2700 Calories is totally insane!

Last year at my physical the doc told me I was borderline underweight. I was 131 lbs and 5 ft 11 in. Yesterday I weighed in at 119. Apparently those 12 lbs are a huge deal because he said my BMI was 16.6. He said that he wants to see me in six months and he wants me to be 135 - 140 lbs.

He specifically recommend this app.

So a BMI of 16.6 meant nothing to me. He could've said my BMI was 7 or 20/20. So I Googled it. Apparently Google thinks I'm anorexic. I really am not but this post is going to make it sound like I am in denial or something. Again trust me I'm not.

First of maybe I should explain over the last year and a half a lot has been happening to my life. I was in foster care until my last day of high school in May 2016. Yeah, they try to transfusion you into Independence. And I'm not stupid. I listened to the advice from my social worker. Discussed my options. I was all set to enlist in the Air Force. But I'm color blind and apparently there is absolutely no use in the military for color blind guys like me, so work and trade school it was.

I leave my apartment at 7 AM go to barber school from 8 until 1. Then hustle to work from 2 to 10:30. Unless it's Sat where I don't have school but I still work 12 - 8:39. Unless it's Monday when I'm off work but still have school, unless it's sun when I have neither.

Also my grandmother who raised me until I was 10 died at the end of August and that was a major blow.

In high school I was on cross country and tennis. My schedule doesn't allow a lot of time for running so losing weight was no biggie to me. I was losing muscle. But I wrote an size 26 pants in high school and in wear an size 26b pants now. Okay they're a little loose on me but there not clown pants or anything.

So back to yesterday, 12 lbs apparently is a major deal. But i logged on this app last night and it told me I needed 2700 calories. I had no idea how many calories I was consuming but an adult make consumes 2000 calories. Just don't skip breakfast any more... Which I did maybe 2 time a week and add carbs and a dessert for dinner. That ought to add up to 700 calories, right?

So I added a raisin bagel and cream cheese to breakfast and a half a can of beans and bacon so for lunch and a fruit pie at dinner for dessert.

Yeah I didn't even hit 1900 calories. I'm like 875 short. I guess in was hitting around 1500 cals a day.

So what am I supposed to do? I have to pack two meals available day. I can't afford to eat out very often. I know processed foods aren't the best for me. But I'm stuck with them unless in want to get up at 5 in the morning to cook.

I'm really frustrated. I'm really not anorexic. By the time lunch break fingers at work and school I'm ready to eat. But do and a sandwich for lunch and an microwave entree for dinner and cold cereal for breakfast and I'm good for the next meal. It's not like I'm starving myself. I'm also worried. I remember back in middle School in health when our health teacher who quite honestly looked like it was no problem for him to pack away 2700 cals told us that the human body is not designed to loose weight. It's designed to gain weight and hold it. So if I'm not hungry and eating when I am until I'm not I should be maintaining a normal body weight.

Yeah aging out is stressful and unless you've done it you can't relate, and so is losing the person who raised you. But it's not like I've been so worried I didn't eat.

So I don't know what to do.
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Replies

  • Heather4448
    Heather4448 Posts: 908 Member
    There is a list of calorie dense foods I'm sure someone could link you to.
    I know things vary widely from state to state, but in Virginia there is a grant for Foster kids going to community college which covers most expenses and gives 1:1 tutoring. I know you're already involved in a trade program, but I just want you to know there are other options. Visit your local community college and ask about grants/programs specifically for foster kids. Best of luck to you.
  • CaliMomTeach
    CaliMomTeach Posts: 745 Member
    Last year at my physical the doc told me I was borderline underweight. I was 131 lbs and 5 ft 11 in. Yesterday I weighed in at 119. Apparently those 12 lbs are a huge deal because he said my BMI was 16.6. He said that he wants to see me in six months and he wants me to be 135 - 140 lbs.

    He specifically recommend this app.

    So a BMI of 16.6 meant nothing to me. He could've said my BMI was 7 or 20/20. So I Googled it. Apparently Google thinks I'm anorexic. I really am not but this post is going to make it sound like I am in denial or something. Again trust me I'm not.

    First of maybe I should explain over the last year and a half a lot has been happening to my life. I was in foster care until my last day of high school in May 2016. Yeah, they try to transfusion you into Independence. And I'm not stupid. I listened to the advice from my social worker. Discussed my options. I was all set to enlist in the Air Force. But I'm color blind and apparently there is absolutely no use in the military for color blind guys like me, so work and trade school it was.

