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

[brokenhearted822]

@joyinyah The number one thing you can do to reclaim a "normal" appetite, or at least get damn close to it, is to eat only real food or minimally processed foods. Avoid most packaged or fast foods. And I'm not talking rice cakes, which are processed but contain 2 ingredients (rice and salt), I'm taking about all the other crap with tons of ingredients and words you can't pronounce. Get back to cooking and eating what we were meant to eat, not these scientific experiments meant to ramp up our appetite and make us buy more. Don't get me wrong, I still indulge occasionally but I feel my best when I'm cooking my own food and know what's going into my body. As I've gotten older, my body is less forgiving when it comes to eating junk.

 

[joyinyah]

@brokenhearted822 When you're cooking what types of food do you make? What does your day look like?

 

[babytosin]

@joyinyah I’m not the person you asked, but I can give you one idea.

I managed to score a refurbished Ninja Foodie toaster oven that has become invaluable. Most of what I cook, I do in that thing. If it’s financially doable for you I’d highly recommend it.

One of my dinner mainstays? Chopped sweet potato. Cut one or two into regular(ish) cubes, toss em with any ol’ oil and salt&pepper. Spread into one layer as best you can, pop in the oven (or toaster oven) at 400 for 20ish minutes, rotating once.

Is it the healthiest thing? Will it be enough protein? Hell no. But it’s dirt cheap, dead easy, prep and cleanup take a grand total of 10-15 minutes, and it’s filling and fucking tasty. And without maple syrup or brown sugar, it’s surprisingly low calorie.

 

[joyinyah]

@babytosin That's a great idea, thank you!

 

[call_me_tom]

@joyinyah Huge congrats on your weight loss! You got this! I’m also 43 but 4’11 and a muscular 120lbs. I wear a size 2-4. My normal day looks something like this:

Breakfast is usually a small low fat yogurt or just tea with half and half.

Lunch is very very varied. I love eggs with quinoa, tomatoes and avocado. Leftover Indian food. Grilled chicken thighs with brown rice and veggies. Salads with tons of veggies and some type of lean protein. Salmon avocado sushi roll. On the weekends I’ll often have eggs Benedict or something fun and indulgent.

I don’t really snack except for berries or other fruit. Maybe a small handful (5 or so) or gluten free peanut butter pretzels. Shout out to the Quinn’s brand!

Dinner again, huge wild card. I eat pretty much whatever I want. This includes pizza and burgers! I also have a cocktail pretty much every night. Just vodka with a bit of vermouth. I live in NYC so our food choices are endless. We do a lot of takeout from local independent restaurants.

This all being said, I watch my portions like a hawk. When I’m no longer hungry, I stop eating. Once dinner is over, no more food unless it’s a special occasion or something. I generally fast between 9pm and 9am. Often longer if I don’t have a gym appointment that day. Oh and water! Besides vodka (ha!) that’s the only thing I drink. No diet sodas or juice.

I live a fairly active lifestyle which I’m sure allows me to eat more than someone who works all day at a desk or has to drive everywhere. I don’t own a car so walking is my means of transportation.

I hope some of this is helpful. Wishing you nothing but the best on your journey!

 

[joyinyah]

@call_me_tom Thank you so much! It's good to see that you can eat most anything with attention to portions... maybe it's all in my portion sizes?

I used to drink sooooo much mtn dew (probably a large part of how I got here too) and then switched to wayy too much diet soda lol. Coke Zero! Maybe that's something else I can work on!!

I'm pretty much homebound right now but I've been increasing my walking ability a lot!! And I can't drive, so maybe I can upgrade my intake ability by going walking a lot like you instead of relying on the disability van or my social worker lol!!

