Skinny women, what do you eat in a day?

[Anonymous]

I am a pretty small woman - 5’3 and size 4, and I can’t eat more than 1400 calories a day without putting on weight (it was different in my 20s but I am in my 40s.) This results in my eating a lot of fruit, veggies and lean protein since if you try to get to 1400 calories with pizza and ice cream, it will be very little volume of food and starve.

My breakfast: black, tea, a couple of boiled eggs, some berries, some smoked salmon.

Lunch: vegetable side (never corn or potatoes), fish or chicken for protein, some fruit for dessert

Dinner: basically same as lunch only with different vegetables and protein.

Depending on how many calories everything adds up to, I can have some coffee with milk and nuts/dried fruits. Sometimes I substitute beef/lamb/cheese instead of fish or chicken. I have a pastry or dark chocolate or something like that once a week.

Do I wish I could eat like I did when I was 19 and no matter what I ate I never gained a pound? Sure. But I like being healthy and fit more. When I don’t watch my weight, my blood pressure and cholesterol are not as good and I have serious blood pressure issues in the family.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here we go. Again.

While I think that OP has every right to ask this question I do admit to wondering what the motivation is. OP, are you asking because you want to be "skinny" or for some other reason?

Not OP but I’m guessing OP wants to see if women are thin based on genetics or choices. I believe the consensus is thin women are thin because they are disciplined and/or restrictive in what they eat, or they have a low appetite. Very very few thin woman over 35 are eating giant burrito bowls and pastries on the regular. If they claim to they are either lying, having just a couple bites, or an extreme athlete.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Breakfast: low fat plain yogurt, strawberries, one ounce all bean
No snacking
Lunch, salad with 4 oz. Turkey, no dressing
No snacking
Dinner, 4 oz fish, steamed broccoli, salad
No snacking
no flour, no sugar.
If you met me you would call me a gluttonous fat pig in between eating your bagels and cream cheese and chocolate and donuts and alcohol and sandwiches. I have medical issues that force me to constantly monitor my weight but I am sure you think I am gorging myself

No one is asking what you eat though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here we go. Again.

While I think that OP has every right to ask this question I do admit to wondering what the motivation is. OP, are you asking because you want to be "skinny" or for some other reason?

Not OP but I’m guessing OP wants to see if women are thin based on genetics or choices. I believe the consensus is thin women are thin because they are disciplined and/or restrictive in what they eat, or they have a low appetite. Very very few thin woman over 35 are eating giant burrito bowls and pastries on the regular. If they claim to they are either lying, having just a couple bites, or an extreme athlete.

I agree people want to see if there is a magic bullet. I don't tend to think so but think some people are naturally built to be thin without having to deprive themselves and I put myself in that bucket.

I am 48, thin (BMI=20) and here is my routine.

Breakfast: Toast with butter, coffee with full fat milk
Lunch: Salad with protein and avocado probably 2-3 days a week and the other days leftover dinner or a sandwich and some fruit. Whatever is around.
Dinner: What I make for my family - pasta dishes, pizza, tacos, fajitas, chili, turkey burgers and fries...generic family fare and things kids will eat too.

On weekends, I kind of eat whatever. Including a burrito bowl some times. I genuinely eat anything but I think my portion sizes are pretty normal. And I don't really snack or eat between meals. I also tend to just think of food intake as a big checkbook. It needs to balance overall. Some days/weeks I'm eating more and then I need to balance it out by having smaller portion sizes for a bit. But I make the adjustments just on my own, don't count calories or anything.

I'm active. Walk a lot, active with my kids. I don't exercise intensely.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Breakfast: low fat plain yogurt, strawberries, one ounce all bean
No snacking
Lunch, salad with 4 oz. Turkey, no dressing
No snacking
Dinner, 4 oz fish, steamed broccoli, salad
No snacking
no flour, no sugar.
If you met me you would call me a gluttonous fat pig in between eating your bagels and cream cheese and chocolate and donuts and alcohol and sandwiches. I have medical issues that force me to constantly monitor my weight but I am sure you think I am gorging myself

No one is asking what you eat though.

