What do slim people eat?

India_Rain · 28-12-2009, 16:38

This sounds really dumb, but I'm trying really hard right now to lose a lot of weight. It's working but going at a snail's pace.

When I was slim I used to eat tons more than I do now but never put on a pound (guess it caught up with me

).

I was wondering if my mind has become muddled with all the diet info and I've lost track of reality when it comes to meals. I've done low carb, low fat...all sorts.

So..any of you slim and healthy people out there. Could you give me a typical day's food and portion sizes? That way I can see where I'm maybe going wrong. I know everyone will metabolise food differently but it would still be a help to me.

Oh, and if you do loads of exercise to counterbalance it, could you mention it so I could take it into account. Thanks in advance.

onefineday · 28-12-2009, 18:22

Forget all the diets. Just eat real food, not too much, and mostly plants. (To paraphrase Michael Pollan's 'In Defense of Food').

India_Rain · 28-12-2009, 18:29

I'm a vegetarian so that should, in theory, be easy for me. But the flaw in that theory, is the expression "not too much". Carbs trigger me into a binge.
I know low carb works for me but goodness, it's boring being a low carb veggie. I will add more vegetables in though and try to fill myself up that way.

shazzyfizz · 28-12-2009, 19:24

My youngest son is 6ft tall and 10 and a half stone - he eats most things, however, he's a slow eater and once he's full you can't tempt him with anymore food!

There was a programme this year on BBC 3 - that tried to forcefeed skinnies to see how much weight they could put on. They didn't put much weight on at all and any they did gain was lost within 6 weeks!

So the moral of this story is eat slowly and listen to your brain when it's telling you you're full!

stud u like · 28-12-2009, 19:26

"French And Saunders" discussed the case years ago that skinny people live on one pea a day.

glitterpink · 28-12-2009, 19:57

Eat what you want but in smaller portions, I eat so much junk food but not a lot if that makes sense

birdsong · 28-12-2009, 22:38

I'm normal weight for my height, not skinny (like i used to be

) but not overweight either.

I have porridge for breakfast, a couple of sanwiches and some fruit for lunch, a reasonable sized meal for dinner, normally no desert. I rarely eat between meals, at the moment, as it's the Xmas season, I am having three or four chocolates a day.

I eat slowly and always savour my food. I rarely want more after I've finished. I have heard that this is the key, less food but learn to enjoy it and take it slowly.

malaikah · 28-12-2009, 23:08

Assuming you are a female! Aim for around 1500 cals a day. Very good if you can break this up into four or five small meals. Keep down the carbs, eat a good amount of quality protein and fill up on veg and fruit.

You should try to look at a ratio of about 40-30-30 of calories from carbs-fat-protein.

Fats should mostly be from nuts and seeds/olives etc, not excessively saturated fat.

Avoid avoid avoid refined white carbs such as white bread, white rice, white pasta.

Remeber fruit and veg have carbs in. Complex carbs are needed - not too many simple i.e. sugar carbs

Two litres of water a day, a big glass of water before each meal.

Daily exercise of raised heartbeat for around an hour!

AppleTango · 29-12-2009, 01:35

I'm 6ft 2" and my weight fluctuates between 9 and 10 stone. It is almost impossible for me to gain a substantial amount of weight even though all I ever eat is crap.

Last year I went on a diet where I ate atleast 4,000 calories a day for three months, Guess how much weight I had gained at the end of it? ...

...absolutely nothing, I actually lost 2lb.

TomDaOne · 29-12-2009, 02:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by AppleTango

I'm 6ft 2" and my weight fluctuates between 9 and 10 stone. It is almost impossible for me to gain a substantial amount of weight even though all I ever eat is crap.

Last year I went on a diet where I ate atleast 4,000 calories a day for three months, Guess how much weight I had gained at the end of it? ...

...absolutely nothing, I actually lost 2lb.

I'm absolutely the same. 6ft 3" and my weight hovers around the 11 stone mark. I wouldn't say I eat crap, but I do eat a lot. I've clearly got a high metabolism.

