HELP!! Increasing Calorie Intake

[niclyf]

Okay everyone .. I'm desperate for advice and I'm hoping you guys can help.

By luck, I'm a lover of fruits and veggies, both of which comprise a big part of my daily food intake. I'm seriously lacking in protein consumption, which is something I'm working on getting up. However, after spending about a week analyzing the contents of what I typically consume in a day, it occured to me that I'm probably only consuming on average .. 700 calories a DAY!! I'm terrified of what kind of damage I might have done. A friend cited that she read when calorie intake is that low, the brain is unable to determine if there's anything physically wrong with the body, and additionally mentioned the complications (heart failure, organ damage, etc.) of what can happen when a person consumes few calories for any extended period of time. I've probably been eating this little for close to a year without realizing it!!

How do I increase calories gradually to allow a probably VERY slowed metabolism to adjust ... and what do you guys think in terms of what kind of damage I might have created to my body? I want to increase my calories, but also want to let my body adjust to something it's not been accustomed to ..

PLEASE offer any insight advice you might have.

Thanks Greatly!!
Nicole

 

[kotacam]

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Jul-24-02 AT 09:03PM (Est)[/font][p][font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Jul-24-02 AT 09:03 PM (Est)[/font]

Nicole,

I can totally relate - I monitored my calorie/fat/protein, etc. intakes for a while and found out to my shock that I was only eating around 800 calories a day too! Being a fellow lover of fruits and vegetables (vegetarian here), I know how it is. I'm really working on my diet now, so I've been through this recently. I just don't know how I was working out 6-10 hours a week, plus gardening, redecorating (painting, flooring, etc. by myself) and taking care of my house and kids on what I was eating. It's taken a while and I can get my calories up to 1200-1600 per day.

What you need to do is to slowly start increasing quality foods - not just any old thing for calorie's sake. Start by adding some whole grain breads. I've been eating multi-grain bagels lately which have 250 calories a piece, plus 15g of protein. Start increasing whole grains like brown rice, etc. Lowfat dairy products like yogurt and cottage cheese are good, too. Beans are really good for you and have a higher protein content and can be added to salads, pasta, etc. I don't personally care for supplements, bars, etc., but I discovered Luna bars are very good (not tasting like sawdust!) and don't have dairy or wheat but 10g of soy protein and 180 calories per bar. You can add beans to your salads, or a sprinkle of cheese. Eat a yogurt in addition to a salad or fruit. Hummus on bagels is really good. Avocadoes are good for you too - if you like them. They have good natural fats, as do raw nuts.

Hope that helps a little.

Maybe Keta/Khyunh will reply too, she's very educated on nutrition matters.

 

[prfitness]

Nicole if you've been eating like that for a year you need to get to a doctor asap. When the body is being starved and you are still managing to get a great amount of exercise and work done, it might have compromised somewhere else. Please do get a check up. You may have lost bone density among other things. If you genuinely were not aware that you were eating such a low amount then please do try and see a nutritionist. A good one should be able to educate you on how to judge whether you are eating an adequate and balanced diet. If you suspect you have an eating disorder then please seek professional help. They are addictive forms of behaviour and hard to kick with lots of setbacks. Just increasing the calories temporarily may not be the solution. Hope this helps and please take care of yourself.

 

[jani22]

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Jul-31-02 AT 02:39PM (Est)[/font][p]Hi Nicole - great advice given so far - I was going to say add fruits and veg when I saw your title but that wouldn't work!

You'll want to focus on nutrition dense foods and get lots of calcium so yogurt, cheese (in moderation), soy products - tofu and the like - beans, brown rice, whole grains - try millet and wheat in place of rice for a change, fish and eggs / egg whites and nuts - I read somewhere that you should eat an ounce or two fo almonds every day - would be good especially as they give you protein too!