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.

Today I ate poached eggs & smoked salmon for brekkie, but often have porridge. pitta & falafels and salad for lunch. Fish, mashed potatoes and spinach for supper (often do homemade curry, pasta (wholewheat) and homemade sauces etc).
I don't calorie count, use scales or diet ever. I also don't eat any sweets or have fizzy drinks (don't like them), ditto beer or cocktails. I do have a small glass of wine most evenings and dark chocolate. I never eat processed meals and try to but fresh, in season food. I don't eat meat (don't like it), but have quite a lot of fish. Weigh the same now as I did when I was 20, BUT I'm not very toned or fit - you only get that through exercise and I never seem to have time. agree with others who say eat less, move more.

Op, I went from your size exactly to 9st 8 last year, a 16 to a 12 by following Biwi's low carb advice. Best thing ever. Completely changed the way I eat, and I suspect if I dropped the booze I'd lose another half stone easily. It took me eight weeks and I've kept it off!

Well I started walking more for work. a mile and a half 5 days a week and I dropped from my size 8 to size a 6-8.

My food habits have not changed.

If you walk very little before it is not normal activity so should help you in losing weight.

I lost a lot of weight that I couldn't afford to lose through breastfeeding on demand and walking for hour and half each day with baby in sling or pram to get her to sleep! Have never been so skinny! If you walk a lot everyday it really does help.

I'm slim and always have been but am carrying half a stone of baby weight. I want to lose it so I've reminded myself what I did before I had a baby so I can get back to my old shape.

Basically just breakfast lunch and dinner, never fast food, maybe the occasional indian and I never ate sweet things, biscuits, choc. I'd have a morning snack of oatcakes or something and afternoon snack of apple and cheese or something like that, sometimes a pack of crisps. I never grazed or picked or ate for the hell of it, I ate if I was hungry. I ate proper meals, veg, protein and carbs, roasts, pasta, rice etc, very little bread though, just don't like.

Here's the important bit - I used to eat until I felt full, satisfied, not until I couldn't fit another mouthful in and was bursting at the seams, that is too much. I did some exercise almost every day, a swim, a run, a class, a long walk, something most days.

I have gone back to eating and exercising like this and the weight is literally dropping off. Don't hate yourself just accept that this is where you are and that you are going to start moving in the other direction. I don't think anyone could hold onto weight if you did the above.

I have never dieted and if anything struggle to keep weight on (not as good as it sounds) genetics I think are a big factor and intermittent fasting, which has been proven to extend the life span of animals and is believed to be good for humans. On account of the fact that food was less available and abundant to previous generations.

So, I eat anything and everything when I feel like it, have time, don't forget to eat, I'm cooking or I'm out and I'm hungry. But there are days when I simply forget, other's when I can't find anything that takes my fancy or I'm just not hungry.

Maybe look into intermittent fasting and see if its for you and whatever you do, good luck.

I have lost over a stone so far and, whilst I have a way to go, hope that as I've changed my eating habits, the weight will stay off. Am incapable of following a diet so here's what I've done.

Cut down on bread - if I want something on toast I just have one slice instead of two. In fact now I'll often have veggie sausage, grilled mushroom and tomatoes without the toast.

Soup - without dunking bread in it

If I fancy pizza, I have half a pizza and fill the rest of my plate with salad.

Quorn can be an excellent source of low fat protein.

Pasta/noodles - half the portion I used to have.

I skip breakfast and have a banana when I feel hungry.

I have a couple of treats during the day but things I quite like rather than LOVE - so I find one Jaffa cake with my coffee sufficient whereas if I had chocolate shortcakes I'd eat the whole packet several at a go.

Another vote for myfitnesspal (it's free! You've got nothing to lose!). I've lost 20lbs on it (with exercise) this year. I initially had 1500 kcal a day (for 1lb loss a week), but now I'm nearly at my goal weight I've upped it to a massive 1700 kcal. Today I've had a roast dinner, wine and Galaxy (have exercised though) and I'm still expecting a small loss this week :)

Try it, it's great :)

I totally agree with what WorraLiberty says although I don't follow it myself .

