Not getting enough calories

simoneabdii
simoneabdii Posts: 7 Member
edited November 19 in Health and Weight Loss
I often find myself struggling to reach over 1,000 calories, and i find that the items that push me over the 1000 minimum are drinks or foods eaten on days where i have events or just days im out and whatnot. There are times where I dont log, especially around the school year, because i only eat around 1 small meal and a ton of coffee on top. Now that it is summer break, I've been trying to eat more but i find myself feeling full when i havent consumed much. I've only been logging on MFP since June 29 of this year, so i doubt there is much on my food diary, but are there other ways I can increase my food intake?

Replies

  • Old_Cat_Lady
    Old_Cat_Lady Posts: 1,193 Member
    edited July 2017
    Before going to bed drink an Ensure or Boost. They really do put on weight. I have a family member that drinks it. Look for coupons online. Or buy store brand. Caffeine/ coffee kills my hunger.
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,093 Member
    add butter or oil to cooked veggies, oil to salad, switch to full-fat versions of dairy products, eat fattier cuts of meat, have a handful of nuts or a spoonful of nut butter, put lots of real cream in your coffee, have some ice cream.
  • Old_Cat_Lady
    Old_Cat_Lady Posts: 1,193 Member
    Stop running. And if you have been diagnosed with an eating disorder (such as bulimia or anorexia nervosa) you should not use this place.
  • simoneabdii
    simoneabdii Posts: 7 Member
    @TheWJordinWJordin i havent been diagnosed with anything, and im trying my best to keep my intake of calories up but I feel as though im eating foods with low calories but they fill me up quickly. I weigh around 145 pounds, which is the heaviest ive been, yes, but i definitely do not plan on dipping below 125.
  • Psychgrrl
    Psychgrrl Posts: 3,177 Member
    edited July 2017
    OP, what did you set your activity level to in MFP? It sounds like it should be sedentary. With a goal of 20 pounds to lose, you should set yourself up to lose .5/lbs per week (or slower).

    How tall are you? Also, how are you measuring your intake? The most accurate way is to way all solids (even pre-packaged things like eggs, slices of bread and frozen dinners) on a food scale and measure all liquids with measuring cups/spoons.
  • 260scott
    260scott Posts: 13 Member
    Nuts are a fast and easy way of adding calories without volume. Plus with so many varieties, you never get bored.
  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
    @TheWJordinWJordin i havent been diagnosed with anything, and im trying my best to keep my intake of calories up but I feel as though im eating foods with low calories but they fill me up quickly. I weigh around 145 pounds, which is the heaviest ive been, yes, but i definitely do not plan on dipping below 125.

    So choose foods that are more calorie dense?
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    @TheWJordinWJordin i havent been diagnosed with anything, and im trying my best to keep my intake of calories up but I feel as though im eating foods with low calories but they fill me up quickly. I weigh around 145 pounds, which is the heaviest ive been, yes, but i definitely do not plan on dipping below 125.

    For how long have you been struggling to reach over 1,000 calories and how much weight have you lost in that time?

    If you are losing weight too quickly, eat more calorie dense foods like peanut butter, nuts, cheese, etc.

    If you're not losing weight, there is likely an issue with your logging.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,011 Member
    OP, what has your weight been doing while you have been struggling to eat much?
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,093 Member
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    @TheWJordinWJordin i havent been diagnosed with anything, and im trying my best to keep my intake of calories up but I feel as though im eating foods with low calories but they fill me up quickly. I weigh around 145 pounds, which is the heaviest ive been, yes, but i definitely do not plan on dipping below 125.

    For how long have you been struggling to reach over 1,000 calories and how much weight have you lost in that time?

    If you are losing weight too quickly, eat more calorie dense foods like peanut butter, nuts, cheese, etc.

    If you're not losing weight, there is likely an issue with your logging.

    OP has said she is the heaviest she has ever been, which logically means she is not losing weight.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,011 Member
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    @TheWJordinWJordin i havent been diagnosed with anything, and im trying my best to keep my intake of calories up but I feel as though im eating foods with low calories but they fill me up quickly. I weigh around 145 pounds, which is the heaviest ive been, yes, but i definitely do not plan on dipping below 125.

    For how long have you been struggling to reach over 1,000 calories and how much weight have you lost in that time?

    If you are losing weight too quickly, eat more calorie dense foods like peanut butter, nuts, cheese, etc.

    If you're not losing weight, there is likely an issue with your logging.

    OP has said she is the heaviest she has ever been, which logically means she is not losing weight.

    Good point!

    OP, your best bet is to open your diary so we know what you are eating.

    If not - Log everything. Use a food scale when possible, Double check the database entries that you are using are accurate.

    If you are not losing weight, you are eating more than 1,000 calories.
  • simoneabdii
    simoneabdii Posts: 7 Member
    edited July 2017
    @TheWJordinWJordin i havent been diagnosed with anything, and im trying my best to keep my intake of calories up but I feel as though im eating foods with low calories but they fill me up quickly. I weigh around 145 pounds, which is the heaviest ive been, yes, but i definitely do not plan on dipping below 125.

    OK, if you're the heaviest you'e ever been, you have been gaining weight, which means that, on average, you are not eating in the neighborhood of 1000 calories. You're either ignoring days when you eat substantially more, or you're not tracking accurately.

    I meant heaviest I've been as my starting weight (not gaining any weight rn, that might have come across wrong, I'm also still a growing person), but in general ive noticed that ive not been reaching my calorie goals and i would like to start getting closer to that. I try my best to log everything and measure everything as well, and im pretty new to this so I could definitely be doing it wrong as well. I have been noticing over the past few months that I have been thinning out, but I got on MFP to do it the right way, I feel like it was because of the lack of food I was having during school and not because I was making good changes.

