I'm finding it very hard to reach 1000 calories per day, accourding to the BMR i'm suppose to have 2000!

I'm eating so I know im not starving myself, and I eat when i'm hungry. I really dont know what to do and I dont want to turn to junk food to get that amount, that would just be silly.

To give you a clue here is today:
Coffee (full cream milk no sugar) (two mugs) cals:138
fat: 10g

Water (3x 750mls) cals: 0
fat: 0g

Pepsi Max (375ml can) cals: 1
fat: 0g

Tomato (1) cals: 7
fat: 0g

Ham (one slice) cals: 50
fat: 3g

White Bread (4 slices) cals:304
fat: 2g


Total cals:500
fat 15g

4 slices of bread, 1 tomatoe and 1 slice of ham.... Thats it???

why dont you have more ham, maybe 2 slices of ham on each slice of bread, and add some cheese to it.... still not enough but a start

I never have more then one slice of ham per Month. I use one half of the slice for one sandwich and one half of the tomato and the other half for the other sandwich. I dont touch cheese.

The major problem is that I dont feel hungry and therefore I only eat want i need. I"m only now starting to include meat, only to make up calorie numbers. But I find that I was feeling much better without meat/animal products.

Personal question - that you don't have to answer - have you ever had an eating disorder?

I've said it to others - I'll say it here - don't worry so much about counting calories so much as to learn or relearn how to eat healthy - and what a healthy meal is - you will get lots of ideas here...

For one I'd lose the white bread - that's not really giving you much of anything - switch to a whole grain bread - though it might take some experimentation tofind one you like the taste of.

So a ham sandwich is your only meal for the day? You are sorely lacking protein in your diet - your body needs protein to be happy among other things.

You wouldn't start a car without any fuel in it - you don't want to start your body without fuel either. Start by adding in meals - breakfast being one of them and it doesn't have to be a full on sit down 3 course meal

Mal is right.

How long have you been eating like this and what is your current weight, if you don't mind me asking?

If you do, no biggy.

I don't care who you are or what your unique circumstances are... you are really malnourished if this is what you are eating day in and day out.

Hi Shelly,

I read your journal link and my first thought was "she sounds just like me last year"...I can close my eyes and in 1 second flat remember how it felt to look in the mirror and be replused by my own body, knowing that I could and should be looking and feeling so much better - yet somehow not quite doing it.

The thing is, once you really make up your mind to do it, you really do have the ability to transform yourself, both mentally and physically into someone who looks in the mirror and goes "damn, it's good to be me!"

And the first thing you have to do it eat. It does not make one bit of difference whether you are hungry or not. Your body needs a sufficient amount of food to perform, feel and look good. And your brain (yea, I know, technically it's a part of your body LOL) needs a certain amount of key nutrients to function at its best.

I don't want to sound harsh, and remember this comes from someone who once lived on doughnuts and pizza...right now what you're eating is pretty much crap and is not going to get you where you want to go. You don't have to eat meat or dairy, but there are plenty of alternatives choices you can make to get in sufficient protein...it's more of a challenge, but totally doable. And the field is wide open for you to get fruit, veggies, whole grains, legumes.

Shelly, you can do this, but honestly girl, you gotta start eating and eating better.

Not offically and I mean doctors have never said anything about it. I've had to trained my body to last on a small amount of food for periods at a time. I've actually improved, which is hard to believe I know. It's just now starting to force feed myself is screwing with my brain. It's telling myself even though I'm full I still need to eat.


Since I was nine years old, and Im 27 now. I'm 118.5kg (260.7lbs). Give or take this is a typical day, at the end of the week food intake is less, then the start of the week.

The begining of the week is full of fruit and veg, grains and what not.


It's not harsh at all, That's why I am here, To learn and to understand and get feed back.

I was kinda hoping it wouldnt come to this, but then I think if i can help you to understand maybe telling someone and puting it down will help me.

When I had a full family (mother, father and brother) there were 6 small meals per day, fruit, vegs, you name it we had it. Dad left and mother went to her normal eating habbits. One meal per day, which was usually a big dinner. But she always made sure that my brother and I had 3 meals per day.

When I was nine dad told me I had a new baby sister and that when I start to put the weight on. As time went on dad would tell me how disapointed he was in me and how I should try and only eat once a week, so I did.

(There is a lot more information that I'm leaving out of here, about my relationship with dad, and things have been sorted with him, I dont play the victim)

As we grew up (there is a two year difference between my brother and I), the meals went from 3 times a day to once a day, My brother is tall and slim, my mother short and big.

With dad always telling me how embarrassed he was to have me as a daughter and how by me being fat he didnt want to know me, my meals were little and few.

When I was old enough and finished grade 10 I went to work and starting to buy my food, started to eat 3 meals again and I was fixing the damage I had done.

With a mother who would eat everything under the sun and a brother who would get high and join her, my food lasted 3 days, So I stoped buying food.

To this day mother buys food for her and my brother and they eat. The only time I ever managed to eat properly was when I moved out, which is happening next year.

And know you know some of my history, and how I got my body to live on small amounts. I dont cry and I refuse to play the "Poor me" card. I am a strong girl and I take control and I am accountable for me and me only.

Wow Shelly, it seems like you've already faced and overcome a lot of obstacles in your life and kept your head on straight and your spirit intact - so good for you! I can see the how (and why) you've "trained" your body to survive on so little food...and the important thing is you're aware of needing to start turning that around....and yea, I can see that's going to be a lot tougher for you at this point than just "eating more".

Off the top of my head I'd like to offer you a 'baby step" suggestion to start boosting your calories and the quality of your food intake in a way that might be a little easier for you. I'm thinking a good start might be to get some fish oil capsules, some olive oil, nuts (almonds or walnuts) and some buckwheat. These are all calorie/nutrient dense items you can add to your daily that won't cause you to feel any "fuller" physically but can be a good first step in giving your body more nourishment.

You are 100% right about being soley accountable for yourself...no one's opinion of you matters but your own and sometimes you have to just tune out the negative influences and just focus on "doing you".