Not eating enough!

fishiewishes

Hey all!

I'm having a lot of trouble eating my recommended calories each day - I've only been a member of the site a few days now and I haven't hit my target once!

It is a bit concerning as I don't want to shove myself into starvation mode but the food I AM eating is filling me up and making me not want to eat until my next meal I'm not having huge portions either! It's 6.30pm here now and I still have 978 calories to go after doling my exercise for the day! (my net cals are currently only 482 and that's after having lunch AND having a larger breakfast than usual!!!). Every day the site warns me about going into starvation mode after logging my process but I'm trying my best I don't want to run out and grab a burger or a kfc to "boost" my calories as we all know it will just be nasty saturated fats but I'm not sure what to do about it! I've added "extra" things to my usual lunch to try and bulk it out but stay being healthy but it's not really having much of an effect at the moment

Any advice for HEALTHY things I can boost my calorie intake with would be great!!

TrainerRobin

If your food diary was public, we could take a look and offer some specific advice ...

fishiewishes

oops! thought it was, changing now

aimon87

what is it that you eat? x

irisnyx

Adding peanut butter is a good way to add in calories as the serving size is usually just 2 Tbsp. It can go on crackers or apple slices, and it helps me curb some of my sweet tooth. In general, sauces and condiments can add a lot of calories and may be an easy way to increase your calorie intake if your short-term goal is to just get the right number of calories. Salad dressing can add a lot of calories too.

erickirb

It doesn't look like you eat enough most days that you logged. It should be easy to get 1400 cals per day. Try eating more calorie dense foods such as:
nuts and seeds,
nut butters,
high fat % milk products (swithc from skim milk to 2%)
add olive oil to soups, sauces and salads
eat avocado
have a glass of juice (will only fill you up as much as water but give you 150-250 cals)

fishiewishes

Normally for breakfast I'm having Crunchy Nut Cornflakes (changing to porridge once the box is empty), Lunch is usually wholewheat pasta with mixed vegetables, mushrooms and ham and then for dinner it's a case of whatever I rummage out from the kitchen, usually jacket potato and veg as the side dishes.

Veggie_Eloise

Make sure you are eating all three meals. Even if it's a piece of toast with peanut butter for breakfast.
Avocados, some fruits, greek yogurt. Those are higher in calories and very good for you.
Don't try to eat under 1,200 frequently because you are risking your body not getting enough nutrients.
I'm iffy about starvation mode, but I know it's hard to get all the good stuff if you aren't eating enough.
Good luck

catherine1979

It looks to me like you're often skipping at least one meal a day. If you had that third meal you could probably come closer to your daily target. What about adding some milk (either cow's, soy, almond) to your cereal in the morning and some fruit, instead of just eating it dry?

It can be so overwhelming at the start to get in the proper nutrition, but you're doing well to log! Keep at it!

papastu

i dont tend to add the exercise calories into the equation, just try to do the food for the day, excercise doesnt count for me

oysterboy

Some of the days you are only eating 2 meals. Don't you have milk on your cereal?
Nuts are high in calories but healthy if you are looking to boost how much you've had.

I struggle to understand when I hear people say they can't to eat all their calories. None of us would be here if we didn't like to eat!
Personally I could eat my whole allowance 3 times over :happy:

irisnyx

Also - you can try adding in a snack in the morning and in the afternoon to get that metabolism revved up.

Erin_endless_benevolence

I also only try to eat my recommended calories for the day. I do not figure in the calories burned. If I did that I would never lose weight. Make sure that the calories you are eating are not all carbs. Get your protein. Drink a protein drink or a smoothie

somigliana

Try not to skip meals; that should fix a lot of your problem. More fruit and veggies and good fats spread across the day would benefit in terms of nutritional intake. I'm glad to hear that you're skipping to porridge from the cereal; Crunchy Nut has a boatload of sugar. I prefer to eat more protein for breakfast. Do you not enjoy milk?

Good luck on your journey!

fishiewishes

I can't have milk as it physically makes me ill, not lactose intolerance I just physically can't stand the sight or smell of it - as well as having allergies to a lot of different fruits (anything citrus, particulary oranges can spark a full blown allergic reaction!) it can make things awkward.

I hadn't thought of having nuts! I enjoy them so would probably be a good thing for me to snack on

ladyhawk00

Ditto re: you're skippiing meals, or nearly skipping them, at least once a day. You need to get more protein and good fats (especially with breakfast), like chicken, fish, nuts, beans, etc.

Once again, here are some good threads as to why it's VITAL to get enough cals and to eat at least some of your exercise cals:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/3047-700-calories-a-day-and-not-losing

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo

Good luck!

Erin_endless_benevolence

oh no. well... fruit is a no no then. fish is high in great calories. Nuts are super. I have to stay away from them cuz I over do it right away.

aimon87

As the others have pointed out you are only eating 2 meals a day, this is completely the wrong thing to do. Always make sure you get your 3 meals, i also tend to eat a snack between each meal. Something like fruit or a low fat yoghurt?

Erin_endless_benevolence

I keep myself at or near 1000 calories a day. I had been eating too little for years and was unable to lose weight cuz my body was in starvation mode. Now I am on track to my goal. A slow pace of weightloss that is steady and positive. I not only count the calories but make sure that the calories I eat are, in general, good and healthy calories. Like I will make apple chips to snack on instead of potato chips. Just a thought. :0)

emilychristinah

You can insert snacks into your diet...especially before and after workouts. Many diets encourage small meals to keep your metabolism going anyway. Some other ideas (nuts are great) include protein bars (south beach diet ones are good), 100 calorie pack popcorn, green giant broccoli and cheese sauce (150 cals for entire box), brown rice and beans(control your portions), and lean turkey (cajun, cracked pepper, and honey flavored turkey are great) on a low fat wrap or whole grain english muffin. I know you said you can't drink milk, but if you can consume dairy in other forms yogurt is great too.

Erin_endless_benevolence

You can insert snacks into your diet...especially before and after workouts. Many diets encourage small meals to keep your metabolism going anyway. Some other ideas (nuts are great) include protein bars (south beach diet ones are good), 100 calorie pack popcorn, green giant broccoli and cheese sauce (150 cals for entire box), brown rice and beans(control your portions), and lean turkey (cajun, cracked pepper, and honey flavored turkey are great) on a low fat wrap or whole grain english muffin. I know you said you can't drink milk, but if you can consume dairy in other forms yogurt is great too.

YUM!