is it really possible to be a size 8-10...

(51 Posts)
BabysPointlessPocket Thu 29-Nov-12 09:59:37

Without going on some silly faddy diet, or skipping meals, or slogging it out in the gym for x hours a week.

Because, I'm currently a size 16, eat reasonably healthily, walk 6 miles a day (with pushchair). Plus run round after my two dc and most of the housework.

Before dc I was very slim size 8. Age 15-20, I wasn't as active as I am now but I regularly skipped meals.
It made my already low blood pressure and low sugar levels hit rock bottom and I used to feel like I was going to pass out.
When I was about 21, I started eating properly, not crap, regular meals, was more active, but my weight shifted up to 12-14. But I felt healthier and never faint.

How many of you are size 8-10 and honestly eat regular meals, without skipping, and exercise moderately, not excessively.

Or is it impossible to achieve that size figure without doing those?

Because I really don't think it's possible

BabysPointlessPocket Thu 29-Nov-12 10:06:45

For me, anyway smile

GreatUncleEddie Thu 29-Nov-12 10:08:38

Yes. I never ever skip a meal. You can't eat anything you want though.

Indith Thu 29-Nov-12 10:10:26

I am.

Before children I was an 8. Between 2 and 3 I was bigger, a 12 really. Post baby I am back to an 8/10.

I eat well. I walk a lot for school runs and I go to body balance once a week. The class has really helped my core muscles and that is vital for keeping your tummy in (min still has a way to go before it is flat though!). I don't think you have to slave in the gym but #i think it is important to do some exercise other than walking wqith the children once a week, twice if you can. #even just a walk without children will be brisker than with them plus makes you feel better as you get a break from them and clear your head and if you feel happier you are less likely to hit the biscuits. If you get out for exercise etc in the evenings you are less likely to snack as you are not at home.

Sometimes you need a reality check on portions too, you don't need to go tiny but try putting a little less on your plate. I was keeping up with dh and I didn't need to, it took me a little while to get used ot having a bit less than him again but then I felt better for it, less full and sluggish.

Hopeagainsthope Thu 29-Nov-12 10:11:20

Yes, I do. I don't eat between meals, mind, which seems to be the difference between me and some who stay overweight. EG my DH will eat a couple of packets of crisps and/or nuts and/or chocolate at night watching TV straight after his supper and I guess if you do that then you would put on the pounds (he doesn't, actually, but takes an extraordinary amount of exercise and often skips lunch). So yes, you can easily have three meals a day and take moderate exercise and be a size 8. I probably have egg and tomatoes on toast for breakfast, or else yoghurt and muesli, then a sandwich and a banana or else bread and soup for lunch, and then a meal in the evening (anything I fancy, really, but I don't eat pudding and I hardly drink alcohol). I find it easy to stay a size 8 (not that I am particularly trying) but actually when I add it up it is probably a "diet" in most people's books as it is probably about 1700 calories a day.

Hopeagainsthope Thu 29-Nov-12 10:12:55

I meant to say: there are more important things in life than worrying about being a size 16! If you enjoy your way of life and are healthy then don't worry about it.

FeatherDownDuvet Thu 29-Nov-12 10:20:31

I was previously overweight but I am now an 8. I don't skip meals I eat with the family, healthy home cooked food that have a good balance of different foods. I go to the gym a few times a month, just when I fancy it but I'm quite active running about after two preschoolers.

I have to watch what I eat though, I can't just eat what I like. If I let myself have a pudding after my dinner each day, or let myself have a latte everytime I'm in Starbucks or whatever then I put on weight so I don't.

23balloons Thu 29-Nov-12 10:22:43

Me, I have never dieted in my life. i found a skirt in a drawer the other day I had when I was a student 20 years ago & it still fitted. Sometimes I get annoyed as my jeans get too loose & I need to wear a belt.

I eat toast or cereal for breakfast, sandwich crisps & choc for lunch but often just pasta and sauce for dinner. I have an odd glass of wine too. I really don't enjoy food & eat mainly because I have to. 9 times out of 10 I can find only one item on a menu I would eat in a restaurant, sometimes I wouldn't eat anything. I don't like starters & desserts don't bother me but if I feel like I do eat cakes etc. Food is just something I don't care about or think about and I would be delighted if I never had to eat ever again!! I don't exercise either.

ISeeThreadPeople Thu 29-Nov-12 10:22:43

Yup was a 10 pre dd, overweight post dd (pnd related) and post ds am a size 8.

