Is this really not enough??

[GoldieGal]

Breakfast: 1/4 cup of porridge

Lunch: Piece of fruit or salad

Dinner: veggies and a bit of chicken

I never ate much to begin with, just the things I ate weren't particularly healthy. Obviously I don't eat the same exact things everyday but it's around the same amount of calories yet apparently this isn't enough?

Will the consequences of this be that bad? Please help!

@SmileyClare True. I do often drink a cup of soya milk or 2 and tea. I'm bad at keeping up with water to I've been adding fruit to it so that I'll like the taste more. But I never thought to add these to the app. Like I said, I don't use the app often. I just tried it out of curiosity.

@Seasuns

I'm similar OP.

I have coffee for breakfast, peppermint tea or a normal tea for lunch usually, then I have dinner. Dinner lots of veg, one small potato, some meat. If I really want a snack, a banana or some grapes.

Seriously? There's nowhere near enough in the way of minerals in that one meal you eat which needs to nourish you for the whole day.

Eating like that long term is going to have consequences for your bones, if you do it day in day out.

Oh dear. A Competitive undereating thread. 🙄

If you don't know what you're doing when it comes to food, don't think you need to see a professional and can't add up the rough number of calories you consume, there is lots of infirmation out there on Google. Or books.

If you're capable of posting on mumsnet, you are capable of both googling and reading too.

Honestly, having such a low metabolic rate is nothing to be proud of.

[quote Eckhart]@LadyH846 Does that app set a minimum requirement for carbs? If so, it's misleading. The minimum requirement for carbs is 0%
We only need fat and protein.[/quote]
It sets a requirement for carbs if you set it that way.

Most women of reproductive age will lose their period and become temporarily infertile on 0g of carbs. We need carbs to ovulate.

So the app told you it wasnt enough calories (its not) abdvyet you still had to come on here and ask? That would suggest you have disordered thought processes about food.

You do also realise that's disordered eating... It's not at all healthy to suppress your appetite with tea and coffee.

I don't wake up hungry though. I have a friend who also skips breakfast and her bmi is normal.

You say you drink smoothies Op. An average smoothie can be 400 calories which would be supplementing your food intake quite significantly. You may have miscalculated your intake on the app.

That said, delete the app! You don't need to obsess about calories if you're a healthy unchanging weight.

You need to add protein to your breakfast or lunch, preferably both. Also, how big is your salad at lunchtime? Are you putting oily dressing on it?

@yomommasmomma I don't have an eating disorder.

@SmileyClare

Come on Op, try to see your food restricting isn't normal! Who on earth measures out dried oats in cups and works out what 1/4 cup is? Justify start tipping porridge into a bowl, Chuck in some berries, nuts, a bit of peanut butter or Nuttella to make it taste less like wall paper paste.

Try not to get hung up on calories and exact portion sizes, there's really no need. You don't have to make any food off limits to be healthy.

You might consider that eating 3 meals a day doesn't suit you. Some people prefer to eat smaller amounts more frequently, say 5 small meals a day. If you are the sort of person who thinks very rigidly and finds comfort in set "rules" and patterns then that might work for you.

To be fair my daughter uses American cups a lot to measure out oats, grains, pulses etc. They come in a set of 5 ranging from 1 cup to 1/8 of a cup. She finds them more convenient than scales.

Seriously? There's nowhere near enough in the way of minerals in that one meal you eat which needs to nourish you for the whole day.

I take vitamin and mineral tablets.

A 1yr old would eat more than that. Why do you eat so little? Are you trying to lose weight or do you just naturally have a small appetite?

I eat that much and I don't lose weight - I wish I could! I have to almost starve to lose weight.
Your amount seems perfectly acceptable to me, but as others have said, it's all about lifestyle. Despite going for walks, I never work up a sweat, don't go to the gym, I am sitting for 3 days a week in a part-time job...I just don't use up enough calories to need more.

If you were a lumber jack, it would be very different!!

Why is everyone posting it isn’t enough? It really depends on what the salad and chicken and veggies are.
If you are eating a large varied salad with protein (meat, fish, eggs, nuts, cheese) etc and then a large chicken breast and large veg portion then yes that is plenty enough (assuming you are leading a moderate active lifestyle and not training every day!)
The reason this country is 65% overweight or obese is because so many people have a totally skewed idea of how much (and what type) of food to eat! The more you eat the hungrier you become. Your stomach expands and you need more to fill you up. It’s a vicious cycle. Once you get used to eating healthier and less heavy foods, you don’t need them!

@Time2change2
Totally agree

I mean I'm a size 8 so eat well and am not overweight and that doesn't sound much.

1/4 cup porridge with milk - around 90cals
1 banana - 120 calls
Chicken breast and veg - around 350cals

So - 560 calories in a day?

1/4 of you recommended amount. The recommended calories for a six month old infant

@Time2change2

Why is everyone posting it isn’t enough? It really depends on what the salad and chicken and veggies are. If you are eating a large varied salad with protein (meat, fish, eggs, nuts, cheese) etc and then a large chicken breast and large veg portion then yes that is plenty enough (assuming you are leading a moderate active lifestyle and not training every day!) The reason this country is 65% overweight or obese is because so many people have a totally skewed idea of how much (and what type) of food to eat! The more you eat the hungrier you become. Your stomach expands and you need more to fill you up. It’s a vicious cycle. Once you get used to eating healthier and less heavy foods, you don’t need them!

The OP eats salad OR a piece of fruit. from that is is highly unlikely she is eating a large varied salad with protein.

Her dinner she describes as a bit of chicken. That's not going to be a large chicken breast and veg portion.

@BabyLlamaZen My energy feels fine. I'm not doing as much since corona virus so that would probably contribute to that? Regardless, I've never been worried until now but I don't think it will be hard to eat more.

Do you smoke?

It sounds around 600 calories a day at most. What did you calculate it as on the app?

If it is around the 600 mark then of course that isn't enough and yes there will be consequences. Bad ones.

@Comefromaway yes a piece of fruit is not lunch I agree there. If a bit of chicken Is less than one chicken breast then again that’s probably not enough. It needs to be a large portion of protein and plenty of fresh veg so it does depend on the sizes

That's less than my 2 year old eats! Not nearly enough to be healthy whatever you're eating. Cereal is not unhealthy, and you really need more at lunch - a sandwich, soup - anything!
If you carry on eating so little you will develop serious health issues as that is just not enough to fuel an adult body.

@Seasuns

Seriously? There's nowhere near enough in the way of minerals in that one meal you eat which needs to nourish you for the whole day.

I take vitamin and mineral tablets.

Hopefully you're absorbing them all. It's a bit of a gamble, because there are several essential micronutrients (like choline for example ) that we get from food that are not usually included in multivitamins.

@GoldfishParade Sorry, I just have never really had shakes. Didn't know what to respond.

I wouldn’t have thought your body could sustain a menstrual cycle on that few calories.