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!

Hello,

A really good book is the Louise Parker Lean for Life - she has a really tasty, simple meals which err towards low carbing. I think they would support your healthy eating.

B. I would change from Porridge to Oatbran and then eat more of it. Make it using almond or coconut milk.
Fruit - blueberries, strawberries, apple, pear (you can put them in a frying pan with water to soften them up and add to the oatbran

L. To your salad: Add tblspoon of flaxseed oil, balsamic vinegar and apple cider vinegar to make a dressing.
Also add a protein like: tuna - I like a jalapeno one, hummous, chicken, boiled egg. If you are going to add potatoes, brown rice, quiona - do it to this meal.

D: Make sure it is 4 - 5 oz of protein with vegetables.

Snacks: Greek yogurt and stevia, cinnemon, nutmeg or Kefir coconut yogurt with Stevia, cinnemon and nutmeg

Protein shake with half a banana, tablespoon of yogurt, coconut/almond milk, water

I would also take a iron, vit c and zinc tablet

Add a jacket potato to your lunchtime salad, have the fruit with your porridge and maybe have a smoothie between lunch and tea.

If you're eating when you're actually hungry and stopping when you are full not stuffed it could be enough. Given our stomachs are 12 inches long and 6 inches wide I think a lot of us probably eat too much and when we think we should eat not when we're actually hungry, or eating when it's thirst not hunger therefore missing the body's signs that it's food you need.

@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!

Never mind calories, it simply isn't enough in the way of nutrients unless there's lots of foods in the salad that OP hasn't listed out. It's lacking whole food groups.

Looking for validation from such vague information is odd and frustrating, we have no idea of your height, weight or lifestyle. Which will obviously factor into whether your diet is sufficient, or not.
I would question what it is you are looking for from this thread.

@Seasuns

I take vitamin and mineral tablets

Read the box. It'll say not to use them instead of a healthy diet.

@CloudyVanilla I struggle to drink enough water, I don't hate it but don't particularly like it either. So I've started adding fruit to keep up with that. But I usually have Soya milk or tea. If we have orange juice, I'll drink that as well.

People in the UK are massive overeaters, I'm not surprised you're getting this response. Even people who eat healthily actually overeat on healthy foods. Banging on about the importance of a protein-ladem breakfast as if we were still handwashing clothes and churning milk and walking 5 miles before ploughing the fields...

To be honest it does seem very little food to sustain a 'normal' healthy lifestyle.
Saying that I have a kebab/or similar about once a week, so I am probably the last person you should listen to .

Maybe we should alternate diets every other week!!

I don't think there's enough information here for anyone to judge really.

I mean, the breakfast thing sounds ok as you've clarified that that's how much oats you use to make the porridge. Portion sizes for cereal are a lot smaller than most people realise.

Lunch you mentioned salad, but what sort of salad? Like, some leaves and a bit of cucumber? Or a salad made with grains, fish or chicken, cheese, eggs etc. Just salad leaves would not be good enough, as you wouldn't be getting any protein or nutrients.

Dinner is ok, but again it depends on the portion size. If you're eating a couple of mouthfuls of chicken and some peas then you've got a problem. But if you have an entire chicken breast and include potatoes in your vegetables then you're probably fine.

I think you need to stop focusing on eating 'healthy'. Instead, try and get a more balanced diet - a bit of sweet stuff or fat is good for you in moderation. I'd gradually up the amount of porridge each morning and definitely bulk up your lunch, add some bread or pasta salad.

@LadyH846 Thank you. Definitely going to add nuts to my porridge.

@Eckhart Thank you for that advice.

@LadyH846

We need carbs to ovulate

Have you got any articles you can post a link to, please?

@Time2change2 she said she eats the same amount calorie wise whether she has a piece of fruit, a biscuit or a salad for lunch. So one can assume it's not a heavily dressed, protein and seed packed salad.

She also said it's chicken with frozen veg.

@hoppingleg I was just referring to today's food as I had put it into the app. It's not the same everyday. Haven't eaten out in a whiled due to the virus but I do occasionally have ice cream as it's my favourite treat.

@GoldieGal Also, don't forget that you can experiment. Up your protein for a few weeks, see if you feel better. Eat 10 pieces of fruit for a while (or 10 Mars Bars a day, or whatever), see what makes you feel good. You might be low in energy eating the way you do, and not realise, because you've always been this way. I had this experience with alcohol. I didn't realise how badly even minimal drinking was making me feel, every day, until I stopped. It was like someone had put springs in my shoes!

Are you a teen, OP? You seem quite young.

As some seeds and sultanas to the breakfast, and a sandwich to the lunch, a low fat yogurt after the evening meal, and it's fine.

It's impossible to know from what you've said whether it's enough. If you've always eaten about this amount and your BMI is healthy and stable then obviously you are eating enough calories. If you're underweight and losing then you need to eat more. If you're overweight and losing then that's fine for now, albeit unsustainable in the long term. Whether it's "healthy" or not is hard to say without knowing more about exactly what goes into your meals.

Hi OP,

You seem to be very unwilling to give away any information that would give a more rounded picture of your situation. Is there a reason for that?

Have you always eaten like this, for example? Are you eating like this because you are trying to lose weight or are other people commenting on your weight or your eating habits?

Giving people a bit more info would make it easier to give you useful answers!

All the best, anyway.

You struggle to drink water?? The mind boggles.

But it hasn't occurred to you to drink fruit juice instead?

If you eat such a low calorie diet, you will drink less as you won't have such a need to for liquid to help with food digestion. And as youve probably worked out, you will be running to the loo all the time because any liquid will just wash straight through you on that amount of daily calories. It's really bad for you.

Yes, I do think you need to see a nutrionost or perhaps your. GP.

Your whole attitude towards food is off.

Perhaps if you did regular exercise, you would have more of a healthy appetite? Can you go out cycling, or swimming? Do you have the energy from less than 1000 calories per day to actually do any exercise, beyond walking? You sound as though you're training your whole system to be sluggish and in energy conservation mode, which is really bad for staying slim and healthy.

It depends on your portion sizes, a bit. 'Roast veg' like I make is about half an oven tray of lovely oily aubergine/courgette/pepper/onion. If you're having like a quarter of a pepper then that's different. And 'a salad' might mean a wisp of lettuce and a slice of cucumber, or it might mean a big bowl full of lots of lovely fresh food and seeds and protein. Overall, it sounds like yes, you are undereating.

This kind of thread worries me because I recognise my best friend and her eating disorder in it. She’d ask with faux concern about whether she was under eating just to check that she actually was because she couldn’t believe that she was calorie deficient enough. All the ‘That’s far too little, you’ll lose weight, you’ll starve’ comments can actually be the affirmation someone very poorly is looking for so please be careful in your responses.

@BeachLane I've mostly cut out dairy due to it making me feel sick and bloated any time I have to much of it, though I do it in some dips or salad dressings. Soya seemed like the best milk alternative. My bmi is 20.2, it shows that I am in the green. Will try to eat more nuts and eggs, thank you.