    I leave my apartment at 7 AM go to barber school from 8 until 1. Then hustle to work from 2 to 10:30. Unless it's Sat where I don't have school but I still work 12 - 8:39. Unless it's Monday when I'm off work but still have school, unless it's sun when I have neither.

    Also my grandmother who raised me until I was 10 died at the end of August and that was a major blow.

    In high school I was on cross country and tennis. My schedule doesn't allow a lot of time for running so losing weight was no biggie to me. I was losing muscle. But I wrote an size 26 pants in high school and in wear an size 26b pants now. Okay they're a little loose on me but there not clown pants or anything.

    So back to yesterday, 12 lbs apparently is a major deal. But i logged on this app last night and it told me I needed 2700 calories. I had no idea how many calories I was consuming but an adult make consumes 2000 calories. Just don't skip breakfast any more... Which I did maybe 2 time a week and add carbs and a dessert for dinner. That ought to add up to 700 calories, right?

    So I added a raisin bagel and cream cheese to breakfast and a half a can of beans and bacon so for lunch and a fruit pie at dinner for dessert.

    Yeah I didn't even hit 1900 calories. I'm like 875 short. I guess in was hitting around 1500 cals a day.

    So what am I supposed to do? I have to pack two meals available day. I can't afford to eat out very often. I know processed foods aren't the best for me. But I'm stuck with them unless in want to get up at 5 in the morning to cook.

    I'm really frustrated. I'm really not anorexic. By the time lunch break fingers at work and school I'm ready to eat. But do and a sandwich for lunch and an microwave entree for dinner and cold cereal for breakfast and I'm good for the next meal. It's not like I'm starving myself. I'm also worried. I remember back in middle School in health when our health teacher who quite honestly looked like it was no problem for him to pack away 2700 cals told us that the human body is not designed to loose weight. It's designed to gain weight and hold it. So if I'm not hungry and eating when I am until I'm not I should be maintaining a normal body weight.

    Yeah aging out is stressful and unless you've done it you can't relate, and so is losing the person who raised you. But it's not like I've been so worried I didn't eat.

    So I don't know what to do.

    The way this country treats kids who age out of foster care is awful. What kid is really ready at 18 years old to be 100% independent? Are there any transitional housing programs for foster care youth in your area? Years ago when I worked for foster care youth in the Seattle area there were. The programs had rules but they helped with a place to live, food, and planning for the future. You might want to contact the foster care agency that you aged out of and ask, or do a google search for your area. If you already are in a transitional program, my advice would be to focus on getting as much education as you can while you are getting some services. You were dealt a raw deal with not having parents to care for you and help you transition into adulthood. It sucks, but you really need to look at the rest of you life as your plan and being in your control. Unfortunately, you are going to have to take care of yourself. It will be easier if you decide to empower yourself with your own ability to create an amazing future. You have a lot of life ahead of you and I want you to believe that you can make it a wonderful life. You can. You just have to believe it.
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
    Try looking at the list of calorie dense foods ... Ice cream, peanut butter, nuts (all kinds) are a good way to add calories

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10326769/are-you-a-hard-gainer-please-read/p1

  • deannalfisher
    deannalfisher Posts: 5,600 Member
    feel free to look at my diary - I avg 2700 a day (low of 2550 and high of 2950)
  • ritzvin
    ritzvin Posts: 2,860 Member
    anxiety/depression can F* with appetite. If that's a possible issue, medication for that could help.
  • AlexDalton1998
    AlexDalton1998 Posts: 19 Member
    Sorry for the loss of your grandmother.

    But me thinks the lady/gentleman protests too much! (too many mentions that you 'are not anorexic') you need to gain weight, eat the calories needed to make that gain happen. Choose calorie dense foods if you are inclined to fill up easily.

    Hi, thanks. I might be anxious as it was explained to me below. I dunno. I meant that I avoid food because I'm worried about being gay or have a poor body image. I eat when I'm hungry. Even as as kid, the social eating want me. Like getting popcorn just because you're at a movie. That wasn't how I rolled.

    But maybe the stress and grief had taken a medical tow on me and decreased my appetite. I don't know. Some days I eat more, some days less.

    Anyway if I can take care of this with diet then I take carre of it without medicating myself I will. The only medication I have in my apartment is a bottle of generic Pepto I got when in had a stomach virus last November, and Neosporin from where another student barber nicked my ear with scisssors and I bled like a stick pig.
  • amtyrell
    amtyrell Posts: 1,447 Member
    Hard boil a bunch of eggs grab and go in morning. Two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches at lunch and an apple or two.
    Pasta with chicken and veggies for dinner
  • AlexDalton1998
    AlexDalton1998 Posts: 19 Member
    feel free to look at my diary - I avg 2700 a day (low of 2550 and high of 2950)
    Complete noob here. How do I do that?
  • SoLongAndThanksForAllTheFish
    SoLongAndThanksForAllTheFish Posts: 831 Member
    edited September 2017
    I can agree that its insanely difficult to only eat 2700 calories per day...and I'm about the same height.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    feel free to look at my diary - I avg 2700 a day (low of 2550 and high of 2950)
    Complete noob here. How do I do that?

