Aibu to ask what normal healthy slim people eat?

[Toofrigginfat]

Have name changed.

Things have reached an all time low, found myself sobbing in the bathroom about to stick my fingers down my throat, luckily - I suppose - interrupted by the cries of 'mummyyyyyy' from two bickering children.

I am SO fat and SO depressed about it. I have tried WW, SW. Watched programme last week about dieting industry and it has put me off doing anything commercial/faddy. After failing to be able to stick to anything for the past 20 years my weight is now at an all time high of 11st 10 (I'm 5ft 2) and I have lost all concept of what a healthy balanced diet consists of.

What do normal, slim people eat? And if I eat that way, will I lose weight too? Just bought a juicer, husband and I keen to get into that.

Help. Please.

[Mominatrix]

I'm a 4-6, 5'2". I have never dieted, which is one thing I attribute my size to.

Today's food intake consists of:

Breakfast: homemade sourdough wholemeal bagel with smashed avocado and a generous sprinkling of seeds. Large coffee with some milk. Quarter of a cantelope.

Lunch: Sushi lunch (a couple hand rolls, seaweed salad, a couple plates of sashimi, green tea)

Movie treat: 2 scoops of ice cream

Snack: a handful of nuts

Dinner: Remains of son's pasta (with peas, beans, salmon, in a light cream sauce), green smoothie (whizzed up raw kale, raw spinach, blueberries, banana, a bit of macha, almond milk)

I will also have a glass of champagne and a handful of pretzels later (have an open bottle and feel it is my duty to drink some).

This is less than I normally eat, but I didn't exercise today, so am not really feeling very hungry. On days when I exercise, I eat significantly more (more at mealtime, particularly complex carbs, and I would also have had a piece of homemade cake or other baked good) - but my exercise consists of running 5+ miles 4 times a week. Ii don't weigh myself, but listen to how my body feels.

[SweetLathyrus]

That's so sad, but it may be the point you needed to get to. I'm shorter than you at 5ft 0, and got to 11st 2lbs - though that was when I dared to weigh myself after a month of dieting. For me, it's not what I eat or drink particularly, but how much I drink (alcohol will just pile on the pounds) and how little I moved. At my heaviest, I couldn't face exercising in public, so I used the wii fit . . . The free step allows you to burn about 100 calories in 30 mins while watching the tv! Doing it a couple of times a day helped me get started, and confident enough to join a gym. Now I do lots of weights to raise my metabolism, and I'm less worried about what I eat. But in terms of eating, I found it useful to eat my main meal at lunchtime (if your schedule allows) , that stopped me snacking. It's also helpful to have things like. Carrot sticks, celery or even I salted nuts like almonds (in small quantities) handy so that you never get to that prowling the cupboards stage that inevitably ends in the biscuit tin. I also started drinking plain tap water with just a drop or two of peppermint oil added.

I really hope you can put together something that works for you, it may be slow, don't forget you didn't get to your current weight overnight, so be gentle, but firm with yourself, and find a support system - friends, forums, or groups like WWs.

[Belchica]

Educate yourself about food - the good stuff and the bad stuff. I have gone off so much rubbish I used to love as I really do feel bad eating it knowing that it eg: provides next to no nutritional value, has too much salt and lots of useless calories. Before I was just blindly piling the treats in.

The old classic Everything In Moderation seems to work for me, with a bit of exercise thrown in on top. Im not a member of a gym but have a deal with DP - he can only play his sport if he gets home early one night to let me out for a run. Fairs fair. I'm not my ideal weight, but as long a I exercise I don't have to deny myself the odd treat.

Another incentive for me is staying fit and healthy for the future now I have DC. My DP really helps me keep on track as he's a bit paranoid about putting on too much weight too. Can you get yours on board? so much easier sticking to healthy eating as a team.

Oh and drink lots of water.

And finally, my sister pinned a pic of a herself back in her hot skinny days on her fridge and in the biscuit cupboard. She swears it worked.

