I'm not eating enough? Help :T

marydhastings

Okay so, I put myself at a 1300 calorie intake goal. I know that you need at least 1200 calories minimum to have proper body functions. I know its healthy to eat at LEAST 4 times a day (breakfast, lunch, snack, and dinner)
But no matter what I attempt to do, I always eat less than 1300, most of the time, under 1200.
I eat as healthy as I can with the budget I have (college student budget), I make it a goal to get at least 5 to 6 servings of veggies a day. But the healthier I tend to make my meals, the less calories I intake.
Help ? :x

diannethegeek

Diary is closed so I can't give specific advice, but in general you want to add calorie dense foods to your diet. Get rid of any low-fat, low-cal stuff and add in nuts, nut butter, seeds, avocado, full fat dairy, Greek yogurt, cheese, dark chocolate, eggs, etc.

marydhastings

Oh, I didn't realize it was closed O_o let me try and fix that

alpine1994

your new friends:
peanut butter
full-fat greek yogurt
nuts
avocados
brown rice/whole grain bread/wheat pasta
fruit
protein shakes made with cow's milk/almond milk

These are healthy yet calorie dense (and delicious!) and will help bring up your cals. I totally understand the student budget so try to buy the non-perishables in bulk and only buy the quantity of perishables that you KNOW you will consume before it goes bad. For that reason I usually buy 1 avocado a week and break apart the banana bunches at the store and buy like 3 bananas

Edit: Sorry this was a repeat of Dianne's post!

frantim528

I agree. Also vegetables can be pretty filling and still not give you a lot of calories. Try adding some healthy fats and oils to your cooking like coconut oil. There are other oils but they can be pretty pricey if you're on a budget. Another thing. I have been a member of Overeaters Anonymous for several years and what I hear most of the time from people who used to starve themselves (anorexia) is that the amount of food they were supposed to eat seemed huge. What would seem like a normal meal to a typical eater seemed like mountain of food to them and that in the beginning they had to force themselves to eat their prescribed calories for the day but that after awhile it became normal for them. Just stick with it and try for "Progress not perfection".

marydhastings

I do love greek yogurt, but when I add all those things together in one meal the sugars on my diary go through the ROOF.. should I not pay attention to that?

Pearsquared

I'm not eating enough either, so these suggestions are good. I might try pita and hummus as an additional morning snack. I don't want to do any more sugar because I already get too much in a day. o:

I only recently joined mfp, and I was keeping a food journal before, but not strictly counting calories. I thought, "Hey, I'm 5'1'', I shouldn't be able to eat as much as people who are much taller" but I didn't quite realize how little I was actually eating.

marydhastings

According to my BMR, I burn about 1400 something when Im not doing anything, which means when I work (I'm a server) and workout, i'm probably burning another 600 or so.. that means id have to eat like.. 1500? Thats so much food I don't feel comfortable eating that much food..
I don't have a disorder,.. just saying lol

Tamm04

I just posted for friends and I have the same issue! My curious weight gain I thought was from somehow cheating and not realizing I was eating that badly. After a few days I realized in my diary it was telling me I am not eating enough calories and could be in starvation mode, slower metabolism, weight gain etc. So I'm having cheese on my chicken tacos again, not having so many fat free items, and actually having a good sized burger Even if it's a turkey burger with a slice of cheese and such. I'm working myself on trying to find the good balance between eating healthy/getting enough calories and not going overboard where I'm blowing my proper eating entirely.

MorgueBabe

My Go to to up my calories:
Nuts (Cocktail Peanuts)
Protein Shakes
Avocados (Guacamole)
Dark Chocolate Raisins
Peanut Butter
Bananas
Yogurt
Eggs
Pretzels and hummus

I don't pay attention to sugars or carbs from fruits/veggies/whole foods. Unless you have a medical reason to I wouldn't.

Serah87

According to my BMR, I burn about 1400 something when Im not doing anything, which means when I work (I'm a server) and workout, i'm probably burning another 600 or so.. that means id have to eat like.. 1500? Thats so much food I don't feel comfortable eating that much food..
I don't have a disorder,.. just saying lol

Not trying to be snarky but how did you gain weight if you ate so little?? You just need to eat more dense food, eat every few hours and before you know it your at 1500 calories. Good luck.

Shr3dded

According to my BMR, I burn about 1400 something when Im not doing anything, which means when I work (I'm a server) and workout, i'm probably burning another 600 or so.. that means id have to eat like.. 1500? Thats so much food I don't feel comfortable eating that much food..
I don't have a disorder,.. just saying lol

You're going to need to be honest with yourself if you plan on meeting your goals.

marydhastings

Not trying to be snarky but how did you gain weight if you ate so little?? You just need to eat more dense food, eat every few hours and before you know it your at 1500 calories. Good luck.

I gained weight because I didn't eat right. I know that. However, Ido know how to eat right, but when I do choose healthy options I tend to not eat enough? I have a trouble finding a middle ground if that makes sense o_o

You're going to need to be honest with yourself if you plan on meeting your goals.

How am I not being honest with myself? I don't understand. I do know I can eat a lot of food, but when I'm trying to eat healthy, and make healthy choices, I don't eat enough to meet the calories, especially because the food I eat healthily isn't as high as unhealthy food.
I hope you're not implying that I'm not logging everything I eat. Because that is not the case.