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.

She's eating far too much cheese and she's said she's got a weight problem - the cheese won't be helping that

They said that wasn't a typical days eating for them - so presumably they eat less day to day. I think going out for a meal and eating two spoons of rice sounds like someone who is on a diet and is terrified to put on weight

I honestly can't be bothered getting into an argument on this. I've struggled with my weight my entire adult life - I know fine well how hard it is to lose weight and keep it off -but surely if someone is on a weight loss diet they can go out for a very occasional meal without counting the rice and curry in spoonfuls?

Being fixated with every last thing you eat isn't healthy either - and it can lead to people chucking said diet - and binge eating

Yeah you're not wrong there. If she was slim I'd probably say she must be getting away with it. But 450g of cheese a day I don't see how anyone wouldn't have a weight problem honestly?!

People have said this already but the OP is eating around 2500k calories in just the nuts and cheese alone

OP - even if you do have cheese cravings you don't have to buy a family pack. You can buy packs of cheese that are portioned out

Weight isn't the be all and end all of health. You can be slim and have high cholesterol, be pre diabetic or develop type 2 diabetes, have nutrient deficiency, develop kidney stones from the insane amount of protein etc etc

Op - your husband wanting cheese for sandwiches isn't causing this. Ditch the nuts - if they are making you crave more cheese it's not worth having them

Also if I were your husband - I would buy a small fridge - and lock the cheese away. You are only going to be able to deal with the cravings properly if you don't have access to cheese - because as you say - when you eat it you just want more of it

Im pretty sure lots of people have food cravings. With me it was always crisps -I could eat two or three bags in one sitting - easily. I had to stop buying them until I could get to a point where I could eat one pack at a time. Now I can go weeks and not eat any

I'm not sure that's the case. It's possible to feel full on a high protein diet. It's all the cheese and nut eating that's causing the problem

Actually I'm like this with biscuits, can't have them in the house, if I have one I'lll have the packet. I didn't stop because of other people, or weight, I just always knew it wasn't ok. It wasn't daily, but if I bought them I'd binge.

My kids will not know the experience of a hob nob because I buy biscuits I don't like, if I buy them at all!

Maybe your OH could change to a cheese your not so keen on

Exactly, nothing strange about it, its how people usually serve themselves up and they just get to know what their general intake

Being measured, quite literally, about what your intake is, isnt the same as being 'fixated' with diet

With respect, the reason people (including me in the past) are overweight is because they dont have any concept of what their intake is, they dont 'restrict'(which people seem to throw around with abandon as some sort of bad thing) their food intake which is why we have an obseity problem

I dont think anyone has a problem with 'restricting' alcohol to the recommended limits or restricting it to a persons personal threshold do they? Why any different with food

If I went out, as I did last night and just had 2 drinks, because I know more will make me feel ill, its not good for me etc, is that 'restricting' alcohol in a bad way, should I drink more because its enjoyable?

I don't agree. Someone having two spoons of rice at a meal out and then saying that they ate a lot that day - I don't believe that's how people serve themselves when they are out for a meal.

And again - if people are too restrictive it can make them go the other way - throw in the diet or healthy eating diet - and binge.

The OP is a case in point. She has cut multiple food items out of her diet because she thinks it's doing her good - and spends the rest of the day snacking on family packs of cheese and nuts

Why presume what you've said in your first paragraph? Plus the person who had a couple of spoons of rice also mentioned some of at least two curries and something else I can't remember so I doubt they were restricting what they ate and it could well be that the party ordered a selection for everyone to share so they all helped themselves to what they wanted from the rice and other foods, so taking a couple of spoons of a few things seems quite normal - these would almost certainly be heaped rather than a measured tablespoon so hardly a tiny amount.

Plus I don't understand the expectation to stuff yourself if you're eating out. The treat is the nice food, socialising and eating something you haven't had to cook or couldn't make easily yourself.. Eating so much you feel uncomfortably full isn't enjoyable, nothing to do with being 'terrified of gaining weight' more about not having a disordered attitude to eating in that you continue eating when you're full. Most restaurants, especially curry houses, serve far more than a normal sized meal, especially when starters and sides are added, so you'd feel sick if you tried to eat it all. Plus you can usually take the leftovers home for later.

Like you've presumed they had heaped spoons of rice. So you think someone going out for a meal having two spoons of rice. One samosa. One chicken leg and two spoons of curry isn't a sign of someone who doesn't want to put on weight - particularly as they said later that that was more than they would probably eat in a day

I didn't say people had to stuff themselves either. If the person who posted had said we all helped ourselves to other meals - fair enough - but they didn't

Two heaped tablespoons of rice still isn't a lot.

Even people who are watching their weight or trying to lose weight can go out for the very occasional curry and have more than two heaped teaspoons of rice

I also didn't say that someone had to eat until they were "uncomfortably full" either.

A family member of mine is a personal trainer. He works out four to five days a week. When he eats out or gets a takeaway he has far more than two heaped spoons of rice - it's about balance. You can have the odd day off from healthy eating if the rest of the time your diet is balanced and you exercise enough - if you can exercise.

He doesn't track his food either - because it's possible to get to a point where you know what portion sizes you generally should eat - on days where you aren't having a meal out

Once more - it was the fact that the person said that was more than they would normally eat that made me think they were on a diet.

Restricting herself? To only the amount of food that could feed a family of 4 each day?

I love cheese and a snacky tea. I also know that large quantities are bad for me, so I cut a regular portion (around 20-30g although I don't usually weigh it) from a few different cheeses, and then I fill the rest of my plate up with fruit, salad, pickles a few crackers etc., so I feel full. I restrict my cheese intake because I don't want to restrict my life expectancy.

