"What is normal eating?" 5'1 43F 274.4>234.4=40lb lost

[joyinyah]

@johnathan_d_hill Ooooo ballet, fancy . That's actually so cool!

This is probably the post which has seemed most like... me, lol.

I'm unfortunately addicted to both meat (mostly poultry), eggs, AND pasta, so ... keto wouldn't fit me for long term and neither would vegetarian

But you've got a bit of both, just rearranged a bit from what I've tried...

Like, I could just not eat other carb foods on certain days and only do whatever is in my pasta! That's so smart!! ❤

Also I strongly identify with your breakfast aesthetic lol

And thank you so much for your reply!!

 

[ellel]

@joyinyah I’m 5’2 & 142 lbs

Yesterday looked like:
Breakfast:
4 oz Costco rotisserie chicken
1 egg
6 grape tomatoes
1 package of hummus from Costco

Lunch:
1/2 package of dole chopped salad
4.5 oz panko breaded chicken

Dinner: chicken stew with potatoes, celery, carrots & a packet of gravy flavoring

Snacks: banana, more chicken (ok have you tried their rotisserie chicken? So good!), some cheddar bunnies (I have toddlers)

…
…
A lot of times I will do overnight oats with 1 tbsp pb, scoop of protein & 1/2 a banana for breakfast. If I don’t do 1/2 bag of salad & the panko chicken breast for lunch, I’ll often do 1 slice Dave’s killer bread with tuna & 1 tbsp unflavored Greek yogurt (or Mayo!).

Dinner I kind of let happen because my 2 yo is picky AF but I’ll be sure to load my plate with 4 oz protein & at least 1/2 cup of veggies before adding starches. And I will never let go of my chemical-based coffee creamer lol

ETA I’m eating at maintenance rn b/c I’m breastfeeding, approx 2000 cals. I don’t eat back my workout cals

 

[joyinyah]

@ellel Oh wow my mind is blown rn, you have no idea.

I just realized that there's no laws against (and no real reason not to) use panko on chicken instead of pork chops or eat chicken or hummus at breakfast lol...

This is super helpful!

(Also your alternate lunch is basically what I've been eating daily... I have 1/2 to 1 packet of starkist tuna mixed with a laughing cow cheese wedge instead of mayo, on a slice of 45 - 60 cal bread (Sara Lee Delightful bread or keto bread) which I thought was really cool!)

 

[ellel]

@joyinyah Yeah I got the panko chicken for my 2 yo but it’s so good and only 210 cals so like… Why not?! I mean, I could sub for a plain ole breast but I get lazy and don’t always have time to wait for it to thaw & then marinate lol.

 

[joyinyah]

@ellel I'd probably cook 3x as often if I didn't have to remember to thaw things lol

 

[debrasleger]

@joyinyah Personally, I just had knee surgery so my eating is focused on high protein meals - chicken, beef, turkey, fish like cod or salmon.

But today, I had a breakfast sandwich made with a bagel, lightly fried egg, and two strips of bacon.

And then I had 2 pizza slices from dominos and 2 cheesy bread slices.

A lot of my weight loss recently have been contributed by recovering from surgery and not eating as much- I’ve been focused on eating when I feel hungry (I get really irritable and my stomach growls like a bear, I also get a bit light headed and then I have to have a snack of cheese before I make something substantial to eat) - this has worked out for me, so maybe a slow approach would work best for you.

For example you could try adding a veggie to every meal for 21 days and see if that helps. Or you could try to have one less bite of something sweet.

Slow sustainable changes are best so that you change without feeling deprived or like you have to binge eat.

 

[joyinyah]

@debrasleger Oh! I didn't mean to worry anyone! I'm definitely doing small changes in the present!! Just... trying to envision the future so that I don't keep thinking it as a "diet" with an "over", if that makes sense!

I think your focus on hunger cues could be really helpful for me in the meantime! Thank you!

And congrats on your own weight loss!!

