being stuffed but eating only 800 calories

Add a glass of milk, add full-fat salad dressing and olives to salads, add more oil when you cook, make oatmeal with milk instead of water. All of those will bring up your calorie count without overly filling you.

Hunger is not a good indicator of what the body needs....if you are eating below 1k calories you are missing massive amounts of macro and micro nutrients...

There are lots of ways to up calories...

Full fat dairy
Oils
Avocadoes
treats like chocolate, ice cream, pie etc
Peanut butter..I mean 15g is 90 calories...15g is not a lot
Nuts like almonds etc

Heck if I ate 800 calories and needed to get in another 700...hello large ice cream...

This.

Also - have you tried making smoothies?? That can be a great way to up your calorie intake and you can make some yummy ones with excellent high quality ingredients. I like Phood and Vega, but Muscle Milk is another delicious option.

Here is a list of brands that make vegan alternatives for dairy and other products (SOME ON THIS LIST ARE JUST VEGETARIAN, copy and pasting from comments others left me when asking about vegan/vegetarian options for dairy and stuff!)

"Morning star is not vegan, they are only vegetarian. Lightlife is really yummy, most things are vegan. The smart dogs and smart bacon is especially good. I like the original boca burger and boca chi'kin nuggets. Tofurky has really yummy deli slices and other meat like products. Everything by Gardein is amazing. Daiya is the best brand if vegan cheese, they have slices and wedged of cheddar, provolone, mozzarella, jack, and others. Tofutti has good cream cheese and ice cream. Veganese is great for sandwichs. I like good life flax milk as opposed to almond or soy milks, but silk is alright. Whole soy and co and amande is really good for yogurt. Hope this helps!!"

"tofurky, daiya, veganaise, earth balance, so delicious, silk, almond breeze, rice dream, amy's, follow your heart, tofutti, go veggie, gardein, and also, make sure to check all your morning star farms products because a lot of them are NOT vegan!!!!"

"Gardien and field roast has the best faux meat. Daiya or fancy nut cheeses like dr. cow has the best cheese. Just mayo, olive oil earth balance, or grapeseed veganaise is the best mayonnaise. Earth balance for butter. I really like tofutti cream cheese. Luna and Larry's is a coconut based ice cream that's delicious. And whole soy & co. is really the only palatable yogurt in my opinion."

I don't get it... one does not put on weight by eating 800 cals... How did you gain the weight you are intending to lose on your 800 cal diet? I'm not trying to be a **** but I really don't understand!

Overweight people can have EDs

EDs can be prevailent in anyone. I think overweight people can initially hide their EDs behind the guise of a diet until they lose so much it becomes obvious, but by then they are dreadfully sick.

I really dont know the ins/outs, but it is a psycological condition and anyone of any size has the propensity to develop an ED

well, to be fair to this poster, he/she is not saying OP doesn't have an eating disorder. yes, eating disorder most definitely affect people who are overweight. there is little doubt the OP has had/still struggles with an ED. I think the poster was just confused how someone consistently eating 800 calories does not lose weight. admittedly, that is concerning because it suggests a possible medical issue. but i have harped on this concept enough. I wish the OP well in finding the answer.

One of the remaining side effects that I have is screwed up hunger cues. I eat on scheduled intervals, or I would go all day without eating. I still struggle daily with this. It took me 2 full years to get to what most would consider "normal" for my caloric intake.

Here was my strategy:
1) split my meals into 6 smaller ones. The goal here was to eat smaller meals more often. Not for any "metabolism boosting" BS, but because the smaller portions were easier for me to eat, without anxiety.

2) Add 100 calories each week to total goal. When you're eating small meals, it's pretty easy to add an extra 20 calories here and there without stress.

3) Calorie dense foods. If budget is an issue, I would recommend checking out Costco. I get a 5 pound bag of raw almonds there for $12.00. They last quite a while, and I consider them to be a great value. Vegan protein shakes, coconut oil, olive oil, peanut butter, cashew cheese, etc.

I wish you the best of luck.

**Edit to add: the bloat is totally normal. It's part psychological, but it still sucks. It gets better

All of this plus www.plantbasedonabudget.com : I am not a vegan or even a vegetarian, but I like a lot of their side dishes and can sub in lean meats that are on sale in the main dishes. Plus, their recipes are easy to follow.

It's super easy to bump up your calories with not too much bulk. For a few examples, saute your veggies in olive oil, add some peanut butter to your yogurt, protein shake, or toast, handful of nuts, sprinkle cheese on something. These are things I cut back on when I don't have the calories for it, trust me, they add up fast with very little bulk. Even drinking a juice, or adding a glass of wine to dinner can help :drinker:

This is so true! Nuts, avocado and oils are easy to "hide" into meals in order to bring up your kcal intake. Give it a go!

I sort of have the same issue. I eat a fairly high fiber and high fat diet. Not intentionally, just because I like it and it's natural to me. But, it keeps me thin and never hungry. Good fat fills you up and keeps you feeling full. Protein tends to do the same thing. Carbs don't do that. So it's possible you're eating higher protein and fat and that's generally a good thing.

If you really are not getting enough food, add some olive oil or other good oil to your food at each meal. Or have one or two protein shakes throughout the day.

Don't worry about the calories. If you are eating enough, your body knows it. If you're losing too much weight, you may want to add some dense caloric foods. But in general, don't worry about it. If you really feel there's something wrong with you, however, certainly visit your doctor for a general checkup - blood work at a minimum.

I would agree that 800 calories a day is not enough at all. You may be a very nervous person or you may be under a lot of stress. Many things can do it. It's common for elderly people to not eat much but it's not normal for a young person. I'd just make an effort to add some dense calories.

