Caloric intake

[Tirvine]

As I scrolled through the What did you have for breakfast, What's for Lunch, and What's for Dinner threads I was struck by the number of people who eat a good number of meals I might have only for the occasional splurge. Add the What are you drinking? component and it gets mind boggling. My breakfast lately has been a one egg breakfast taco with a slice of Borden's fat free American cheese, and some Herdez guacamole salsa on a lightly charred low carb tortilla. A typical lunch will be a slice of cheese like Muenster, a couple of slices of deli turkey, tomato, and low carb five seed bread spread with Dijon and mayonnaise. A typical dinner will be about four ounces of protein, a salad with vinaigrette, and a vegetable. Sometimes my wife and I will split a potato. Other nights it's a tofu and vegetable curry over rice or a tofu and vegetable stir fry. The cocktail hour is an old fashioned or a martini. Dessert is usually an oat or mango pop. It usually comes to around 1300-1700 a day before adjusting for exercise. I am not hungry, and I keep my 74 year old body, once 5'11 1/2" but now 5'9" and a smidge, at about 150 pounds.

How do these guys who eat steaks and pastas for lunch do it? Check those threads. They will make you salivate uncontrollably. I wonder what a typical daily caloric intake is. We went to In-n-Out for cheeseburgers and fries the other day. It was delicious, but we didn't even want popcorn at the movies!

 

[Lightcs1776]

I have to say up front that I don't do tofu. My daughter went through a vegetarian phase, then vegan. I have nothing against it, but it killed tofu for me, other than a bit in my chicken soup at the local Thai restaurant. For drinks, I stick with homemade hard seltzer, typically made with vodka but sometimes with bourbon and sometimes just bourbon on ice. Meals generally are once a day, sometimes twice. They are heavy on vegetables, include a meat, and are low carb. If I have breakfast, which isn't happening right now since I am overly stressed with a capstone course for my M.IT program, as in never have stressed out for anything this much before including deployment overseas, it is either two scrambled eggs or two sunny side up, sometimes with three strips of bacon or three breakfast sausages, when available. I am currently 12 pounds lighter than this time last year. I need to drop another 11 pounds to be at a healthy weight and hopefully get rid of my high blood pressure. Oh, and my wife and I exercise on a fairly regular basis which includes Bowflex and long walks.

 

[NorthernSoul]

...It usually comes to around 1300-1700 a day before adjusting for exercise. I am not hungry, and I keep my 74 year old body, once 5'11 1/2" but now 5'9" and a smidge, at about 150 pounds.

How do these guys who eat steaks and pastas for lunch do it?...

You are quite lean compared to others of your height, age and gender. Your stats put you into more or less the lowest weight 10th percentile of that population, with a BMI about 22.

The median weight for your population is about 185, with a BMI around 27. The heaviest 1/3 of that population weighs 200 pounds or more, with a BMI about 29 or more.

 

[Tirvine]

I have to say up front that I don't do tofu. My daughter went through a vegetarian phase, then vegan. I have nothing against it, but it killed tofu for me, other than a bit in my chicken soup at the local Thai restaurant. For drinks, I stick with homemade hard seltzer, typically made with vodka but sometimes with bourbon and sometimes just bourbon on ice. Meals generally are once a day, sometimes twice. They are heavy on vegetables, include a meat, and are low carb. If I have breakfast, which isn't happening right now since I am overly stressed with a capstone course for my M.IT program, as in never have stressed out for anything this much before including deployment overseas, it is either two scrambled eggs or two sunny side up, sometimes with three strips of bacon or three breakfast sausages, when available. I am currently 12 pounds lighter than this time last year. I need to drop another 11 pounds to be at a healthy weight and hopefully get rid of my high blood pressure. Oh, and my wife and I exercise on a fairly regular basis which includes Bowflex and long walks.

Sounds as if you have it together!

 

[Tirvine]

You are quite lean compared to others of your height, age and gender. Your stats put you into more or less the lowest weight 10th percentile of that population, with a BMI about 22.

The median weight for your population is about 185, with a BMI around 27. The heaviest 1/3 of that population weighs 200 pounds or more, with a BMI about 29 or more.

Before I retired my working weight bounced around 180. The junk food in downtown is enticing. I'd grab a bacon, potato, egg, and cheese taco for breakfast, sometimes with a second egg only, and something like a sub and chips or a burger and fries for lunch. The snack machine was always beckoning. Hors d'oeuvres and drinks were my end of day respite. There was little time for exercise. My co-workers did worse than I did. I encouraged them to eat better but they never could. I'd get a turkey sub or a small burger, and they'd load up on double bacon cheese whatever. The fast food industry is a powerful lure. They offer portion control options but really don't feature them.