Maybe now. But how long have you been overweight? You didn’t get overweight by eating like that, but now that you have medical issues and are overweight it is what it is

[Anonymous]

I fluctuate around 10 pounds depending on how I behave. If I want to be 115:

Breakfast- 2 eggs or oatmeal, coffee with cream and sugar
Lunch-protein and a big salad with an avocado
Dinner-protein and a ton of vegetables, maybe also some kind of starch
Drink coffee, water, or tea. A few glasses of wine or cocktails on the weekend.
Workout regularly

If I add in lattes, deserts every day, afternoon snacking, more alcohol, less exercise I will end up around 128. Not fat per se but not my preferred weight. I’m 5’2 so an extra 10 pounds shows.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I fluctuate around 10 pounds depending on how I behave. If I want to be 115:

Breakfast- 2 eggs or oatmeal, coffee with cream and sugar
Lunch-protein and a big salad with an avocado
Dinner-protein and a ton of vegetables, maybe also some kind of starch
Drink coffee, water, or tea. A few glasses of wine or cocktails on the weekend.
Workout regularly

If I add in lattes, deserts every day, afternoon snacking, more alcohol, less exercise I will end up around 128. Not fat per se but not my preferred weight. I’m 5’2 so an extra 10 pounds shows.

Same type eating for for me but with more fresh fruit. 5’5” 125

With the extras you mentioned I settle at 135. But I prefer to be 125 so I don’t eat exactly what I want to. That’s ok

[Anonymous]

I'm 53 and skinny.

I have a bowl of oatmeal and black coffee for breakfast, a half of a sandwich with a handful of chips or fruit and a seltzer for lunch, and one serving of dinner (we eat all types of dinner -- pasta, mexican, pizza, etc.). I do not snack between meals. I allow myself one cookie for dessert after dinner and have some fruit before bedtime.

I also put 13,000 steps on my FitBit on average every day because I walk/run for an hour.

[Anonymous]

These posts never work because some women think a BMI of 20 is thin and others chime in with their 5’5” and 110 lbs which is obviously thin. The difference in eating patterns will be vast between the two.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:These posts never work because some women think a BMI of 20 is thin and others chime in with their 5’5” and 110 lbs which is obviously thin. The difference in eating patterns will be vast between the two.

So a BMI of 20 is not thin? 5-5 and 120 is not thin enough for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here we go. Again.

While I think that OP has every right to ask this question I do admit to wondering what the motivation is. OP, are you asking because you want to be "skinny" or for some other reason?

Not OP but I’m guessing OP wants to see if women are thin based on genetics or choices. I believe the consensus is thin women are thin because they are disciplined and/or restrictive in what they eat, or they have a low appetite. Very very few thin woman over 35 are eating giant burrito bowls and pastries on the regular. If they claim to they are either lying, having just a couple bites, or an extreme athlete.

Nope, I’m the PP eating daily pastries and burrito bowls (which I actually consider healthy!). I’m 5’5”, 41 yrs old, and weigh around 110-115 (as I believe I mentioned previously, I don’t own a scale because why?). I’ve been thin my whole life. I exercise daily, but I’m also thin when I don’t exercise. I do tend to keep portion sizes small but I honestly think it’s mostly genetics. My sister is the same.

I also tend to lose weight when I see stress, which suppresses my appetite. I mention this because it helps make clear that my body just operates this way. I am not making it happen via food or exercise. I actually think it’s weird and random that people focus so much on being thin. It has its benefits (mostly making it easy to shop for clothes) but otherwise it’s just fine. I don’t think it’s as magical as people make it out to be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:45 yo, 5'6, 120 now, usually 115. 30 min cardio 6x/day.

Black coffee until 5pm. Reasonable dinner of quinoa, edamame, rice, mushrooms, Brussels sprouts, raw spinach, cucumber, cashews followed by huge dessert of Greek yogurt with honey, a banana, 2 oranges, an apple, 2 rice cakes, a handful of prunes.

I have always been a binger by nature. In my 20s I ate pints of Ben & Jerry's and entire packages of Oreos. In my 30s I realized that I had to cut out white flour and artificial sugar for long periods if I was to have any hope of staying in my goal range, 115-125 lbs. Have not eaten meat or alcohol in a decade. Staying this size will never be easy or natural for me.