All these conditions and ailments that you suffer from, are a direct result of the foods you eat and your diet. You have caused all this. Your beliefs are extreme! Man has always hunted the land and fished the oceans, being Vegan is not natural or beneficial! You are what you eat! Look at your health. Your deficient in, your body is in starvation mode, and it's holding on to every pound; you probably will not lose anymore weight unless you increase your calories.. You need some protein... Proteins with complete amino acid profiles.... That comes from meat and eggs...

PCOS is a complex disorder and being a syndrome, different people who have it can experience widely different effects. I have it myself, and because it causes systemic hormonal imbalances, it can profoundly affect metabolism as well as cause insulin issues. BUT nutrition and exercise make a huge difference. And you DO need to get calories up. I've struggled with getting enough calories in myself, but the more exercise I get, the easier it becomes.

Since you're highly resistant to ceasing to be a vegan, I'm not going to address that. I will say that however you supplement your diet, staying away from soy and flax will be very important since both have phytoestrogenic effects (a note for those who don't know: women with PCOS usually have estrogen-dominance, which, if not treated, can lead to uterine or ovarian cancer -- by the time I was diagnosed, I already had complex atypical hyperplasia, a precancerous condition). A lot of the vegetarian and vegan options do contain one or both of these items, so you'll have to read the ingredient list carefully.

You've mentioned the high cost of nuts. This can certainly be the case, but I've found that a trip to a discount store like Big Lots scores me a variety of nuts (and PCOS-friendly grains) much more cheaply. Pecans, walnuts, chia seeds, and hemp protein are particularly good as supplements as they contain anti-estrogenic sterols. The Big Lots next to me even has Bob's Red Mill products, so it's a surprisingly good place to go if you happen to have one nearby.

Chia seeds are NOT cheap, unfortunately, and while you are still struggling with fullness at 800 calories, you'll probably feel like avoiding them -- as they are hydrophilic, forming a gel when introduced to liquid. They make one feel full. So why do I mention them to you? Well, for one thing, since you are avoiding salmon, it's a good replacement to get some of those all-important Omegas that are anti-inflammatory (chronic inflammation is another issue with PCOS). The gel you make when introducing chia seeds to water can also be used as a substitute for eggs when baking, and while it won't give one the texture of a old-fashioned cookie, I've found that using a mix of chia and almond flours to replace white flour and coconut sugar to replace white sugar gets me a fiber-rich cookie that won't send my blood sugar through the roof. It also is a great source of energy (many with PCOS struggle with fatigue). You can even make something approaching pudding with chia, so it's pretty versatile. If you're going to be a vegan, it's a really good item to add to your diet, and it stores for a long time without going bad, so if you can get your hands on a bag, it'll be something that lasts you a while, and it's worth the investment (just build up slowly -- it's high in fiber).

You know your budgetary restrictions better than I do, so take or leave what I say accordingly, but I'll tell you what I've done. I bought a personal blender that includes multiple cups and blender and grinder blades for $20 at Walmart. I grind those nuts and seeds into flours and "butters" myself using the grinder blade to get a better and less expensive nutritional mix (one can also use a coffee grinder or a regular blender with a grinder cup attachment), and I also make smoothies with it. You can add peanut butter or any of your ground nut butters (just blend the ground nuts with olive oil to make the nut butter) to smoothies, as well as a protein supplement (again, hemp protein would probably be the best option for you based on your health issues, but buy what you can afford).

I have also experienced the stomach issues you mention; for me, at least, it's just part of the PCOS fun. I have found that adding a splash of lemon juice or apple cider vinegar (which is super cheap) can help with gut and liver health.

As a PCOSer, coconut oil would also be a great choice for you, especially for baking and frying, and would add calories. I'm on a budget, but I buy a large container and use it to make things like body lotions, conditioners, and scrubs, too, which helps to save me money (lots of free recipes online for that kind of stuff). Olive oil is good for you, too, but it shouldn't be used for high-heat frying -- I use grapeseed oil when I stirfry. Any of those oils will help you get your calorie count up, but they shouldn't make you overly full.

Lentils are super-cheap and versatile. My favorite thing to do is cook them, drain them, and add them to a blender with some oil, tahini, and spices to make lots of yummy lentil hummus.

As I said, I understand that your financial situation probably won't allow you to include all these suggestions at once, and believe me when I say that I understand that it can be a challenge to do all you should nutritionally when you're on a ramen budget. But if you CAN invest in one of the more expensive food items I mentioned each month (by expensive, I mean an investment of $10-$15 bucks), you can get your pantry stocked over time and focus on boosting re-feeding in the meantime with the cheaper staples (lentils, cheap nuts, etc.).

YMMV, but I hope this helps.

@Dragonwolf: Thanks for the warm welcome and the FR!

upping it a little at a time helped me. i haven't read the other replies so idk if anyone said that, but i started adding about 50-100 extra cals every week or two until i got to a maintenance amount that i needed. also calorie dense foods are good. instead of filling up on mass veggies to get all the cals in, full fat options of foods, avocados, nuts/nut butters, dairy etc are good to add in. that way it is more calories, but without feeling too full as something like nuts has a lot of calories for a small amount. that's what worked for me in recovery anyway

op i didn't realize you were vegan.

some other high calorie foods:
quinoa
seitan
beans
oreos (lol sorry they're vegan but that will def get those cals up!)

cook with olive oil or add olive oil seeds and nuts to salads, that will definitely get you up a few hundred very easily without feeling any extra full