Having trouble getting to my calorie count

canceroustears

When I first started, I thought that 1,449 calories wern't enough. Lol.
I put in the food I ate for the Sunday and barely made it to 400 calories for the whole day.

(I don't know if we are supposed to share this info with other members, but I don't mind telling you guys my numbers in this entry. I wanted you to see the big gap.)

I am afraid to say, but I think that my body has been in starvation mode for a couple of years now.
Just the thought of eating the food to make it to my calorie count will make me physically sick.

I was thinking small meals a day or something?
But even then, I'm sometimes too busy to eat anything.

Any suggestions?

JessiJean

There have been MANY topics about this. In a nutshell, your body NEEDS at least 1200 calories a day. Once you rack up to that many calories, your body might hold on to it since it's not used to having food. Just remember, you are doing this to get healthy. I have been adding peanut butter to my veggies as a quick calorie boost. Try anything...you gotta eat! :noway:

April0815

wat do u eat

leighoconnell

Try eating several little meals throughout the day which have higher amounts of calories. Make sure they are healthy calories though. So have celery with peanut butter or something because peanut butter has a whopping amount of calories.

chrissyh

definitely add snacks - eat higher calorie density foods like nuts, avocado - maybe whole wheat pasta....You gotta eat girl!

chgudnitz

wat do u eat

Seriously, no kidding. I eat 400 calories for breakfast :sick:

I hope you are joking, because if not you could be really screwing your body up.

LittleSpy

I've been having a similar problem some days but it definitely hasn't always been a problem for me. I try to stick to some kind of schedule & that helps. You're welcome to look at my food diary. Just don't look at this past weekend because I blew it (about 700 calories each day). Generally, I end up eating things like full-fat cheese or a baked potato with butter & real sour cream to get my calorie count up. Plus, yummmmmm, and potatoes have lots of good nutrients like potassium.
Peanut butter is another good suggestion. Also, a 12 oz glass of milk can easily add 150 calories to your day.

Ella09

your body is definetely in starvation mode but you can change that. You should at least eat 1200 calories. At the beginning you might see a weight increase but then you should see it drop. The point is for you to get healthy. How much are you trying to loose?? if your body is in starvation mode, you probably will stay where you are now and not see a change. There is a very good article about this floating around. It explains what happens to your body when in starvation mode and how you can change that. You should look for it, I just read it a couple of days ago. Good luck to you

canceroustears

Thank you for the ideas!

I usually drink a lot of liquids, instead of eat food.
I don't mean to honestly, but it's just what happens as I'm headed out the door.

I drink a lot of coffee and when I work, I usually have a small chicago cut slice of pizza, since I work at a pizza place.

I snack a lot on popcorn at night while I'm on my laptop and watch tv.
I'll definitly have to try peanut butter and apples or celery.

I never looked for foods with high calories before, so the ideas really help!

canceroustears

Seriously, no kidding. I eat 400 calories for breakfast :sick:

I hope you are joking, because if not you could be really screwing your body up.

---

I'm doing something about it.
But yes, I'm very serious.

What people keep forgetting is that I've gone years with eating as little as possible.
And not on purpose most of the time.
I'm just not hungry.

chrissyh

bring fresh veggies or fruit with you to eat with your pizza if that's what you have time for for dinner...banana, apples, grapes, baby carrots - all portable. You need a variety in your diet to also fuel it...

Maybe a protein shake for breakfast - or at least milk....

erickirb

You can drink your calaries as well. Try drinking juice, packed with cals (sugar). Drink 2% milk instead of 1% or Skim. Make protein shakes and throw in a couple table spoons of oatmeal and add fresh fruit, or chocolate syrup and peanut butter. Good luck.

If you wnat your diet to be scrutinized you can make your food journal public so we can see, and maybe find workable solutions that will fit your lifestyle.

courtney_love2001

Have you ever been diagnosed with an eating disorder, or do you think that you might have one? The sentence "I have been (eating very few calories) for a few years now" really stuck out to me. Sounds like this problem has been ongoing for quite some time, and maybe you should talk to someone about it.

If you decide against that, definitely take into consideration what everyone here has says...peanut butter, milk, nuts are lifesavers! Try to pre-pack snacks so you know what you have left to eat for the day. Good luck on your journey! :flowerforyou:

cheshirekat

400 calories:noway: ? wow! If you are having trouble finding time to eat, you can always pack yourself a lunch the night before, you can start off with a half a sandwich, choose foods that are nutrient dense like vegetables and you can try turkey or some other lean meat on your sandwich or hummus is really good and not overly filling, tomatoes cucumbers, avocado. People have mentioned peanut butter, almond butter is really good too, spread either on whole wheat crackers, celery sticks, apples, bananas, bread, anything really. I think the protein shake is a good idea for breakfast if you are used to drinking most of your calories, throw some strawberries raspberries, bananas, kiwi, any fruit you want really and some yogurt and protein powder and ice blend it all up, very good! Or you can make chocolate peanut butter smoothies if you have a sweet tooth, delicious! Dairy has a good amount of calories, pack some cheese and whole wheat crackers ooh and tomatoes, very good. Just go a little bit at a time, break your meals into 4-6 smaller 200-300 calorie meals if you are struggling. Your body will thank you and I bet your energy levels will go through the roof, not to mention you will begin losing weight. Make sure to get some exercise in as well, start off small and as you increase your calories you can increase your activity too until you find a good place for both. I also agree with courtneylove that you should talk to someone about this if it is really an ongoing problem, I'm sure your loved ones want to see you happy and healthy and will find ways to get you help if you need it.