 

[call_me_tom]

@joyinyah Absolutely, get rid of the soda! Buy a brita filter if you find the tap water unpalatable. Add as much citrus fruits as you want. Seltzer with non sugary flavoring is also great! Not to be creepy, but I looked at your profile. The food you post looks beautiful and very tasty! Try adding a bit more healthy fats. It will keep you full longer and make everything taste more indulgent. Just watch portions! Avocados, natural nut butters ( no sugar added), chicken thighs. I’m also a huge fan of every possible seasoning including hot sauces! Hot sauce makes everything amazing! Try local brands. There are so many resources for correct portion sizes. Eventually, you’ll be able to eyeball everything but it takes time. Walk as much as is healthy for you at the moment. The “y’all” makes me think you may live somewhere in the south US. It’s gonna be scorching down there for a few months! Listen to your body. Be kind to yourself. Eat the amazing BBQ I’m dreaming of when you can! I’m rooting for you!

 

[joyinyah]

@call_me_tom Lol, I'm from the south US but in Minnesota now, unfortunately or fortunately, depending on mood...

Also, working on the water thing... I'll get a brita next time i have cash! I've been trying to do bottled water with mio drops!

I should also invest in hot sauce I've been doing a lot more seasoning lately and you're right,it helps so much!!

And I'm actually glad you peeped my profile, I'm never sure if I'm doing food acceptably lol!! Thank you so much!!

 

[smooman]

@joyinyah I do what's called calorie cycling. I eat 1250 on low energy days, the days I don't go for runs. I eat 1500 on the days I do go for runs. I do tend to eat mostly crap, thanks to ADHD. A lot of sugar, sweet foods. Just utter junk some days. On the 1250 days I try and get plenty of protein. Starting the day with Icelandic yogurt or protein pancakes. Some days it's even just a protein drink. Lunch is usually a small snack, fruit and some rice cakes. Dinner is usually around 400-500cal. I'm lucky enough I can pay for a meal delivery service and just pop one into the microwave for dinner. But otherwise a meal pike tuna salad on rice cakes or a whole grain baguette with chicken and veggies. I will have small candies, chocolate, and coffees throughout the day.

I suppose I'm also doing intermittent fasting but not intentionally. I will eat no earlier than 9:30am but usually not until 11 or 12, I'm just not hungry when I wake up. I'll eat dinner at 7pm and nothing later so i can make sure my stomach isnt full for the mediation i take.

I drink 3L of water a day. I keep myself busy with work and projects so I'm not eating out of boredom, which is my biggest eating issue.

 

[joyinyah]

@smooman Changing up for different days never really occurred to me until this time around, lol... so then you get bigger meals on days you exercise basically?

Thank you for replying!

 

[smooman]

@joyinyah Yep! I noticed I was feeling absolutely ravenous on the days I went for runs. Absolutely blowing through my 1350 calorie budget. But I was having no issues eating 1200 on days I didn't go for runs. So I just evened it out. 3 days a week I eat 1500. The other 4 I eat 1250. It averages out to around 1350 for the week.

You can also just eat higher calories on the weekends if that's easier for you, doesn't need to be exercise days.

 

[joyinyah]

@smooman I think that may be part of my (many) problem(s), lol.

Obviously I've never been able to do much exercise, but thinking about how I used to eat, I think a lot of binges and fast food splurges tended to happen on days when I had to go out and do more stuff!

Maybe making plans each week around what's coming up could be helpful?

 

[smooman]

@joyinyah Having more structure has been super helpful! Make times to eat so when you're hungry you can remind yourself that the next meal is at X time. And ask if you're actually hungry, or just bored and looking for more things to do.

I've been having a lot of luck just trying to structure my life more. Weird as it sounds, treating myself like a toddler. I get up at X time. I do this first. I do that next. I have free time until X and then lunch, take my meds. I'm allowed these things for snacks. Make sure I do whatever for a certain amount. Go to bed at a certain time. Etc.

 

[joyinyah]

@smooman Yeah I think implementing more rules and structure has already helped me a lot... maybe I need more of that! (I'm basically a giant toddler anyway, lmao)

Specific meal times is probably a good idea.

