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I'm scared to eat more calories....and don't know how

 I read that I should be eating more calories than I am...but i'm afraid i'll gain weight if I start to eat more. I eat about 700-800 calories a day, I'm 5'4 and about 110. I have quite a bit of "jiggle" around my stomach and thighs and would like to loose a bit more, but I'm wondering if me not eating enough calories has anything to do with me not being able to loose more... (I can't seem to loose anymore weight!!!)

 I don't feel like I'm, starving myself, I'm never hungry when I shouldn't be...

9:00-2 cups Special K or Chex with fat free milk

12:00-light and fit yogurt pack

2:00-4 baby carrots and 4 cherry tomatoes

4:00- green apple or pinapple slice with grapes

6:00- 2 grilled chicken tenders with a cup of steamed green beans or brocoli

 What should I add in order to get more calories, but not gain weight??

Eat more.  For your height and weight, you need to eat 1700 calories to maintain, if you're lightly/moderately active. you are starving yourself.

You need to eat fat. Dietary fat doesn't 'make you fat'.

Plus, you should not be trying to lose any weight. I recommend you go to the 'Health and Support forum' - it will be more helpful to your situation!

At 5'4 and 110 pounds, your BMI is 18.9.  That means you're UNDERWEIGHT and DO NOT need to lose weight.  If you were maintaining this weight by eating properly, it's not low enough that you'd need to gain.  But you're not doing that.  110 pounds may not be a healthy weight for you - and you certainly shouldn't go lower.

So, there are basically two possibilities.  Either you're seeing fat where it really isn't there (or is really only the small amount that you're supposed to have to protect organs, etc.).  Or you have far too little muscle mass.

So, first of all, you need to eat more.  You don't eat lunch.  You should.  A diet yogurt is not lunch.  Have a sandwich.  Or a salad with tuna on top.  Or a stir fry.  Something that's actually a meal. 

Second, you're not getting nearly enough protein or fat.   Instead of steaming your greens, try sauteing or roasting them in olive oil.  Replace the diet yogurt with the full fat kind.  Have some cottage cheese along with either your fruit snack or veggie snack.  Have some avocado and/or nuts in that salad or sandwich I recommended you put in for lunch.  Have a glass of milk or two.

Third, you're not getting enough servings of fruit and vegetables.  4 baby carrots is not a serving.  Nor is a single slice of pineapple.  You're basically getting three servings per day (fruit snack, veggie snack and dinner veggies) when you should be getting a bare minimum of five servings - and seven or eight servings would be better.

That's nowhere near enough calories. You've put your body into starvation mode and it's used to your calorie intake, so you don't get hungry often enough.

Starving yourself will not get rid of 'a little jiggle'... it will create jiggle. Starving causes muscle loss... which means you'll have more fat than muscle, and look jiggly and flabby and extremely unfit.

I don't know why you're dieting at all. You're 5'4 and 110 lbs. I'm 5'4 and my goal is 150 lbs. I look skinny at 150 lbs.

I think you need to see someone about possibly having an ED to be honest.

I can certainly relate to how you are feeling. When I first started dieting, I got into the habit of eating less than 1000 calories a day. I was successful and I rapidly lost 20 pounds in the first two months. However, my family and friends started noticing and became concerned so I was sent to see a dietician. The dietician told me that for my age and height, I'm 17 and 5'8, I should be eating a minimum of 1700 calories per day just to maintain my weight even if I was sedentary. When I talked to her about not really feeling hungry or wanting to eat, she told me it was because my body had gone into starvation mode and had gotten used to eating so little.

Some very simple ways to up your calorie intake is to add a couple nuts (chose natural/raw) which are very nutrient dense foods and are extremely healthy for you. Drink 1% milk instead of fat free milk with your cereals, and maybe try a more nutritious cereal such as Kashi Go Lean, or other cereals which contain fibre and not a lot of sugar. Chose regular yogurts, maybe an activia with the fibre, instead of your fat free ones, and add a piece of cheese or a scoop of an all natural nut butter (like almond butter which I find to be delicious, or peanut butter) with your fruits and vegetables. Combining a snack of carbohydrates like an apple, with a protein a little bit of fat, like a piece of cheese, is perfect because it keeps your blood sugar levels stable and makes you feel better than just consuming carbohydrates.

Don't be afraid to eat fat, your body needs it! But chose monounsaturated fats and omega fats over the bad saturated fats. Try to eat less than 20g of saturated fat per day. Remember your diet should be 25-30% healthy fat! and around 50-65% carbohydrates and 10-30% protein. A healthy balanced diet is key to good health, and exercise does wonders! and don't be afraid to eat more, you won't gain weight, trust me :)

I eat around 1900-2500 calories per day, depending on how active I am ( I run about 4 hours in total per week) and I have maintained my weight of 120 pounds and I'm 5 foot 8.