I eat what I like tbh but what I like is healthy with the odd treat. I don't like to feel stuffed, sluggish or lacking in energy. I also don't drive so walk/cycle everywhere and have a v v active 14mo. I do exercise but because I like to, keeps me mentally well.

I couldn't diet at all. I hate the idea of a dichotomy between foods; that a food can be good or bad. Food is fuel and about balance. I see people all around me restricting their diet, depriving themselves, seeing food as a battle or deprivation as a miserable struggle. And sometimes it works in that their ultimate goal of weightloss happens. But then what? They haven't adopted a healthy lifestyle and they can't maintain it so they go back to a diet which made them unhealthy in the first place.

And 8/10 isn't an 'ideal'. You can be a 12 or a 14 etc and still be perfectly healthy. Dress size and weight are only general indicators. Body fat, energy levels, health, fitness, waist size etc, all more reliable indicators of health.

vix206 Thu 29-Nov-12 10:24:43

I'm a size 10 and I eat whatever I like blush it just seems to be my natural weight. I'm 34 and have one 2 yr old DS. I'm moderately active but don't take regular exercise. It is possible

I am a 6-8 and I eat 3 meals & 2 snacks a day. I think my potions are quite small though, and I don't eat junk (because I am gluten and lactose intolerant)

Today's menu:
Multigrain bread with Parma ham and scrambled eggs for breakfast
Tropical fruit salad
Leftover roast chicken and sweet potatoes for lunch
Handful of kettle crisps
Tuna steak with Niçoise salad for dinner, few squares of v dark chocolate
Glass of red wine, lots of sparkly water, 2 cups of tea

I have been the same size & weight for 12 years

When I was younger I was a size 14 (aged 18-22). Then I stayed about a 12 until I had children (at 33), and now (41) I am a 10 although occasionally I am an 8.

I eat all meals....bowl of cereal, rarely toast (cooked at weekends)
Lunch - usually a sandwich and bar of chocolate.
Dinner - pasta or fish/meat and veg. Proper meal. Practically never pud. Quite often a few nibbles before.

But don't eat between meals much.

Drink probably about 14-21 units of alcohol a week (I know - a bit high)

Exercise - I walk about 3-4 miles a day. Some cycling at weekends. Don't have gym membership. And can't really run (have dodgy knees and have had a hip replaced!)

It wasn't a conscious decision to lose weight....I think it is a side effect of busy lifestyle!

akaemmafrost Thu 29-Nov-12 10:28:07

I could only be a size 8 when I was running 50 km a week and severely restricting calories. I have just been diagnosed with adult onset asthma and am not exercising at that level anymore. I am size 10 now, which I am fine with but I don't want to get any bigger. We will see.

TeWiDoesTheHulaInHawaii Thu 29-Nov-12 10:34:38

Yes, of course.

I have 3 good meals a day, and snacks too.

I did use to be the same size and skipped meals but replaced them with, say, a family sized bag of crisp.hmm which had the calories but was rubbish for me. I was basically eating a lot if sugar and sat fat which is a very hard habit to change.

I think a lit of people don't acknowledge how much they are really eating, especially hidden calories like drinks and sauces, or are aware of what a healthy portion size and balanced diet is, sorry.

BabysPointlessPocket Thu 29-Nov-12 10:35:27

I wouldn't have chance to do any other excersize. Dh at work during the day. I work evenings and weekends waitressing. We have no one near by for childcare and can't afford to pay for childcare either.

I really stroll it out with the pushchair though, and put all my shopping in the basket underneath too, plus we live at the top of a valley, so have to walk down town to shops then back up hill laden down with bags.

I do tend to snack more than I really should though. Will try to cut down and hopefully stop.

TeWiDoesTheHulaInHawaii Thu 29-Nov-12 10:36:07

(to be fair, I have medical reasons for not gaining weight easily, but the above was true before that happened)

AnnaFurLact1c Thu 29-Nov-12 16:28:25

I am 5 foot 4, a shade under 9 stone and a size 8. I'll be honest with you though - I have to work at it to stay here and although I eat 'well' I cannot just eat what i like when i like.

GreatUncleEddie Thu 29-Nov-12 18:50:54

I'm a ten and eat well, miss no meals and do snack between. Couldn't be an eight though, maybe because I'm 5'8"

BabysPointlessPocket Thu 29-Nov-12 19:20:18

Well, I'm 5ft 2" and last time I weighed myself around a month ago (i don't own any scales). I was roughly 11 stone blush far too heavy for my height, I know! I would be happier and about a size 10-12 at 9-9 1/2 stone.