I'd like to actually gain a bit of weight from a personal point of view. But even going to the gym and pushing weights only has a minor effect. I know that there must be "bigger" people who would chop off their right arm to be as slim as I am, (well that would certainly help with the weight issue LOL) joking aside though I think too many of us have hang ups body wise (myself included).

welshmam · 29-12-2009, 02:17

I have been the same size for over 20 years between 7 and half and eight stone, i do kind of eat anything but what i have noticed is, i do eat slower than most people i know, i don't like large portions (except Chinese).

I don't do any keep fit but i do like dancing and do dance around the house

L'russe besuhof · 29-12-2009, 03:02

They eat the same as anyone else, just less of it. Like, one slice of pizza rather than the whole thing.

frasera · 29-12-2009, 08:03

reduce snacks.
don't drink sugar drinks.
this includes reducing juices, its just a poor way to use the calorie quota, it doesn't fill you at all.

anyways from the shows i've seen on this people underestimate the amount of snacking and stuff they do.

the_melon · 29-12-2009, 09:35

Stick with it OP! I was a size 14 for a long time, got down to a size 8 about 5 years ago and have found it fairly easy to maintain.
I am disciplined though and I think, unless you are naturally slim, you do need to be disciplined to stay slim.

I have cereal every morning, sandwich or salad for lunch and a main meal every night. I don't really eat desserts, only if we go out for dinner.

Other then that, I use semi skimmed milk, I don't fry too much and if I do, I drain off the remaining oil. I avoid creamy things as much as I can.

Having said that, I do also let my hair down once in a while! I think, once you've done the hard work you can treat yourself to naughty meals once in a while

burton07 · 29-12-2009, 10:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by birdsong

I'm normal weight for my height, not skinny (like i used to be

) but not overweight either.

I have porridge for breakfast, a couple of sanwiches and some fruit for lunch, a reasonable sized meal for dinner, normally no desert. I rarely eat between meals, at the moment, as it's the Xmas season, I am having three or four chocolates a day.

I eat slowly and always savour my food. I rarely want more after I've finished. I have heard that this is the key, less food but learn to enjoy it and take it slowly.

Your diet is the same as mine and my weight never fluctuates. I never eat between meals other than fruit, and I only have a light lunch - two slices of bread with filling. I don't eat anything processed and eat home-made food.

It's true that overweight people underestimate how much they eat between meals.

India_Rain · 29-12-2009, 10:25

Thanks for all your replies

So, what I've learned is that diets are bad and real food, but in less amounts is better. I'm certainly going to take all your suggestions into account.

It's really interesting to me to see what others eat, as I've had food issues all my life. I've been anorexic, bulimic and now overweight. So, I have rather a weird view of food. It's either "good" or "bad".

India_Rain · 29-12-2009, 10:25

Post gone to twilight zone...ah there it is.

HollyG · 29-12-2009, 11:53

Eat what you like and exersize!

It is not rocket science how to stay slim. Burn more cals than what you eat and you will 100% lose weight!

Plus exersize makes you feel great!

Good luck!

Kevin1960 · 29-12-2009, 13:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by India_Rain

I'm a vegetarian so that should, in theory, be easy for me. But the flaw in that theory, is the expression "not too much". Carbs trigger me into a binge.
I know low carb works for me but goodness, it's boring being a low carb veggie. I will add more vegetables in though and try to fill myself up that way.

As you're a veggie, do you eat a lot of cheese?

I've been trying to lose weight and have lost a stone since the beginning of October. This has been by eating "normal" food, but no cakes, biscuits, chocolates (other than on Xmas Day!) and spending an hour at the gym 5 days a week. Also, do you always eat a dessert? - you'd be amazed how many calories there are in a mince pie for example; go for low fat yogurts instead. Look at the calorie/fat content on foods that you buy and beware of anything with pastry.

India_Rain · 29-12-2009, 13:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kevin1960

As you're a veggie, do you eat a lot of cheese?

I've been trying to lose weight and have lost a stone since the beginning of October. This has been by eating "normal" food, but no cakes, biscuits, chocolates (other than on Xmas Day!) and spending an hour at the gym 5 days a week. Also, do you always eat a dessert? - you'd be amazed how many calories there are in a mince pie for example; go for low fat yogurts instead. Look at the calorie/fat content on foods that you buy and beware of anything with pastry.

