.

Day 5
4 fried eggs, mushrooms, an avocado, tomatoes and bacon.
Snacks - half a pack of 900g cheddar cheese and half a packet of 200g mixed nuts.
5 cups decaf coffee.

Day 6
500g diced beef fried with red pepper and mushrooms.
Snacks - half a packet of 900g cheddar cheese and half a packet of 200g mixed nuts.
5 cups decaf coffee.

Day 7
1 Tin of tuna and salad.
Snacks - half a packet of 900g cheddar cheese and half packet of 200g mixed nuts.
1 bottle of white wine.

2 fillets of salmon with green beans, broccoli and red pepper.
Snacks - half a 900g packet of cheddar cheese and half a 200g packet of nuts.
5 cups of decaf coffee.
1 bottle of white wine.

I have used the term half a pack instead of (450g) cheese and 100g nuts because I thought people would be able to imagine a 900g block of cheese and 200g pack of nuts easier as that’s how they come.
Does this sound like too much food or not enough food please?
I typically eat one meal a day in the morning and pick on cheese and nuts sporadically for the rest of the day.
This is because I need to eat until I’m full or I will still feel hungry after so I eat a big main meal first thing as it works for me and I feel full.
The cheese and nuts are because of a craving for cheese. I love my cheese.

This was like the size 1 and half of my kids at birth 😩😩😩🫣🫣🫣🫣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Can your DH keep cheese for his sandwiches at work or in his car, that would be an easy compromise.

Its fine for a day or two out of the fridge or he could use a cool bag with an ice pack. He could just take bread and butter, with pickle if he has it and get that ready sliced proper cheese - Aldi has a good selection.

But obviously you need to sort your diet out and eat a more balanced variety.

Are you not a candidate for weight loss drugs on the NHS if you're very overweight with an overeating disorder? They really help with the overwhelming desire to binge eat.

As simple as that.. 🙄

Just swap for a salad with a little feta cheese, it’s not like you’re dealing with a very obvious eating disorder.

I don’t think she’s blaming it on her husband, however if my spouse had this issue I wouldn’t just keep buying the cheese I would look at ways I could support them. Everyone needs support for something

Most people are not addicted to sugar and UPFs!

So you DO know it’s not a good diet and you are bingeing on cheese.
A good start would be the BEAT website. You will get lots of info there and feel less alone.
A supportive husband would be helpful too.

OP, I’ve eaten like you have for a few years, not with cheese but with bad habits where I overeat certain foods. I’m overweight but I’m fine and my body was fine. Except that out of the blue I started experiencing painful digestive problems, no particular warning. I’m now undergoing investigations and awaiting an operation. You can’t eat like this forever. I’ve been forced to give up my bingeing on certain foods and it’s been a shock. I can’t believe I thought I’d get away with eating like this.

Could you swap to that EatLean cheese?

Also could you cut down drastically on the nuts? Daily portion is about 10-15 nuts or something (20g) so you're consuming five times that. Nuts are very fattening.

I don’t think this is ok. You said up thread you bought it yourself yesterday, so it is not ok to now say you don’t want it in the house and it’s your husbands fault; you clearly eat half a kilo a day and have been for years, you stated this.

you need to take personal responsibility.

i was thinking about you last night, i do mean this kindly but you need to see your doctor and ask for blood tests to be run, you need to check of kidney and liver disease, as you’ve been doing this for so long. Also osteoporosis and things like scurvy, and also have your cholesterol checked.

it was very obvious you are obese, I don’t know why people wanted you to confirm it, there was no humanly way for you not to be obese, but what’s shocking is you actually thought people would tell you to eat more and you had a great diet. That level of lack of knowledge on nutrition is really shocking and I’d question if you did know deep down.

Sorry I meant to say that most people with bingeing issues

She did blame her husband where as she said up thread she bought it herself and said she eats half a kilo every single day.

I understand she’s embarassed, but she shouldn’t try to make it her husbands fault.

@ivyball
Thankyou for your honesty. I too have had a poor diet and became overweight after suffering bereavement, adjusting to living alone, retiring and not having a very active lifestyle, cooking too much food and comfort eating.

Four weeks ago I joined Slimming World (other weight loss programmes are available!) and although I have only lost a few pounds so far, it's been the re-education of what a normal days eating looks like that has been the invaluable lesson for me

I've begun to enjoy the variety, have tried new things and have begun to enjoy cooking again

Yesterday for my evening meal I had a chicken breast seasoned with smoked paprika and green vegetable couscous. If you had told me 4 weeks ago that I would be cooking and enjoying things like that I would have laughed!

It IS possible to turn your situation around and I, like other people here, are here to encourage you to do that. Please start today ~ make ONE decision towards a better healthier lifestyle.

What will that ONE decision be?

Would you be willing to try weight loss injections op? You’d need to commit to eating a balanced healthy diet, eating regularly, you’d be too unwell if you didn’t. But it may help you.

