Is this enough food - tall women?

[Perspectivepleaseplease]

I suffered with EDs (very, very bad ones for my teens and 20s). Now in my 30s and after DC I feel like I eat 'normally' but I do have some symptoms of undereating (feeling weak, anaemia, tired, no sex drive, thinking about food a lot, brain fog). I feel like I eat pretty well by most people's standards but perhaps this is not enough food for ME. I do have some days where I feel preoccupied about when/what I'm next going to eat, other days where I don't. I've started to wonder whether I am just fundamentally hungry!

I am pretty active but not excessively so (workout but gently, lots of walking). My BMI is 18.5 and I'm very tall (5'11). I have normal periods but have miscarried recently. My husband thinks my portions are small for a woman of my height. All the diet advice online is tailored towards people who need to lose weight...

Please could I ask for your perspectives?

Breakfast - overnight oats (about 40-50grams) with raspberries, greek yog, chia seeds, scoop of peanut butter

Lunch - usually a 2 egg omelette and large slice of sourdough toast (real butter). Maybe soup and toast. Biscuit/small something sweet afterwards.

Snack - some homemade cake or some crisps or a flapjack.

Maybe handful of crisps before the bath/bedtime drama.

Dinner - healthy homemade dinner with plenty of veg. (Spag bol, fish and veg, pasta dish, fishcake, risotto etc). Small glass of wine sometimes. Always dark chocolate in evening (2 squares of lindt).

I never really 'splurge' on any food or overeat but I don't eat low fat/diet anything. Drinks are only coffee, tea, water.

Whilst I agree with the above poster, I will add that your diet sounds similar to mine and I am a similar dress size, but only 5'6. I would need two slices of toast with my lunch and we do 100g dried weight of pasta per adult here. Then obviously enough topping to make it nice (actually sometimes quite a lot of cheese on top too...)

Have worked out your tdde and Mbr
For your height / weight?

I understand not wanting to go into cc from Ed territory but no one can help you on the internet with that. It sounds like you have symptoms, that have been noticed by others. Have you had any counselling?

Would you consider paying to work with a dietician?

I think as you have previously had an ED you need to be careful in your approach. I agree you need to try and avoid counting calories.

A couple of years ago, I did actually go to a registered dietitian (paid privately) to ask her to assess my diet because I was thinking about TTC and needed someone objective. She basically said it was a great diet and sent me on my way. Looking back, she was a super 'wellness' type person, green juice, incredibly slim herself.....probably not what I really needed.

@AriettyHomily yes. It's basically around 2000cals to maintain which I think is probably what I eat. Logically then about 2300 to gain. But I also find it difficult to calculate what is 'active' etc, which impacts it hugely!

Also (ducks because people hate me for this....) but I was thinner after pregnancy than before. Baby appeared to literally suck the life out of me....

I think it's really individual
I'm the same height but currently dieting (size 16) and I eat

Lunch - sandwich with ham/chicken/tuna/egg salad (2 slices seeded standard size bread), bag of baked crisps, mini choc bar or some grapes/apple

Tea - "normal" meal like cottage pie, pasta bake, always with extra veg, always homemade

No snacks, I drink tea/coffee/water/sugar free squash. Once a week I have a (hate the word cheat!) meal that's not what I would usually have so a pizza, or a McDonald's or something
Exercise 4-6 days a week but sedentary job
If I wasn't trying to actively lose weight I would be eating breakfast and having some snacks

@PeloFondo hmmm yes, it must be very individual because I would literally pass out if I had to wait until lunchtime to eat something.....

So fascinating that some people think my way of eating is 'diety' and others think it sounds totally normal....I would love to know what a person with a completely healthy relationship with food/not dieting actually eats. My DH is this but it's fair to say he is not representative as he eats 3 whole sandwiches for lunch....

@Perspectivepleaseplease weirdly I was the same but I'm used to it now! Like I said though I would eat breakfast and snacks if I wasn't dieting definitely
I just prefer to have less meals but larger ones

I think it would be a good idea to get your thyroid tested, OP. EDs can affect your thyroid function, you may be hypo and not realise it, some of your symptoms possibly could align with that, even the miscarriage (sorry to hear that). Just a thought. You may also have iron deficiency, or other vitamin deficiencies, worth getting an MOT.

