Accidentally under recommended caloric daily intake

I've been using various websites over the past week to help me track down how much I eat in a day, exactly, because I've been looking to gain weight and they say raising your calories by 500 a day is a reasonably healthy amount, as long as it's 500 calories of healthy food. I thought by having an idea of what I was eating, I could figure out what to add to my diet so I could gain a around 15 pounds of lean muscle mass.

I'm 18, at 5'4, I'm 105lbs, with my BFP is around 10%. I'm vegetarian but most days I'm vegan, and I do a bit of karate and a lot of errands thanks largely to much free time, so I've been doing a lot of walking to the store to pick things up and driving people around and whatnot.

Apparently, to gain weight I need to consume about 2500 calories a day, but after tracking down my calories for a week based on what I would normally eat (having to actually track down portions is infuriating, mind you— how do you people manage?), I apparently only consume 800 on a day where I already do stuff my face full of food for all three main meals and the two snacks in between, and quite less when I forgo the snacks or breakfast, because I normally never eat breakfast. I'm never hungry for more food, and I hate feeling full.

I know 800kcals a day is way below the daily recommended intake, but this is how I've been eating for about half a year already. I dislike sandwiches and rice, although that's what people have been recommending I add to what I eat. They're just too bland and I'd rather have another orange than eat a cup of rice and feel bloated on something that doesn't taste like anything, but who can really stomach more than two whole large oranges before feeling too full?

What should I do?

wow

i'm always really jealous of people who find it DIFFICULT to eat enough

you people are so fascinating

anyway try to eat calorie dense food like nuts, coconut, avocado, OIL, butter, cheese, breads, pasta, also a protein shake or meal replacement bar between meals could help

if you eat cereal use whole milk

also smoothies with whole milk, protein  powder, fruit and peanut butter

or just go to starbucks :)

i'm curious what is a normal meal plan for you

like what did you eat yesterday for example

 I apparently only consume 800 on a day where I already do stuff my face full of food for all three main meals and the two snacks in between, and quite less when I forgo the snacks or breakfast, because I normally never eat breakfast. I'm never hungry for more food, and I hate feeling full.

there is NO WAY that you are STUFFING YOURSELF at 800 calories!! unless you are ONLY eating vegetables, 800 calories is pretty easy. so you don't like rice or sandwiches? eat pasta, potatoes, yams, quinoa, barley, oatmeal, mashed potatoes, french fries, rolls, or any other starch. you don't have to eat dairy or meat to meet your caloie goals. have olive oil on your vegetables, easily adding 120 calories per tablespoon. Eat nuts, avocados, granola, olives, and other healthy fats. 1 ounce of almonds is 160 calories and can easily be added on top of a salad without adding bulk. 

A low bulk higher energy density meal plan might look like this:

breakfast: oatmeal with flax and 1 oz nuts, prepared with soy milk: 380 calories

snack: 2 tbsp peanut butter, 1 serving wheat thins: 320 calories

Lunch: 1 serving firm tofu sauteed in 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 cup pasta, 1 cup vegetable: 425 calories

snack: 1 piece of fruit drizzled with honey and topped with 1 oz nuts: 300 calories

dinner: 150 cal veggie burger, 1 whole wheat bun, 1 serving beans, 1 cup veggies: 400 calories

This is just over 1800 calories and could easily be bumped up to more. it is definitely not difficult to eat more than 800 calories if you don't resist it. I hope this helps=) good luck reaching your goals!!

Ah, and I'll be going to the grocery today! I think I should try this meal plan for tomorrow, it looks manageable :D

oh ok... vegetarian and vegan are definitely different

here are some things you might be able to do

avocado instead of papaya

add a handful of almonds to your oats for breakfast and half a diced banana or coconut shaving

and a tbsp of honey [if that's not vegan then maple syrup]

olive oil 120cals per tbsp!..just drizzle some over all your cooking.. same for sunflower or peanut oil

full calorie beer

add more peanuts to the pad thai [peanuts have tons of calories] and more oil

I know you were curious to meal plans but we cannot allow the posting of menus under 1200. Tintinity, if you want to post what you usually eat again in just a list form ("I eat oats, papaya...") please do but I cannot allow it posted in menu form.

