How do you think I did today? (I'm New)

Hey guys.  I'm new to all of this but I'm a 13 year old (5 ft 1) and about 79 - 80 lbs.  I'm trying to gain a little weight and I was wondering if this was an ok day.

Breakfast-

• Instant Oatmeal Packet (100 cal)
• Banana
• Cinnamon
• Boost High Protein Shake (240 cal)
• A Viactiv Calcium Chew

Lunch-

• 1/4 Cup Fruit and Nut Trail Mix (about 150 cal)
• Homemade shake with 1 cup frozen cherries, 1 cup whole milk, and 2 scoops Aria Womens Protein Powder
• About 3 big scoops of Hood Fat Free Frozen Yogurt (I know it has 90 calories per 1/2 cup but I don't know how many cups the 3 big scoops were)
• 25 Calorie Swiss Miss Hot Chocolate

Dinner-

• Cottage Cheese (90 Cal)
• Apple
• Cinnamon
• 1 Viactiv Calcium Chew

Snack

• Cocoa Roasted Almonds (100 cal)
• Boost High Protein Shake (240 cal)

I know I have fat free and other diet type food in there but I really don't want to gain weight too fast.  I got up to like 1900 calories today and according to the calculator thing I should be eating 1826 calories a day.  So is this ok or am I doing all of this totally wrong?  Any suggestions? Thanks.  

you're doing okay, but the calculator did not give you the 1826 recommendation for gaining...you need to be eating more like 2500 calories as that is more suitable for gaining.

also, lose the diet hot cocoa and have regular cocoa

maybe try a different protein shake, weight gainer or something since the Aria brand only has about 100cals

try eating more ACTUAL FOOD, instead of relying on shakes and boost...maybe use these in addition to regular meals but your lunch doesn't even contain and food

breakfast...have a few boiled eggs, a couple tablespoons of peanut butter stirred into your oatmeal, sliced almonds added to it, and made with half and half instead of water or milk

lunch...have a sandwich made with peanut butter and bananas, have your REGULAR cocoa made with regular milk

dinner...have some pasta with olive oil and parmesan cheese

you aren't eating and that's a problem. it's good that you're getting more calories in than before but not good that the only food that you ate was oatmeal, almonds, trail mix, frozen yogurt. there is no lean protein, healthy fats, whole grains, or really any variety...try to balance it out a bit more. i hope this helps and congrats on committing to getting well and gaining weight!! even if you're not recovering from any sort of ED, you are at a very low weight and it's great that you recognize that!!

Minimum for gaining females is 2500. I know you are on the shorter side, but you are very young and that in and of itself means that you are going to need more calories to gain. If you are eating 70 calories over what you need to maintain - you are NOT going to gain weight. At all. And CC's calculator does not apply to anyone under age 21. Bottom line - you need to eat more over all, even just to maintain.

1900 is a good start. But you need to get up to at least 2500 as a minimum, and that should get you to gain 1/2 lb a week.

BTW eating fat does NOT make you fat. Dietary fats are an essential part of your diet and you NEED to eat them in order to have healthy skin and hair, maintain cellular integrity/organ mass and have proper brain function. Lack of dietary fats will result in hair loss/lackluster hair, dry skin, and hormonal imbalances.

The general reccomendation is 3 solid meals and 2-3 snacks. Cottage cheese with an apple and cinnamon is NOT a dinner. A shake and trail mix is NOT a lunch. Its okay initially if you aren't really used to eating a lot food, but if you never adjust to eating plenty of real, whole portions of food, it will make it hard for you to eat enough to be able maintain your weight later on. Aim to get at least 1 source each of protein, fat, carbohydrate/starch, dairy, and fruit/veg at every meal. For snacks, just pick 2-3 of those things to get. Choose whole products versus fat free. You are gaining - you do not need diet food and you should try to work on that mentality. Eating 2500 calories worth of whole foods will not make you gain any faster than 2500 calories of diet foods. However, it will make it easier to get enough calories in AND when you start to maintain, you have the option of just switching back down to lower-fat foods and makes the transition much easier.

Thanks, that really helped.  Right now I am recovering from an ED and I always feel really full so thats kind of why I'm drinking all of the shakes but I'm trying to work my way up to eating normal again.

I started off the same weight as you [I'm 5'1 as well] and it took me 1 month to gain 10lbs and another month to gain 14lbs [putting me at approximately 104]
I strongly reccomend aiming towards 100-105lbs, which is still slim but within a healthy weight range.

First of all, get rid of all diet/low fat/fat free products and replace with full fat [you won't have to eat as much of it to get the same amount of calories] and keep eating everything on your meal plan but add in a proper lunch [ie. sandwich] and eventually add in a proper meal at dinner [then you won't have to have as many shakes/meal supplements].

My paediatrition has only let me start exercising again at the 100lb mark, so once you get up to that point you can start some weight training if you want to increase your muscle mass.

Don't be afraid to gain quicky; your body needs to repair itself and you need lots of calories to kick start your metabolism. 

Good luck :D

Bella: I had a feeling you were in recovery from an ED. That means you MUST stop eating low-fat or fat free products. They only encourage the eating disordered mindset, and they will make it harder for you in the long run to gain. I know higher fat foods can be frightening, but eating at least 30% of your daily calories from fat will help reduce your chances of developing refeeding edema.

I am in recovery too, started from about the same weight.  I know it is hard - and when I first started my recovery, I was doing mainly liquid calories in the form of shakes because my body wasn't doing so swell with digesting solid food properly.

May I suggest homemade shakes instead of Ensures? Unless you like the way Ensures taste of course, but homemade shakes are generally tastier and cheaper.  And at least with homemade shakes, you're using real ingredients and real foods verus a liquid supplement. You need to get used to the idea of eating at least 2,000 calories worth of real, solid food every day or else you will find it extremely difficult to eat enough to maintain a healthy weight once you get there. I know from experience so please trust me. In high school - I survived by drinking Boost plus 2-3 times a day. I went off to college and didn't want to be drinking them anymore. I thought I would be abe to eat enough, but 700 calories is a lot more food than I realized and I lost a lot of weight very quickly and had to be sent home. I know you are only 13, but something very similar could happen to you if you don't learn to eat enough right now.

The others have given you some great advice.

My suggestion is that your dinner is not a real dinner. Make it afternoon tea instead, and then eat some real food for dinner: protein, carbs and some healthy fat. Eat what the rest of your family is eating for dinner; it's a good way to get used to other people preparing your food too.

Good luck :)