AIBU to ask people who maintain a healthy weight how they do it?

[smoggii]

I know that to lose weight you should eat less and move more but I would love to know what the balance is for healthy (or just slightly overweight) maintenance.

I think I am being unreasonable because i know this should be common sense but after years of dieting (losing a significant amount of weight - still a bit overweight but not supermorbidly obese as i once was) i am struggling to maintain a weight, i'm either dieting or gaining weight and i'm starting to feel a bit stupid that I can't just maintain it.

I'm 5ft 3 weigh about 7 10lbs or so I used to be a couple of stone heavier in my twenties but now I'm older I live a much healthier lifestyle.

I make exercise part of my life, I train 3-4 times a week, cardio, weights, a long run and shred.
I don't drink really, alcohol is just empty calories, the less you drink the less you want to. I think I've had maybe 2 or 3 glasses of wine this year.
We rarely eat out as I have no one to babysit, bit sad but then I'm never tempted to eat desserts etc
I don't buy unhealthy food, if it's not there I can't eat it, if I get the munchies and look in the fridge, I see cherry tomatoes and yogurt
I take a packed breakfast and lunch and snacks (usually fruit or yogurt) to work with me, I don't go out at lunch so I can't buy anything else.
I fill up my plate in the evening with salad, so I'll still have pizza but only a third the rest is salad

the main thing for me is this isn't a diet, this is the way I eat every day, the minute you start thinking good and bad food etc then you mess with your head and metabolism and your weight will be yo yoing all over the place.

I also have my bodyfat, cholesterol and bodyfat checked every 6 months or so, it's not just your size but also what's going on inside. my husband is very skinny but has high cholesterol, seeing those numbers has been a reality check for him and he is now gymming and eating healthier.

This is a fascinating thread.
At 5ft 7 and 8 stone 6 I feel about the right
Weight for my height. Several others of the same height have posted that they feel slim at 10 or 10.5 stone. For me that would look and feel overweight. ( that was my pregnancy weight) I am quite muscled and exercise most days, so not too flabby.
I think we all feel different, carry our weight differently, or maybe it is what we eat.
The other day came home from work and was starving, so made myself a massive prawn and spinach salad for lunch, filled me up totally, but was probably only about 300 Calories.( not too good with the calorie working out, so just approx)
I guess we get used to eating a certain way, and get used to our bodies looking a certain way. All very interesting though!

I am 38, size 10 and weigh about half a stone more than I did at 16. Part of it is definitely down to luck but I think that I am generally reasonably disciplined. I eat a small breakfast, just a slice of toast and a cup of tea, a sandwich or a few crackers with cheese / ham for lunch and quite a big inner. I don't have a sweet tooth and have never eaten more than 2 biscuits at a time, never eat cake or pudding, it just doesn't appeal to me. I do love crisps and buy one large packet of kettle Chips a week which I share with DH on a Friday night. I have a glass of wine most days but don't drink to excess.

I Weigh myself everyday and if my weight creeps up I have a couple of protein heavy days and am back on track. I adore food, I think I eat a lot but I probably don't compared to many people as I am not a snacker.

I agree COsmos-it doesn't work while you think 'diet'.
Just work out a healthy way of eating that suits you- and do it most of the time-for ever. It is pointless dieting to lose it and then going back to your 'old' ways, because you get your 'old' weight again.

I am 5 foot 8 inches and my maximum weight is 10st - I'm around 9st 10 at the moment. I am a 10/12. I weigh myself every few days.

I eat muesli / porridge for breakfast, soup or salad for lunch, then an evening meal with loads of vegetables and always fewer carbs than I think I want. I don't really snack and I don't eat any 'diet' or reduced calorie food'.

Bread bloats me terribly so I really try to avoid it. This is not part of a diet involving denial but me listening to my body.

I do eat a takeaway once a week and drink a glass or two of wine several evenings. I also eat whatever I want if out at restaurant.

It's what you do day in day out that matters.

Like many on this thread I don't drive, have a fairly active job and don't sit still for long.

I'm 42 and although bigger due to 3 babies including twins I'm pretty much the same as I've always been.I'm 5 foot 8,size 14/12 but don't weigh myself.

I'm realistic and not a string bean.

