What do you eat in a day?

[Atissue123]

Interested to know if I eat a lot or not I guess. I feel I eat quite a lot but I’m not overweight although i am currently trying to lose 3lb (not a lot I know). Intrigued to know if I am struggling to lose it because I eat too much or just because I’m 42. I’m using ‘Noom’ and usually my calories are under what I need to lose weight BUT I always consume a lot of ‘orange’ calories (that’s generally always over the amount they say I should eat).

So I’ll start:

age 42, moderately active, 10k steps a day, exercise 3/4 x a week gently (can’t do high impact stuff) but I do walks, weights, Pilates and cycling.

average day:

• Breakfast = eg fruit, full fat yoghurt and small amount of granola or a large bowl porridge with blueberries
• Snack - eg 2 oatcake biscuits and a banana
• Lunch - sandwich on GF bread or cheese on toast or soup and toast or sweet potato and tuna Mayo for lunch plus salad bits
• dinner = 2 x fajitas (small wrap size) with guacamole, cheese, chicken, salad, I eat large ish portions of whatever we eat but generally it’s healthy home made food, I do eat carbs though
• Often I will snack on a small bit of cake or a mini hot cross bun or something like that in the day at some point after I’ve done some exercise usually

I don’t drink so no calories there but have two coffees with milk during the day. Very rarely have take out or eat out.

is this a lot? I feel like I eat a fair bit but I’m always (not always buy often!) hungry. I am a size 8-10 and 9st 3lb. I’m 5’6. At my lightest I was 8st4lb probs too thin then but at 9.8lb I look overweight. So 9st is about ideal.

I’ve always exercised to keep weight down but I can’t at the moment do vigorous cardio so I’m limited.

intrigued to know what others who are moderately active eat in a day. Also hoping to get some good ideas for lunches etc!

I ask this because a friend who is heavier and wanting to lose fast is doing a juice only diet and i literally feel like I couldn’t do that ever! The thought of not eating is just no unappealing but I appreciate I don’t need to do that to lose a few lb. Just got me wondering really what people eat and if I’m having too much! SIL told me she only eats 2 Ryvita for lunch. She’s a runner and I can’t imagine how she can not be starving all day!

Thats a lot of bread. fajitas, hot cross bun And a sandwich in one day.

@PaigeMatthews yes you’re right! Fajitas are rarity though. Usually there’s no bread in the evening it’s often potato, rice or pasta at night.

But OP is calorie counting not carb restricting - so what?

What do I eat in a day?? Haven't the time to type it all out, dinner is ready!! Following though because I know I eat far too much.

I don’t think I can do low carb hence why I’m going more down the route of watching the quantity of what I eat I guess. I’ve tried low carb before and my body seems to hate it so I’ve stopped trying but I do think less bread is generally good.

How do you track your calories out?

I was tracking using Calorie Counter, staying active etc. then wondering why I wasn't losing anything. I'm in a reasonably active job but didn't have enough of a grip on my calories out so was still over-eating. I got an Apple Watch and synced it to Calorie Counter and have found that effective.

I am using an app called Noom, I think it's pretty good. It says (on an active day) i can eat 1400-1500 approximately (sometimes less and sometimes more) and be in the 'weight loss zone' but my phone (which is linked to Garmin watch says I am generally burning 2000-2300 per day). I am generally eating 1400-1700 when I look back over the last 2 weeks. I am not sure which is more accurate in terms of what I am burning, probably the garmin? In which case I can't understand why I am not losing more weight. I'm not in a mad rush to do so but i am not sure it's all that accurate!

Activity trackers are massively inaccurate so ignore whatever it says you are burning! Sounds like you have a good diet. Do you guess your daily calories of track them/weigh food etc?

I find this so interesting. At that height/weight you have a bmi of 20 which is the lower end of normal for your height. If you are enjoying your food and feel satiated I really wouldn’t worry about losing more weight. If you really want to lose 3lbs you could try cutting out the snack or replacing some carbs with extra veg/protein.

I eat much less than you (1000 calories 5 days a week and 1500 on sat/sun) and am 5”8” and 11 stone (bmi 23) and really struggling to get any lower. I am the same age as you and do similar exercise. It’s just not budging and I’m not willing to drop my calories any lower so I may just have to accept it!

A gluten free sausage roll
A chicken leg with coleslaw
About 10 coffees

Are you weighing your portions? I wouldn't be able to eat that and lose weight and I weigh more than you, so burn more. I also don't eat fruit, very little bread as it bloats me, and lunch is always low carb high protein so I don't get a mid afternoon slump.

