800 cal/day?

2

Replies

  • You used the word "restricting" which leads me to believe you have had, or at least researched eating disorders.
    Have you?

    No, took a nutrition class last year and am familiar with a lot of dietary terms.

    if you took a nutrition class.. then you already knew there was an issue with how little you are eating.. no?

    Yes I do know... now. I just started actively using this website this month, so I had no idea how little I was actually eating before because this is the first time I've ever actively counted calories for an extended period of time.

    But why do you need our thoughts on it?

    You know just as much as us, maybe more, that you are currently harming yourself. Get those cals in! any way you can in a healthy way! GL

    :flowerforyou:

    Ahh, I don't know. :) It was just a shock to realize I've been eating like this for couple years now and I didn't think it was abnormal all that time. I'm really appreciating the advice from everyone though!
  • FredDoyle
    FredDoyle Posts: 2,273 Member
    You used the word "restricting" which leads me to believe you have had, or at least researched eating disorders.
    Have you?

    No, took a nutrition class last year and am familiar with a lot of dietary terms.

    if you took a nutrition class.. then you already knew there was an issue with how little you are eating.. no?

    Yes I do know... now. I just started actively using this website this month, so I had no idea how little I was actually eating before because this is the first time I've ever actively counted calories for an extended period of time.
    Well that's good news. So, I guess you'll try to increase your uptake then.
    Good luck.
  • 20Grit
    20Grit Posts: 752 Member
    Eat MORE :grumble:
  • noelboquet
    noelboquet Posts: 34 Member
    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)



    I have a friend who is naturally small...your height and weight....she eats all day long in very small portions....but she eats all day long. I wont insult you or ask you if you have an eating disorder...instead I will ask you why you choose to eat foods without fat in them such as skim milk and tuna from a pouch...Do you put mayo in that tuna? Do you eat that tuna in a salad? With tomato?

    I realize you are on a budget with your food. Try perhaps making a few large meals per week that you can eat that are healthier such as a stew or chili....something you can freeze and warm up to keep with your busy lifestyle. This is what I had my son do and he stayed slim and healthy.

    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:
  • Ulwaz
    Ulwaz Posts: 380 Member
    you need to be eating more, or at least not working out youre damaging your body
    also you will be lacking nutrients
  • Ang108
    Ang108 Posts: 1,711 Member
    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.
  • yo_andi
    yo_andi Posts: 2,178 Member
    Add in a few servings of nuts/seeds. Use full fat or part skim cheese and milk. Eat yogurt for a snack with some nuts and some fruit added in. It's not that hard to get your cals up.
  • I always eat a double portion of cold cereal in the morning. A tablespoon of chocolate syrup adds another 50 calories and makes everything all yummy chocolatey. Definitely whole milk, too.

    Use regular mayo on those sandwiches and double up your cheese portion. Have some chips with your lunch -- why not? :smile:

    Nuts make a great snack, and are loaded with calories. They also keep well during the day in your backpack.

    Get some ice cream and have some every night as a treat.

    Don't underestimate the power of pizza. Carbs, protein, fats, and lots of calories. Find some good, cheap frozen ones, or hit up your local Little Caesars for a $5 dinner you can share with friends.

    Girl I am the Queen of Calories. My diary is open to my friends, so if you need ideas on how to pack more food into your day, send me a FR.

    :flowerforyou:
  • 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)



    I have a friend who is naturally small...your height and weight....she eats all day long in very small portions....but she eats all day long. I wont insult you or ask you if you have an eating disorder...instead I will ask you why you choose to eat foods without fat in them such as skim milk and tuna from a pouch...Do you put mayo in that tuna? Do you eat that tuna in a salad? With tomato?

    I realize you are on a budget with your food. Try perhaps making a few large meals per week that you can eat that are healthier such as a stew or chili....something you can freeze and warm up to keep with your busy lifestyle. This is what I had my son do and he stayed slim and healthy.

    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:

    I drink skim milk mostly because that's what my family has always bought. The tuna (7 grams fat) I just eat straight from the pouch kind of like a dip for my wheat thins (they taste so good together!) I hate the taste of mayo :P I have a meal plan here at school, so I try to make it to the caf everyday, but the most I ever get is 300 cals for that meal since I love loading up on fruit. Thanks for the advice!
  • 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.
  • davert123
    davert123 Posts: 1,568 Member
    My take on this is that you are damaging your body. You are not getting enough nutrients to keep your body and it is gradually getting weaker and weaker. It will take a while for it to get better and if you continue it will eventually break
  • SomeNights246
    SomeNights246 Posts: 807 Member
    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.
  • brynnsmom
    brynnsmom Posts: 945 Member
    where are the veggies?????

    ^^^ Exactly what I was thinking - that and how you can survive on so little. I'd be exhausted and miserable.
  • ldrosophila
    ldrosophila Posts: 7,512 Member
    More bacon!
  • Figure out what your TDEE is. Based on your stats, I'm going to guess it's probably above 2000. I'm older than you and slightly shorter, and I eat 1500-1700 calories a day, and that still is a deficit for me.
  • ell_23
    ell_23 Posts: 103
    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.
  • swaggityswagbag
    swaggityswagbag Posts: 78 Member
    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.
  • yopeeps025
    yopeeps025 Posts: 8,680 Member
    Anything lower than 1000 calories per day, I have nothing good to say. Feel sorry for your body and organs.

    This
  • yopeeps025
    yopeeps025 Posts: 8,680 Member
    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?
  • 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 :tongue: I will definitely try and change that though because this was really a shock.
  • misssiri
    misssiri Posts: 335 Member
    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.
  • yopeeps025
    yopeeps025 Posts: 8,680 Member
    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 :tongue: 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.
  • yopeeps025
    yopeeps025 Posts: 8,680 Member
    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
  • GertrudeHorse
    GertrudeHorse Posts: 646 Member
    Do you use a scale to weigh food? What sort of sandwich is only 250 calories? Generally one slice of bread is around 100 cals so do you only have 50 cals of filling? If you're not losing tonnes of weight then it's unlikely you're actually eating so low. In any event you should eat more food, particularly fat just for general health and wellbeing. This isn't enough for you to thrive on.
  • Do you use a scale to weigh food? What sort of sandwich is only 250 calories? Generally one slice of bread is around 100 cals so do you only have 50 cals of filling? If you're not losing tonnes of weight then it's unlikely you're actually eating so low. In any event you should eat more food, particularly fat just for general health and wellbeing. This isn't enough for you to thrive on.

    It's flatbread, the bread itself is like, 200 calories, the ham is around 50 and the rest is veggies, which I didn't bother to count since they're so low in calories. My school has nutrition facts for everything it serves.
  • Graelwyn75
    Graelwyn75 Posts: 4,404 Member
    If you are not dropping weight noticeably, then you are eating more than you think, which is not a bad thing.
    You really cannot accurately guesstimate the weight of food.
    There can be a 50 calorie difference in two apples, as an example, if not more.
    Also, as with restaurants, a school's nutrition facts can be way, way out as that is dependent on how much an individual server/cook serves up as a portion.
  • aliakynes
    aliakynes Posts: 352 Member
    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.
  • Derpes
    Derpes Posts: 2,033 Member
    where are the veggies?????

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

    Agreed.
  • firststepformefal
    firststepformefal Posts: 180 Member
    Unless you are abnormally short, you should be eating a lot more. You will run into health problems.