Stuck with not enough cals?

SkyMusic

Hi there,

soooo I ate until I was full for every meal, and I burned about 350 cals today. I have about 1000 cals left for the day and I'm not hungry. What do people do in this situation? Each a bunch of junk, or food, when they're not even hungry or craving it? Or just be WAY under the minimum?

wftiger

It is counter productive to eat if you are not hungry or eat junk food. Contrary to some posts on these boards, it is not necessary to eat all of your allotted calories nor to eat back your exercise calories. Just call it a day and don't make yourself miserable.

nebulinda

I would agree with the above poster in some cases, but not for you. First, 1000 calories is way too much of a deficit, especially when you only netted 500 calories today. That is just not enough food. I also noticed in your profile that you said you are recovering from anorexia. I am not a mental health professional, but I would think that if you think it's acceptable to eat 500 calories a day, you might still be under the thumb of an eating disorder.

The first thing I would recommend that you do is make an appointment with a therapist, counselor, or psychologist. Your profile says that you're in college, and most colleges have counselors available to students for free or very cheap. Go see one, soon please.

The second thing I recommend that you do is eat at least your BMR, even if it's above 1200 calories a day. That means you should net your BMR, which means probably eating back your exercise calories. Also, if MFP gave you a goal of 1200 a day, then you've probably set your weight loss goal to be too rapid. If you're not obese or overweight and don't have more than about 15 lbs to lose, it's best to set your weight loss goal to .5 lbs per week.

For today, since you say you aren't hungry, I'd eat something high calorie (still healthy!) but not very filling. Think carbs (whole wheat things): crackers, bread. Maybe try a nice, thin soup; that would give you some calories and nutrients without filling you up. Or yeah, even junk. Obviously don't eat a ton of it, but it's ok to treat yourself to thing you like and not feel deprived.

obsidianwings

In general I am under my calories, but you have such a huge calorie deficit that maybe you could chuck in some higher calorie foods, nuts etc, you don't have to eat extra as such, just make sure it is in the meals you are eating.

NBabi91

You are not eating enough. Add more protein and calorie dense foods. I understand you might not "feel" hungry but 500 calories is not enough to sustain your bodies functions. Add nuts, peanut butter, avocado and other calorie dense foods.

Srmmelson

You are not eating enough. Add more protein and calorie dense foods. I understand you might not "feel" hungry but 500 calories is not enough to sustain your bodies functions. Add nuts, peanut butter, avocado and other calorie dense foods.

I really like this advice. It looks like you are meeting the percents of each food that you are supposed to, but you are missing the calories. I was going to suggest eating more snacks throughout the day...but I like this post about adding calorie dense foods. I'm in a nutrition class and I used you as practice for an up coming test!

snugglesworthjr

Why not just put yourself on an IV drip? Don't need to eat AND you get the calories. Win!

susannamarie

It is counter productive to eat if you are not hungry or eat junk food. Contrary to some posts on these boards, it is not necessary to eat all of your allotted calories nor to eat back your exercise calories. Just call it a day and don't make yourself miserable.

You know, if she were eating 1000 and felt full that might be reasonable advice. 500 is not enough.