9:00-2 cups Special K or Chex with fat free milk

MY ADVICE: Instead of Special K or Chex which give you no nutritional content what so ever - invest in some fiber rich cereal... and if you cannot quit these two cereals cold turkey - why not mix 1/2 fiber rich cereal, 1/2 special k? And if you can eat these cereals dry... all the better - instead of the milk, have a whole poached, boiled or sunny-side up egg!

12:00-light and fit yogurt pack

MY ADVICE: Very high in sugar... why not snack on nuts instead... plus these will up your calories without a doubt but only fill the void with very healthy fats that are KNOWN to reduce "jiggle".

2:00-4 baby carrots and 4 cherry tomatoes

MY ADVICE: You don't have to eat JUST 4... why not 8 carrots and 8 tomatoes... and if you want something to dip your carrots in... try olive tapenade!

4:00- green apple or pinapple slice with grapes

MY ADVICE: Apple Slices plus some nut butter (simply nuts & salt... nothing more in the ingredients - almonds are very healthy for you)

6:00- 2 grilled chicken tenders with a cup of steamed green beans or brocoli

MY ADVICE: Drizzle your dinner with flaxseed oil or olive oil for a little kick in the calorie department and... why not have 2 and 1/2 grill chicken tenders? And wait... are these breaded and fried? If they are NIX THEM completely and go for simply grilled!

You need to see a doctor right away.  My daughter almost killed herself.. She was not eating enough and was scared to gain weight and she put herself in a state of starvation.  I am not sure if you are fully aware that thousands of people have eating disorders and do not know it and there is a 20% mortalilty rate among this group.  Your systems can shut down , including your heart. GET HELP NOW!

Like all healthy living regiemes, healthy eating is only one part. The other part is exercise. You're 110 pounds but you say you've got some "jiggle" around your waist and thighs. Doing some strength training or something like pilates and yoga will definitely help with that and tone you up: you wont get rid of that with diet alone. Not only that, but the exercise will lift your mood, you'll feel and look great and realise that it's not about the numbers on the scales. But you'll definitely need to lift your caloric intake to do that, or you a) will struggle to make it through a session, and b) your body will struggle to recover.

Things like nuts, avocado on some whole grain bread, yoghurt (the low fat stuff is always high in sugar instead, so I go for a smaller tub of full fat yoghurt) and adding some steamed rice with your chicken and broccoli will sustain you because they are low GI, so you wont get the munchies. Don't be afraid of carbs: they're what help build your body and help keep you satisfied!

Things like special K are quite high in sugar. Perhaps try a smaller bowl of cereal (I love special K too!) but have a piece of toast with avocado or a banana after your cereal.

The reason you can't "loose" any more weight is that you are already too thin.  You need to eat more and gain a few pounds.

First, choose a better cereal for breakfast, one with some fiber and whole grain.  Add fruit to your breakfast and more milk.

Have a substantial snack that includes protein and fiber - an apple and a piece of cheese for instance.

Eat a good lunch - have something from as many food groups as you can. For instance, a salad with chicken, nuts, cheese and whole grain croutons, and an olive oil dressing.

I think you get what I'm saying - pack in the nutrition and use the CC tools to determine how many calories you need to maintain or even gain a couple of pounds.

At your weight there is no way you could have "jiggle" anywhere.  This might be a distorted body image, which is a mental problem that needs to be treated by a professional.  Instead of agonizing over your too thin body, get into treatment and find out why you feel this way about yourself.

I know this will come off as harsh, but it's the truth. 

See this reference from the Mayo Clinic Body Dismorphic Disorder

Jade, since you are new, I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt here and give you some information.  Then after that, your post is being locked because of your severe under-eating and weight loss goals.

We here and Calorie Count can only support healthy eating and healthy weight loss goals.  The minimum calories here are 1200 for an adult female, 1500 for an adult male, and if you are a teen you need to add 300 more to that.

You probably see yourself fat because when people starve, they loose bigger amounts of muscle along with the fat.  The body does this because muscle is easier for it to burn when it is being starved.   Continuing to undereat to lose more weight will only increase this problem.

Bottom line is that you need to eat more.  You will gain weight.  This is just a fact.  Ask anyone with an eating disorder.  To get better, they needed to eat more and they needed to get to a healthy weight.  If you can't listen to our advice and eat more/gain weight, then you require more help than we are able to give you, and you need to go seek real life professional help.

Sincerely,

Michelle ~ volunteer moderator