 

[joshb91]

@debrasleger I love your cheese trick, I’ve noticed I eat junk food half hour before meals because I’m getting hungry …

 

[llk68]

@joyinyah Hey there! I'm 5'4, 56-59kg. I've been at maintenance for a year or two, and thought I'd post because I really like what I eat.

8am: Oat porridge satchel (with milk, I like it creamy!)

12:30pm: Ordered takeout - a loaded baked potato with pulled pork, cheese, corn and chives. Was pretty big so very filling!

4pm: A green apple

5pm: Snack size chocolate bar

7pm: Small ish serving of chorizo pasta with cherry tomatoes, peppers and bocconcini

8:30pm: Small portion of Ben & Jerry's cookie dough ice cream

Also, 4-5 cups of tea throughout the day with 1/2 teaspoon sugar and a splash of milk.

This is basically what I used to eat before I lost weight - just without the McDonald's type takeaways and with smaller portions. When I was losing weight, I tracked super religiously and the same when I was maintaining for a bit - but that's not how I want to live. I do know pretty well now though how much I need to eat and am more used to hunger signals etc.

You can do this!

 

[joyinyah]

@llk68 See that sounds like my days used to, except.... less, lol.

Maybe it really is mostly about my portion sizes?

Thank you so much, this was very insightful!!

 

[dendy]

@joyinyah Here’s an example of what I eat when I’m not trying to actively lose weight (I’m currently around 130, down from almost 150, but up from my lowest weigh-in at 125):
- breakfast: Turkey sausage, egg or egg white, and cheese on an English muffin, with ketchup
- morning snack: currently loving Sargento’s cheese and almond snack packs
- lunch is where things get wild if I don’t meal prep. Sometimes I’m just scouring for food and throwing together whatever I find, like a pb&j or a cheese quesadilla. When I meal prep, I tend to do tacos with shredded chicken and toppings or pan-seared fish and toppings. I try to use low card tortillas for these.
- afternoon snacks: I usually eat some fruit after lunch and/or make a smoothie with frozen fruit and protein powder. I might have a serving of chips and salsa sometimes. I’m big on snacks in the second half of the workday
- dinner: if we’re not eating out for dinner, I’ll try to have some type of meal prepped or at least planned, like last week was chicken thighs made in the air fryer, with a side salad, and I bought potatoes I never got around to making.
- post dinner food: if I didn’t have a smoothie earlier, I might make one (or sometimes I’ll have two in a day). I keep mini snacks bars (like kind bars or Luna bars) as a sweet treat to eat after dinner.

The more I plan, the better I eat, but some weeks just get busy and next thing you know, I’m buying nonsense in the grocery store.

 

[joyinyah]

@dendy This sounds like sooo much food compared to what I've been dieting on... do you stay pretty active, or am I just torturing myself pointlessly??

This sounds amazing, so many great ideas, thank you!

 

[dendy]

@joyinyah I usually workout 5x a week (30-45 minutes daily and usually strength training with a little cardio), but I’m currently doing a 4-week challenge (Tighter Together by Madeline Moves) that is 6x a week that is 45-60 minutes a workout. I also have a dog that I walk 2-3 time as day for 30-40 minutes each time (but it’s a lot of stopping and standing because she sniffs everything).

My maintenance calories are 1700-1800 at my regular activity levels. With these longer and more intense workouts, they’re probably higher if my Apple Watch is right - around 2000 or so. I’m currently eating between 1500-1800 calories daily, depending on my workout schedule (I eat more the day before a big workout).

What really helps with eating more in terms of volume is prioritizing lean protein, like chicken breast over chicken thighs (but those were on sale for me last week ) because you get more food for the same amount of calories. I also follow a lot of fit foodie accounts on Instagram for inspiration, such as Laurenfitfoodie.

