Naturally Non Overweight People - What do you eat?

Anoneemoose

Hi again,

Following on from my other thread, I have been steadily making changes but not yet seeing any results and I'm struggling quite a bit with fatigue at the moment.

Anyway, a lot of people who 'don't do diets' gave me some good advice before but I was wondering what kinds of things do you eat on a daily basis? And how much of them (e.g. Portion size).

Thanks in advance.

Anon!

j.e.j.

I think it's just down to having a higher metabolism, to be honest!

I don't eat huge amounts of food at mealtimes (makes me feel light-headed) but I do eat all sorts of stuff, and I eat several times a day.

Sundaysgirl

I agree with j.e.j. - but exercise also makes a huge difference and means that you don't have to watch what you eat quite so closely. For example, my friends and colleagues laugh as I'm constantly grazing but am very slim - but I exercise HARD at least five times a week. I mostly eat very healthily, but even then there is no way I could eat what I do and stay this size if I didn't exercise as much (thought to be honest I probably wouldn't need so much fuel if I didn't!).

Typical day:

B - porridge
snack - nuts (unsalted etc, e.g. brazil nuts, almonds)
L - green veg, lean turkey, eggs, avocado, tomatoes (no dressing)
snack - more nuts, banana (pre-gym)
D - fish with steamed veg / veg chilli / stir fry - this is where I tend to have any carbs

Basically, cut out the junk, fill up on veg, pulses and healthy proteins such as lean meat and fish. Avoid sugar as much as possible - this makes a huge difference! I tend to avoid dairy too, and follow a mostly paleo diet - this works for me. And don't use exercise as an excuse for a treat.

Maybe if you post your typical diet / exercise over a few days we could help more?

Finally, I'm not sure what you're using to gauge change - if it's the scales then ditch them, exercise will likely lead to weight gain as you develop muscle, the best indicator for me is always how my clothes look and feel.

cherryblossomzel

I have a friend who is naturally slim and she eats pretty much anything, but in quite small portion sizes. She's a grazer and will snack a lot in between meals, but she's very good at stopping when she's full, so doesn't have a "clean plate" mentality. In restaurants she will often go for a veggie option, but I think this is because she genuinely likes it, not because she is thinking about calories.

She has quite a sweet tooth and loves chocolate etc, but again, small portions.

Anoneemoose

Thank you for the detailed reply. The small changes I am making are drinking more water instead of diet coke. Eating more veg with meals. I am doing these regularly whereas before I wouldn't even do this. Might not seem much but for me it's a start!! Trying to cut down on rubbish but days where my fatigue is bad, I don't seem to actually have any appetite but will end up eating high energy/sugar foods to get over the fatigue. I realised however that this is totally the wrong way to go about it so have been addressing that too!

I have fibro which means I really struggle with pain and fatigue and makes any strenuous exercise impossible. The fatigue is really bad at the moment which means I have been glued to my sofa for most of the weekend. I have started doing the walk at home videos which I have found good but they are by no means anything to write home about in the exercise stakes!

Sundaysgirl

I totally get the "feel rubbish - eat comfort food" thing, but having high calorie/fat/sugar foods will only make you feel better in the very short term - then you'll have an insulin slump. So it's no wonder it's nt helping the fatigue!

I hope you find a balance that works for you - any even the small steps of exercise that you're taking are better than nothing, so don't be so hard on yourself

pirateyqueen

I think my diet (as in, what I eat not as in, I am on a diet!) is pretty healthy. I really only drink water, herbal tea or occasionally regular tea or coffee without sugar. I don't really keep chocolate, biscuits, crisps or any "unhealthy" snacking food in the house, so if I want a snack I tend to have fruit. I cook all my meals from scratch, which I think makes things a lot healthier than ready meals or things like that. I love eating out and stuff, and I enjoy food so I don't deprive myself. I'd just rather have a tasty steak and ale pie for example, then fizzy drinks and biscuits.

belfastgirl23

It's worth keeping a diary of how you feel when you eat different foods. When I started doing this, after a while I realised that eating something sugary on its own gave me an energy high but I really paid for it later in feeling tired and sometimes even despairing. And this has changed how I eat. Now if I want something sweet I know it needs to be after a meal, definitely not instead of a meal which is what I might have done before. I think my tastes have definitely changed, very sweet things are now disgusting as far as I'm concerned. It's not to say I don't like a nice piece of cake once in a while or a piece of dark chocolate but I could no longer eat the way I used to.

Which is not to say I'm maintaining my weight, unfortunately my fondness for cheese and a glass of wine are a different battle but now if I don't pay attention I gain maybe half a pound a week rather than 1.5-2lbs which is what i would have been like previously.

Keeping a focus on fats and protein also helps for me, and avoiding simple carbohydrates as much as possible - as well as the obvious veg, pulses etc...

terra_ferma

One of my best friends has always been the only person who can eat more than I can do, but she's also about half my weight.
She eats whatever she feels her body requires, she has high calorie breakfast, including Nutella, when she needs more energy, but she also eats quite healthily (a lot of veggies, little saturated fat, although she has a sweet tooth).
She leads an active life, but a lot of other people who do can't eat as much as she can without putting on weight.

Marisco

My son is as thin as a rail and he can eat what he wants without putting an ounce on, and he does eat "rubbish" TBH Whereas my daughter and myself have to be "vigilant" and keep an eye on things.

Change4Life

Hi Anoneemoose,

Eating the correct amount of calories for how active we are is important to balance the energy we put into our bodies with the energy we expend. As a guide the average man requires around 2500 calories a day to maintain a healthy body weight and the average woman, around 2000 calories a day.

However, when we consume more calories than we need, our bodies store excess as body fat. For healthy ways to reduce your calories try swapping regular foods like full fat milk to skimmed milk. For more help and support, you could try our Smart Swaps tool on the Change4Life website.

- GS, Change4Life