If you want to reach 2500 you need to start having bulkier snacks, bigger meals and more high calorie, low density foods. As has been said, that's stuff like avocado, oily fish, oils like walnut, sesame and olive oil, granola, dense bread varieties, whole fat dairy, bananas, coconut, dried fruit...

You're going to need a minimum 2500 calories sedentary. More if you're even slightly active and possibly more as time goes on. Don't weigh for at least two weeks while you increase as your weight will fluctuate thanks to water retention. For info on this, read: The Aim is to Gain: Advice on Weight Gain, Whatever Your Reason - which includes a meal plan for 3000 calories, though a little high for you, can also provide an example of a higher energy meal plan.

Thin_girl, BEER is not a healthy suggestion to make! Dx The rest are good but not beer!

Chrissy, uh. The minimum for a female who is sedentary is 2500, why are you giving out a meal plan for 1800? Unless it is for the fact that the OP has been at a starvation intake for a long time and needs to build up, in which case, sorry.

LALA I wanted to give her an idea of how easy it is to increase...i didn't have a calorie goal in mind when i created the mock meal plan but she is clearly resistant to eating more. I know she's been eating so little and often times when you've been essentially starving your body for such a long time it's better to make jumps...like 800 to 1800 to 2500 rather than 800 to 2500, unless you're under a doctor's supervision. I didn't mean that 1800 would be an endpoint for her but merely meant to illustrate how little food 1800 calories can be, so her "i'm stuffed at 800" was not really realistic. That's all. LALA...I am aware of the recommendations and i would not intend to condone starvation by any means so sorry if it seemed that way :) Just trying to help out.

Don't worry, Chrissy - I figured that would be why you'd be suggesting it, not as an endpoint. Heh.

Eat healthy fats -- nuts and put oils on your vegetables and stuff like that.

Accidentally is kind of an odd term to describe it, I mean you eat 800, not 1800 out of 2000.

I assume you eat virtually no fat, and half a year is a long time, beware of permanent liver damage. You seem like a smart girl, so you should google the long term effects of very low fat diets and draw your own conclusions.

Also, is there any particular reason you are looking to gain more lean muscle mass? 10% body fat is already very low for a woman, putting you in the athletic zone. Unless you are playing some sort of sports professionally (which I doubt you`d be able to keep up with, while eating so little), I see no reason to lower that percentage. Females were designed to have a wee bit more meat on their bones than males, y`know. :)

I think when one is eating 800 calories there is more of a mind connection then an actual physical full. I know for myself when I was in the hospital I entered at a low amount and was given the choice of tube or to eat 3000 a day. Somehow I ate the food because of the alternative. I pushed through the mental and physical discomfort which I agree there is because your body is not used to it. I was told when you choose a food to ask yourself how this helps you to get well? Having a mp that is set can help you not fall short. So if you have to have a certain exchanges for breakfast to before you sit down for the meal have it all set out. That way there is no by accident fall short. I am not saying this is easy cause from my posts I am struggling but I know rationally what I should be doing and now have to start asap. We can do this ladies and gents. There is nothing strong or good about eating so little

Too low a body fat is also a contributor to the cessation of periods. So is a starvation intake, obviously.

10% is awfully low, most women die when they dip under 10% (except for some "mutants"... most of which are extreme iron-man athletes). My bf is around 14%, and I have definite definition... 

Usually, fit athletes have 12-20% bf, and regular women have 20-30% bf. It's only extremes that can have a bf under 12%, and most can't survive that long. And like I said, most women die if they dip under 10%. 

Cook rice in orange juice. I'm serious. Add in dried blueberries and almonds to it, that backs in tons of flavor, but you get in carbs. (but still the fruity taste you like). 

Ahh! I've done the cooking rice in orange juice :D I added almonds and star anise (obviously I did not EAT the star anise).

At my worst my clinic recorded my body fat as 12%. I didn't have "definition" (not that I could register); I looked like death. 10% is really extremely low and you really REALLY need to get that up. Just wondering, tintinity, but have you spoken to a doctor?

My aunt is a nutritionist and I see her 5 times a week but she doesn't seem to find anything wrong with the way I am, maybe because she's been so used to how I look like.

Nutritionist does not equal doctor. And like you have said the familiarity is probably an issue. As well as increasing your intake significantly to 2500, go to a doctor, and if you wish, another nutritionist.