 

[Lightcs1776]

Sounds as if you have it together!

Working on it anyway. I am making progress.

 

[FireDragon76]

I eat a plant-based, vegan diet, with alot of carrots as snacks. I have to stay away from fried junk food, sweets, or nuts as they make me gain weight.

 

[Luc]

I certainly changed my eating habits in the last 2 years. I went from overweight to normal weight in 9 months. I've been maintaining it for a little over a year now. Without crunching too many numbers, I lost 1/3 of my weight.

I currently run between 2100-2300 calories a day. I do cardio 30 minutes a day. 2 times a week, I do weights. I'm trying to add a bit of muscle back on.

I do a vegetarian dinner once a week but I am not very strict on it. I try to balance my meals with a reasonable amount of carbs, proteins, and a bit of fat. I follow closely the recommended portion on any packaging.

In the end, typical meals are between an egg sandwich and overnight oats in the morning. Most lunches lately are now what I call Power Bowls! A protein (what's leftover from yesterday) and a lot of veggies (green if possible). I add a carb (could be pasta, potato, rice, bread, etc.). I still eat what I want, I mainly changed the portion size and I follow the macros.

 

[The Blackadder]

I follow a kind of strict diet since I suffer from GERD and also do strength training, so I have to get my protein and calorie intake without bothering my stomach too much. It’s been mostly oats, chicken, turkey, potatoes, carrots, avocado, rice, celery, apples, bananas and pears for something like nine months. I’ve dropped over 20 pounds without losing much muscle mass during this time. I miss a lot of things (tomatoes, cheese, lemon, fries, beer, etc), but there isn’t much you can do when it’s a health issue. I occasionally do eat a bit of forbidden foods, and I have to pay the price chewing ginger for a day

 

[J Schultz]

I didn't pay attention to my diet until 5 years ago. I was always moving at work (Construction), and my hobby is cycling. I ate whatever I wanted, and I didn't gain weight. Still, I wouldn't describe myself as healthy. 5 years ago my job changed to a management/estimating role. I'm in the office 75% of the time now. I decided right then to make a change with my diet. I track everything I eat using fitbit. I have my fitbit settings adjusted to "earn" calories throughout the day. It's quite interesting to see the amount of calories I need when I move a lot vs. when I am more sedentary. On a sedentary day I only need about 2,100 calories. On days I help with an installation and get an evening bike ride in I might need 3,000 calories. I also like fitbit, because it tells you the macro break down. That has encouraged me to seek out more protein dense foods without the extra fat to feel full for longer. I'm 42 years old, 5'9", and 155 pounds. My goal is to maintain my weight with a "fit" physique. I don't chase the 6 pack.

 

[TinyTim]

I'm one of those guys who has difficulty estimating how many calories I eat. My weight has gradually increased over many years and now I need to lose 10 pounds for health and another 10 for looks. I started tracking my food intake with a calories tracker. Even though I'm physically active, I'd been regularly exceeding the number of calories to maintain my weight, let alone lose.

 

[Doc4]

Dessert is usually an oat or mango pop.

An oat?

Oat pop??

How do these guys who eat steaks and pastas for lunch do it? Check those threads. They will make you salivate uncontrollably. I wonder what a typical daily caloric intake is.

Well, guys post photos of their meal or their drinks ... they don't also show us photos of their toes and the readout on the weight scale.

 

[Tirvine]

Sorry...they are oat milk based pops. They come in the flavors you would expect like chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla.

 

[FL shaver]

Today’s cycling cost me 1700 cal. I’m guessing that’s an underestimate due to the wind and the shivering before warming up! I’ve been eating since noon and still feel at a deficit!!!

 

[ctr]

Having a healthy weight and eating healthy are not necessarily related.

COVID was a blessing due to work from home. Got to control food intake and skip the coworker lunches, unhealthy snacks, etc.

Started somewhere north of 250 pounds. Currently around 185 pounds. Should reach the goal weight this year at some point. How was it achieved? Keep reading to find out.

Use the 1950's guidelines. Five servings of fruits and vegetables per day. Limit carbs and added sugar. Eat nothing with high fructose corn syrup. Nothing. Bought 9" plates. Reduced serving size as my size reduced, ie eat for the next smallest size. Eliminate snacking. Eat a decent and complete breakfast. Lunch is the big meal of the day. Dinner is usually light fare.

Added walking this year, 2 - 5 times per week weather permitting. I am the rare old man who has no prescription drugs. Nutrition is key.