[themaltesefalcon]

I drink water and otherwise wait till I'm really hungry to eat.

Watch the wine intake, too, if you're a drinker.

[daisychain01]

There is a lot of advice on the web about healthy eating plans, or maybe just get a healthy food list from your GP. Really, that is all you need. I agree that natural primary ingredients are far better than the preprepared food that is loaded with hidden sugar fat and salt. Get the whole family involved so you all eat the same, it will make you all feel better together. We don't buy lots of packets of stuff, if there are more than 4 lines of ingredients that tends to spell junk. But I fully recognise it is time consuming to cook everything from scratch, but so worth it when you think of how much benefit you will get from retraining your taste buds!

[primroseyellow]

Keep a food diary with everything you eat and drink for say a week. Weigh items whenever possible until you are good at estimating. Work out calorie content of each item each day and total. This should help you see where the excess calories are coming from and you can then try and reduce these. Avoid high calorie snacks. Use low calorie veg/salad items as snacks eg celery sticks, cucumber sticks. Fill two thirds plate with low calorie salad/veg at meal times and only have a small portion (or none) of carbs. Find exercise you enjoy and try and do some every day building up to eg an hour a day if possible. Don't be too rigid because it is so hard to stick to, have very occasional treat.

[Ifancyashandy]

I was 4sts overweight. I lost it through WW. And exercise. Can't stress that last word enough. I was 14 stone at 5'8 and a dress size 16. It was having to move into size 18 that motivated me. And the fact I was about to turn 40. I did not want to increase and be 'forty and fat'. I stress this was about me. No judgement on others.

I found WW easy to follow. I like to eat. Given the choice between 1 bar of chocolate at 12 points (old style) out of (my) 21 a day (to start with), I discovered I'd rather eat. So I'd chose zero point veg. It taught me to recognise what and when I was eating.

And with exercise: I hated the shape of my body. So I went to aqua aerobics - no-one can see you under water! That, combined with regular WW loss of 2lbs a week, gave me the 'fuck it, give a shit of others judge! I know I'm doing something about it!'. So then I joined a Pilates class. Who knew one could be so toned!

Now I eat a low carb but high high high green veg diet, combined with protein no bigger than my pal on a day to day basis. Means days (like today) where I eat a big ol' ribeye and a tonne of buttered spinach (but not sautéed potatoes) and a vat glasss of wine don't make too much difference.

On a day to day basis? Porridge, salad and chicken for lunch, green veg and salmon for dinner. Snacks are rice cakes, nuts and fruit.

Might seem lean to some. It my tastebuds no longer crave chocolate, crisps or fat. I've never liked cake. But I miss cheese. It's now a treat at Christmas.

And I love love love shopping for a size 10-12.

[SweetLathyrus]

Sorry, my post should have said 'unsalted nuts' of course!

[Ifancyashandy]

Not pal! If that were the case, I'd be eating a whole human every day!! No bigger than my palm!

[Forester]

I'm one of those lucky people who are naturally slim and haven't ever dieted. (Though not all perfect as my tummy is a bit flabby from my pg!)

I don't have any tips for controlling your weight but I can tell you a typical days food for me:

Breakfast - Bowl of cereal (e.g. Shreddies / Muesli)
Snack - Handful or two of nuts
Lunch - e.g. Chicken and salad bagette / Duck wrap
Snack - Biscuit or two or small chocolate bar (eg two finger kit kat)
Snack - Apple and banana
Snack - One rice cake
Dinner - e.g. spag bol, stir fry (roughly a plates worth)

If I ever do have a big meal I do get full pretty quickly and it's not unusual for me to leave food on my plate. But I also get hungry quickly and if I didn't have my snacks I would quickly feel wobbly!

I don't go with out but I do try to limit myself to one "treat" a day. So if I've had a couple of biscuits in the morning I won't have any in the afternoon.

I also agree that I don't think a juicer is the way to go - better to eat whole fruit / veg.

Not sure this has been much help but good luck.