I have lost (and regained ) a lot of weight, the most important thing to me when I lost the weight - apart from obviously eating less and exercising more - was to only eat if you are hungry.

I know that I can eat loads, even if I am not hungry - just this evening I cooked a roast chicken meal for the family and I tucked in even though I wasn't at all hungry, I am even now thinking about a special pudding we've got (home made brownies with clotted cream ) - I am not hungry, I don't need these calories but I bet I will have some !!

I think to lose weight successfully you have to re-educate how you see food - not in an emotional drippy sort of way, but just try to listen to your body and only eat if you are hungry.

My tip would be concentrate on getting enough of the things you need, the good stuff, rather than 'denying yourself' the bad stuff. For instance many people do not eat enough fibre. Find out how much you need and from what foods you can get it. Drink plenty of water.

Stick to drinking water or tea with no sugar. Sugary drinks add up quickly. And you get a sugar high then crash, leading you to want more sugar.

Eat complex carbs like wholegrain rice, pasta and bread rather than processed foods like cakes, pastries, white bread.

You have more control over home cooked food than shop or restaurant food.

The only diet I ever stuck to was when trying to increase my fibre intake. By the time I'd eaten the requisite foods for my RDA I was not hungry for sugary and fatty snacks.

Most foods are healthiest the closest to their natural state they are. Apple - good. Dried apple - ok. Apple juice - hm. Apple pie - not so good.

Trying to get full on a plate of raw pepper, carrot batons and cucumber will never work but if you're making say a spag bol increase the ratio of veg to meat so that a packet of mince makes 3 or 4 portions instead of 2 or having a meat potato and 2 veg type meal again increase the amount of veg and decrease the meat and potato. Or eat one sandwich instead of two and replace the 2nd with fruit and veg.

Try not to lavish gravies, sauces or mayonnaise etc onto your meals.

cheaper version of the plate

Take the juicer back, eat the fruit with the fibre (which will make you feel full) and not the juice (full of sugar).

I eat very little carbs - not very low carbs Atkins style as i do eat fruit veggies (although not much potatoes) and dairy. Eggs for breakfast, tuna or salmon or cottage cheese salad for lunch, meat and veg for dinner. If hungry then snack of fruit or yoghurt or even nuts or cheese. No need to count calories but best to only eat if hungry - look up Paul McKenna...

even cheaper version but you have to remember which section is which - larger one is salad/veg then one for pasta/rice/potato and the other for protein

I think one thing to add to the advice about diet and exercise is that sleep is important for losing weight. If your sleep routine is messed up I think it leads to eating more snacky things in order to give yourself more instant energy, and taking less exercise because you are tired.

It's a self-reinforcing loop - if you exercise regularly you will sleep better, and have more energy, so snack less.

I'm a healthy weight (though probably not slim), after being obese for about 10 years, I lost weight a couple of years ago and have maintained for about 15 months now.
I only use a dessert plate or a child- size bowl, and that is how I control my portions. That is the right amount of food for me - any more and I feel sick and bloated.
To give you an idea of my typical diet -
Breakfast - small banana, 2 tablespoons Greek yoghurt, sprinkling of toasted chopped nuts.
Lunch - cheese and cucumber sandwich made with 2 small slices of wholemeal bread, and about 30 gs of cheese
Dinner - lentil bake (made with red lentils, onion and grated cheese, a small ramekin size), broccoli, peas and corgettes, veg gravy
Snacks - banana, strawberries and 4 finger kitkat. 4 brazil nuts.
Won't have anything else today.
I don't eat things like salad dressing or mayo. I don't drink alcohol or eat ready meals or takeaways.
I have been eating too many biscuits lately, so will be making a big effort to cut them down/out .
Exercise - just done some squats and crunches etc today. Swam 80 lengths on Friday - I love being fit.
OP, the best advice I can give is to focus on your health and well being, rather than trying to be a size 10 or whatever. Give your body good healthy food and find some form of exercise that you enjoy.

Yep, that plate looks about right wrt what I was saying about increasing veg and decreasing meat and spuds.

