800 cal/day?

This might sound harsh, but that's exactly what a typical day looked like for me at the height of my eating disorder. i'm not suggesting you have an eating disorder, just pointing out that yes, it is too low and could do damage long term.

However, if you're not doing it on purpose, I would guess that - eventually - you will eat more as it starts to take it's toll on you. In the meantime, I suggest seeing a doctor. Low appetite can be caused by many psychological as well as physical health conditions.

More bacon!

My average caloric intake is 800 calories a day, and I don't purposefully restrict. I only eat when I feel hungry or every 4-5 hours and I just eat enough to satisfy my hunger. I'm a student, so I'm pretty active throughout the day, and I'll go to the gym 1-3 times per week. I take vitamin & calcium supplements. I eat more on holidays and when I go out to restaurants, but even then that's only 1-2 days a month and my caloric intake wouldn't ever pass the 1,200 mark. I don't know, I guess I'm just wanting to know your thoughts on this? I didn't realize how low my intake was until I started really using this website everyday starting about a month ago.

Here's an example of what I ate/will eat today, just for reference

8:30/9:00 Breakfast - 1 cup Cheerios (100) 1 cup skim milk (90)
12:00/1:00 Lunch - 1 serving Starkist tuna pouch (110) 1 serving Wheat Thins (130) Vitamin (0)
3:00 Snack - Small green apple (70)
5:30/6:00 Dinner - Ham flatbread 6" sandwich (250) pretzels (50)
9:00/9:30 Snack - Tea (0) 1/4 cup skim milk (25)

Total calories = 825

Thank you! :ohwell:

You can easily add extra few calories here and there without drastically eating that much more that's going to make you too full.

You obviously don't like food very much, hence why you don't eat proper meals (no, I don't count wheat thins with tuna for lunch and a sandwich for dinner as proper meals).

Add another 30-50 calories to your breakfast with some berries on top.

Have your sandwich and pretzels for lunch and eat real veggies and fish or chicken for dinner. That's not necessarily adding calories but it makes your diet a lot healthier. Some root veggies like sweet potato are slightly higher in calories than other veggies so they will add an extra 100 cals.

Try some nuts as snacks as well as the apple. These aren't necessarily too filling, they just make for a nice taste and activity while watching tv or working. Or, try a banana for roughly 100 calories instead of an apple - that adds 30 calories.

Or treat yourself to an extra cup of tea or two a day? Doing things like that will not make you suddenly put on weight, it might even help you to lose it and look a lot healthier while doing so.

Even doing what I say will only take your calorie count to around 1050, which is still lower than it should be but a lot better than 800 odd.

PS I always make sure I'm not under 1200, or at least never under 1000 in a day where I'm not very hungry, just because I know it prohibits weight loss if you eat too little and it's not good for your body.

PPS just so I'm clear, I don't 100% agree with anyone necessarily telling you to eat more. Your problem is obviously that you don't want to eat much more because you're not hungry and/or don't want it. I'm not suggesting you eat much more, other than some extra snacks or something, I think the best thing for you is to just swap some of your current meals/foods for alternatives with slightly higher calories, or make small alterations so that you have some extra calories in you.

Anything lower than 1000 calories per day, I have nothing good to say. Feel sorry for your body and organs.

This

where are the veggies?????

Ummm..she's undereating and THAT'S what you choose to focus on???

If a person eats so little anything to focus on as far as healthy food is concerned is good. Vegetable is a very good food to start with.

I eat a ton of veggies, especially spinach and cucumbers! The calories were just too low to bother adding them to the information I gave.

So does this 800 calorie with the veggies or not. Sounds like you eat more but it is still low. You took a nutrition class?

The 800 doesn't include the veggies. I did take a nutrition class, but like I said in a few replies, I had never counted calories this extensively before this month so I had no idea that my average was under 1000 calories. I've just been trying to get the most meals out of the food I buy because I'm a broke college student I will definitely try and change that though because this was really a shock.

I know that feeling. I'm a college student paying my own bills. When times get rough I dollar menu it up to get some calories in.

OP, although you are probably still undereating, I think, like most people, you are also probably underestimating how much you eat. Unless you weigh it, if you're genuinely not hungry and there's nothing wrong with you, then you probably are getting more calories than you think. I would estimate between 200-400 more than you think.

edit: I say this because nothing in your log shows any measurements, just subjective things and foods that are notorious for being underestimated.

yep. Are you losing weight? If not, you are eating at maintenance for your current weight.

I have no idea if I lost weight this month since I don't have a scale in my dorm room. My weight stayed pretty steady over the summer though so I'm assuming I weigh the same as I did the last time I checked.

How are your clothes fitting. Loose? tight? The same

I take vitamin & calcium supplements.

Fat soluble supplements like calcium wont get absorbed without adequate fat so you can start there, 0.4g per pound of bodyweight.

Yup, I know! That's why I took it with my fattiest meal of the day, (Tuna in sunflower oil & wheat thins).

Sunflower oil and wheat thins will hardly meet your 0.4g of fat per pound of bodyweight requirement.

Unless you are abnormally short, you should be eating a lot more. You will run into health problems.