OP, if you asked this simply to gather information- great. If you are using this as advice at all, please ignore posts like this. Black coffee until 5 is incredibly unhealthy.

Actually, one of the unhealthiest things you can do is consume coffee and carbs together. I have 3-4 cups of coffee per day and plenty of water. In order not to spike my insulin the first thing I eat is nuts and then I have veggies. When I eat sugar in the form of fruit my blood sugar is already high. I rarely get hungry before 5pm as my body has adapted to this schedule after 5 years but when I do -- at say, 3:30 or 4:00 -- then I just grab a few cashews and some spinach or cucumber slices.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:These posts are always so depressing. Food is yummy.

Very true, and the reason why most of out country is overweight or obese. That is depressing too

There is very little evidence that overeating causes obesity. People are definitely bigger and obesity more common now than in the past, but the science indicates that it has more to do with the quality of our food and access to healthcare, especially preventative healthcare. There's also compelling evidence that obesity is linked to stress and childhood trauma. Google "ACES score and obesity."

It is a myth that obesity is the result of individual choice, and it's a myth that it's preventable with individual discipline.

This would be a great entry for Reddit Fat Logic

NP. Reddit Fat Logic is where all the creeper Reddit incels hang out now that their awful subreddits have been banned. It's ... not a good place. The fact that you post the above as some sort of weirdo gotcha says a lot more about you than the PP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:45 yo, 5'6, 120 now, usually 115. 30 min cardio 6x/day.

Black coffee until 5pm. Reasonable dinner of quinoa, edamame, rice, mushrooms, Brussels sprouts, raw spinach, cucumber, cashews followed by huge dessert of Greek yogurt with honey, a banana, 2 oranges, an apple, 2 rice cakes, a handful of prunes.

I have always been a binger by nature. In my 20s I ate pints of Ben & Jerry's and entire packages of Oreos. In my 30s I realized that I had to cut out white flour and artificial sugar for long periods if I was to have any hope of staying in my goal range, 115-125 lbs. Have not eaten meat or alcohol in a decade. Staying this size will never be easy or natural for me.

OP, if you asked this simply to gather information- great. If you are using this as advice at all, please ignore posts like this. Black coffee until 5 is incredibly unhealthy.

Actually, one of the unhealthiest things you can do is consume coffee and carbs together. I have 3-4 cups of coffee per day and plenty of water. In order not to spike my insulin the first thing I eat is nuts and then I have veggies. When I eat sugar in the form of fruit my blood sugar is already high. I rarely get hungry before 5pm as my body has adapted to this schedule after 5 years but when I do -- at say, 3:30 or 4:00 -- then I just grab a few cashews and some spinach or cucumber slices.

“I drink coffee til 4 and then eat spinach or cucumber when I’m hungry” is an insane way to live. I’m a thin person too but if you have to do that , you weren’t meant to be thin and are actively starving yourself to be. Sad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here we go. Again.

While I think that OP has every right to ask this question I do admit to wondering what the motivation is. OP, are you asking because you want to be "skinny" or for some other reason?

Not OP but I’m guessing OP wants to see if women are thin based on genetics or choices. I believe the consensus is thin women are thin because they are disciplined and/or restrictive in what they eat, or they have a low appetite. Very very few thin woman over 35 are eating giant burrito bowls and pastries on the regular. If they claim to they are either lying, having just a couple bites, or an extreme athlete.

Nope, I’m the PP eating daily pastries and burrito bowls (which I actually consider healthy!). I’m 5’5”, 41 yrs old, and weigh around 110-115 (as I believe I mentioned previously, I don’t own a scale because why?). I’ve been thin my whole life. I exercise daily, but I’m also thin when I don’t exercise. I do tend to keep portion sizes small but I honestly think it’s mostly genetics. My sister is the same.

I also tend to lose weight when I see stress, which suppresses my appetite. I mention this because it helps make clear that my body just operates this way. I am not making it happen via food or exercise. I actually think it’s weird and random that people focus so much on being thin. It has its benefits (mostly making it easy to shop for clothes) but otherwise it’s just fine. I don’t think it’s as magical as people make it out to be.

Ok well, so you keep portions small and don't have an over active appetite. That component is genetic, the ability to naturally regulate portions and appetite, not the being thin.