[CoTananat]

Erm, idk! I don't eat the same from day to day. I'm not always hungry. I don't eat unless I'm hungry? I've tried to think back and this is what I think in general:

For breakfast (6.30) I have a big cup of cafe au lait, with whole milk or cream. I don't like sugar in it but I have a square of chocolate to go with. I like the Thorntons diabetic milk chocolate. (I am not diabetic, I just like the taste.) Then I have normally a cheese toastie or eggs if I'm hungry. If I breakfast out I normally get a flat white and a pain au chocolat in a cafe, or ham and mushrooms and poached eggs in a hotel. We get the really seedy bread or eat black bread.

At eleven o'clock I have a cup of tea and sometimes a biscuit or an apple.

At lunchtime I have normally a pile of lettuce or grated carrots with some mayonnaise, ham and soft boiled egg mashed on top. Or if I'm really hungry I have a bacon double cheeseburger. Or whatever I am offered if I'm out or leftovers if there are any.

At four o'clock I have a cup of tea and a biscuit or a hot cross bun or a teacake or something. If I'm hungry I'll have sardines on toast as well, or a cup of soup, or a bowl of tinned peaches.

At suppertime I have a big slab of meat and loads of greens. Like, half a meatloaf maybe, or a big slab of fish; I think perhaps like 200g?. Or a takeaway, maybe once or twice a week we have takeaway. I get a small pizza to myself or a medium/large between me and DH. We get a pudding to share from a takeaway but we don't normally eat pudding after every meal. Sometimes I buy a treacle tart or jam roly poly and we'll eat that over the week, though, so we do have puddings.

When I'm thirsty I drink water. I don't drink much fruit juice as I do not have scurvy and it's basically sugar. (It's nice, tho!) I don't take sugar in my tea. I don't drink a lot at home, and when I do drink, it's gin, not beer. Erm, that's all I can think of. Hope it's somehow helpful. I'm not sure it will be, tbh. Our bodies are all different.

[sheridand]

I would say check out your metabolism. I am 5.2 and I weighed 8 stone for years, but then had about 3 years where my weight fluctuated wildly. At one point I was eating pasta at 2 am and still weighed 6 stone, then i'd eat nothing, literally nothing, for weeks and be 11 stone. Now I am 9.5 stone, and settled, although I still eat about half what comparable friends do, and I bike about 16 mils a day plus extra exercise. It's my thyroid. I am on medcation, but I put weight on easily and loose it terrible slowly. Write down what you eat and if it seems reasonable for the amount of exercise you do, and you still don't loose, look at your metabolism.I keep a close eye on it now, and if I start gaining despite eating ok, or loosing despite eating ok, I know my hormones are out of whack.

[sheridand]

I should add that my normal diet goes like this:
breakfast: melon and blueberries plus a bit of yoghurt
Lunch: soup or fruit, hamd and crispbread
Dinner: veg and a bit of meat. I reckon I eat about 1000 calories per day and it's only that that keeps me vaguely normal sized, wheras I used to be able to eat "normally".

[CoTananat]

And now having read your OP properly. I don't think my post will help you at all. Vomiting! Oh, OP, I'm so sorry you are feeling so rotten. It's - it's all just bullshit! It's bullshit!

You're really fine, you know. Your body is fine. It's FINE. It works - you're still here - that's what it's for - it's to keep you here with your kids (who love you) and your DH and even fucking Mumsnet or whatever. If you want to get fitter - that's great. That's great! I would say: walk, move joyfully, run around with the kids, take a yoga class. But don't hate yourself and please don't hurt yourself.

You're fine!

[specialsubject]

normal people eat the mix of nutrients needed to sustain health, in the quantity equivalent to what they burn off by existing and moving around.

if you are even THINKING of making yourself throw up you need serious help and you need it quickly. This is beyond ' a bit fat' and is verging on mental illness. There is no shame in that but please, please get help SOON. For your sake and that of your kids.

mashing up good fruit and veg isn't the answer but that is not what terrifies me about your post.