LadyIsabellaWrotham Thu 29-Nov-12 19:44:05

You wouldn't need childcare to do the 30 Day Shred grin

I'm currently a shade over my ideal weight (I'm an M&S size 10 as opposed to a real size 10) and I never eat breakfast (but don't count that as skipping meals, because I don't do mornings, new dietary research is casting doubt on the "you must eat breakfast" orthodoxy) but I do think that yes it's perfectly possible to be a size 10 while not starving yourself - it's just that as you get older you lose any room for manouevre - you can't afford the spare calories for any cakes, biscuits, chocolates, or more than a glass or two of alcohol per week. It's a bit depressing if you're used to eating what you like, but not as depressing as taking your favourite clothes to the charity shop IMO.

cloudpuff Thu 29-Nov-12 19:54:46

Its perfectly possible.
Im an 8 usually (health probs at moment mean Im currently a 6) and I eat three meals a day. I have my breakfast at around ten am, lunch at 1-2pm then dinner at 6-7pm ish with snacks inbetween.Most of my meals are homecooked but I do eat a lot of junkfood and takeaways on a weekend. I dont do specific excercise like running or going to the gym but am fairly active. I dont drink alcohol anymore but have had my fair share in the past, probably more than actually smile
I've always been this way, the largest Ive been is a 10 so I'm guessing its the way Im made rather than lifestyle.

InNeedOfBrandy Thu 29-Nov-12 19:58:43

OP I don't think it's worth it, I yo yo between a 10/12 to and always a 12 bottom. I want to have a drink on a friday night, I love chocolate and cake and cheese and I'd prefer to be a bit chubby then have to keep denying myself and having to do more exercise. I walk to school then work every morning and then backwards which works out a hour a day minimum, I don't want to do more.

DisappointedHorse Thu 29-Nov-12 20:05:27

I'm not naturally slim at all. 5 years ago I was a size 20, 18 months of WW turned me into a 10. I didn't exercise at all, I still drank too much wine at the weekend (hence why it took me 18 months!) and I lived a normal life.

Now, I understand my body better. I'm still a 10, I can't eat as much as I used to and I understand about balance. I'll never be able to eat what I want but because I know that and it's second nature, maintaining it is no great effort.

It can be done.

BrianButterfield Thu 29-Nov-12 20:05:33

It's possible - I don't do any proper exercise now (no bloody time) but I do walk two miles a day with the pushchair and I'm an 8. I eat decent portions and have whatever I want. I also eat chocolate or sweets every day and drink wine often!

I don't do "mindless snacking" though and would never, for example, eat a whole or even half a packet of biscuits because IMO biscuits aren't really nice enough to do that with. I read things that people have pigged out on here and it seems like a waste of calories. I'd rather have a slice of really nice cake, some Kettle Chips or a lovely meal than pig out on some, I dunno, chocolate wafers or something. SO although I don't deny myself anything really I also don't eat anything I don't really want. If there's a snack there and I don't want it I can easily leave it - I have just finished my birthday chocolates from a month ago.

RubyrooUK Thu 29-Nov-12 20:07:30

I'm a 8 stone-ish size 8 when not pregnant (currently on second pregnancy, god knows what shape I am). I'm reasonably active and I tend to be quite disciplined about what I do eat without depriving myself.

For example, I love chocolate and am no good on diets where you can't eat stuff or deprive yourself because I obsess about anything I'm not "allowed".

So I guess I will have porridge for breakfast, a latte, soup for lunch (with bread when pregnant as I go carb crazy), some fruit, bit of chocolate, dinner like roasted veg in wraps, vegetable bakes, chicken with veg and then a bit more chocolate.

I think overall my diet isn't that high in things like bread and pasta (except during pregnancy when it is 100% of my diet). I rarely drink alcohol as I don't really like it except on a night out as a social thing. And my only massive vice is chocolate. And maybe I like cheese too much. And I never sit down.

I definitely wouldn't starve myself though. I get the rage when I'm hungry. I think it's a combo of a diet which is 80 healthy with 20% chocolate along with being quite an active person. A bit boring really.

*isclaimer: I was once wild and drunk a lot while meeting unsuitable men. Now I am too tired.

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