I'm really struggling to eat the amount a calories I'm supposed to in a day!

I'm supposed to be eating 1400 calories in a day and I'm finding it really hard.

I thought that I used to over-eat but it turns out a didn't. I only ate about 800 calories a day, but it was all crappy junk food.

Now that I'm eating 1400 calories a day, it was really difficult. Last night it got to dinner time and I still had 600 calories to go. I had to eat 2 dinners!!

I tried working it out today and I came up with: if I need to eat 1400 a day that means I should have to eat every 2 hours pretty much.. 300 for breakfast, lunch and dinner and 150, 150 and 200 for in between snacks.
But it's so hard. I constantly feel full and I have to force myself to eat every 2 hours.

After a lunch of 300 I'm not hungry 2 hours later for another 200 calories! But if I don't have them then, I'll have heaps piled up that I'll have to eat at dinner time.

Does anyone else struggle with this?

And it also seems that 200 calories is so much just for a snack.

HELP..

I definitely know what you mean. I'm only sixteen so I'm still growing taller instead of heavier. I'm six foot one and I weigh 130. My BMI is 17.1 so I'm underweight.

I don't look bad or anything, I would just like to be at a normal weight. If I'm gonna be 160 pounds by September, I'm supposed to eat 3000 calories a day. I have no idea how to even find that much food at my house, let alone fit it all. I've never been a heavy eater. A couple years ago I would only eat lunch and I was fine.

I'm always hungry now, but eating as much as I'm supposed just seems impossible. my metabolism is just fast and I'm still growing in height. It seems weird to complain that I get to eat whatever I want whenever I want without gaining weight but it is getting annoying. I barely got up to 140 and I was happy.

I am into something different wich is body building but I've spent hours researching about food and calorie intake in the past. I can tell you that 1400 calories is not much of a huge problem,i would go for a really small glass of Olive oil wich contains the good fat and so much calorie, you should be able to get about 202 calories from only 50 mls of olive oil, wich is pretty much what you need for a Snack! Chicken breast  and Brown Rice are also a really good choice of high calorie food and they have no fat.

  If you are both trying to keep your diet healthy and eating the right amounts of fruits, vegetables and lean meats.  I think one of the biggest things you may be missing that would take up a considerable portion of your calories and is essential to a healthy diet is your "good" fats... 20-30% of your daily calorie intake should come from fats (the ones that promote heart health, brain function, etc) with no more than 10% of those being from saturated fat.

  If you are on a diet of 1400 calories a day, you should be getting 280-420 calories from fats a day (no more than 140 cal from saturated fat).  While protein and carbs are 4 calories per gram, fat is 9 calories per gram.  This means, for your 1400 calorie goal, you should be eating between 31-46 grams of fats a day (with no more than 15g of those being saturated fat).

Avoid Trans Fats (none of them are good for you...) but below are some suggestions on small snacks you could add that would put the essential fats into your diet, and won't make you feel "full" like the meals you've been trying to pack in.

Low fat cheese (1/4 cup added to a salad will add 80 calories and 4.5g of fat, 2 of which are sat)

Avocado's (1/2 an avocado is 144 cal and 13g of fat, 1 of which is sat)

Raw Whole Almonds (1/4 cup is 180 cal, 15g of fat, 1 of which is sat)

Hazelnuts (1oz, 183 cal, 17.7g fat, 1.3 of which is sat)

Pecans (1oz, 201cal, 21g fat, 1.8 of which is sat)

Spectrum Organic Flaxseed Oil (1tbsp, 130 cal, 14g fat, 1.5 of which is sat)

Walnuts (30grams, 200 cal, 20g fat, 2 of which is sat)

Atlantic Wild Salmon cooked over dry heat (6 oz, 310 cal, 13.8g fat, 2.2 of which is sat)

Natural Peanut Butter (2tbsp, 210 cal, 16g fat, 2.5 of which is sat)

Olive Oil (1tbsp, 120 cal, 14g fat, 2 of which is sat

As you can see, if you take a handful of nuts and add a tbsp of olive or flaxseed oil and throw them into your salad, or even just eat the nuts as a little snack, you will add an extra 200-300 calories to your daily intake and ensure you get the healthy fats you need.

If you want to read more about the good fats and what they do for your body, read this article: http://www.helpguide.org/life/healthy_diet_fa ts.htm it has some really good information about how to pick the right fats in your diet and why they are SO important.

Thanks heaps for that! That was a big help :)

Thankyou for your help :)

If you really want to learn more about how the food you eat almost literally "talks" to your body, I've read 100's of books and one really good one is "ultrametabolism" by Dr. Hyman... he talks about some issues that probably won't pertain to you, but many of the things he discusses are about choosing healthy unprocessed foods and how it talks to your body (more restful, more energy, clearer skin, less stress and maintaining a healthy weight...)

As for the words - any time :)

Eating higher calorie foods is a great suggestion.  You're lucky you don't have the opposite problem, which is what most of us suffer.  We feel hungry all the time and wish we could eat more.

I used to have this problem too.  I can honestly tell you that if you do eat your calories a few days, or a week, in a row and continue working out your appetite will return.

Honestly it will.  Your lack of appetite is a symptom of your body conserving energy if you are not supplying enough calories consistently.  Once you get on track with your calorie input your body will once again have an appetite.

I think higher calorie foods is an OK suggestion but DO eat every 2-3 hours.  You will find it is easier to eat small meals so you dont feel over full.  A hard boiled egg and a piece of fruit.  Cottage cheese and whole grain crackers, tuna (a single serving pack is nice) and a piece of whole grain bread.  Peanut butter and celery.  You get the idea. 

I am certainly no expert but my suggestion is to just try to get in enough calories every day, spread out over the day and not worry about ultimate nutrition for now.  Foods that are high in vitamins tend to be high in bulk and low in calories.  While this is a good thing, you need to retrain your body to actually WANT more food.  Until you do, high bulk foods might actually keep you satiated enough that you are not willing to eat enough calories. 

After a week or so of eating consistently your appetite will return with a vengeance.  When it does  you will suddenly be wondering how to NOT eat so much and that is when you should add more veggies and beans to fill you up, add nutrients and still maintain your calorie goals.

Of course, all of the above advice is based on my own experience but it worked really well after I figured out how to get the job done. 

Thanks heaps for your help. I think the main problem with me is that for ages I was trying to eat low calorie foods all the time, so now the house is full of low calorie stuff and nothing too high in calories, so in order to eat the amount that I need, I'm needing to be stuffing my face with a million different things :P

I think I need to do a good shop and get some higher calorie things that are still good for me. The only problem is that we're quite low on money right now as well.. so I guess I'll have to make do for now.