I enjoy food.I eat 3 proper home cooked balanced meals a day.I hate artificial crap.If I cut out carbs I loose weight very easily but feel crap.I rarely eat chips,doughnuts,crisps,sweets etc however I do bake for the dc and eat plenty of that.I try to eat plenty of fruit/veg and limit meat.

If I cut out my mid morning snack/pm I'd be quite thin but I'd feel it.I should exercise more but I'm quite active.Cycle,hike with the dc at the weekends,walk everywhere mid week.I hate gyms and classes.

I could be a lot thinner but don't really want to be enough to eat diet food iykwim.Not sure I've been much help.

if i ate 3 meals a day i'd put on loads of weight, feel utterly bloated and tired and horrible and be constipated. i don't know how people do it!! i'm not skinny at all though and compared to many i have an active life because of not driving and taking the dog on long walks. it's bizarre how much we vary. that's why i think it's about knowing yourself rather than following some prescribed method re: eat 3 meals a day and no snacking which would see me putting on a stone in a month.

I've weighed the same for years, am not over weight. I eat what I like, don't restrict myself, but like healthy food so don't veer towards cake chocolate that much anyway.

I seem to have a small stomach. ie I get full very quickly and simply cannot eat any more after that. I think that must be what keeps me at my weight. DH seems to be able to eat massive amounts in one go and perhaps that's why he is over weight.

I'm like my mum, she has stayed the same weight for years, all her life in fact.

I am very lucky. I am 5ft 1 and hover between 8st 2 and 8st 6. I never think about what I'm eating or when. I've never been inside a gym however, I walk everywhere.

I'm slim and maintain it I think, with the odd holiday indulgence.

But I find it easy to stick to non high carb food; eggs, tuna, protein, and loads of vegetables. I've stopped having alcohol at home.

It's the type of eating that makes me feel good and with lots of energy.

I take ds2 for long roams in a big park everyday, could do with swimming or running (I enjoy the free feeling more than anything so uptake of DVD has been bad) and don't have scales.

I was naturally very slim in my twenties so not being too rigorous but still slim feels right to me.

Where you work (if you do) makes a difference too. I have to take my lunch with me and there is nowhere to buy anything so it's my soup or nothing. It must be harder for those passing a row of Starbucks, Pret and Greggs every morning at the train station!

Re three meals a day - it depends on how big they are though. I have three a day but they are relatively small.

Depends how big portion sizes are SAF. I eat 3 meals and am very teeny however some peoples one dinner would keep me going for two meals, especially ones with loads of pasta. Portion Size is also really important

I am dieting eating sensibly with Weight Watchers but still have not got to goal weight. Just a couple of pounds to go. To be honest, the line between losing weight and maintaining is very fine. With me I need to keep track of what I eat for the rest of my life, I feel.
On the other hand, I have a friend who is a size 8-10 who will eat a three course meal on Sunday which tots up to a whole week's calories/food for me.
What I am trying to say is, it all depends on your body type and metabolism.

Genetics, metabolism etc play a big part, but you can't get away from the fact that you have to eat less and exercise more.

Rezolution - I do stuff like that though but then on other days hardly eat much. Its not that I am restricting myself my body/brain just does it. Like yesterday I had 2 eggs on toast, 3 sausages and large amount of mash, and then a pizza as well as a smoothie with 2 bananas and strawberries in, a jam donut and a packet of crisps. However this morning I have just had toast.

Until I had children, I was slim without any concious effort and I put it down to eating 3 meals a day, no snacks generally and regular exercise.
I used to work full time so my meal times were structued. If I was hungry at 11, I didn't generally get up and start eating something (like I do now), I would wait for lunchtime, and the same for for dinner time.

Now that I'm at home more with free access to a kitchen, I find its the snacking that stops me from losing weight, though I don't tend to gain weight but am stuck with baby weight.

My sil is always slim and even at almost 9 months pregnant, she has only put on 16lb. She eats whatever she fancies for meals (baguettes loaded with tuna mayo, fish and chips as well as normal healthy meals) but never snacks. While she's been pregnant she has started snacking if she needs to but will only have a glass of milk and some fruit.

I've been 9.5 stone most of my adult life. My cue to eat is when my tummy is rumbling not when it's "breakfast" or "lunchtime". Left to my own devices I'll skip meals, I can go through til teatime on a cafetiere of coffee, not through any endurance test, I just don't feel hungry a lot of the time. If I'm stressed out my appetite disappears and having to eat at these times is actually a struggle.

