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!

This absolutely sounds like OP has a severe eating disorder and wants validation. I think @mnhq should take a look behind the scenes here and point OP to help

Add a banana or berries to the porridge,
Add eggs, avocado, nuts or cheese to the salad.

Have some butternut squash, sweet potato and as many colours of veg/salad as possible at dinner.

Substitute fish (pref oily) for chicken a couple of days a week and check out your iron and calcium levels if you are opposed to dairy and red meat.

Don’t drink your calories in alcohol! (As opposed to food.) Think about the longer term picture regarding metabolism, insulin resistance, muscle mass, osteoporosis as well as short term weight benefits.

Perhaps find a fun way of exercising/relaxing to reduce your overthinking around food. This will naturally boost your metabolism.

Seek specialist support if you feel you need it or chat to a trusted friend or family member.

Good luck OP. xx

I'm not going to bother my gp during a pandemic

It's usually easy at the moment to get a short phone call appointment with a gp at the moment. That would be within a day or so. They are not short of appointment slots due to the pandemic at all.

The fact that you say you feel sick and bloated after eating might need to be checked. That may be affecting your appetite and stopping you eating properly.

The app won't have calculated the extras in your diet. You mention lots of milk, smoothies, fruit juice, dressings, hummus, dips, ice cream etc that are part of your usual diet.

@DameFanny

Not everyone who eats small or even tiny quantities are anorexic, and suggesting so fails to recognise the vast range in healthy quantities there is for individuals. If someone only needs 800 calories a day, they're fit and healthy, menstruating if young enough and not covered in hair then fine, that's them. Ditto if someone's eating 4,000 calories a day but staying a healthy size with a healthy liver. That's them.

There seems to be this idea that we must all consume the same proportions of foods in an approximate calorie range of 1250 to 2500 a day but people are just so much more varied than that.

If you eat real food - not prepackaged or heavily adulterated - then you can trust your body to tell you what it needs. It's eating crap like meal replacements or thinking of real foods as 'syns' or eating processed foods all the time that messes with your hormones and your head to disorder your eating.

Yes the OP may have a problem. If she does she's not going to believe anyone who tells her so - if she's anorexic she's had so much practise disregarding reality we're not going to reach her. But telling her she must do this that or the other makes anyone else reading this who also eats little by nature feel bad about that for no reason.

But the op has not given enough info for anyone to judge and is very reluctant to provide it, despite countless requests. We don't know the portion size, his/her age, lifestyle, weight or height. What's ok for a 4 foot 10 sedentary female, isn't ok for a 6 foot something farm worker. I don't have much knowledge of eating disorders, but even to me the thread feels off.

The OP has said that she is 50kg and 5 feet 2, but is trying to lose weight...

Goldie Further to my post above, another good fat is olives.

Grilled halloumi is delicious in a salad and will definitely bump up fat and flavour. Plus FISH!

I read you don’t particularly like nuts but experiment with different types.. I.e a walnut, peanut, cashew, Brazil and pine nut all taste very different. Try to avoid the salted ones and experiment with chopping or grinding them if you don’t like them whole. Sunflower, pumpkin and chia seeds will also supercharge your salads with good nutrients.

I eat that plus a snack and I exercise daily. I tracked my calories on my fitness pal for a while and I was eating about 1300 a day, my weight stayed the same so it’s right for my body!

@gingerwhinger0 I gave my height, weight & BMI. I also gave portion sizes. I didn't give my age due to not feeling comfortable doing so and definitely don't need to. I've given all the necessary information I can, how can you say I haven't?

How tall are you?

What do you weigh?

Is your 1/4 cup of porridge before or after cooking?

How big is your salad? Do you have dressing?

How much veggies and how big is your "bit of chicken".

Do you have any medical conditions that affect how much you can eat?

There is hardly any information in your post.

Sorry - just seen you have apparently give some further information.

Why aren't you comfortable giving your age? That makes me suspect that it is a big factor regarding what and how much you are eating and you don't want anyone to remark on it.

@DameFanny not everyone who eats little amounts of food are anorexic.
But those who eat as little as OP does and posts about it online whilst being vague as to why she's posting (she hasn't said I've been ill and this is all I'm managing to eat please help me meet higher calorific intake for example) usually have disordered food relationships.
I have a friend who is very very petite and relatively sedentary and she probably eats half of what I do. She doesn't however post online for validation
OP is eating approximately 500 calories per day and is missing calcium / iron and healthy fats

@GoldieGal what is your true intent with this post? What do you want to be told / what information are you seeking? What 'concern' if any do you have about how you eat?

Sorry if you've covered this, do you do much exercise?

I think it would be better for your body to eat a little bit more and exercise a bit more. But only gradual changes to both.

Many are saying the food is not much. However you are below average height so, perhaps should eat less than most people posting here anyway.

