I eat too much but not enough?

[cookiemonsterhelp]

Breakfast : pastry from a bakery
Lunch: shop bought sandwich, sometimes a bag of crisps
Dinner: usually pasta with veg and lots of cheese
Snacks: ice cream, family bag of dairy milk buttons, biscuits
Drinks: water

I feel so tired like I'm not eating enough but I'm full and the calories add up to quite a lot. Help me sort myself out please!

It's not exactly healthy foods you're eating. They're calorie heavy but not satisfying so you're bound to feel hungry again quickly. You need to look for food that are filling but lower calorie, more protein and fibre.

Are you being serious? I mean, is this a serious post?

Surely it’s not hard to work out that eating a lot of stodge in a day makes you feel a bit sluggish

Is this supposed to be a goady post to whip everyone into a frenzy about carbs?

You are over eating - you know that. The fatigue is probably totally unrelated. What makes you think you're tired because you're not eating enough?

Do you exercise? Thyroid been checked? Hydrated properly?

Carbtastic Batman!

Eat more fruit, vegetables and protein.

@SmidgenofaPigeon it's not goady. I used to suffer from an eating disorder and was encouraged to eat foods like this to get my weight up. I don't know what / how to eat like a normal person. Sorry.

I do find that certain high sugar/simple carb foods leave me crashing a couple of hours later.

Breakfast change to porridge and or banana and or a protein yoghurt.
Lunch Can you batch cook something to eat which is a bit more healthy? Something with slow releasing energy (couscous salad, wholegrains, with veg and some protein)
Dinner Add in some protein, at least use wholemeal pasta but preferably mix it up a bit. Potato wedges? Meat? Fish? Veg?

You should really not drip feed an eating disorder. Much of the advice you will get will be from equally disordered eaters.

Can you see a proper professional about this?

If you've had an eating disorder I would seek help from your doctor who can refer you to a dietician.

@MrsTerryPratchett @Tuckedinbelly thanks I do consider myself recovered as I am a healthy weight and food no longer rules me. I was discharged once I reached a healthy weight but could see if they will help again

You eat very nutritionally dense options, without a lot of thought to the nutritional value.

Do you take a multivitamin?

You're consuming foods that are energy and nutrient poor so whilst you're hitting your calorie goals you aren't getting protein, fibre vitamins or minerals
You need protein fruit and veg

How about changing the breakfast to porridge or maybe two poached eggs
For lunch go for a sandwich add an apple and for dinner how about chicken fajitas with some nice salad?

Your snacks aren’t filling.
You are eating the unhealthy fats.
The carbs are ok if you don’t mind that, a lot of people do and that’s fine. They don’t have to be with every meal though.
Add some salad to all this with each meal and you’ll feel better, your hair, skin and nails will be better.

This is not the place to get advice. What @MrsTerryPratchett said is correct. No good can come of this post. Please seek professional help.

Yes I'm sure your calorie count is through the roof yet you aren't particularly full. You need much more fibre and protein.

I think a huge overhaul is always a bad idea starting out so I would make some simple swaps;

Breakfast, wholemeal toast / bagel with peanut butter and banana or porridge or scrambled eggs or high fibre cereal.
Lunch: make your own sandwich with salad and some protein
Dinner: wholemeal pasta with veg, kidney beans and nutritional yeast
Snacks: fruit, carrots and hummus, oat crackers, popcorn, yogurt

Lots and lots of water, herbal tea.

But you know as well as I do that relapse is a thing and that you need to be careful with where you seek advice and how you apply it. Denial is a thing.

Meal plan with protein, fruit and vegetables and a good carb at every meal is a start. But be very honest about planning. And seek help if you need to.

[quote cookiemonsterhelp]@SmidgenofaPigeon it's not goady. I used to suffer from an eating disorder and was encouraged to eat foods like this to get my weight up. I don't know what / how to eat like a normal person. Sorry.[/quote]
Well that changes things OP. Do you enjoy cooking or are you looking for alternative convenience foods?

Even without cooking you want to increase your protein and fibre as that will fill you up more. I love protein yoghurts for convenience, if I need an energy boost I'll have a banana. Do you like meat? You can buy chicken breast or turkey breast (go for unprocessed). Halloumi cheese can be grilled quickly. Add in some veg OP. Steam some brocoli and then saute with some butter and garlic paste - yum. Always have a salad with your meals (find a dressing you like then it's easy). Switch to wholemeal and wholegrain wherever you can. Snack on fruit - apples, berries etc are great. Bananas are more stodgy.

That’s quite a drip feed. Your original post just made it sound like you were clueless about food.

I’ve had an eating disorder, no one could say I was clueless about food. In fact I was incredibly knowledgeable. It’s fairly obvious and you’d have been advised that the foods that can be a quick fix with weight gain aren’t a suitable everyday diet long term if you want to be healthy.

Do you mind if I report the post? Just because MNHQ can contact you and see if you want the OP changes or moved or removed.

Or you can report your own post because you're a grown up and I should mind my own!

I'd also second the PP your main priority has to be avoiding a relapse. You don't want to obsess about 'healthy' foods or make dramatic changes. Make gradual changes. Add in fruit snacks, switch to wholemeal/wholegrain. Don't do anything dramatic.

I think you should ask your doctor to refer you to a nutrionalist. Your diet looks low in vitamins and minerals to me but I am not an medical professional. You are also likely having sugar highs and then crashing.

You need to balance your blood sugar by reducing your carbohydrate intake and you’ll find your tiredness will ease.

There are a huge number of reasons you could be feeling tired that have nothing to do with your diet --which isn't terrible btw. I don't know why you think how you eat is why you're tired. Let's talk sleep habits, mental equilibrium, time spent resting first, if looking for reasons to be tired.

MNers talk like food is something magical.

This is v similar to a post that was deleted the other week.

In it, the poster claimed she kept being told she wasn’t eating enough but in her opinion she ate too much. It wasn’t much, it was things like miso soup for breakfast, a single salmon fillet for dinner.

Cue loads of posters making suggestions for a nutritional menu and foods she might like to try.

Got my spider senses tingling, and like I say it got deleted.

Just saying.