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.

@ivyball as others have said it’s very possible your hair loss is being caused/exacerbated by insufficient nutrients - your diet indicates that you are lacking in quite a few vitamins and minerals. As others have said, it would be good to get your health checked and you could include your hair loss in this.
I hope you can take steps to start a more balanced diet and get your health in a better place - a big step was posting here, so keep going in the right direction and good luck with it.

That amount of protein for a sedentary woman is absolutely not healthy and can lead to all sorts of health issues. Please don't spout rubbish because gym influencers tell us we need 150g protein a day. Only for weight lifters

2 bottles of wine a week is over the recommended safe limits for women (14 units). Binge drinking it on two consecutive days makes it more dangerous.

I've been on MJ two years and have never lost any hair. I expect to take it for life as it's absolutely transformative.

You will eat a healthier diet on it than off, if my experience is anything to go by. I took dose increases very slowly - two years in and I'm only up to 7.5mg which is half the max dose. The weight came off steadily and my relationship to food is very different. Most significantly, it got me eating three meals a day - a regular, reliable routine of nourishment. That was most important for me, and sounds like it could be for you too. I used to skip lunch and binge on snacks but tell myself I'd missed a meal so it didn't matter. I think your pattern is similar.

You would need to drink plenty of water if taking MJ - your decaf coffee is fine too, but you would also need to be drinking water on top of that. You would probably not want the wine anymore - i can manage one glass, two tops now. You would need to make sure your meals include plenty of veg and prioritise fibre and protein. It's easier to do this on the injections than off.

It's also extremely important to do regular strength training while on the jabs to minimise muscle loss. Maintaining muscle mass is better for your metabolism and increases the chances of you keeping the weight off if you do come off the injections later. It's also very important for your health particularly getting older in the future.

Good for you. Well done !

No WLI causes hairloss on its own. You may lose hair if you suddenly start eating at a massive, massive deficit and narrow your nutritional range further than it is now.

Minor hairloss is sometimes seen on Very Low Calorie Diets but that counts as eating 600-800 cals a day for medical reasons and you won't be eating anywhere near that low even on jabs. Even then it can be mitigated with A-Z multivits.

You are probably losing hair currently because of how nutritionally unbalanced and deficient in micronutrients your diet currently is.

If you go on WLI, try and eat 2-3 meals a day with a balance of veg, fibre, proteins, fats and wholegrain carbs. Your hair will recover. Probably your skin and nails too as I wouldn't be surprised if they are also suffering.

You say you have ADHD. The cheese is a dopamine hit for you. It appears you learned the behaviour from observing your father do the same with cheese. There are some links between repeating childhood activities either for trauma or dopamine reasons.

i think you need to get some counselling around your behaviour with food.

were you made to finish everything in your plate as a child? (By your father?) that may explain the need to eat one big meal. I’d be interested to know more about food and attitudes towards eating in your household when you were a child.

Your ADHD and possibly your fathers undiagnosed ADHD are influencing factors.

asking the internet to comment on your eating habits is one way of discovering how your childhood may be influencing your eating habits which in turn influences your weight . I think you need to speak to your GP about some therapy? That’s the first step to losing weight permanently.

I would honestly try to develop a liking for Longley farm cottage cheese, !! Or grate30g ( it actually looks like a lot more grated) and stick it in a cheese omelette or have a cheese salad sandwich every day using ready sliced Gouda or low fat cheddar . You can still have cheese if you like it but just way way more moderate amounts as part of the meal, not Asa constant snack - I would ditch nuts Asa regular snack - maybe treat yourself Friday evening to a ramekin sized bowl , make it a weekly habit rather than daily etc

She doesn’t need that amount of protein (I aim for 150g a day but I lift heavy weights) but equally very little evidence that it’s dangerous (unless someone had kidney issues). If you eat too much protein it will get stored as fat just like excess carb or fat.

