Trying to eat 1400 calories a day

Open your food diary to get comments. It's hard to imagine you need to lose weight if you find MFP is making you eat more than you were eating to get overweight in the first place.

If you can't get to your goal eating healthy foods(Veggies and fruits). It seems, according to your diary, that you're meeting your goals of calorie intake...just not in a very healthy manor *I had trouble finding raw fruits or veggies on it*
Then you should look into high protein foods maybe. Invest in some protein mix if you're to full to eat. Or nuts. Or eat a giant salad.
What ever you think might work for you, experiment a little.

Natural peanut butter or almond butter
Almonds
Oatmeal
Olive oil- I even add it to oatmeal to give me extra calories.
Flax seed meal can be added to most anything, it's a good source of Omega 3's
Greek yogurt
Fish
Cottage cheese.
Beans
Lean meats

Just a few examples. 1400 calories should be easy to consume in a day. I average around 3200 a day +/- and that is eating all the time.

I agree with above posters. I didn't see hardly any fruits/veggies. They add up and it's better to have a well balanced eating experience. It's not bad to have a cheeseburger or anything if you are under your calorie goal, moderation is key. Also a lot of people start using diet foods when they 'diet', like low fat salad dressings. If you are having a hard time meeting goals and are eating well, try using full fat foods like regular cheeses and PB over lower calorie stuff.

I ran into that problem a long time ago, and found that avocados, nuts, nut butters, etc... have those extra calories you need and they are important to eat. You may want to add cheese, yogurt, etc... if you aren't against dairy.

I would suggest cutting out really high calorie food and fried foods no french fries, fried chicken, milkshakes also I would suggest going to other peoples food diaries that have lost quite a bit of weight to get ideas, try eating healthier foods you will find that you can eat more and if you dont reach 1400 cals I wouldnt sweat it, sometimes I only get in 900 cals but then there are days i get in 1400 cals, also I wouldnt eat back all your exercise cals, experiment and see what works for you.

peanut butter, almonds, peanuts, full/partial fat yogurts, etc. will be your friend when you need healthful ways to fill up your calories.

I eat double cheeseburgers for breakfast because they help me meet my protein macro. I make them at home, that makes them clean, right?

DON'T BELIEVE THE HYPE GIRL!!!! If you have calories and you want to eat something indulgent, eat it!

In the beginning, it is a big adjustment to make, and it is recommended to change your diet in slow measures. At 1400 calories, though, you really need to make certain that you are fulfilling ALL of your body's nutritional needs. I would recommend raising your calorie intake so you can better ensure you are eating a complete, balanced diet. If you have met all your nutritional needs, then it is okay to splurge as long as it isn't a slippery slope for you that leads to binge eating.

I just looked at your diary. Looks like you are eating a lot of processed foods and very few healthy options. I don't want to be a know-it-all, but please consider adding fruits and veggies each meal. Also, one easy way to add calories (answering your question) would be to use whole eggs instead of just the egg whites.

You can lose weight eating whatever as long as you stay within the calories, but if you want to give your body what it needs to thrive, consider fresh produce. I started out eating very few veggies, but now I try to make sure that at least half my plate is either full of veggies or fruits. Try packing your lunch, if possible... looks like you eat out a lot.

There is no need to eat junk to hit cals. FOCUS ON GOOD PROTIENS AND FATS. Olive oil, avocado, nuts, peanut butter, greek yogurt, a good protien drink, bananas....

^^^^this^^^^ The lower your calories the more important it is to make sure they are nutritionally sound. Just calories without attention to nutritional value will initially work, but for a healthy long term fix a nutritient rich diet is key.

I had started adding some unhealthy foods just to make sure I reach my calories given for the day because I have been told it is very important to eat your calories. I have still been losing weight but is this ok to eat whatever I want? I feel guity when I'm supposed to be losing weight and I'm eating a cheeseburger (for example).

Any tips?

Hmm.... 1st - if you're losing at a healthy rate, great. But something doesn't make sense. You may want to make sure you're tracking your calories accurately. If you're eating a cheeseburger (which could easily put you near 1,000 calories ALONE) to get you closer to 1400, maybe your calorie values are off.

As for how to hit 1400 healthfully, the other posters have that covered. I have no problem getting to 1900 and not being stuffed when I choose wisely.

Looks like you're exercising much more than you used to. That means you can eat more calories. But as long as you eat 1200 NUTRITIOUS calories, aren't hungry, and aren't feeling crappy, you don't have to.

But are you following a program you can imagine following the rest of your life? If you're just tolerating this diet and exercise regimen until you lose the weight, you'll regain it as soon as you return to your regular lifestyle.

Eat the foods you love, but find a way to include them in your overall calorie goal. You can have cheeseburgers, but you can't have an unlimited number. And use the sometimes foods as an incentive to exercise off the excess calories.

I would recommend:

- Learn to cook new and simple recipes rather than grabbing ready meals or fast food (e.g. no pizza for lunch). Buy a recipe book with simple, healthy recipes.
- Make meals with more of the following ingredients:

Vegetables: green veggies every day (broccoli, salad, beans etc), tomato, beetroot etc. For extra calories, add veggies that are starchy or pulses: potatoes, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, carrots, yams, kidney beans, chick peas, white beans, lentils etc.

Fruit: Banana, orange, strawberries etc all make a good snack. A glass of fruit juice in the morning for example (but no more than 1 glass of juice as it's lots of sugar with no fibre).

An example "ideal" day would be:

Breakfast - 400 calories approx.

1 glass of orange juice (100% natural no added sugar)
2 fried eggs cooked with 1 cal spray oil (spice up with a bit of salt and pepper, or tabasco for a kick).
1 piece of toast

Snack - 100 calories approx.
1 banana

Lunch - 500 calories approx. - Chicken and apple salad followed by yogurt with fruit and honey
1 cup of salad leaves with tomato, sweetcorn, cucumber
1 medium chicken breast without skin
1 chopped apple
1 tsp of olive oil and 1 tsp vinegar
1 yogurt with a tsp of honey, strawberries and almonds

Dinner - 500 calories approx. salmon fillet with zesty creme fraiche
1 salmon fillet fried with 1 cal cooking spray
1 portion of green beans or broccoli
1 portion of new potatoes
2 tbsp of low fat creme fraiche mixed with a zest of lemon

That's 1500 calories of very healthy stuff: you've got your 5 portions of fruit and veg a day.

It may take a while to learn how to cook new things and try out new food, but if you like good food like me, it's quite fun to try new flavours. I'd say try to incorporate a new meal a day then make all 3 meals a day healthy as you learn to change your diet and to cook new things.

Good luck!

^ What I list can also be expensive. If you cook for yourself only it's hard to make it cheap. Frozen fish and berries helps keep the cost down, and eggs are cheap here. I do eat a lot of bread and pasta at the moment due to financial constraints (lots of healthy recipes), but I do like to spend a large part of my salary on food rather than clothes, makeup etc. Depends what you're into! I just love food... I have a few pounds to eat not because i eat junk food but because I eat too much good food.