I try to set a better example to the children and have make and eat regular meals when around them but I don't insist on them clearing their plate.

I also don't really like chocolate which probably helps!

I agree swallowed but I might be big by your standards.

I think body image is key too. Genetics and metabolism being a huge factor.I might seem like a bloater to many.I'm a pear with a small stomach,arms etc but with a fair old arse,thighs which I could make smaller/size 10 but don't really care enough to.

It's interesting as I have quite a small stomach in that I can only eat so much Green and Blacks in one sitting.I graze a fair bit so don't have huuuuuuge meals when I have my 3 main meals.When we're flush I eat a lot of nuts midmorning etc.My baking I try to keep to oat,fruit stuff.I basically eat when hungry or I feel dizzy.Also if I have chips or crisps I mentally crave fruit/veg at the next meal,it's odd.

I was a big,hungry,ffed baby but do burn it off quite easily.I eat a lot compared to most women I know.

I am 5ft 2 and hover between 8st and 8st 3. I weigh myself everyday, am careful about what I eat and exercise regularly. ie no big secrets!

I eat either toast/croissant or porridge with tea for breakfast. Three days a week lunch is either soup (winter) or salad (summer) and supper is substantial if before 8pm or light if after 8pm. I eat a lot of fruit in between so am never really hungry. Occasionally, I have a business lunch and so will have a 2 course lunch and then only have soup for supper. The other four days I tend to eat more at lunch and supper as I eat with the kids. I am breastfeeding so make sure I am well hydrated by drinking a lot of water or juice. I don't deny myself treats such as chocolate or pudding but they are not every day things.

Exercise wise I go to the gym twice a week and do a hard cardio work out. I would love to add a third session but something always seems to get in the way. In the late Spring/Summer when it is still light at 8pm, dh and I will go for a 30 mins run together twice during the week as well.

I had dc2 last summer and what i found interesting is that both times I was pregnant, people expected me to abandon my healthy lifestyle and just use the 9 months to gorge on cake/chocolate/other crap. I don't think you do that when it is a way of life, so I didnt do anything different when I was pregnant - I ate in the same way, weighed myself daily and only stopped going to the gym at around 33 weeks. Post birth, I was hungrier the first 3 months (with breastfeeding) so I snacked on a lot more fruit, returned to the gym after 3 months and have returned to my pre-pregnancy weight after 6 months.

I think women's weight is more likely to fluctuate than men's just because of hormones, and there's not much you can do about that if you're affected by it. But that's not usually more than a few pounds, as I understand it.

For myself, before getting pregnant I was about a stone overweight. This is because I liked eating and drinking whatever I wanted more than I liked the idea of being slimmer. I walked everywhere, but it's more about what you eat than how much you move isn't it? So while I wasn't maintaining an entirely healthy weight, I know how to. Be stricter. People obviously have lots of reasons why this might not be possible: psychological, hormonal, being so poor they have to live on cheap biscuits, too disabled to exercise etc. But for the rest, isn't it down to what's more important to you? After I have the baby, assuming I'm still lucky enough not to have any of the listed problems, I'll just decide whether I'd rather be thinner or eat whatever I want. Obviously metabolism and genetics play a part- I couldn't possibly be less than a size 10 because my hips are so wide for example- but for most of us they're not everything. There are some lucky women who can eat whatever they like and stay slim, but that's just the genetic lottery isn't it?

I'm 5' 4" and weigh 7st 11lb. I walk everywhere if it is under 45 minutes. So I normally spend at the very least an hour and a half walking every day. If it's rainy I try to go to an exercise class instead. I eat anything I want but not large amounts. I don't have any large meals.

Yesterday I ate; small bowl of porridge for lunch, handful of strawberries and small bowl of yogurt for a snack, egg sandwich and half an avocado for lunch, small piece of carrot cake and banana for snack, small bowl of tuna pasta bake for dinner. I drank a hot chocolate, some apple juice and water.

I try to have salmon and veg for dinner a couple of times a week and normally have baked beans, cheese and toast for lunch a few times a week.

I forgot to say that I make all my meals from scratch. I have pizza once or twice a week and make my own dough and tomatoe sauce, so I know what I'm eating is fairly healthy.