I am just half an inch shorter than you, have always been slim, but am very sedentary (disabilities) and so I have very little muscle mass. I have histamine intolerance which developed a few years ago, at one point my BMI was down to 18 and I really was far too thin. I had become afraid of eating due to the reactions. It was very odd as I felt I'd lost my appetite, and was aware I needed to try to eat more (of my safe foods), but it was difficult. I've put on weight since and my BMI is now 19.7.

You eat far more healthily than I do, I have a small appetite (people often comment) and probably match your meal amounts, but I snack a fair bit and I eat far too many carbs!

@CrunchyCarrot thank you. I had my thyroid tested a couple of years ago after pregnancy and it was fine. My ferritin is very low.

So odd you mention histamine intolerance! I have had this in the past and it flares up whenever I am stressed....it does make you nervous about eating.

Low ferritin can be a cause of tiredness. It can be difficult to raise it, mine isn't great either.

Ahh a fellow histamine intolerant buddy! Mine is less troublesome now, have worked on adding foods back slowly and carefully. :)

Yes I notice it comes up during times of stress or gut disruption. A recent round of antibiotics brought mine back..

If I really had to guess, I would say I eat

There is guessing snd there is measuring. The point of my post was that it is entirely possible to take reliable measurements.

Gah antibiotics! Yes I had a bad go with that about 18 months ago, had to have them for a bout of cellulitis, but my gut was very, very unhappy after that for quite some time. I had Covid recently, took my gut about 5 weeks to get back to normal.

Lunch sounds too small.

Hi Op,

I am 5’9 and calculated my bmi yday as 18.5 on the dot. I have no history of EDs btw, but I’d say we have a similar diet.

for breakfast I had porridge with blueberries and a cup of milky coffee, lunch was 2 scrambled eggs with spinach, tomato and avocado on toast, followed with a cup of tea with a fun size milky bar. Tonight’s dinner is chicken satay with stir fry and noodles. Pudding is apple cake with custard and a cup or tea. I’ve done half an hour of Pilates and have a 15 month old so I’m always chasing him! My diet is relatively similar each day, porridge or eggs for breakfast, salad/sandwich or eggs for lunch, with a proper meal and I always have a pudding, there’s usually a bag of salt and vinegar crisps in there and a few mini chocolate bars. I’m quite active but it’s all low intensity, Pilates and walks in the park.

I’ve always been thin without really trying, but I did diet post baby for 6 months to get back into my pre baby clothes! I don’t drink alcohol very often which I think helps.

I am prone to anaemia though and have been since I was little. Not sure if that’s a weight thing, my dr has never suggested it.

I know it’s hard to gauge, but unless you have tiny portions it sounds similar ish to me.

Thanks @ARoastPotato . Really helpful to know I'm pretty aligned.

Agree on being naturally active with young children. Maybe I do expend more energy than I think. Despite ED, I would say I am naturally slim too. The most I have ever weighed was 10st.

One thing to keep in mind is your homemade food will be lower cal than most freezer food/ready meals so you're already missing out on calories. If you can increase your portions a little i.e. an extra scoop of bolognese and a bit more pasta or an extra slice of toast with lunch you might find you have more energy.

Your diet sounds quite balanced and varied though which is great, you just might need a bit more. Try it out, and see how you feel

I suspect at around 2000 cals with your height and activities you could still be in a slight deficit. Topping with another 200-300 cals for maintenance, maybe a little more for hormone health. Increase the high fats like a bigger dollop of peanut butter

I think it sounds like a healthy diet to me. I'm 5'8", so not quite as tall as you but taller than the average female/ apparently as tall as the average male. I could never base what I eat on what that theoretical man would eat; he's going to have more base muscle mass for one thing, which would contribute to him burning more calories than I do.

I still remember my ex BF in my 20s, he was always insistent that I could/should eat whatever he was having when we went out(and I often did, which led to me putting on 20lbs over the course of 2 years!) because we were similar heights. I really wish height was the only factor at play in our caloric needs but sadly it isn't.