Also age makes a massive difference. If you are post menopause, then you probably don't want to eat a huge amount more. If you are in your 20s, then you could afford to eat a fair bit more as long as you exercise also.

I suppose it depends on how much chicken you eat. You need that protein.

Agree with 1940s on this. I have a fairly awful relationship with food, and both the OP & some of the replies are setting off a lot of alarm bells for me. Not sure what the OP wants from this thread?

A piece of fruit for lunch and no starch at dinner?
No, definitely not enough.

If you like avocado, toast (seedy/wholegrain bread) spread with it is a good breakfast. Add a squeeze of lime and some chilli flakes or Mexican seasoning mix, is my tip for adding flavour.

You need to add some carbs. Sweet potato is more filling IMO than plain potato. Or do you like rice? Quinoa? Pasta? Bulgur wheat?

Have a look at the NHS dietician pages. Sensible advice and no fashionable faddy stuff.

OP, what do you want to know?

Are you hungry when you go to bed?
Are you losing weight when you don’t want to?
Do you feel weak and tired during the day?

If so - eat more.

I am concerned that you have underlying issues here and I don’t think Mumsnet is the place to thrash it out. Can you make a GP apt to talk in confidence about your diet?

Above all, your diet seems completely joyless to me. Food is for fuel and also for pleasure - eat something sweet now and again.

@GoldieGal

Okay, well thank you everyone who has given helpful advice. I will starting eating larger meals, be adding more healthy fats in as well and see how I go.

Apologies hadn't noticed the updates.

So is this a stable weight, or are you steadily losing weight since switching to more healthy foods ?

And why do you need to be told to eat larger meals, can you not gauge for yourself if you are eating enough.
Assuming your post is genuine and you don't have an ED, you obviously realise that there is something off, or you wouldn't be using a google ap and then coming here for validation. So what do you think?
If your appetite is so low and you can't stomach so many different foods, you have rejected quite a lot of suggestions, would it not be better to seek medical advice ?

It amounts to about 400 calories so it's not enough on a daily basis

@GoldieGal do you like food? Do you ever get inspired to eat a wider range of meals? I eat too much, so not offering any advice, but that is because I love food. I love to eat. I love different flavours and textures. I love choosing what to eat and cooking. Do you ever just really fancy eating anything specific?

@1940s
I have explained myself multiple times.

My sister has an app she uses to count calories and recommended it to me. Out of curiosity I downloaded the app then yesterday & today put what I ate into it. The app shows you your goal calories and I was quite far under it which made me worried so I did a quick google knowing that it isn't the most reliable thing to do but just thought I'd see. I clicked onto a site called red it where it says that your metabolism will slow down if you only eat that many calories. Of course I am concerned but like I said, I don't believe everything I read on google and know that it often makes you think the worse. The reason I posted here was to see what actual people think and if they had any advice. No, I can't just go ask my friends. They don't care for this kind of thing.

I am not comfortable giving my age or any unnecessary details about myself for safety and privacy. It's quite obvious that I'm an adult so why anyone would need to know my exact age is beyond me.

I don't mean for this to come across rude but I have answered these questions over and over just for people to say that I'm not giving any information. Along with being told that I have an eating disorder, which I also do not.

Anyway, I've taken on the advice given and really do appreciate it. Thank you.

Given your BMI is within the healthy range, you're obviously doing something right.

I suspect, like most of us, you're underestimating the calories involved in things like drinks, dips and sauces. Which is totally normal and obviously not a problem if your BMI is 20.2.

People are giving you lots of answers here that are all over the place—you really should look at consulting a professional who can give you a genuine, tailored insight into what you’re eating, what your body needs and what changes you should make.

There are a lot of posters here spouting advice based on their own potentially disordered eating. My eating is not perfect, and I don’t have a qualification in the area, so I’m not going to spout detailed recommendations—however I have worked with a nutritionist to establish my diet, and I can tell you that what you have described is not what they would recommend.

Diet affects way more than just energy levels and body size—it also affects your heart, your hair, your skin, your biens, your nails. You can do long term damage even if you feel fine and are a healthy size. It can also have huge impacts if you plan on conceiving in the future.

People can be a healthy size and still have diet-related issues—around blood sugar, cholesterol, vitamin or mineral deficiencies, etc. Also you’d ideally like to have more exercise in your life, and would have to adjust your diet to support that.

Also you need to remember that your body trains itself based on how you treat it—so feeling like something is enough doesn’t mean it is, just like for people with huge appetites who have to learn to challenge the voice that says it’s bad enough.

No, not only from a calorie point of view, but this diet will not give you adequate nutrition long term, there isn not enough variety to get the vitamins and minerals your body needs.

You don't need to eat more if you have a BMI of 20.2