As a veggie, I do seem to eat a lot of junk. Chips, crisps, chocolate, quorn cornish pasties etc. I've lost a stone and 3 pounds in 6 weeks by going low carb but I know that I won't be able to stick at this forever.
So today I introduced carbs back slowly. I had 2 scrambled eggs and baked beans this morning and will have something with salad tonight. I'm going to allow myself 1 square of dark chocolate a day.
I need to exercise much more. I used to enjoy weight training but am scared my weight will get higher. So, am going to try and do more cardio. What kind of exercise do you do at the gym?

And well done on your weight loss so far.

malaikah · 29-12-2009, 13:42

You should aim for a combination of cardio and strength exercises. Strength training will reduce fat and improve your shape

ronnie24 · 29-12-2009, 13:42

Low carbing seems to work best for me. Plus low/no meat seems to help too.

malaikah · 29-12-2009, 13:45

Also, keep a food diary of every morsel that passes your lips for a week, to get a true picture of what is going in to your body.

faded · 29-12-2009, 14:07

i have a fairly poor diet but find i dont put on weight and i'm fairly slim. if you read paul mckennas book he says that you should just eat slowly savour the taste and stop eating when your full. he says you can eat whatever you want as long as your hungry and only eat enough to make you full

hes right when he says that most people who fuss over diets obsessivly rarely manage to maintain a decent weight

minty82 · 29-12-2009, 19:07

My wife has the most gorgeous figure and has never even been so much as a pound over weight, from what I have seen, although she eats what she wants and never calorie counts, she will only eat when she is hungry, will stop as soon as she is full and doesn't pick between meals. All this maintains her hot bod!

28-12-2009, 16:38	#1
India_Rain Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: UK Posts: 2,078	What do slim people eat? This sounds really dumb, but I'm trying really hard right now to lose a lot of weight. It's working but going at a snail's pace. When I was slim I used to eat tons more than I do now but never put on a pound (guess it caught up with me ). I was wondering if my mind has become muddled with all the diet info and I've lost track of reality when it comes to meals. I've done low carb, low fat...all sorts. So..any of you slim and healthy people out there. Could you give me a typical day's food and portion sizes? That way I can see where I'm maybe going wrong. I know everyone will metabolise food differently but it would still be a help to me. Oh, and if you do loads of exercise to counterbalance it, could you mention it so I could take it into account. Thanks in advance.

28-12-2009, 18:22	#2
onefineday Forum Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 4,714	Forget all the diets. Just eat real food, not too much, and mostly plants. (To paraphrase Michael Pollan's 'In Defense of Food').

28-12-2009, 18:29	#3
India_Rain Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: UK Posts: 2,078	I'm a vegetarian so that should, in theory, be easy for me. But the flaw in that theory, is the expression "not too much". Carbs trigger me into a binge. I know low carb works for me but goodness, it's boring being a low carb veggie. I will add more vegetables in though and try to fill myself up that way.

28-12-2009, 19:24	#4
shazzyfizz Forum Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 5,210	My youngest son is 6ft tall and 10 and a half stone - he eats most things, however, he's a slow eater and once he's full you can't tempt him with anymore food! There was a programme this year on BBC 3 - that tried to forcefeed skinnies to see how much weight they could put on. They didn't put much weight on at all and any they did gain was lost within 6 weeks! So the moral of this story is eat slowly and listen to your brain when it's telling you you're full!

28-12-2009, 19:26	#5
stud u like Forum Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: The Sunny Side Of The Street Posts: 40,105	"French And Saunders" discussed the case years ago that skinny people live on one pea a day.

28-12-2009, 19:57	#6
glitterpink Forum Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 251	Eat what you want but in smaller portions, I eat so much junk food but not a lot if that makes sense

28-12-2009, 22:38	#7
birdsong Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 2,579	I'm normal weight for my height, not skinny (like i used to be ) but not overweight either. I have porridge for breakfast, a couple of sanwiches and some fruit for lunch, a reasonable sized meal for dinner, normally no desert. I rarely eat between meals, at the moment, as it's the Xmas season, I am having three or four chocolates a day. I eat slowly and always savour my food. I rarely want more after I've finished. I have heard that this is the key, less food but learn to enjoy it and take it slowly.

