Calorie intake much lower than it should be

imholeyfredgeddit
imholeyfredgeddit Posts: 2
edited December 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi. Since I joined myfitnesspal I've noticed that my daily calorie intake is far lower than recommended, it's around 500 even before I do any exercise. Are there ways to increase calories without gaining too much weight? I'm not thin (I'm aiming to be healthy and thin again), I weigh more than I should for my height so I don't understand the loss of calories :| I don't have as much energy as I would like, possibly because of this and I would like it back. Thanks and sorry if there are topics like this already!

Replies

  • Dave198lbs
    Dave198lbs Posts: 8,810 Member
    you only eat 500 calories a day?
  • htmlgirl
    htmlgirl Posts: 314 Member
    Open up your diary so we can see what you are eating/how many calories a day you are consuming and burning
  • dorkusmalorkus
    dorkusmalorkus Posts: 61
    i have a similar problem..most days i dont eat a lot, but having protein shakes helps me out some. its good for you, not like eating a crapload of poptarts and twinkies
  • bathsheba_c
    bathsheba_c Posts: 1,873 Member
    Is your food diary public so we can see what you're eating? A few possibilities:

    1. You are under-reporting how much you are eating, possibly because people are bad at estimated weight and volume
    2. You weigh so much because you are eating too little, causing your body to go into crisis mode and stock up everything it can
  • hailzp
    hailzp Posts: 903 Member
    Try adding some high calorie food though out your day such as nuts, nut butters, full fat milk, cheese and yogurts. Avocados. proteins like eggs and chicken. If you are only eating 500 a day you need to try and bump it up to at least 1200 if not more. You won't put on weight. You will have more energy. You could try eating back your exercise calories too so you net 1200 or above. I personally eat just above my BMR and I lose weight every week. So you could find out your BMR and work from that. Just trying adding to your meals bit by bit if you struggle with it, and eat more often to get more calories in. Good Luck :)
  • JessDorian
    JessDorian Posts: 34
    How many meals do you have? how much do you eat? I struggle to get over the 1200 mainly because i feel full very quick.
    on average i eat 3 main meals and usually 2 or three snacks. this is an example what i would eat

    Breakfast
    Oats 1/4 or 1/2 of cup with skim milk
    Piece fruit
    Protein shake
    probiotic drink

    Snack
    Fruit

    Lunch
    Sandwich with ham,cheese and salad

    Snack
    Yogurt

    Dinner
    meat with veg

    Snack (if im hungry or really low on cals)
    Protein shake

    Brekkie and lunch stay pretty much the same does change slightly. dinner usually meat, pasta, rice just depends really. If you are losing weight then keep going but you should have 1200 cals a day sometimes it seems like well iveaten all this stuff how can i not be higher with my cals. Just change you're food less processed would be best.
  • tabulator32
    tabulator32 Posts: 701 Member
    Since I joined myfitnesspal I've noticed that my daily calorie intake is far lower than recommended
    Are there ways to increase calories without gaining too much weight?

    Yes, eat what is recommended.
  • AliceKlaar
    AliceKlaar Posts: 275 Member
    OP, I really don't like the sound of this. Why are you only eating 500 calories a day? And what are you eating? You need to either open up your diary or give us an idea of a typical day for you so we know whether it's a problem with logging or if you are in fact drastically under-eating. Because if you're just eating 3 crackers and an apple a day, telling you to stick some peanut butter on it really isn't going to help you, quite frankly.
  • Lozze
    Lozze Posts: 1,917 Member
    OP has now opened her diary.

    OP if the Sunday is an example what you're eating, it's not enough. Where's your fruit and veggies? Where's your protein? Why are you eating 1000 calories under your limit?
  • imholeyfredgeddit
    imholeyfredgeddit Posts: 2
    There we go, the diary should be open now.

    Half of the problem could be that I rarely eat breakfast, I've heard many times that it's the most important meal of the day and that you absolutely shouldn't skip it but I never feel hungry in the morning, not until around 11am-12pm. I really try to have an appetite for it but it just never happens, although, like this morning, I forced myself to eat cereal.

    I usually have three meals a day but sometimes snack in between. I've been eating a lot of almonds lately and my mum makes us fruit smoothies quite often. I don't eat take-aways unless I can help it, I never eat McDonald's, haven't for many years. I cook Mexican food, chicken and vege pies and lots of other things I've learnt at home. My meals are average, not too big and not too small. Thank you all very much for the help so far.
  • robin52077
    robin52077 Posts: 4,383 Member
    How do you even KNOW what you've eaten when your diary is blank every day except today?
    You have to LOG everything, and WEIGH it before logging so you know it's right, and then from there it's easy...all you have to do is EAT if you are that far under! Your goal is to EAT every calorie allotted to you, NOT to try to leave a bunch behind. Your deficit is already built in.
  • bathsheba_c
    bathsheba_c Posts: 1,873 Member
    I hope that Sunday isn't typical. My original answer still stands. One possibility is that you are under-reporting (a bowl of cereal, for example, is multiple servings). The other is that you aren't eating enough, and your body is freaked out. I had a couple of friends who severely restricted their food intake in order to lose weight, and only ended up gaining more. They both went to a dietitian who put them on a diet where they were eating so much, they felt it was impossible to eat everything they were told to. Then they lost weight.

    So I guess there's a new part to my answer: see a dietitian to go over what you are doing and what you are doing wrong.

    FWIW, I hate eating breakfast. But then I get in 500-700 calories in a typical meal, two meals a day, and then snacks bring me up to my target.
  • AliceKlaar
    AliceKlaar Posts: 275 Member
    I'd say take it back to basics, take full advantage of the tools on this site and weigh and log EVERYTHING that you eat and drink, preferably stripping down a recipe to its raw ingredients by weight. Invest in a set of food scales that weighs by the gram if you haven't done so already. The recipe box feature on here is a pretty good one - so, for example, if you're making a chilli then add in the mince raw weight, the onions, tomatoes, kidney beans and any oil used. It's a bit time-consuming to start off with but it really is the only way to ensure accuracy while you get your head round your new eating plan.

    As regards your diary today, what about the milk on the cereal? 250ml will add 80-120 cals (depending on whether you're using semi-skimmed or soya milk). A 200ml glass of fruit juice will add about 90 calories. Snacking on nuts and seeds will bump you up considerably (6 brazil nuts is about 140 calories) and a couple of pieces of fruit will add another 150 calories at least. So you're already at a far healthier calorie count for sustainable weight loss - and could even have a bread roll with the soup this evening or a piece of cheese afterwards.

    Regarding breakfast - in an ideal world we'd all be starting off the day with a healthy and substantial snack/meal but if you really can't stomach it then don't force yourself. It's still perfectly possible to hit a good calorie total by skipping it and making up for it later on in the day.

    I really do think your issue is with logging and 'guesstimating' and you will find the logging easier to get to grips with the more you practise it. I wish you every success.
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