I am off to college, what about my eating plan?

Hi everyone! I'm new here, my name is Stephanie and I've been lurking around for some time, just to find out you are all wonderful people willing to give great advice to complete strangers, in exchange for nothing, and decided to join in!

So I already need some of that advice. I am turning 19 soon, starting college in October (really excited!) but worried about what to do when it comes to eating. I am underweight and have been wanting to gain weight for some time now. It's easy now that I'm at home because my mum is around, so i'll have her food and snacks and all the good stuff, but I'm worried about what I'll be doing when I'm alone. 

I lose weight quite easily during exam time and when i'm under stress, because I forget to eat, or don't have time, and am constantly anxious which I guess burns calories. I've gotten to the point where I can't exercise due to lack of energy and because of my low weight. I used to do swimming, waterpolo and track, but have been sedentary for the past whole year. 

Starting Uni I would love to do some sporting activity, like kickboxing which I find fun and interesting, but I can't because of my muscle wastage. I'm just afraid I wont gain weight when Im alone and on a budget, or worse- that i'll lose weight.

For my friends, if they skip a meal or dont have time for lunch, or just feed on a salad for a day- that's fine. But if I do any of that, people can tell the difference from today to tomorow, and I do feel worn down and weak.

I guess I just need advice (perhaps an example of a meal plan??) on what to eat at uni. It is self-catered in London, and im really close to a sainsburry's and tescos and marks and spencers, so I can buy ready-made meals as well. 

any advice would be much appreciated. Thank you.

Hi and welcome. Transitions are hard but you can do it in a healthy way. First what is your weight and height and current calories daily? Here the starting point to gain is 2500 at least. Many like myself are on more. It is uncomfortable and scary but part of getting well. I know how hard it is to not compare to others. I think this is even harder at this age you are at but everyone is different and you have to focus on what makes you healthy. Plus many eat a lot behind close doors if they restrict in front of you. I would also encourage you to get a physical. Will you have a fridge and micro in your place? I am not sure in London but here you can get them cheap. Since you know stress causes undereating you are going to have to find ways to cope in a healthy way and be self reliant since mom and dad are not there. In the start pre planning is helpful. So may be you can sit down and make a meal plan to increase and we can help you. I would also do this for the few weeks especially transitioning to school. There is what we ate today on here with good examples

Hello and thank you for replying!

I'm a bit embarassed to give the stats, but believe me I am working hard to change them. I am 5 foot 2 and weigh 81 pounds more or less. As for daily calories, I am not exactly sure, but a typical day for me is something like this:

Breakfast-> Bowl of granola cereal with greek yoghurt and honney and 6 biscuits with butter and jam

Snack-> Fruit and dates or trail mix

Lunch-> Whatever my mum makes

Snack-> Fruit and a piece of toast with olive oil and salt

Dinner-> Normally something quick. Yesterday for example it was two large pieces of whole-wheat toast with smoked salmon and olive oil mayo and hard-boiled egg topping with some veggies.

Sometimes I will have a supplement shake (If the scale reading drops) which consists of a vanilla weight gaining shake, a glass of milk, a few scoops of haagen-dazs macademia-nut brittle ice-cream, 5 or 6 digestive biscuits and a handful of hazlenuts or almonds.

I think you nailed it when you spoke about comparing ourselves...I feel quite embarassed when it comes to eating around other people because I am a fraction of their size and eat quite a lot more than they do. I am always receiving looks at restaurants and all the rest.

I do have to say it is going to be difficult, as I am on a budget and all, any ideas on menus or plans? You could have a look at these if it helps, 

http://caloriecount.about.com/marks-spencer-n utrition-m9

http://caloriecount.about.com/sainsburys-nutr ition-m746

Thank you so so so much, really.

Stephanie

welcome stephanie , i can understand your apprehension but you really are doing the right thing . try not to focus on others and there eating i know its hard i find this hard but think of you , why you are doing this ? because you are very underweight and need to restore your weight in order to repair your body and live a healthy life and do all those things you want to do. like abbie said 2500 is a good starting point . i know food can be expensives but i can think of a few cheap lunches and teas how about something like oatmeal and toast for lunch  dinners could be beans on toast eggs on toast sardines on toast sandwitches with any fillings of your choice teas could be pasta and sauce and chicken pasta is quite cheap anf nutrious and doesent take long to cook . for tea remember tinned veg is just as nutrious as fresh i know in asda you can get a tin of peas for 19p . a bag of potatoes you could boil , have jackets mash or make wedges with olive oil . I dont know what you like as protein based i enjoy things like fish fingers fish in bedcrumbs chicken kiev which arnt to badly priced . milkshakes are handy for snacks and can be carried with you there are lots of snack foods resonalbly priced  toast or crumpets are good snacks . i hope that helps  h x

welcome stephanie , i can understand your apprehension but you really are doing the right thing . try not to focus on others and there eating i know its hard i find this hard but think of you , why you are doing this ? because you are very underweight and need to restore your weight in order to repair your body and live a healthy life and do all those things you want to do. like abbie said 2500 is a good starting point . i know food can be expensives but i can think of a few cheap lunches and teas how about something like oatmeal and toast for lunch  dinners could be beans on toast eggs on toast sardines on toast sandwitches with any fillings of your choice teas could be pasta and sauce and chicken pasta is quite cheap anf nutrious and doesent take long to cook . for tea remember tinned veg is just as nutrious as fresh i know in asda you can get a tin of peas for 19p . a bag of potatoes you could boil , have jackets mash or make wedges with olive oil . I dont know what you like as protein based i enjoy things like fish fingers fish in bedcrumbs chicken kiev which arnt to badly priced . milkshakes are handy for snacks and can be carried with you there are lots of snack foods resonalbly priced  toast or crumpets are good snacks . i hope that helps  h x

Original Post by waikkiki:

I do have to say it is going to be difficult, as I am on a budget and all, any ideas on menus or plans? You could have a look at these if it helps, 

 If you're on a budget, learn to cook.  Spend the next few weeks teaching yourself (or get mum to teach you) how to make simple dishes from cheap ingredients.  M&S food is very, very expensive and you'd need to be eating 2 or 3 of their ready-meals at a time to get the calorie-intake... you'd be broke inside a month.

On the other hand if you can take cheap foods and turn them into easy, nourishing meals then you will have a lot more scope and you'll be much more in control of the calorie content.   I think that's vital for someone in your situation.  You are not going to gain weight on cold cereals and pieces of toast...