I can't answer as to whether things have changed because only been playing since H&H. However, as above have mentioned, it's all about the type of food you eat and also about what you are doing. Some creatures attacks drain stamina quickly. for instance when I fight abominations in the swamp, I go toe to toe and don't use a shield because the attacks don't do a great deal of damage (plus I'm hard as nails :-) ) but stamina drops to zero real quick. So I either eat stuff with high stamina or take stamina potions with me.