Struggling with calories

courtneylove6

I'm female, young, 5'8 and 127 lbs.
Intro: I'd just like to say that I had a lot of issues with food in my past. I'm a lot better now. But I am just trying to tone up, eat healthier/more mindfully, and weight loss isn't even necessarily my goal, it's more so just healing my hormones and thyroid and overall quality of life. I'm vegetarian and trying to follow "intuitive eating"

Problem: I'm struggling making sure I get enough calories in a day. My tendencies have always been to over-restrict (I won't say numbers in case it's triggering), and now that I'm actually interested in food and eating and I'm feeling better, I'm realizing just how hard it is to hit my goal of 1500 while also eating what I want. My appetite is small and I don't often get too hungry, and when I do eat my meals are almost never over 400 calories unless I'm eating out. But on days where I try to incorporate more caloric foods, I end up binging later and regretting it.

Question: How can I find balance and make sure I'm eating enough (while still maintaining a caloric deficit) while also following my hunger patterns and honoring my cravings (which I honestly do crave low-calorie foods)

MargaretYakoda

I have in the past had a problem remembering to eat (AûHD) and I’ve made a habit of setting a minimum as well as a maximum calorie goal for the day.

Other things you can do:
Cheese sticks or single servings like Baby Bel or Tillamook. This adds protein so that’s a bonus.
Peanut butter also is nutritious and packs a decent amount of calories.
Eggs are awesome. Consider egg salad or an egg bite. You can get a microwave egg bite maker for extreme ease of preparation. Add in bacon bites, a pinch of cheddar, and any leftover veggies you like. Absolutely delicious.

PAV8888

courtneylove6 wrote: »

I am just trying to tone up, eat healthier/more mindfully, and weight loss isn't even necessarily my goal, it's more so just healing my hormones and thyroid and overall quality of life. I'm vegetarian and trying to follow "intuitive eating"
Question: How can I find balance and make sure I'm eating enough (while still maintaining a caloric deficit) while also following my hunger patterns

Gently... a read through your post highlights a conflicting goals issue.
Given your implied starting point and current BMI, weight loss should not, AT ALL, be a current goal, i.e. it shouldn't really be part of your narrative--yet it is.
Once you remove both "loss" and "caloric deficit" from your goal setting all of a sudden you will start having an exponentially better chance of achieving the rest of your objectives.
True health is a good goal!