If your DH understands that you have a weight problem and cheese addiction that isn't helping with that, surely he can alter what he puts in his sandwiches. I mean, even if he's a vegetarian, there are so many other things you can make in sandwiches. Cheese is not some sort of critical element that he will be unable to function without. It would seem to me that if you really want to break with your disordered eating, you need to get him to agree to help you in any way he can. But I think all this needs to come from a health professional, not just from what you've divined you should be eating. If your GP or a nutritionist has you on a diet, your DH may be more helpful than if it's just one of your whims.

Well, part of the reason you might be bingeing is that you have told yourself you only eat one meal a day and it's over in the morning. Bingeing is often a response to restriction and you have placed a very strange restriction on your eating patterns by deciding to do this.

If you moved to eating breakfast, lunch and dinner then you might not spend all day yoyoing between cheese and nuts.

I suffered from BED for many years, and I can tell you that the worst bingeing behaviour was always triggered by rules and restrictions. It's illogical, but your brain is telling you that you 'only' eat one meal a day and therefore you are deprived and that leads to bingeing. For that reason, getting rid of certain foods from the house is usually only a very temporary fix. Because it's more deprivation, more restriction and that only goes one way.

We think the way to resolve food issues is by imposing more control and more rules, but eating disorders are made so much worse by this. You mention undergoing elimination diets - these are very bad for causing bingeing behaviour in people susceptible to it.

It is very hard to find help for BED. I will admit that mine is only under control because I have been on Mounjaro for two years. While on it, I have been able to let go of all the food rules and rituals that were controlling me and I have found peace around food. I don’t restrict anything - but because the drug balances my hormones and regulates my appetite, I am eating well and in normal patterns. I don't know what the right solution is for you, but I would start by eating regular meals. Don't worry about the cheese and the nuts at first. Start with meals, three times a day.

I'm going to say something that might to hard to hear but you are killing yourself .
It's not your husband's fault , it's yours 100% .
You are killing yourself , repeat , you are killing yourself .
Also it might not be a drop down dead . It might be a longer death than that , a history of heart attacks , a disabling stroke that leaves you with long term problems needing care from your family or a care company . You could become bed bound long term.
Think about it , do you want to be unable to be able to feed yourself ( and believe me they will not continue with your current diet ) do you want someone to care for your skin because of it breaking down due to pressure sores.
I get that is extreme , but the cold hard reality is that could be your future if you continue with your current lifestyle .

You need to stop , you can do it , it won't be easy but surely you can see that the above could be your future and there is not one person on here that would wish that for anyone .
Do it for yourself .

If you were an alcoholic would your DH take the same view about having alcohol in the house? Would he commit to not buying cheese for a month to see if it helps you? It would be very easy to lay blame at his door without what is probably a huge back story on how you got to this point but is his actually on your team? If you have life insurance you might want to nominate someone else as the beneficiary - if you aren’t part of the solution you’re part of the problem and all that.

Re: cheese. Buy a smaller 200g pack and have your DH make his sandwiches for 2-3 days in one go. -!: package them up with cling film.

Anything left you can eat. Same with nuts. Buy 3 of those small snack pack of nuts once they are gone they are gone.

Op I agree with others you probably need to go and talk this all through with a doctor or dietician. Especially for the addiction side of things with all the cheese.

However my thoughts are that this is like a mad version of the keto/Atkins diet where people decide to banish carbs and eat protein and fat to fill them up instead, along with salad/veg. I really think your desire to snack on so much fat could go down naturally if you re-introduced some slow release carbs, such as porridge, rice and potatoes.

You only allow yourself one big meal a day (that includes no carbs) and then want calorie dense cheese and nuts to feel full. It's very sad, you need to be kinder to yourself. I truly wish you the best.

Has anyone on the thread suggested Mounjaro to you? It would help you get over the cravings for cheese and you wouldn't be physically able to eat the huge meal in the morning.

If you saw it as an opportunity to reset your diet and kept to it after stopping I think it's an option worth trying.

She’s buying it herself she said so herself, she’s eaten like this for years and only eats one meal a day, in the morning, then she grazes on nuts and cheese the rest of the day, I’m not sure why she wrote she blames her husband.

Assuming this is real, which it may well be, you wouldnt for example have alcohol in the house if you lived with an alcoholic would you?

OP - can he have a different sandwich filling, ham, hummus, tuna mayo, eggs?

Also I meant to say some pages back, why are people so obsessed with OPs bowel movements! Why are people assuming she would be constipated. The body has an evacuation process which works, usually, despite what you eat.

Some people suffer with constipation if they dont eat very much roughage but many people dont.

I seem to recall people go on about this for keto and Atkins diets but I dont think they routinely suffer from constipation, some do obviously

An alcoholic can still get alcohol out of the house and a food addict can go to any grocery store. She has to want to get better and to do that she has to accept responsibility for her addiction. It's hard I know, I've had my own issues with drugs in the past, and it didn't get better until I accepted that I was the one that had to get better.

I think I could give it up if it wasn’t in the house but Dh buys cheese for work sandwiches so when I explain to him that I cannot have it in the house he just says but you don’t have to eat it.

This is a lie. You said in your earlier post -

No but I bought some this morning. It’s always available in mild or mature ( I like both) it’s the everyday essential range.