I'm 53, 5'6" and 11st 6lb. I have been stable at that for about a year having piled on an extra stone. It is very, very hard nowadays to maintain. This is what I eat usually:

Yoghurt and banana
Sarnie
Family meal such as spag bol and salad; chick thigh and drum, cous cous and salad, etc.

If I give up two generous glasses of wine a day I reckon I can get off 5-7lb in two/three weeks.

BTW - I'm a recovered anorexic and hit about 7st 7lb at my worst nearly 30 years ago. How I am now is better really. I'd love to be thinner but it's a fine dividing line.

MFP is brilliant but what really kick started me losing weight is doing the Anna Richardson body blitz.
It's quite easy and normal and I found it really helped me kick a few bad habits and weaned me off my sugar cravings.
Can I also say that 11.10 is not "really really fat"
I was a ten stone ballet dancer, some of us weigh heavy.
I was 12stones at size 12.
I agree with looking nice too.
I wear lovely clothes, get my hair done regularly and look after my skin. Feeling nice really makes you eat more thoughtfully.
As an aside I love the look of the diet plate, has anyone had sucess with it.?

I am one of those eat anything/stay slim types but when I got pg with DS1 I didn't think it was a healthy way to live or the kind of eating habits I'd want him to have. So I made a few small changes. I'm a size 8, 5ft2, currently 17wks pg and was 49kg when I was weighed 2 months(ish) ago.

I don't keep sweets and cakes in the house. Ds is a sweet fiend and would eat his bodyweight in biscuits if they were around. So I don't have them in to avoid temptation. I tend to avoid cakes and puds generally as I'm allergic to eggs. (But I do love banoffee pie)
I stick to healthy snacks, fruit (dried and fresh), yoghurt and crisp breads. I try and have protein in the snacks and this helps me stay full for longer. E.g. mashed sardines in tomato as a dip to go with toasted pittas.
I always eat breakfast - granola with yoghurt, cornflakes, porridge or a healthy grilled fry up on Sundays. I find I'm less prone to filling up on comfort food if I've had breakfast.
I try and make meals heavier on protein and veg. I make completely veggie dinners two or 3 times a week.
I'll try and only have a takeaway once a fortnight.
If I want chocolate I'll buy a bar of lindt chilli or a bag of chocolate riche truffles from thorntons as they're so rich I can't eat them in one go.

I do have full fat milk and put 2 sugars in my tea/coffee and am currently craving ready salted crisps but I happy to have these as my diet is good and I take DS out in the pram almost every day.

One easy thing to try is just leave half of everything.

The ideal is not to diet at all - if you allow your mind & body to get rid of the fallacy (fortunately, for us) that food is restricted, you will regain a natural appetite and the problem will go away of its own accord.

Leaving half doesn't actually meet that ideal, but it is a different enough approach that your brain might get the message :)

I am 5'6, weigh 10st 11 and am in the process of very slowly losing weight.

Today I will have had:
Shreddies with skimmed milk
A blt sandwich from Tim Hortons and a tiny bit of mayo
A milky coffee with three Jaffa Cakes
A 6oz steak with four small potatoes and peas and tomatoes
Some melon and frozen yoghurt
With about 100 cals left if I fancy nibbling something late tonight

I'm having a little more to eat than normal today - about 1700 cals - because I also did 30 50m lengths in the pool today. I do either the Shred DVD or swimming every day.

I have to measure things out in a cup measure because otherwise my portion sizes gradually creep up.

No, since DH was at his fittest and healthiest when he lived on Donner kebabs.

He also cycled up a huge hill to uni. everyday.

*CoTananat Sun 18-Aug-13 19:33:43
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!*

CoTananat - This post has really touched me. I am also overweight but have recently lost 3.5 stone in 4 months by following Slimming World and joining a gym, and doing more exercise in general. I just read your post and suddenly thought oh my God, she's right! I am fine! So thank you for that .

OP - It's always hard when you start out trying to lose weight, it always feels in the beginning like you have a mountain to climb. My advice would be to start slowly, set yourself small, achievable goals and congratulate yourself when you achieve them. Be kind to yourself .