Definitely plug your stats into a TDEE calculator to see how much you should be eating to maintain, then use that info to see how you should be eating to lose weight if you want to: https://cheatdaydesign.com/macro-calculator/

 

[joyinyah]

@dendy Oh wow you do a lot!! Hope I'm near as active by the time I get to a reasonable weight lol

 

[confusedfellow]

@joyinyah 5’ 2” 135lbs

My real intake today:

Black hazelnut coffee
One slice of toast with peanut butter
Dried mangoes

Two slices of bread with hummus and sliced tomatoes

3 sunflower butter cookies (small cookies)
A few sour gummy candies 5-7 pieces

Impossible burger, tomato slices, cucumber slices, air fried potato wedges and tzatziki.

I’ll probably eat something else in a bit too.

Yesterday:

Two slices of toast with peanut butter
Hazelnut coffee with oat milk

Oatmeal
Banana

Fried cauliflower rice with peas and peppers

Spaghetti with olive oil, garlic and tomatoes

Cheerios cinnamon oat crunch with almond milk

My advice is:

find a few easy things you like-for me my go tos are steel cut oats, roasted sweet potatoes and steamed broccoli-these are things *I like and will eat repeatedly.

*40 lbs in 2 months is a lot of weight to loose in that time frame.

 

[joyinyah]

@confusedfellow These are all foods I love... except cauliflower rice... I keep trying qnd failing to acquire that taste

Yeah, I know the number is scary bit it's pretty normal for SMO to average more than 2lbs per week qt first, and the first 15 were all food volume and water weight, and it's slowed down a lot! I'm being safe I promise!!

I might figure out the serving sizes for me for your whole day and just sub out different veg for the cauliflower lol

 

[confusedfellow]

@joyinyah To be honest cauliflower rice isn’t my favorite either but my husband made it so I ate the leftovers for lunch.

 

[dinhthaihoang]

@joyinyah Today, I ate:

2 cups of coffee with creamer

A large salad with arugula, romaine, snap peas, half a peach, tomatoes, celery, various nuts, 2 hard boiled eggs, and with olive oil and spices.

2 Oreos
An oat milk ice cream sandwich

A quesadilla with 2 flour tortillas, soyrizo, beans, corn, cheese, sour cream, and avocado.

A second ice cream sandwich.

Water.

I also ran 4.5 miles today. I am 5’1” and weigh anywhere from 105-115.

 

[joyinyah]

@dinhthaihoang That sounds like a reasonable food day!

Also, 4.5 miles! Way to go!! I think I definitely need to get my step count up, lol

 

[ryanflc]

@joyinyah Hey girl, 40 pounds is amazing! I remember seeing your post with the progress pics and being wowed at the difference.

I (5'2" 200>125) definitely don't eat "healthy" most of the time. I do intermittent fasting because I like having a larger dinner, so breakfast is just lots of black coffee. My lunch is 1/4 cup full fat cottage cheese with either a snack bag of flamin' hot cheetos or some salsa and a couple tortilla chips. For dinner, if I'm feeling lazy, I'll have ramen with some sort of protein (cottage cheese, grilled chicken, shrimp, scrambled egg whites). If I've meal prepped, it's usually some sort of rice and protein bowl (1/4 cup rice and 1/4 lb ground sausage/turkey) with some frozen steamed veg and chili oil. If I feel like eating a lot of food, I'll do a giant bowl of veg tossed with olive oil and rosemary salt and roasted in the oven. Don't skip the olive oil - you need some fat to feel full. And I'm a fruit fiend, so in the summer months I'll often just snack on a pound or two of watermelon or berries until I'm stuffed and don't even feel like dinner anymore. Really, I just ate whatever I felt like as long as it was within my calorie goal.

Another thing is that I see a lot of people talking about how their stomachs re-adjust to eating less food after just a few weeks of dieting. I was like you, where I thought I would never be able to eat like that for the rest of my life. But it turns out it just took my body way longer (about 8 months into dieting) before I actually started feeling full from the smaller meals. At this point, I legit do feel uncomfortably full on something like a 600 calorie portion of pasta that would have left me starving two years ago. You've already tackled the hardest part of getting started, everything gets easier as long as you keep at it!