If you are nice and slim..

[moovinon]

Can you tell me what you eat each day & how much you exercise please?

I was a size8 before having kids. I gained a dress size with each baby and I'm now a size 12. I know it's not the end of the world, but I'm just not comfortable in myself at this size. I never used to gain weight and now I feel like I look at a bar of chocolate and I put a pound on.

My daily diet is:
Breakfast - porridge.
Coffee with 1 sugar.
Snack - banana.
Lunch - naked noodle or boring cheese sandwich.
Coffee.
Snack - crisps, chocolate bar, yogurt, crumpet.
Dinner - roast/chicken wraps/pasta/spag Bol.

Exercise - half hour walk each day.

We also have dinner around 7/730 as we would rather have the baby asleep. I think obviously eating less and doing more exercise would help. I genuinely don't have the time or energy to do any more exercise atm. I used to walk about an hour and a half a day to work and back etc which I why I could eat whatever I wanted.

Any tips please!!

I am not naturally slim but I lost a lot of weight in 2003 by calorie counting. I have generally kept it off ever since, bar two pregnancies where I ballooned but lost all but the last half stone from where I was pre-kids. I have been watching my weight for almost 20 years and here are my main tips. Not everyone will agree but this is what has worked for me:

1. Some kind of charting such as counting calories on MyFitnessPal or points in Weight Watchers, at least to start. People often seriously underestimate how many calories they are consuming. It's good to get started and once you have a handle on that, you can start making changes to your diet without needing to track.

2.Try to get your 5 a day (at least). By default, you will cut down on rubbish and eat more nutritious, lower calorie food. I always try to optimise nutrition, making sure that if I have to snack (see below), it isnt just filling my stomach but benefitting my body too.

1. Try not to snack between meals. I dont know if advice has changed but I remember there was a kind of obsession in the past with 'snacking' and how snacking was healthy and going hungry for half an hour was dangerous! I think that unless you have an underlying problem such as diabetes, then it is perfectly fine to experience a little bit of hunger between meals. If you can't wait, fruit or a high protein snack like a boiled egg or chicken pieces can keep you ticking over. Sometimes I just have a glass of water to tide me over. Don't buy rubbish. You will just eat it. If it's not in the fridge you can't eat it!

4 Listen to your body. When you are full, stop eating. If you feel that you are compulsively trying to finish a meal even though you have had enough, pour salt all over it. This is good for when you are are a restaurant and are picking away at a large portion and you cant stop. Poison it with salt so you can't finish it.

1. Probably controversial, but weigh yourself at least once a week. There is a rhetoric that the numbers on the scale don't define your health, but personally I need to have a benchmark and prefer to monitor it relatively closely so that I don't go too far off my 'comfortable weight'. Any time my scales have broken, I have gained weight quickly.

1. Notwithstanding hormonal and genetic issues, your weight is within your control to a pretty large extent. 20 years ago I had a lot of weight to lose (4.5 stone). I remember having a revelation and my thoughts exactly were 'I can't fly, I can't time travel, but I can lose weight'. I realised there are things that are totally impossible for me to do, but losing weight was not one. It starts in the mind.

1. Once you feel motivated, it's useful to mentally envisage the number you want to see and mentally picture yourself dolled up in a certain outfit looking great. Think about that a lot and try to get excited about the fact that this is within your reach if you do your part.

8.Have treats at the weekend and enjoy savouring them and really appreciating them because you dont eat them every day.

1. Think about what a precious person you are! You deserve to enjoy a healthy diet full of nutritious and delicious foods, and not just feel good about how you look but also improve your body and how it works from the inside. It's a lovely feeling to slip on nice clothes and have a little spring in your step because you feel good about how you look and feel. It doesnt take too long to retrain your taste buds to enjoy healthier foods. Some people say that life is too short not to eat all the chocolate, but I think that life is too short to be trapped in a pattern of eating unhealthy, stodgy food and just not feeling good about yourself.

Finally, I don't exercise very much but that is something that I really want to change for health reasons rather than weight loss reasons. I dont mind being a bit flabby, but I do mind being unfit. I totally hate exercise, work full time and have 2 small kids, so it has been easy for me to push it down my to-do list! I know it's wrong of me and that is my next goal! I do drink litres of water a day and don't drink alcohol. I sleep well and am generally well rested.