    To view someone's diary (if they have it set to public) you click on their name -- this should pull up their usercard -- and then click on their name again from there to go to their profile. You should see a big green button to view their diary.
  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
    I'd skip the soup too, it's really filling and most are low calorie. I'd also not worry about "healthy", it requires context and for you, calories are the main requirement for health at the moment. So get more fattier cuts of meats, all lamb, chicken thighs and legs, higher fat ground beef. Then make a switch for things like full fat milk (if you like it, it's not a switch I could make for things like cereal) and add in things like chocolate, ice cream, nuts, pizza etc. Cooking with more oil is also an easy way to add calories to meals.
  • annette_15
    annette_15 Posts: 1,657 Member
    Try drinking your calories too, have a smoothie or juice or whole milk with your meals, you can even add some blobs of peanut butter to your cereal
  • ritzvin
    ritzvin Posts: 2,860 Member
    Hyper-palatable calorie-dense foods can be your friend if having a hard time with low appetite. If you need to eat something but aren't feeling like eating, at least grab a candy bar or something that you might have a bit more of an appetite for. or peanut butter with nutella. or something along those lines.
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
    Sorry you've had a rough go, but yea, your height &weight, you need to eat a lot more. The good news is you're going to be able to eat a lot of calorie dense and tasty things. A lot have already been said, ice cream, pb, full fat dairy.
  • Jockamo319
    Jockamo319 Posts: 22 Member
    One of the biggest helps for me was to start taking in calories the moment I wake up. If I wait till lunch to start eating, its really hard for me to catch up. Even on a budget and with a tight schedule with no time for a nice big breakfast, you can have a bagel with butter and cream cheese, a big glass of milk, and a banana as you go out the door. It's much easier to hit 2,700 if you get 600 or 700 out of way right off the bat, at least for me.
  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,727 Member
    If you're still interested in enlisting, I would suggest recruiter shopping. Colorblindness is not a hard bar to enlistment(it's waiverable if the recruiter wants to do the extra work), as there are duties that do not require normal color vision.
  • sarakenna12
    sarakenna12 Posts: 37 Member
    edited September 2017
    I agree that cooking a batch of food on Sunday that you can reheat and eat throughout the week could be really helpful. Home cooked food is much cheaper than processed or fast food, and way healthier too. Most processed frozen foods and fast foods are empty calories that lack nutrition. If you are underfeeding your body, that means that in addition to being low on calories, your body is also low on nutrients, vitamins, amino acids, etc. It's better for your long term health to gain weight by eat nutritious calorie dense food (nuts, cheese, meat, nut butter, granola), rather than unhealthy foods that are full of calories but lack nutrition (fast foods, processed foods, processed frozen foods, chips, sugary cereals, desserts).

    I suggest you pick up a cookbook for beginning cooks. You can buy something used from Amazon, I'm sure. You may find that cooking for yourself is therapeutic and good for your mental health too! You will be amazed at how cheap and rewarding cooking your own food can be. And some day, when you meet someone special who you want to impress or you have friends over, you will have the skills to create something excellent for them.

    Here are some book suggestions:

    Good and Cheap- Leanne Brown (probably the best book for your current place in life)
    The Basics: A Really Useful Cook Book- Anthony Telford
    The Hungry Student Cookbook : 200+ Quick and Simple Recipes
    The I Don't Know How To Cook Book: 300 Great Recipes You Can't Mess Up!-Mary Lane Kamberg
    Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking- Marcella Hazan (My personal favorite, I think everyone should own this book)
  • Spliner1969
    Spliner1969 Posts: 3,233 Member
    Peanut butter. Ice cream. Full fat sauces/dips/condiments.

    Agreed 1000%. Peanut Butter is a load of calories. Most people will put between 2-4tbsp on a sandwich (I'd put more on if I could get away with it lol). That's easily 200-400 calories in a single sandwich. Full fat ice cream is also bonkers on calories. Dressings on salads will help too, just eat the creamiest fattiest ones (you know, the ones that taste the best lol). All of those things don't add a ton of bulk but are high in calories. Try cookie butter, it's amazing and has even more calories most of the time than peanut butter.