So over the last 2 months, I tried just straight cico with no restrictions (lots of accidental binging) and the for like 1.5 months have done a weekly fast day and 16:8 IF (but without specific meal times) and had fewer binges, and then maintained consistently on 16:8 IF with specific mealtimes (no binges yet!)

This week I tried 2 fasting days to allow for an OMAD day with much higher calories and I was miserable all week and the OMAD day is today and I ate luke half my meal and don't even want the rest, so that's probably not a good system for me lol

 

[sunee1]

@joyinyah Congratulations on your 40 pound weight loss! It's a great achievement!

I understand the struggle to an extent - I had been obese and lost over 60 pounds before I got to the normal BMI range. The things is, I utterly love the way I eat now. I am a whole food plant based vegan so I eat low calorie dense foods and end up feeling both satiated and satisfied.

On today's menu, there was:

1. A millet (60g, dry weight) porridge with shredded carrot and 10g of walnuts
2. A pomegranate (100g) chickpea (200g, cooked weight) salad with coriander (50g), onion, sunflower seeds (10g) and tahini/lemon dressing
3. Quinoa (50g, dry weight) salad with kale (100g), blueberries (10g), onion, ground flax seeds (10g) and tomatoes (100g)
4. Two peaches and a banana plus coffee with soy milk and some date sugar

All delicious, adding up to about 1500 kcal, large quantity-wise. Nutritionfacts.org can provide you with lotsa meal plan ideas - they are an excellent science-based resource for people getting interested in nutrition. Forks over knives also offer recipes and if you do not mind some translating, this might be helpful: https://salaterka.pl/przepisy/.

Don't give up! You can do it!

 

[joyinyah]

@sunee1 Thank you, I will definitely take a look at those resources!

It's really interesting seeing the way the meals are spread out.

I'm actually noting all the replies down in a notebook so I can look for patterns lol.

Also congrats on your 60 lbs lost!! That's truly incredible!!

 

[icequeen27]

@sunee1 Sunflower flourishes well under well-drained moist, lime soil. It prefers good sunlight. Domesticated varieties bear single large flowerhead (Pseudanthium) at the top. Unlike its domestic cultivar type, wild sunflower plant exhibits multiple branches with each branch carrying its own individual flower-head. The sunflower head consists of two types of flowers. While its perimeter consists of sterile, large, yellow petals (ray flowers), the central disk is made up of numerous tiny fertile flowers arranged in concentric whorls, which subsequently convert into achenes (edible seeds).

 

[wmimi222]

@sunee1 Whole foods plant based is what I did to initially lose ~30lbs and stay at a healthy weight for a few years. Then I started eating like garbage when the pandemic hit and now I don’t have the resources to do wfpb, but I totally recommend it as a way of eating.

 

[titine]

@wmimi222 There's a subreddit!

 

[brokenhearted822]

@joyinyah Im a terrible cook, so i keep it simple.

I wake up early, go to the gym, come home and eat some turkey bacon, eggs and a grapefruit. Sometimes I have cream of rice with egg whites and protein powder (vegan) mixed in. I like to start the day with protein, keeps me full. Around 500 calories on average.

Lunch is a can of seasoned tuna or mackerel or sardines mixed with avacado, bell peppers and cucumbers and I eat it with or on plain rice cakes. Sometimes I'll do rice cakes with peanut butter and a banana. Sometimes I'll bring a big salad. Around 600 calories on average.

Dinner is a a stir fry of some sort usually. Dump a bag of frozen vegetables in a wok, add your choice of meat ( ground turkey, chicken, beef), add some healthy fat like an avocado or some eggs. Add some starch if you'd like, sweet potato or rice. Good seasoning is key, I'm not afraid of salt since I'm not eating tons of processed foods. Around 1000 calories on average. I'm a volume eater, i eat larger portions than the average person.

All this adds up to 2000 to 2300 calories per day give or take. Im a bit more indulgent on the weekends.