You can't comprehend eating 2 pieces of salmon and veg for a meal??
A tin of tuna and salad?
Omelette & spinach?

Suuuure. Granted an entire 500g of beef is a fair amount & probably the worst example in her 7 days, but over a week it's clear her big meals aren't the issue.

I could easily eat 5 chicken drumsticks for a meal. I'm 5ft 3, 135-140lbs and I wouldn't think twice about eating a second meal. You're being dramatic

Cheese isn't going to provide you with a lot of nutrients. You are also doing an elimination diet on your own. Please get some support re your nutrition and what you should be eating for your health - and to lose weight if you need to.

Are you on the KETO diet OP? Apart from the white wine the high fat foods you are eating are all keto friendly. What type of nuts are you eating? Almonds and Brazil are also okay on Keto as well as all the cheese.

Oh, OP, you don’t need weight loss drugs.

You need a healthy, balanced diet as a starting point.

You are eating too much of one or 2 food groups. Mainly huge amount of meat and cheese. No veg/fibre/nutrients. Your food diary shows only 1 piece of something green over the whole week.

Why not focus on trying to eat 3 balanced meals a day with normal portion sizes first?

You will likely start to feel much better after a month of eating properly. If you find that you still can’t stop snacking, then try WLI’s but at least you’ll be starting from a balanced diet and your hair will have stopped falling out.

I promise you, your hair is due to not eating enough nutrients. I was anorexic for years, my hair used to fall out in clumps. I used to take daily vitamins too. But until I sorted out my diet, my hair continued to fall out.

In my opinion, you have an eating disorder. WLI aren’t for people who have ED’s. Please see someone for ED.

You need to go back to basics OP. This is not a healthy diet. Too much protein, saturated fat and no fiber. You will make yourself ill. See a dietician or if you can't do that research healthy eating books. Food for Life cookbook - Dr Tim Spector. Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall - River Cottage. Super Foods - Family Classics - Jamie Oliver. There are loads out there... Honestly do yourself a favour - Overhaul your diet and your health will thank you. Good luck OP X

Maybe this is as you don’t understand it? Nearly all wli are prescribed privately, the nhs doesn’t prescribe, unless bmi over 40 and 4 out of 5 health conditions, nearly everyone on it for weight loss is private. The fact you don’t think it’s good for her, I’m not sure is hugely relevant.

Umm no, all this cheese is not ok on keto.

What on earth, did you miss she eats half a kilo of cheese every day, has 4 portions of beef in one sitting, half a roast chicken, 5 thighs or legs? You pick the two most healthy and pretend that’s whay she does. Missing out the bacon, the frying foods, the cheese, the nuts.

It's not rubbish - that's an offensive thing to say! Please read www.radiantrecovery.com and get educated. It's changed my life and improved my health, energy, joint pain and cholesterol levels drastically
I'm not saying 150g per day but 30g X 3 per day is necessary to prevent muscle loss, especially for those using glp1

Yes I didn't read the whole thread.....

She is not at risk of muscle loss as she is eating in a surplus, so really 80-100g protein would be plenty unless she was weight training. More isn’t dangerous it’s just unnecessary calories.
150g a day is helpful in a deficit when combined with weight lifting as it protects / build muscle.

On Keto you're counting Carbs and most hard cheese is zero carb so Yes OP can eat this amount of cheese on Keto... as long as they don't go over their daily Carb count. ....(unfortunately OP the white wine would take you out if ketosis )

@KTMeetsTheRsUptown are you saying that total calories are irrelevant if doing keto as long as you don't consume any carbs so that you enter and remain in ketosis?

If you’re trying to lose weight, you won’t do it on that amount of calories.

What muscle loss do you think she is experiencing?

And its a horrible irony that for those of us who are (or were in my case) carrying round a whole other person in weight, actually have very good muscle tone and muscle amounts due to carrying all that around.

CICO is the only way you can lose, gain or maintain your weight.

Doesnt matter what other silly name you put on it.