  • simoneabdii
    simoneabdii Posts: 7 Member
    kimny72 wrote: »
    OP, what has your weight been doing while you have been struggling to eat much?

    I would say I've only dropped a few pounds, but I feel like I've been dropping weight the wrong way (as in not eating enough) so I'm trying to increase calories and exercise to drop it instead.
  • simoneabdii
    simoneabdii Posts: 7 Member
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    @TheWJordinWJordin i havent been diagnosed with anything, and im trying my best to keep my intake of calories up but I feel as though im eating foods with low calories but they fill me up quickly. I weigh around 145 pounds, which is the heaviest ive been, yes, but i definitely do not plan on dipping below 125.

    For how long have you been struggling to reach over 1,000 calories and how much weight have you lost in that time?

    If you are losing weight too quickly, eat more calorie dense foods like peanut butter, nuts, cheese, etc.

    If you're not losing weight, there is likely an issue with your logging.

    I never really noticed how little I was eating during school until recently, but I would say the last few months because they have been really stressful have resulted in me thinning out slightly. I feel as though I would be messing up the logs, yet I also feel like I need to step up my game in terms of how I eat
  • Chadxx
    Chadxx Posts: 1,199 Member
    @TheWJordinWJordin i havent been diagnosed with anything, and im trying my best to keep my intake of calories up but I feel as though im eating foods with low calories but they fill me up quickly. I weigh around 145 pounds, which is the heaviest ive been, yes, but i definitely do not plan on dipping below 125.

    OK, if you're the heaviest you'e ever been, you have been gaining weight, which means that, on average, you are not eating in the neighborhood of 1000 calories. You're either ignoring days when you eat substantially more, or you're not tracking accurately.

    This
  • simoneabdii
    simoneabdii Posts: 7 Member
    I did a review of my log and I noticed that the calories I burned when exercising are added to the total amount for that day? I think that could be why I feel like im not eating enough, but I'm going to review my log rn to check if I have the measurements right. I could be eating the right amount, but not plugging the data in correctly and not considering those added calories.
  • amietest
    amietest Posts: 57 Member
    Op if you are by chance on add meds talk to your doctor, they screw up your appetite.
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,093 Member
    edited July 2017
    It's pretty difficult to offer advice when it's not clear what's going on. Do you weigh yourself? Do you know which direction your *weight* has been going, by how much it has changed, over what period of time?

    And when you say you're still a growing person, are you saying that you're under 18? Because this site is not for people who are under 18.

    ETA to add *weight*
  • cerise_noir
    cerise_noir Posts: 5,468 Member
    @TheWJordinWJordin i havent been diagnosed with anything, and im trying my best to keep my intake of calories up but I feel as though im eating foods with low calories but they fill me up quickly. I weigh around 145 pounds, which is the heaviest ive been, yes, but i definitely do not plan on dipping below 125.

    So choose foods that are more calorie dense?
    This.
    Cheese, nuts, full fat dairy, sausages, bacon, peanut/almond/cashew butter, pasta, ice cream, chocolate, tortilla chips..


    Do you add anything to all the coffee you've been drinking?
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    Start logging everything.

    Everything.

    Ask again in a week or two.
  • WendyLeigh1119
    WendyLeigh1119 Posts: 495 Member
    Do you take Adderall or Ritalin? If so, eating food is literally gag-inducing... but you really need to do it anyway.
  • acorsaut89
    acorsaut89 Posts: 1,147 Member
    So, weird question - and I mean this with the best of intentions - how did you get to be at a weight you aren't happy with if you can't manage to eat even 1,000 calories/day?

    If you're gaining weight - or did in the past - then you're eating more than you're burning in a day . . . that's just how it works. So if you were eating, consuming, more than you needed to chances are you still are . . you're just under counting/ignoring what you're actually eating. Are you losing at all? If not, then you're eating way more than you think you are.
  • simoneabdii
    simoneabdii Posts: 7 Member
    acorsaut89 wrote: »
    So, weird question - and I mean this with the best of intentions - how did you get to be at a weight you aren't happy with if you can't manage to eat even 1,000 calories/day?

    If you're gaining weight - or did in the past - then you're eating more than you're burning in a day . . . that's just how it works. So if you were eating, consuming, more than you needed to chances are you still are . . you're just under counting/ignoring what you're actually eating. Are you losing at all? If not, then you're eating way more than you think you are.

    I wasnt eating small amounts until last summer, from before I was overweight, but now my appetite is pretty much gone, but I still have growing to do and that's what concerns me, if im dropping weight/thinning out because of under-eating but i'm still growing. Ive also been told that coffee in large amounts is an appetite suppressant, so that could explain why I wasnt eating a lot during the school year. I'm not unhappy with my weight now, im at an average weight, and i understand that i have some issues with logging, but when i asked how to increase my food intake, i was referring to my appetite
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,260 Member
    edited July 2017
    Caffeine is legal; but it is still a stimulant and in it can certainly have side effects in large amounts.

    You may want to discuss with your doctor possible side effects of too much caffeine. From mood related to physical.

    I cut down on the amount of caffeine I was consuming as a teen when I realised it was affecting my heart rate. Reducing caffeine by tapering is highly recommended as caffeine withdrawal symptoms can be unpleasant.

    I am no expert in increasing appetite as this has never been an issue for me. I note that almost anyone can increase calories by making "high calorie" choices: nuts, nut butters, and most foods known to be calorie bombs... are exactly that!
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