Increase calories?

[UmbongoUnchained]

Not sure if this is the right place.
I've recently downloaded my fitness pal as I was interested to keep track of what I was eating.
It turns out that I'm rarely eating more than 700 calories a day and that this is very unhealthy!
I have a bowl of porridge for breakfast, a lunch if either salmon or chicken with green veg and porridge for dinner. If I need to snack I have fruit. To be honest I struggle eating anymore than that. Would maybe having a protein shake each day be a good thing to do to up the calories? I'm not losing weight on what I eat but I don't really need to lose any so that's not a problem. I do also have a take away once a week, usually pizza.

[mindtheshapes]

Hi, I'd been a chronic under-eater and have been working on it in the past few months.
It's definitely doable to eat more and protein shakes help, but they can get old REAL quick if you don't have different kinds or try different things other than drinking them.

One great thing would be a small personal blender, I have a cheap Breville one and it's great. A bit of milk, a handful or two of frozen berries, a little honey and you're already over the 1000 kcal mark.
Starting some sort of physical activity also helps to raise your appetite like yoga, wall climbing or anything you like really.

The most important is to take it slow, and increase your intake ever so slightly, more so if you get more active, but still gradually.

[MelanieCheeks]

When you say you don't need to lose any - what is your current weight, goal weight, height, why are you on MFP etc?

[UmbongoUnchained]

I'm in MFP because I've started to do strength training to tone up and wanted to make sure I was consuming enough calories for the exercise but apparently I'm not consuming enough anyway!

I will try the smoothies thank you :)
To be fair the amount of doninos I eat in my cheat day probably keeps me going for the week my BMI is overweight but I'm just heavy. I'm a small size 10 and have wide shoulders and a big chest and really wouldn't look good if I lost more weight.

[MelanieCheeks]

Ok, if you're strength training then protein and good fats are what you need. Add some peanut butter to your porridge, and some svocado or olive oil to your salad. Snack on nuts or cheese instead of fruit.

[UmbongoUnchained]

Brilliant thank you :)

Also, I don't know if you have any advice on this, but I have a huge problem with bloating. I've tried cutting out gluten and dairy and things but it doesn't seem to be working. I wake up skinny in the morning but the time I go to bed I can be at least 5-6 inches bigger around the middle and actually look about 6 months pregnant! I've tried probiotics and it was my GP who suggested cutting out foods to trial and error but nothing seems to be working

[MelanieCheeks]

Hmmm, that can be hard to pin down. For me, it was starchy gluten-y things, also sugar. Maybe the fruit and the 2bowls of porridge? How's your water intake?

[UmbongoUnchained]

I drink quite a lot of water and green tea. I usually fill a litre bottle of water in the morning and then drink that through the day, sometimes 2 lots. It's really frustrating!

[TalkinPeace]

700 calories a day and overweight
sorry, does not compute
you are missing out snacks and drinks or underestimating your portion sizes

[UmbongoUnchained]

I'm not overweight, I'm heavy. I always have been. I have a 27 inch waist which is proportionate with my height.

[Wolfiefan]

Porridge is not a dinner. Change that!

[TalkinPeace]

700 calories a day would lead to SERIOUS weight loss
unless you are under 5'0" and over 55

you are miscalculating

[UmbongoUnchained]

Maybe I am.
Am I doing it right? I weigh the food out then enter the weight of the food into MFP along with what it is and what store it is from. Then I add my exercise for the day. It says I should be eating 1700 calories a day which is why I thought of adding protein shakes to up the calories. I can't eat in the mornings so usually have porridge at about half 11, then a big cooked lunch around half 2-3 then porridge again at about 8.

[Wolfiefan]

I can't believe you aren't losing weight on 700 cals. Drinks?
Relying on one meal a day to cram in all your veg and vitamin and nutrient requirements can't be realistic.

[UmbongoUnchained]

I'm just not a huge eater. Drinks are water or green tea. If I go out I would probably have a j2o. I don't drink fizzy. (Unless there's gin in it)

[UmbongoUnchained]

Maybe I could swap the fry light for normal oil and little things like that would make a difference? I could make fried chicken instead of grilled? But I don't want to start eating unhealthily I just want to increase the calories.

[Wolfiefan]

Why do you have two meals a day of porridge though?

[UmbongoUnchained]

It fills me up nicely without being super heavy. And I really really love it!

[mindtheshapes]

Don't add your exercise to the actual tracker, it just makes it more inaccurate, just track food and see where you're at at the end of the day.
Not only does 700Kcal not lead to serious weight loss, it's more likely to cause weight gain as your metabolism slows down to cope with the lack of food, it's basic physiology.

There are many things you can try, if you like porridge that much, it would be a good idea to try overnight oats, once you add fruits and some peanut butter, you're getting an extra few healthy hundreds of calories.
Also, try salads, sandwiches or dishes that have healthy calorie dense ingredients like avocados, nuts, cheese, greek yoghurt, cottage cheese nut butters..