I don't think it sounds like too much food - if it was, you'd be gaining weight. It sounds like you're eating the right way for your body and you're at a healthy maintenance level.

If you really feel you have to lose those 3lbs, maybe just make tiny tweaks and see what happens?
E.g. cut out the snack or change it up for some protein, have a sweet treat every other day rather than everyday, consider more protein less carbs at 1 of your 3 meals to help keep you full.

You don't need to, and shouldn't really considering your height/weight/activity level, do anything drastic.

Also, I'm not surprised you're always hungry as I think carbs do that to you. I started eating less carbs and more protein and have managed to cut out all the snacking and don't feel ravenous in between meals now!

Porridge with skimmed milk and honey/blueberries

Rice cakes

Fruit salad with yogurt

Chicken, salad and rice or salmon
Sometimes have spaghetti Bol or curry but always watch my portions

I'm 54, at least 1.5st overweight after being on steroids for 10 months to control my asthma. I'm 5' 9" and 13st stone. Limited exercise but do try and walk.

I have a couple of gins with diet lemonade at the week.

If I eat too much I don't lose weight. My age and menopause have a lot to answer for.

Hoping to up my exercise now my asthma is better controlled.

Thank you. I think protein is a good idea, replace carbs with protein where I can because I’ve become reliant on (quick) carbs and actually they don’t keep me full for long. This seems ridiculous as my husband eats hardly any carbs so I need to follow his lead but he loves meat…and I am ok with it but don’t want it for every meal.

last year I had protein based salad daily for lunch. I’ve been hopeless this year but will get back on that. Doesn’t help that it’s been freezing cold so I’ve opted for ‘warm’ food.

you're right my BMI is fine. I know I’m not overweight, I think I’m lucky to slim and able to eat mostly what I fancy but I just want to get back to where I was I suppose a few years ago. Not overly fussed if I can’t but I thought maybe doing it now would stand me in good stead for inevitable menopause and any middle age gain. My mum is slim at 70 but had 20 years of being ‘bigger’ between 40-60 and I suppose I’m trying to stay on the slim side if I can without doing anything extreme!

The constant carbs will keep your insulin up, which keeps your glucagon down. So it's really hard for your body to burn fat.

@BG2015

What are your age and the menopause doing that they have a lot to answer for?

I'm about 20 kg overweight so have had to do a massive overhaul. Main issue is my supreme love of alcohol - no more of that, really. At the moment, I'm just doing max of two meals a day, smaller portions - lots of "clean" protein (so like prawns etc, not too fatty), as much veg as I want. Some carbs as body still needs this. But in general, I'm aimining for one meal a day and that meal is protein, veg etc. No snacks. Lots of green tea and water.

Human body has no need for carbs, @YouJustDoYou

Age 54
Menopause affects weight, fat around the belly etc etc and breast cancer in 2021. Now on a drug called Anastrozole which basically stops my body producing oestrogen - but also stops the cancer (hopefully ) from coming back.

Now find myself with a right lung that has been affected by radiotherapy which has made my asthma worse -exercise is tricky when you can't breathe but I've lost 7.8lb in 3 weeks by healthy eating and VERY slow walking.

12lb to go.

But if your weight gain is caused by hormones rather than a different diet, why do you think that less kcal will help? Your body is doing something different despite the kcal, isn't it?

Sorry you've not been well, that sounds like a very rough time you've had.

Ooh I like these threads.

I'm slightly overweight but do a decent amount of exercise, just not enough steps.

I eat on a normal day:

Breakfast: either porridge with fruit, protein yogurt with a handful of cereal, or sometimes a bagel thin with cream cheese, slice of ham and cucumber.

Lunch: jacket potatoes with tuna, a pasta salad, chicken salad wraps

Dinner: usually air fryer chicken, rice and salad with lime dressing. Recently found a kebab seasoning at Tesco so that with some shredded cabbage salad and rice. Sometimes salmon.

I've been sticking to this sort of thing for around two months now in preparation for a holiday. All going out the window as of week after next 🤤

I just know that the eat less/move more mantra works! It has done in the past

Keeping your weight stable, drinking less alcohol and exercising are what they reckon helps to keep the cancer away (although I reckon if it's gonna come back nothing will stop it)

No one has ever suggested an alternative to weight loss during menopause..,,have they?

Also my weight gain has also been caused by 12 months of steroid use- hence the weight loss since I stopped taking them a month ago