Not eating enough

This seems to be my problem. My "diet" before this really consisted of coffee with coffeemate creamer and one meal a day.

Eating normally now I find myself too darn full. I realize that this was because I was used to starvation mode, and not having a good idea on what is normal.

I have found that it is easier to eat the exact amount of servings. So for instance I had Wheat Thins this afternoon. The serving is 16 squares. That is what I ate. No more and no less.

If you're going to have cereal, make sure you measure out the amount of food. You'll get used to it.

Calorie dense foods are your friend when you're having trouble hitting your calories. This is a generic list and doesn't account for your personal definition needs, but anything here can be included in a balanced diet (as long as there are no allergies or medical conditions, obviously):
avocado
cheese
full fat dairy
Greek yogurt
ice cream
peanut butter (or other nut butters)
dark chocolate
less lean cuts of meat (including beef, pork, sausage, etc.)
seeds (chia, flax, sunflower, etc.)
nuts
olive oil
coconut oil
butter
beans and lentils
protein shakes, bars, and smoothies
hummus
beef jerky
cornbread
tuna
full calorie condiments
full calorie sauces & dressings
sour cream
guacamole
whole grain pasta
rice
bacon
whole eggs
quinoa
fruit and fruit juices
pretzels
bananas
scones
muffins (bran, blueberry, banana nut, etc.)
potatoes (sweet, red, gold, purple, white, etc.)
granola
coconut
salmon
edamame
honey
molasses

That you eat when you're hungry doesn't automatically mean you're not starving yourself. Your body adjusts. My body got used to functioning on 700 calories at one point. I wasn't hungry, but I wasn't taking care of my body either.

Anyway. You know you're under eating. You know it's not good. You probably know how to change it (eat more calorie dense foods), but you choose not to. There's really only two ways to get more calories in: eat (or drink) more or eat more calorie dense foods. Choose whichever suits you best, but also try to develop a mentality that will allow you to do either.

MrM27 wrote: »

nicnickynic wrote: »

According to this app, after inputting my weight etc, I'm allowed 2140 calories. Every day, I'm short, between 700 and 1400.
I've spent years retraining my brain to go from "mother says I must eat all the food on my plate" to now I only eat when I'm hungry and stop before I eat too much.
I can't force myself to eat when I don't want anything. I just feel I'm cheating if I'm eating some of the "calorie rich" foods to boost my intake, if that makes sense!

That's your problem. You didn't become overweight because you ate the calorie rich foods. You became overweight because you ate too many overall calories. It doesn't matter how long it took you to become overweight, you were still able to eat over maintenance so you should be able to eat at a standard deficit now without starving yourself.

Agreed. It's easy to say "I'm going to be healthier", restrict "bad food", and then end up undereating. Over a long period of time, it could lead to problems. Personally, I ended up binging on weekends because I was undereating during the week.

At some point we need to realize there is no bad food in the context of an overall diet. If it's all you're eating, then yes, you diet may overall be unhealthy. However, if you are eating mostly nutrient dense foods, a bar of chocolate or a bowl of ice cream is not bad, and you're not "cheating".

You don't get extra bonus points for cutting out "bad" foods, and moderate amounts of those foods don't lead to health problems (for most people - if people have impulse issues or medical conditions this may not apply). And in fact, undereating for extended periods can lead to its own health problems.

Calorie rich foods aren't bad for you, and sure as heck isn't cheating. You got a whole great list above to choose from. Cook with butter and olive oil, snack on seeds and nuts, whole fat or higher fat dairy and cheese. Put some cheese sauce on your broccoli! Yum.