Is this caloric intake too low/too high?

I'm really starting to count my calories now and need to know how this is. I don't feel hungry at all. I'm trying to take in around 1300-1400 calories. Here was my menu for today so you can kind of get an idea of how much i'm eating.

Breakfast: 1 English muffin with 2 tbsp cream cheese/1 tbsp preserves, 1/2 cup pineapple

Lunch: 2/3 cup mashed potatoes, 1/2 cup baked beans, 1 babybel cheese

Snack: nutrigrain bar

Dinner: 1 can tomato soup (2.5 serv), grilled cheese with 1 piece of cheese, one whole tomato

Snack: 2 grahm cracker squares

Let me know if there is something I should change. Thanks!

too many processed foods, not enough protein and veggies and fruit

what are you having to drink during the day?

The problem comes in that I don't really enjoy meat very much. Sometimes I can't eat it at all..so I have a problem getting protein in which is why I try to eat the baked beans and things like that. I agree I dont eat enough fruits and veggies...which I'm trying to work on little by little. I usually have a couple cups of coffee in the morning..then water for the rest of the day. I also am not much of a milk drinker which I know is bad..but I take calcium supplements which I have cleared with my Dr.

There are plenty of vegetarian sources of protein you could use instead of meat.  I'm a vegetarian, and I get more than 100 grams of protein a day using beans, tofu, nuts, cottage cheese, and soy milk.  I would put some serious energy into increasing your veggies.  Shoot for 5 a day, then work your way up.  

What you're eating quantity-wise isn't so alarming, but as far as quality goes, my attention was arrested by the lack of fresh vegetables. Was this just an unusual day or is this typical? Even if you don't change anything else, you could easily add several servings of fruit and veggies to every meal without wreaking too much havoc on your caloric total. Nutritionally the improvements could be immense.

You can do the math a thousand ways, but you should also listen to your body and yours is apparently comfortable with this amount of energy. No reason to forcefully start stuffing yourself, we're all so unique in what suits our lifestyle and body.

If once all the items are logged your eat meter reads over 1200, according to the book you should be in the clear - however, you could get those calories from other sources. Have you monitored your intake of sodium?

I'm a VERY big meat eater so I unfortunately cannot help with the protein part.

what kind of veggies do you like - how about fruits?

I LOVE LOVE LOVE tomatoes and pineapple. I eat them almost on a daily basis. Sometimes for lunch I will just have a tomato sandwich with mayo. Its very good. How can I get less processed foods? I didnt think what I was eating was all that bad. Unfortunately...this wasnt just an off day. I eat like this most days. I also dont have a ton of time to cook. I find it hard to eat just fruits or just veggies for a meal too..so I like to add stuff in like baked beans. I LOVE baked beans. But..I try not to eat more than a serving at a time.

Oh..and eveliina...I dont really pay too close attention to the sodium..although I have recently cut out adding extra salt to things. I'm a huge salt lover..so its been hard. I just use pepper for the most part as seasoning.

Mmmmmmmtomatosandwiches.  Sorry.  Off track.

Sodium is VERY hard to watch...I think it's almost harder than fats and calories, specifically when you AREN'T eating processed food!  The boxes with the nice nutritional values on them make life easier, even though it's not the optimal meal.  I'm right with you on the salt thing---I have to audibly scold myself when I reach for the shaker.

I'm not seeing you're eating too exceedingly heavy on the processed stuff---if everything you ate came out of a tv tray, then yeah.   As a non-meat eater myself, I'm shocked daily to see how much protein I get without even trying...another fallacy of being a vegetarian, no, we will not die of lack of protein because we don't eat meat ;).  You're on the right track with the beans idea, but perhaps playing around with OTHER beans is the idea.   I totally dig you on the lack of time issue, but perhaps it's time for you to put aside an hour a week to grocery shop and then another hour to prepare some good healthy stuff to stash in the fridge for the week.  Almost anything you make will keep and/or can be frozen---and those 2 hours will save you scads of time during the week AND help you get better nutrition.  Soups are GREAT and soooo easy---I swear every couple of weeks I throw different veggies into a blender with seasoning and WOW...amazing every time (for example: asparagus + diced tomatoes?  YUM.). 

Watch for sales on Boca or Morningstar or any other meat sub stuff.   Soy crumbles are insanely versatile---throw them into one of those soups, pasta, whatever.  Also, ooo....the cartons of "fake eggs" are SUPER, especially the new ones with veggies and stuff already in there as a base.  You can have a cup of those "eggs" with cheese and more veggies----for an enormous meal at 300 calories or less. 

Bottom line is the same as eveliina said above: how many calories you get is important, what KIND of calories is critical.  I mean,  I could happily eat my 1400 calories in Brie---I'd just be slightly (ahem) unhealthy doing it.

Good luck!

In terms of the food, everyone here is right, watch the sodium, make sure you're getting enough veggies and protein, etc etc etc.

However, in terms of actual amount of calories you're eating daily, we don't really have enough info to assess that.  What are your stats?  How active are you (what does your burn meter say with any and all activities added)?  If you're not hungry you're probably okay with the amount you're eating, but hard to tell without extra info. :)

I just realized that on this site it tells you how much of everything you've had. I was shocked to see that I had taken in around 4600 mg of sodium! I will definitely start watching my sodium intake. I'm making a consious effort to eat more veggies too! Its just so hard when you're broke! Some veggies are pretty pricey. As far as how active I am...i'm new to working out (or havent for a very long time) so I'm trying to do about 3-4 times per week for about 30-45 minutes. I also do little 5 lb dumbells to try to tone a little. My activity meter thing says I burned 271 calories yesterday. I'm not hungry...so I honestly think I'm getting enough food. I don't want to overdo it either way though...too much or too little. I am 5'4" and weigh 222 as of this morning. I have about a medium build if that helps at all.

HOLY C***. When I read your sodium intake (for that day) I thought my heart was going to "seize up." I only add salt to eggs, potatoes and fresh tomatoes. When baking or cooking from a recipe I always reduce the amount of salt called for. My sodium count rarely reachs 100% of daily intake, never mind that high.

Original Post by ollyrake:

My activity meter thing says I burned 271 calories yesterday. I'm not hungry...so I honestly think I'm getting enough food.

Yes, sounds like you're getting the perfect amount of food.  Just make sure you increase it if you start stepping up your work outs and are burning more.

Vegetables don't have to be expensive!  Canned or frozen are just as good nutritionally wise and are cheaper than the fresh produce.  Adding vegetables was one of the hardest parts for me too.  Some ways to sneak veggies in are:

1. canned pumpkin-I've added this to yogurt, tacos, stuffed peppers, sandwiches, oatmeal, smoothies, pancakes (basically anything where it could be kind of creamy).

2. veggie stir-fry-fry chicken in oil (you don't have to do this since you don't like meat) and garlic, add a bunch of frozen stir-fry veggies and more garlic if you want, cook until about done, then add the sauce (1/2c. chicken broth, 2Tbsp flour, 1Tbsp sugar, and 1-2 Tbsp soysauce mixed well) and mix with veggies until thickened.  Serve with brown rice or whole wheat pasta.  This makes about 4 servings.

3. I find it hard/weird to eat veggies at breakfast, so I make sure that for lunch everyday I have a salad, or raw vegetables, or frozen vegetables I can heat up.  Same thing for dinner.

Good luck!