You keep fixating on "2 spoons of rice" as if PP counted the grains! Most of us can count to 2 without giving it much thought and remember how many spoons we put on our plates. She also didn't JUST eat 2 spoons of rice, she ate a lot of food INCLUDING 2 spoons of rice. The amount she ate was a completely normal portion to eat for a meal out and if you did eat it every day you probably would gain weight. A lot of people have lost sight of what a portion should look like.

She's restricting certain food groups as she said herself. Carbs and fruit in particular - on an elimination diet she devised herself

I do know what a portion size looks like as well.

We'll need to disagree on that because I don't think two spoons of rice and two spoons of curry is a lot of food. As I said before. There are lots of factors that can make people gain weight -or not. How much exercise they do is one such factor - my brother certainly wouldn't gain weight on two spoons of rice two spoons of curry - a chicken thigh and a samosa.

Your hair is falling out because you’re malnourished. A lot of people on weight loss jabs are also malnourished, which is why their hair is falling out. If you start eating a balanced (with or without weight loss jabs) then your hair will thicken over time.

Ask Chat GPT to make you a balanced meal plan for your sex, height, weight, age and your goal (lose weight, maintain, etc). Tell it what you like and don’t like (forget about any previous intolerance issues - start again with those as whatever you had an issue with previously might have changed - just tell it things you really don’t like).

I’ve had a dairy intolerance since having a baby 3 years ago - I find taking a lactase tablet before I eat dairy really helps (and I have a daily antihistamine for hayfever). Something to try if this does resurface!

This is one of the most insane posts I’ve ever read. Hun, your diet is atrocious and you’ll make yourself sick. I’ve read your commented you blame your husband for having cheese around. He isn’t force feeding you. Seek help.

There are lots of apps that might help you create better habits - I use Nutracheck to track my food intake and have learned so much about what the nutritional value is in my food. Cheese is super high in fat, as are nuts. You are eating enormous portions in one meal instead of smaller meals throughout the day - this is not going to help with not snacking. Try having less cheese and nuts as your snacks and add in things like crunchy carrot and cucumber etc. you're not getting much fruit and veg by the sounds of it. Use ChatGPT or any of the ai apps to learn about your food intake and for conversation generally about your eating habits. It could help. Good luck x

Not to mention WAY too much saturated fat (cheese). When did you last have your cholesterol checked?. Don't see much inthe way of fruit & veg either - our govt recommends 5 portions a day, the WHO recommends a minium of 9.

Your cheese and nut intake is about 3000 calories a day which is more than the 2000 an average woman needs. It would be much better for you to eat more meals a day with lots of vegetables and lean protein and fewer snacks of calorie dense foods. It's not exactly a lot of food but it is very fatty and calorific.

That’s a really unhealthy diet with far too much cheese and nuts. Nuts are healthy in moderation but that seems a lot per day. Cumulatively over the week, it’s too much. The cheese is incredibly excessive. It’s very fatty and calorific as others have mentioned. Most people wouldn’t have that much (900g huge block) in a week (probably for a whole family) let alone for one person over two days. That’s also a lot of eggs. Four eggs at once seems like a lot to me. That’s a lot of meat too. Too much to be healthy. It’s recommended that adults eat 40-50g protein and about 70g cooked meat a day. That’s about 500g per week yet you have that most days.

Three proper sized meals with no or hardly any snacking would be far better. You seem addicted to the cheese and nuts. You should aim to cut down gradually if you want to maintain your health. You’re probably over eating calorie-wise and I bet your cholesterol could be high. Bet salt levels are high depending on the nuts. You do mention fruit and vegetables but you’re probably not eating enough of them.

Oh my that's way way way too much. Your cheese and nuts alone are over a normal calorie intake for someone 5ft 2 (I am also this height). Unless you are a very very active person, or possible a power lifter, that is extremely excessive.

You need more fibre. Your diet is not balanced at all. Try porridge, wholemeal sourdough, rice, pulses, green vegetables and fruit. Your diet may suit you atm but in the long term any dietician would say it's unhealthy.

I posted above but thinking about this more. You really need expert help. You have an eating disorder. You have seriously unbalanced diet. You are eating absolutely massive portions of food at a single sitting. The quantity is probably ok if averaged over three meals but not enough variety etc. That’s not including the cheese or nuts. That tips your calories and fat way over. It’s also the type of fat too. Way too much saturated fat - the worst kind - from all that meat and cheese. Do you not eat any carbs? No wonder you’ve got some issues like losing your hair. That’s probably the least of it. I dread to think what’s happening inside your body. You should be going to your GP and getting referred to a dietitian. Probably get counselling too. Your husband needs to be on board too. You are killing yourself. He needs to have something else in his sandwiches and you need to stop having cheese in the house. You’re addicted to cheese though by the sound of it, do might need to first cut down gradually and get help to do this.

The amount of meat you are eating it equivalent to a family sized portion (I would buy 500g meat for the whole family for 4-5 people and it makes too much). I’d use two chicken breasts or 250g meat for two people and that’s plenty. A portion of 40g of cheese is sufficient for calcium and nutrition. You’re having ten times this amount.

Your hair shouldn’t be getting so thin or falling out at age 42! Have you had your cholesterol etc checked recently?

Look after yourself. It won’t be easy but you really need to get help and make sure your husband helps you too! From your comments about the doctor and your weight, it might be very difficult going to the GP but you need to do this for your health.

Do you have children? I hope they have a healthy diet and relationship with food. They’ll likely be seeing a seriously unhealthy relationship with food and will have issues themselves in the future. I hope you’re around for them as they get older.

Good luck!!!