How do normal people eat?

I read people's food diaries on here. It helps.

I understand what you are saying. I feel the same. We have to re learn how to interact with food. A strict diet followed by binge and guilt drives you nuts. Try to make healthier choices but allow some treats.

Here's my tip, log it all. Face it and move on.

I would stop logging because I went over but just because i didn't write it doesn't mean i didn't eat it.

I would suggest 3 meals and 1 or 2 snacks plan it out and see how it feels for you. Feel free to read my diary. Best of luck.

They are all different with re to snacking and deserts and such. What they all have in common is that they basically eat the appropriate number of calories for their activity level, size, age, . . . ( their TDEE (total daily energy expenditure)

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or what mfp calls "maintenance."

I eat things like this and track all of it:
Breakfast: one Fage brand 2% Greek yogurt (either Strawberry, Cherry, Blood Orange, etc.). They are about 140 calories each and have a good amount of protein. Only drawback is the sugar.
Or 1 serving of Bare Naked protein granola (1/3 cup with 1/3 cup skim milk) and a handful of blueberries.

Mid-morning: 100 to 170 chocolate Muscle Milk light ready to drink protein drink (calories depend on the size of drink). They sell them at Vitamin Shoppe, Costco, Target, etc. High protein fills you up.

Lunch: either veggie salad with red wine vinegar dressing or container of chopped veggies (cucumber, cherry tomatoes, celery) with 1 T. Hummus. 1 Apple or other fruit. 1 snack size Cottage cheese. 1, 100-calorie natural almonds package. Sometimes I have a small can of albacore tuna in water instead of something else.

Mid afternoon snack: Think Thin brand lean fiber protein bar, or similar. About 150 calories.

Dinner: Either 1 chicken breast or 1 fish filet (baked, grilled, or broiled), a green giant frozen vegetable or a baked sweet potato (no butter), a fresh salad with red wine vinegar. Or 1-serving of turkey eggplant lasagna or zucchini turkey lasagna (no noodles in either dish!...see Jennie-o lean ground turkey recipes on their website), and fresh salad.

Evening snack: 100 calorie frozen yogurt bar, or 110 calorie rice pudding cup, or 130 calorie frozen banana covered in chocolate (Diana's banana babies). Or banana and peanut butter. Something like this.

I try to eat very little bread, pasta, white potatoes, cereals, pastries, candy, etc. It is hard but it works. I lost 35 lbs.

The problem is that "the way normal people eat" isn't appropriate for every person. I was eating "normally" and wound up morbidly obese. In order to be able to maintain without counting calories, you have to have a bead on how to eyeball what you're doing when you ARE counting, and eat like that. You should also continue to weigh yourself regularly so you can catch yourself if you're going off track. Not everyone will be able to do it. If maintaining for you means tracking forever, it may seem like torture now, but the outcome will be worth it.

Silverware?

I ask my healthy/normal friends how they eat & they think I'm crazy... I ask them how they know when to stop eating. For me, the answer is: when all the food is gone; for them, the answer is: when I've had enough. It's such a strange concept to me.

I've come to the realization that I won't be a "normal" eater ever in my life. Logging my foods, weighing foods, and making sure it's a priority will be my normal. I've lost 50 pounds before, 70 this time, and I'll never go through this again.

my husband is a normal eater, ( I am not) and lifelong slim guy.

Breakfast- usually just coffee, a few times a week he has a cup of yogurt with some cereal mixed in it.

Lunch- almost always a sandwich, with fruit/nuts or veggies/dip on the side.

dinner- a plate of whatever I cooked, rarely seconds...usually washed down with beer.

late night- chips and lots of hummus, sometimes popcorn. more beer!

Liftng4Lis wrote: »

Normal is a setting on the washing machine.

I was just getting ready to say this.

lisah180 wrote: »

I swear if I'm not counting every morsel I'm bingeing on junk! My goal is to lose weight, get and maintain a healthy weight an stay there. I don't want to count and plan forever but I don't know how normal (healthy) people eat. Do they just eat 3 meals a day, do they snack, have desert, treats etc. How often?

I understand where you're coming from.....i need to log or i'll just mess up.
Wouldn't class myself as "normal", but i eat just about anything (as long as it fits my maintenance calories).
I eat Breakfast, Lunch, another small Lunch , Dinner and normally have a couple of snacks as well (could be Almonds & an Apple, could be a packet of Crisps/Chips, could be a Doughnut)!
So just keep logging and if you do go over, just do some extra exercise.
This is where doing regular exercise really helps.
Good Luck!

I just finished reading French Women Don't Get Fat by Mireille Guiliano.... it is beautifully written and has some great advice for eating in moderation and really appreciating your food.

I don't normally recommend diet books (or read them) but I really admire her philosophy. It's worth a read, especially if you can find a used copy. I think bought mine for under £3.

lisah180 wrote: »

I don't want to count and plan forever but I don't know how normal (healthy) people eat. Do they just eat 3 meals a day, do they snack, have desert, treats etc. How often?

Everyone's "normal" is different for them. My normal may not be your normal etc. I may be one of those who has to count forever. I actually forget what and how much I eat. Yesterday I forgot I had double chicken on my morning salad and the other day I forgot I had eaten peanut butter toast. All until I looked at my log to see how many calories I had left for the day.

If I hadn't logged I would have over eaten my calories - but if you asked me I would have told you, nope, I ate within my calories. So for me, logging is important. Will I actually do it until the day I die? Not likely. I can't see myself logging my food when I'm 70.

I eat 3 times a day + dessert, but I eat all my calories between noon and 9pm. I can't eat every couple of hours like some people. And some people can't make it unless they eat every couple hours. It's one of those things you have to fiddle with until you find out what works best for you.

I've learned a few things from my watching my thin husband.

First, he thinks completely different about food than I do. He has no emotional reactions to food and I don't know if it's just because he knows he can eat whatever he wants or just really doesn't care, it's only food to him. I love food. When I see food commercials, watch food network, or someone mentions the word pizza or cupcakes I literally start salivating like a dog. I have been known to jump up and down in the grocery store when I discover a new flavor of oreo's or Ben and Jerry's ice cream.

Second, he eats very slow and puts his fork down between bites. By the time I sit down to eat I am so hungry that I quickly devour my food. Forget putting my fork down , if anything I'll stab you in the face with it if you dare touch my plate or get in the way.

He eats 3 meals a day and snacks on fruit, nuts, or granola bars. He eats whatever I make for dinner, sometimes a larger portion than mine and sometimes not.

I don't think I'll ever have a normal relationship with food, I will always need to be conscious of what I'm eating and how much. Like the rest of us, I'm just trying to learn some new healthy habits along the way so I can keep the weight off for good.

Experiment a little with different types of snacks. I found I was really hungry in the afternoon so I switched out my fruit snack for a higher protein snack of ricotta or cottage cheese and a few almonds. You will find what works for you.

lisah180 wrote: »

Thank you so much for all the responses. I suppose for now I just need to log everything and know that, that might just be what I need to do to maintain this lifestyle. I've been trying to cut back on snacks, as they usually end up being the bulk of my daily calories, but I just seem to be hungry constantly!

As WBB55 said above, maybe your daily calories are set too low.
Alternatively, maybe try have bigger main Meals (fill up your plate with Extra Veg or Salad) - so you won't have to snack as much.