eating 1800 calories really??

I constantly have this issue!

I have 1300 calories to eat in a day without exercise (those days don't happen often) but I still have trouble eating all those calories consistently. Go back to the whole milk, that fat is not going to kill you and it will help you deal with the sugars in the milk, too. What are your ratios? Fruit is great and sometimes nutritious but it has a lot of sugar, I'd be more worried about that then some naturally occurring fat.

When I started at this threshold of calories my trainer said until you get used to eating this much, do whatever it takes to get all the calories in, even if it means eating ice cream and cookies. But now, two months later he expects me to know enough to make good choices throughout the day and not get to the point where it's 9:00 at night and I've 800 calories to eat. If convenience is the issue for you, try protein shakes and bars. I'm not a fan of processed foods as a rule, but Clif Builder Bars are easy to tote around and convenient, they have 270 calories and 20 grams of protein which works well for me.

if you're not too full, try eating bigger meals and heartier snacks. Finally, if you're full on what you're eating now, and you're losing weight regularly, and you're not having trouble with blood sugars or energy levels then I would question whether 1800 calories is what you need?

First thing I saw that I would get rid of... meal replacement shakes. You need real food. Supplements should be just that, supplemental.

Eat more lean protein. Protein has more calories then fruits and vegetable. I did not see a good amount of meat or protein in your diary (if you are a vegetarian I am sorry)! Great adive I receive last week from someone else was to have meals be planned around my protein. This has helped in adding more calories and more protein.
Also, try some whole grains; complex carbs; those too have higher calories and have higher levels of nutrional values.

I have to agree with the others... I'd get rid of the meal replacement shakes. Your body needs REAL FOOD. If you do a little prep work on the weekends or the night before, it's not difficult to get real nutrition.

For example, in the grocery service deli, they have rotisserie chickens and roast turkey breasts. Get a turkey breast, and slice it all up (I store mine in a gallon zip lock baggie). Then you just have to weigh out your serving in the morning when you're packing your lunch. Veggies come pre-cleaned (bags of carrots, sugar snap peas and/or broccoli). Weigh some out and pack some of those in your lunch too. Yesterday, I sliced up 4 mangos to store in the fridge for lunches this week. Total prep time for cutting up the turkey and mangos-- about 20 minutes yesterday, and I have lunch covered for 5 days. Total time throwing it all together in my lunch sack this morning -- 5 minutes.

Take the time to plan ahead. You'll be happier and fuller in the long run.

I think you need to balance your meals more and add lean protein. I would try to up the calories at breakfast to around 300-400, and add a protein to keep you going longer. I also think you might just be over limiting yourself, just up your portion size a little and it will put you right where you need to be.

I definitely have this problem! I love to exercise but didn't really think about how much it was taking off my calorie intake until I looked at graph and noticed I was netting negative calories! You might think that is good but it is probably the reason I plateaued!

Two things from checking out your profile and diary:

1) You put on the weight somehow, right? Unless you're very short, I'd say from your pics that you're what, 250? It takes roughly 2500 calories, consistently, to be that size. I know, I was over 250 for a while. My point is that no way in hell is 1800 calories too much to eat. You've been eating that much or more for a while, so don't tell yourself you can't do it - tell yourself it's a joke, it's actually way less than you're used to, and you absolutely CAN do this.

2) Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too little protein in your diet and waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too many carbs. You aren't an athlete, you don't need 50% of your calories from carbohydrates. I'm guessing you used the MFP default which is fine, and you're down 30lbs so it's obviously working - as caloric deficit does - but it would work way better if you got the protein and fat up and dropped the carbs. Maybe 40/30/30 in some mix.

Some other thoughts:
* Fat is not the enemy! Unsaturated fats are good for you!
* Protein is not the enemy either. At a protein deficit, your body can and will go after existing muscle tissue for its daily protein needs meaning you will actually get weaker over time.
* Since you brought up milk: milk is spectacular for both weight loss and weight gain due to the mixture of macronutrients and rapid (liquid) delivery system.

Another thought and a big topic of discussion here is to have a big glass of chocolate milk after your workouts (that'll add a couple of hundred calories right there).

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/198864-chocolate-milk-after-workout?hl=chocolate+milk+after+workout#posts-2630157