Anyway, I found weight loss and maintenance to actually be a really deep psychological journey (sorry if anyone feels sick at the corniness reading this!). These tips have all worked for me, but others might be different.

Sorry for the essay! Again, this is what worked for me and may not be right for everyone.

Probably portion size rather than what you are eating.

Have you tried having a week of weighing everything you’re eating/drinking and putting it into MFP or similar? On the face of it, what you’re eating doesn’t look awful. More veg is always a good thing. Maybe your portions are off.

Mid morning - overnight oats with a spoonful of greek yoghurt and fruit
Lunch - naked noodle soup and small sliced of bread
Dinner - whatever the rest of the family are having but a smaller portion. Chocolate mousse for pudding
Snack - choc biscuit or 2, fruit

I drink 3 times a week and run about 20km each week

Loosing weight is hard, you need to essentially eat less than what your body requires. If you were still a size 8 you’d probably be able to eat all that and maintain your weight. But you need to make the effort to lose it first.

Cut those snacks and eat fruit instead. I use small plates for the right portion size.

Up the step count every day. It should make a big difference. Change those habits.

Since I hit 40 I've had to up the exercise and watch the snacks.I do Joe Wicks 90 day plans...4/5 hits a week and healthy meals and snacks.1 day off a week or if I go out.Im under 9 stone again but I have to keep it up.

I’m surprised at some of the advice on this thread. It’s not about calories OR portion control - it’s about what you eat. I’m 40 and have three kids and, apart from being pregnant, have weighed around 8 stone all my adult life.

I eat a lot more than you.

Typical day:

Breakfast: 2 egg omelette with cheese, big handful of cherry tomatoes
Snack: banana and almonds
Lunch: salmon fillet, baked sweet potato, sauerkraut, rocket salad with lots of olive oil, grilled courgettes
Snack: olives
Dinner: 2 x pork chops, roasted aubergines, broccoli, mange tout
Pudding: coconut yogurt

These are all big meals - honestly, very big portion sizes. If you want to lose weight, I would cut out all the carbs, including the porridge, and replace with a ton of veg and more meat and good fat such as olive oil. You’ll feel full, I promise, but only if you eat enough protein. Also get rid of the sugar.

Fasted walking (first thing in the morning, before breakfast) is amazing at keeping your weight down as it burns fat instead of glucose. Perhaps try to increase the walking to 45 minutes and do it before you’ve eaten anything.

Some resistance training like Pilates will also tone you up and you’ll look fab.

Low carb. Honestly for me it's the only thing that works. I mainly eat eggs, veg, meat, salad, lentils. Very little in the way of crap carbs. I stick to around 1400 cals per day.

It's very tough but I can't stand to be fat.

My diet is very similar to bopeeple

@Susannahmoody

Low carb. Honestly for me it's the only thing that works. I mainly eat eggs, veg, meat, salad, lentils. Very little in the way of crap carbs. I stick to around 1400 cals per day.

It's very tough but I can't stand to be fat.

I do low carb too. Easier

I should also say, it’s not like I never eat anything ‘treaty’. I often have a packet of crisps or a bit of chocolate. Today I’ve had a big slice of (homemade and fairly healthy) carrot cake. You can still enjoy yummy things, just not all the time.
I’d rather ditch the white bread and pasta permanently and enjoy a piece of cake every now and then! As long as you eat really well 80% of the time it will work.

I had put on some weight over lockdown but am now back on track by upping exercise and cutting down on snacks/sugar (I was a 4 sugars in my tea and a snickers bar for lunch person previously)

Breakfast - nothing. Have never eaten breakfast since being a child.
Lunch - grenade carb killa protein bar
Snacks- ham, cheese, chicken or anything similar I find in the fridge after the school run
Dinner - something homemade with extra hidden veg - chilli, dhal, chicken & chorizo pasta, jambalaya, omelette
Snack - chocolate, sweets or crisps
Drinks - water or sugar free diluting juice

This only applies Monday - Friday as the weekend will have alcohol and pizza/takeaway/more snacks.

I do CrossFit 3 times a week, run 5K twice a week and walk 5K twice a week.

