Does this sound "normal"?

Hello, without specifics, I'm trying to maintain weight (at 140), but also have been asked if how much I eat is considered "NORMAL". But, in general... does this sound like an average amount to eat (if I ate this, and put in the exercise, does this seem like a normal amount of food in a day, and not over the top?) In respect to the person who asked if this was NORMAL, would an overweight person have trouble losing weight with this?

breakfast- bowl of cereal with a cup of 100% juice

OR

bagel with (NOT TOO MUCH) cream cheese with a cup 100% juice

lunch- A sandwich (small scrape of mayo, slice of cheese, lunch meat)

an apple or banana with one SCOOP (serving) of peanut butter

dinner- 1 piece of chicken with a normal portion of starch (half a potato or rice) and good portion of veggies (a tiny bit of butter in it)

OR

2 pieces of fish with a normal portion of starch (potato a potato or rice) an good portion of veggies (little bit of butter)

OR

A moderately healthy soup with half a pack of low sodium saltines.

dessert- a light pudding for an evening treat.

Is this an average amount of food that would maintain a person of average weight, assuming that everything is correctly portioned and common sensical?

THANK YOU VERY  MUCH!

It's difficult to say because every single person needs different amounts of food to maintain. It sounds like a pretty standard healthy diet, maybe try asking in the weight maintenance forum?

Without your specifics, just ball-parking the foods, I would say that the menu is lacking at LEAST a few hundred calories.  Also, there are no snacks spread out throughout the day. 

What you have given here really cant be judged...there are no portions or specifics.  A piece of fish, like flounder, broiled is different from a salmon steak.  A piece of chicken would vary in calories depending upon a full chicken breast or a drumstick or wing.

It's a guessing game at this point.  What exactly do you wish to find out?

Usually the fish is broiled tilapia. Also, for snacks, when they're needed, I have carrots with hummus, or wheat thins with hummus.

What do you recommend I change for a more normal eating?

Ultimately, I want to make sure that the amount I am eating isn't too much and for an overweight person, is it enough to lose weight?

Why not use the CC food log for a week and keep note of your typical food intake?   Weigh out the portions before logging so that you have an accurate idea of the calorie-content.   Use the 'analysis' to see if you're getting a reasonable balance.  The typical adult woman needs about 2000 cals a day to maintain ... a more active one will need more than that.  If your average is there or thereabouts then you're probably eating enough to maintain.  

The CC calculator can also help you with a weight-loss intake.  If you're 140lbs and reasonably active you could probably start the ball rolling at 1400-1500 cals quite easily.

This is like my diet - minus the cheese and pudding, six times per week.  The diet is missing a couple hundred of calories per day. I do this on purpose because I usually go out to eat once on the weekends and will endulge in a dinner roll or 1/2 of a dessert. By keeping my diet six days per week, I can maintain my weight and not feel guilty about eating senseless bread and desserts. YUM.

Our bodies react differently to food and you know your body the best.  My general rule is you are not eating enough food if:

your close (and reasonable) friends and family are concerned about the amount you eat.

You are AFRAID to eat.

You believe you are not eating enough.

You can fax the docotr to your primary physician to get his/ her opinion,

That is around what I eat on a normal day except I include dairy.  So I eat more than you and I have been maintaining around 125 for about a week now (I'm 5'4" and reasonably active).  I have cereal with milk in the mornings, usually with a piece of fruit cut up on top.  And at lunch I have a fruit, a serving of baby carrots and a dannon lite and fit yogurt along with a sandwich.  My sandwiches vary from BLTs with a scrape of mayo, to tuna salad, to tuna melt(tuna with cheese melted on top), to two slices of meat with a slice of cheese and lettuce onion and tomato.  These are on WW bread or rye.  And I do closed sandwiches.

I think you could stand to add a little bit more to your diet, but for now it is pretty normal.

hi, well its hard to say especiall when you talk about small amounts of mayonaise, peanut butter, cream cheese etc.

and also it would hard to get your portion sizes exactly right every day

i would also become aware of th high number of calories in a bagel.

overall i think its a fine diet but you would have to put in exercise too.

I agree with GI-Jane you will get a more accurate view on all the components of your diet if you use the FOOD log.  While not 100% perfect, because you might not find exactly what you are eating as tagged, but it is pretty close to exact as you are going to get without manually writing everything down from a food label.  And don't forget portion sizes make a difference also.

Use the tool on your profile page to see where your calorie intake should be for your age, and goal, maintenance or current weight. Fill it out appropriately to get a good idea.

Best of luck and God Bless.

Being a 374lb guy, I guess in my mind, that sounds like a seemingly average/normal diet... although I eat way more. But what is normal? A buddy of mine is about 160lb and usually eats a lot more than I do at one sitting but he never gains weight. Although there may be more nutritious selections, what you descibe sounds completely normal.

as long as its not more than what you burn in calories everyday, you're fine. Don't worry. If I were you, I would estimate about how many calories that you have everyday and make sure that you're not going over what your average calorie burn in is. Good luck maintaining your weight!