[lottiegarbanzo]

Eat regular meals, usually home cooked with plenty of veg, stop when full (or think about how hungry you really are when cooking, not just making a big meal on autopilot).

If you're not that hungry at a meal time just have toast or cereal - that's a distinction I've noticed between 'naturally' slim people and overweight ones. Slim people don't eat if they're not hungry.

Don't worry about eating a bit of treat / junk food evey few days, because it is only a tiny part of the over all diet and a treat, not relied upon.

[WorraLiberty]

I eat all different things, in fact there's very little that I won't eat.

But I don't eat huge portions, very rarely eat cake or biscuits and apart from fruit, I don't really snack much.

I don't deny myself anything but nor to I feel the need to keep treating myself either.

I don't eat because the clock says it's 'meal time', I eat when I'm hungry and stop when I'm full.

[NationMcKinley]

Didn't want to read and run. I don't have any useful advice except to say best of luck and have some x

[Mumsyblouse]

Also, remember if you've had these issues for 20 years or more, perhaps you are coming up to the pre-menopause and many people who were previously quite easily slim and never thought of dieting suddenly find they put on weight more easily or have to eat much less/exercise more than before. That's not to discourage you, but just to point out that I was one of those naturally thin people who never thought about their food- until I hit 40 odd, and many of my friends who may not have been skinny but certainly didn't diet have all reported the same. So, it's realistic to go for healthy-looking, some exercise, not quite as wobbly over the long-term rather than get trapped in dieting/putting it back on again.

[Toofrigginfat]

Oh my goodness. Stepped away for an hour to put three pesky DCs to bed and I have come back to all this support - thank you so much.

Am going to sit and read through them all properly and then post my action plan.

[Bubbles1066]

Small portions. Don't deprive yourself just don't eat as much. Avoid diet food, just eat less of the real stuff.

[peteypiranha]

God I am nowhere near this much of healthy eater. I am 5 foot 3 and 8 stone today I have had
breakfast- leftover chinese
lunch - mcdonalds
tea - chicken kiev chips and peppercorn sauce

That sounds pretty terrible written down
I eat whatever I want but just move loads. Thats the best way to do it, more likely to stick to it.

[hettie]

I eat what I consider normally.. I've never dieted (which helps I think- as my metablolism has never been subjected to starvation) and I've never really been over weight (well apart from the very normal post- baby phase which went whilst breastfeeding).
What I think is normal (I have noticed) is less than what people who struggle with their weight eat. So I eat less... also I don't really eat processed food and I don't snack that much and I am active (I cycle to work, I've recently started doing a kettle bell class to improve my core stregnth/help my back).
I read labels (more because sugary food send my energetic 6 year old into hyper mode) and avoid sugary cereals and yoghurt's (actually I don't really like the taste of overly sweet things- I find alpen disgusting). If I do eat between meals it's not usually junk food (crisps, chocolate etc). We don't have fizzy drinks, crisps or chocolate in the house (some dark chocolate in the fridge maybe). But if I fancy ice cream or chocolate cake I'll have it. I don't really avoid anything. I eat butter, greek yoghurt, semi skimmed milk. I cook mostly from scratch (I like cooking and it's cheaper)....ermmm here are the kind of days I would say.
Breakfast- 2 slices of wholemeal toast with either honey/jam or maybe a poached egg or homemade pancakes with tinned pear and nutella (weekend when I have time) or cereal and milk or porridge. Plus glass of orange juice and cup coffee.
Lunch, sandwich, wrap, pasta salad, hams and cheeses with olives/salad and maybe a yoghurt.
dinner- very varied, curries, fish rice dishes, usually involving carbs, protein and veg/salad... maybe a glass of wine or two 2-3 times a week. Meat and fish probably only 2-3 times a week, so cheese or tofu or eggs if not
snacks would be nuts, cracker and peanut butter or humus, hunk of cheese and an apple, maybe a twix or pack of crisps....
Like anyone I eat out (not that often) and have take out (not that often) maybe 1-2 every 3 months....
Does any of this help at all..?