28-12-2009, 23:08	#8
malaikah Forum Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Not far enough Posts: 12,248	Assuming you are a female! Aim for around 1500 cals a day. Very good if you can break this up into four or five small meals. Keep down the carbs, eat a good amount of quality protein and fill up on veg and fruit. You should try to look at a ratio of about 40-30-30 of calories from carbs-fat-protein. Fats should mostly be from nuts and seeds/olives etc, not excessively saturated fat. Avoid avoid avoid refined white carbs such as white bread, white rice, white pasta. Remeber fruit and veg have carbs in. Complex carbs are needed - not too many simple i.e. sugar carbs Two litres of water a day, a big glass of water before each meal. Daily exercise of raised heartbeat for around an hour!

29-12-2009, 01:35	#9
AppleTango Inactive Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 1,799	I'm 6ft 2" and my weight fluctuates between 9 and 10 stone. It is almost impossible for me to gain a substantial amount of weight even though all I ever eat is crap. Last year I went on a diet where I ate atleast 4,000 calories a day for three months, Guess how much weight I had gained at the end of it? ... ...absolutely nothing, I actually lost 2lb.

29-12-2009, 02:01	#10
TomDaOne Forum Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Lurking. Posts: 10,622	Quote: Originally Posted by AppleTango I'm 6ft 2" and my weight fluctuates between 9 and 10 stone. It is almost impossible for me to gain a substantial amount of weight even though all I ever eat is crap. Last year I went on a diet where I ate atleast 4,000 calories a day for three months, Guess how much weight I had gained at the end of it? ... ...absolutely nothing, I actually lost 2lb. I'm absolutely the same. 6ft 3" and my weight hovers around the 11 stone mark. I wouldn't say I eat crap, but I do eat a lot. I've clearly got a high metabolism. I'd like to actually gain a bit of weight from a personal point of view. But even going to the gym and pushing weights only has a minor effect. I know that there must be "bigger" people who would chop off their right arm to be as slim as I am, (well that would certainly help with the weight issue LOL) joking aside though I think too many of us have hang ups body wise (myself included).

29-12-2009, 02:17	#11
welshmam Forum Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: living room Posts: 3,804	I have been the same size for over 20 years between 7 and half and eight stone, i do kind of eat anything but what i have noticed is, i do eat slower than most people i know, i don't like large portions (except Chinese). I don't do any keep fit but i do like dancing and do dance around the house

29-12-2009, 03:02	#12
L'russe besuhof Forum Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 550	They eat the same as anyone else, just less of it. Like, one slice of pizza rather than the whole thing.

29-12-2009, 08:03	#13
frasera Inactive Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 8,063	reduce snacks. don't drink sugar drinks. this includes reducing juices, its just a poor way to use the calorie quota, it doesn't fill you at all. anyways from the shows i've seen on this people underestimate the amount of snacking and stuff they do.

29-12-2009, 09:35	#14
the_melon Forum Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Sussex Posts: 2,467	Stick with it OP! I was a size 14 for a long time, got down to a size 8 about 5 years ago and have found it fairly easy to maintain. I am disciplined though and I think, unless you are naturally slim, you do need to be disciplined to stay slim. I have cereal every morning, sandwich or salad for lunch and a main meal every night. I don't really eat desserts, only if we go out for dinner. Other then that, I use semi skimmed milk, I don't fry too much and if I do, I drain off the remaining oil. I avoid creamy things as much as I can. Having said that, I do also let my hair down once in a while! I think, once you've done the hard work you can treat yourself to naughty meals once in a while

29-12-2009, 10:20	#15
burton07 Forum Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Sitting at my PC Posts: 9,434	Quote: Originally Posted by birdsong I'm normal weight for my height, not skinny (like i used to be ) but not overweight either. I have porridge for breakfast, a couple of sanwiches and some fruit for lunch, a reasonable sized meal for dinner, normally no desert. I rarely eat between meals, at the moment, as it's the Xmas season, I am having three or four chocolates a day. I eat slowly and always savour my food. I rarely want more after I've finished. I have heard that this is the key, less food but learn to enjoy it and take it slowly. Your diet is the same as mine and my weight never fluctuates. I never eat between meals other than fruit, and I only have a light lunch - two slices of bread with filling. I don't eat anything processed and eat home-made food. It's true that overweight people underestimate how much they eat between meals.

