Am I eating too little? 1000 calroies a day

[xamandarenee]

I'm a 21 year old 5'6 145lb girl who is trying to lose weight while maintaining a healthy diet. Now, whenever I say a healthy diet, I eat no processed foods, the only meat I eat is fish, no dairy, no eggs, only small portions of grain, limited oils, and my diet consists mostly of fruits and vegetables. I love it and I never feel deprived throughout my day (Although as a poor college student I sometimes find it hard to support this healthy lifestyle and thus end up eating less).

I eat around 900-1100 calories a day roughly. Here is what a general day for me is like:

-Wake up, 200 calories of cereal with (unsweetened)almond milk

-Coffee to go to class sweetened with honey and almond milk (100)

-300 calorie snack for class/ lunch consisting of dried fruits and nuts (either almonds or sunflower seed)

-An apple or orange or banana if I'm still hungry or I'm about to go to the gym after class 100 calories

-Plate of Veggies or chips and hummus or tuna after the gym (200 calories-ish)

-A piece of fruit or carrots if I'm still hungry (100 calories)

-A late night snack of one serving of chocolate and herbal tea (around 150 calories)

The thing is that the food I eat sustains me, and when I am TRULY hungry I eat. Do you still think that I should make myself eat more? I work out at the gym 3 times a day (doing an hour of cardio) and take an hour long judo class 2 days a week.

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Updates

+1 y

Thanks for your advice everyone! I'll definitely keep it in mind and make a conscious effort to eat more

[martyfellow]

Yes, this is too little for you in general and I would suspect you occasionally binge to make up for it.

ONE binge can cancel a whole week's good behavior, in terms of nutrition. That's why you need to eat enough so you don't get 'trutly hungry.'

You might try an organized approach through Weight Watchers, just to get you started on the right path.

[xamandarenee]

I honestly don't "binge" except if I go out on a date with my boyfriend I'll have bread or regular dairy or something "processed" but never to the point of binging, it's just for that meal... and maybe dessert ;)

[martyfellow]

Well, OK, but still, it's too little and I bet you often get 'truly hungry,' and that has to be avoided if yu want to have long term success.

[xamandarenee]

Yep and I'm gonna start to get more calories in me somehow! I feel most of the time it's because I'm running around campus and not thinking about eating. I'm gonna start to bring more food with me throughout the day!

[martyfellow]

Good luck beautiful, you're on the right track, that's what is important!

[sketchy]

The calorific content is a bit low, but the bigger problem is that it's a totally unbalanced diet - you're going to be missing out on all kinds of important nutrients, including protein, calcium, iron and various vitamins.

Meat, eggs, dairy, and processed foods are all perfectly healthy when eaten in moderation - there's no reason to avoid them.

[xamandarenee]

I beg to disagree (after watching a particular documentary called "forks over knives") But I get my calcium through my (roughly) 2 servings of almond milk which has almost double the calcium of regular milk. Any my protein I acquire through things like fish and eating almonds regularly. I also regularly snack on various fruits and vegetables all day and take a multivitamin supplement

[Rafael151]

That may not be enough intake for someone who does 3 hours of cardio plus judo. Sounds like you're attempting a very steep rate of weight loss. Find a balance beam scale and see if you are dropping more than a fraction of a lb in a day or more than 2 or 3 lbs a week. Don't kill yourself trying to lose in one month the extra weight that took many months or years to acquire.

[TheDigitalSaint]

You could probably bump up your caloric intake a bit in light of the fact that you are working out. Because you are exercising, you need more food to replenish your muscles and the rest of your body. Eat more fruits and veggies that won't put on weight, but will fill you up and give you plenty of vitamins and nutrients.

[tehdrummer]

Eating less isn't a healthy or permanent solution to losing weight. try eating enough, you don't need to count calories, just eat what your body is hungry for and make sure its healthy food. Do weight training full body workouts out a gym or some other place and take 30-45 min there. that should help you burn fat a lot more than eating less.

[kheserthorpe]

Probably too low, and too little protein. A higher protein ratio will help preserve lean body mass while burning fat, otherwise you'll burn muscle first and slow things down (which you've probably already been doing).

[xamandarenee]

Actually, I get 10g of protein in the morning between my cereal (kashi go lean) and my almond milk. I didn't put it in the OP, but I also am a big fan of fish and tuna so there are quite a few days when I eat those things too. Almonds are also a regular part of my diet

[kheserthorpe]

You probably should be over 100g/day given your activity level.

[xamandarenee]

thanks I'll start keeping track of that more!

[danndan6]

you're being too anal. don't be too precise about it. recent science has shown that rats which ate the same amount of calories but mostly later in the day/night gained 28% more body fat. instead of eating less, try eatin earlier

[xamandarenee]

Its really not that I'm being anal or too precise. I acquired these eating habits before I started measuring out the calories, only to discover that I was regularly eating around 1000, hence why I came to this forum asking for advice

[danndan6]

some need more others less. if you're hungry, eat. eat for health. that's key and the only thing that is important here. if you're healthy, you're attractive. the magazines say thin = attractive but ask guys and we say that we like healthy. skinny is sickening

[xamandarenee]

Thank you :) And I agree! I love my curves, I'm only trying to lose about 10lbs for that more toned, Beyonce-esque figure

[Caustic_Fox]

how long have you been eating only 1000 calories and how much fat have you lost,

[xamandarenee]

Overall, I have lost around 60lbs over the course of about 2 years. Initially I at processed diet foods and things like that, but as I transfered into a purer way of eating I would probably contribute the last 10lbs to eating this way. Mind you, This weight loss has been staggered over the course of 2 years, so I'll diet, and then maintain for a few months, and then "diet" for a few months... But now with this lifestyle I feel fully satisfied in my eating habits.

[WeaponZero]

Not seeing much protein. And yes it is too little.

[xamandarenee]

I eat a cereal high in protein and regularly eat almonds which are very high in protein. But thank you for the comment, I will definitely keep it in mind up my caloric intake

[Catie101]

i would suggest1200