I eat a lot of veg and smaller amounts of carbs I’m a bit bigger than when I was really young but I’m in my fifties and your metabolism slows as you age.

What are you drinking? I hardly ever drink alcohol and that is empty calories.
Today

Greek yogurt and mango
A slice of wholemeal toast with tomatoes, beans, mushrooms, two slices grilled bacon and a fried egg.

Small piece of crustless quiche with salad

Two sausages, small amount of rice and some mixed veg.

I am 50 and a size 8 - I have always been a size 8 except when I was pregnant (3 times) but I’m not too smug - I lost 4 teeth last year and wear dentures so there you go :))

I am very physically active - I don’t drive and cycle everywhere - I do 12hr shifts on my feet at work also and I love walking.

My diet is heavy on fruit, veg, lentils, nuts - I occasionally eat meat and fish - I love oats but also decent white bread - I love butter, semi skimmed milk, full fat yoghurts and bloody chocolate.

I don’t snack, drink or smoke (used to but just feel like shite if I do it now) - was a raver also - can’t be arsed - enjoy sobriety and health :)

So exercise, wholefoods, no snacking and easy on the booze ...

More water, lots of varied fruit and veg to fill you up, more exercise, smaller portions.

I have always been slim but managed to put two stone on during lockdown, I have lost 24lbs since end of march. Strict calorie counting, where you record everything including coffee, sugar etc. You will likely find your having more than you think.

Swap the sugar for sweetener and drop all the snacks. Have an apple if you're still hungry in between meals.

I have at least 2 lattes in the morning. Salad, lately beetroot, for lunch during the week , pie or sandwich on weekends. Dinner anything eg lasagne, fish, curry. Icecream & yogurt for pudding every day. I walk my dog at least 20 mins twice a day (fast walking). I don't drink alcohol. I think you have to learn not to be afraid of hunger, we now have ample food sources unlike our ancestors. Good luck OP.

edinstitute.org/blog/2011/9/14/i-need-how-many-calories

Please read this and eat what you need to feel well. I have gained weight since I had my kids. I have an office job and a chronic illness. This is what I eat on weekdays:

Sugar free granola with fruit and full fat Greek yoghurt
Tea and a pint of water
Cereal bar or a packet of sweet oat cakes
More cups of tea and water
A big salad with ham, cheese, tuna or boiled egg. Dollop of Mayo or olive oil and 4 Ryvitas a nice yoghurt like M&S thick and creamy
Packet of crisps or fruit mid afternoon
Any kind of cake or pastry if it’s someone’s birthday in the office
A home cooked tea of chilli, nachos, rice and creme fraiche or roast dinner or pie. A pudding like cheesecake, a mini magnum or ice cream
Herbal tea in the evening
At the weekend I have eggs on toast, smoked haddock or bacon sandwich, lunch in a pub or cafe that includes chips and a homemade tea or snacky tea which is baguette with cheeses and continental meats.
I eat nuts and chocolate as well. If we go out at the weekend I have an ice cream or coffee and cake.

I’m 5’9, weigh 13.6 stones and am a dress size 16 to 18. I was a 14 before kids.

Oh and I’m teetotal

I follow the principles of the Why We Eat (Too Much). There’s quite a lot in your daily menu that I avoid. If you read the book, it explains it’s not calories that makes us overweight, but the type of food we eat. What we eat can make us crave more and put on more weight.

To be honest swapping your afternoon snack for something healthy (like fruit, veg sticks, nuts) would probably do the trick. Obviously it’s not healthy to be eating crisps and chocolate every day. Have some f&v, pulses and/or whole grains at lunch to fill you up and you might not even need a snack.
When you walk does your heart rate increase? Maybe walk a little faster? Can you squeeze in a 10 minute home workout at some point?

I don't think it's what you're eating, but your lack of exercise that's causing you to gain weight. I'd go stir crazy with two half hour walks a day!

I think the key is calorie counting. Otherwise you won't know what you're consuming. For example a bag of pom bears is under 100 calories but kettle crisps are nearer 300. Input what you eat and then reduced your calories by 20%. I genuinely don't think exercise plays a part unless you're doing a considerable amount. I run 5k 3 times a week but this only burns around 300 calories each time.
Lots of water and more protein based meals.