29-12-2009, 10:25	#16
India_Rain Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: UK Posts: 2,078	Thanks for all your replies So, what I've learned is that diets are bad and real food, but in less amounts is better. I'm certainly going to take all your suggestions into account. It's really interesting to me to see what others eat, as I've had food issues all my life. I've been anorexic, bulimic and now overweight. So, I have rather a weird view of food. It's either "good" or "bad".

29-12-2009, 11:53	#18
HollyG Forum Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 5,039	Eat what you like and exersize! It is not rocket science how to stay slim. Burn more cals than what you eat and you will 100% lose weight! Plus exersize makes you feel great! Good luck!

29-12-2009, 13:07	#19
Kevin1960 Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Turnford, ENGLAND Posts: 2,731	Quote: Originally Posted by India_Rain I'm a vegetarian so that should, in theory, be easy for me. But the flaw in that theory, is the expression "not too much". Carbs trigger me into a binge. I know low carb works for me but goodness, it's boring being a low carb veggie. I will add more vegetables in though and try to fill myself up that way. As you're a veggie, do you eat a lot of cheese? I've been trying to lose weight and have lost a stone since the beginning of October. This has been by eating "normal" food, but no cakes, biscuits, chocolates (other than on Xmas Day!) and spending an hour at the gym 5 days a week. Also, do you always eat a dessert? - you'd be amazed how many calories there are in a mince pie for example; go for low fat yogurts instead. Look at the calorie/fat content on foods that you buy and beware of anything with pastry.

29-12-2009, 13:34	#20
India_Rain Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: UK Posts: 2,078	Quote: Originally Posted by Kevin1960 As you're a veggie, do you eat a lot of cheese? I've been trying to lose weight and have lost a stone since the beginning of October. This has been by eating "normal" food, but no cakes, biscuits, chocolates (other than on Xmas Day!) and spending an hour at the gym 5 days a week. Also, do you always eat a dessert? - you'd be amazed how many calories there are in a mince pie for example; go for low fat yogurts instead. Look at the calorie/fat content on foods that you buy and beware of anything with pastry. As a veggie, I do seem to eat a lot of junk. Chips, crisps, chocolate, quorn cornish pasties etc. I've lost a stone and 3 pounds in 6 weeks by going low carb but I know that I won't be able to stick at this forever. So today I introduced carbs back slowly. I had 2 scrambled eggs and baked beans this morning and will have something with salad tonight. I'm going to allow myself 1 square of dark chocolate a day. I need to exercise much more. I used to enjoy weight training but am scared my weight will get higher. So, am going to try and do more cardio. What kind of exercise do you do at the gym? And well done on your weight loss so far.

29-12-2009, 13:42	#21
malaikah Forum Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Not far enough Posts: 12,248	You should aim for a combination of cardio and strength exercises. Strength training will reduce fat and improve your shape

29-12-2009, 13:42	#22
ronnie24 Forum Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Posts: 3,449	Low carbing seems to work best for me. Plus low/no meat seems to help too.

DS Forums

What do slim people eat?

29-12-2009, 13:45	#23
malaikah Forum Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Not far enough Posts: 12,248	Also, keep a food diary of every morsel that passes your lips for a week, to get a true picture of what is going in to your body.

29-12-2009, 14:07	#24
faded Forum Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 2,281	i have a fairly poor diet but find i dont put on weight and i'm fairly slim. if you read paul mckennas book he says that you should just eat slowly savour the taste and stop eating when your full. he says you can eat whatever you want as long as your hungry and only eat enough to make you full hes right when he says that most people who fuss over diets obsessivly rarely manage to maintain a decent weight

29-12-2009, 19:07	#25
minty82 Inactive Member Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 858	My wife has the most gorgeous figure and has never even been so much as a pound over weight, from what I have seen, although she eats what she wants and never calorie counts, she will only eat when she is hungry, will stop as soon as she is full and doesn't pick between meals. All this maintains her hot bod!