I've been on here before...but I'm a little ashamed to come back and say for the past...oh...3 years? I've been engaging in some really unhealthy habits. I'll just leave it at that.

I'm in the process of doing a cranberry juice/raison detox...I've cut out bread (about 1 1/2 wks now), and for breakfast I usually have a small glass of milk with some of that chocolate instant breakfast mix mixed in, an egg or two for lunch, and whatever for dinner. I'm known to binge late at night (I also feel very guilty after eating ANYTHING and feel like ANY food I eat will make me fat), but I also go thru stages where I don't eat anything. I'm trying really hard to eat 3 times a day but it's surprisingly difficult.

Anyway... my question is...

What are some easier ways to get my calories up a little? It's been hard. Today I only had 357 (the day isn't over tho, I haven't eaten dinner yet)


p.s. I don't eat nuts

eat filling calorie dense meals that have a lot of veggies and stuff. at least that would be my suggestion. if you are having a hard time eating throughout the day maybe look into intermittent fasting? i have been considering it to make life more convenient during school

The first thing I'd advise is to empty your apartment/house of snack foods. Only put in your fridge what you need for three square meals (or more little meals). Since you tend to binge at night, the annoyance of having to drive to the market to get snacks at, say, 10pm could be enough to stop you from binging. Having to drive somewhere would at least give you time to stop and think about what you're doing. This works pretty well for my husband and I. Also, if you know how to cook, try getting rid of as many pre-packaged or pre-prepared foods as you can. If you have to cook/prepare food as opposed to just grabbing it out of the fridge or freezer, that is also a way to deter binging. lol Laziness can be your diet's best friend.

You sound like me before intensive therapy then nutritional therapy. Have you be diagnosed with an ED?

The only thing that helped me get over everything aside from the therapies is planning out my exact foods all day to make sure I'm not over or under eating. Plan out a 1200 calorie meal plan and follow it. For a while you may feel uncomfortable, but you will find balance without guilt. If everything is "on plan" you don't need to burden yourself with bad feelings about eating and your binging behavior will likely stop.

Don't TRY to eat. Make an exact plan and follow it.

I was in your shoes for 17 years.

Munchy, what is an ED? I'm unfamiliar with the term.

Also - I go through this phase every once in a while, where I eat a protein bar and little else for an entire day and then really binge at night. It's really unhealthy, and as many other smart people have said earlier, you "just" have to plan ahead and schedule what to eat and when. Planning out can always help you to get a better picture of what you need in terms of nutrients, and as far as your calorie intake goes, you can review this and schedule it as well.
I have found that eating eggs in the morning and some salad or just vegetables with protein (organic chicken or turkey) for lunch while having a more solid supper can help me fight off those urges for snacks later. Try keeping very dark chocolate in your cupboard and then stick to that. It's so rich in flavour that it's hard to binge on it without feeling weird.

Sorry! An ED is an Eating Disorder. The starve/binge cycle that you describe can be in the umbrella of ED-NOS (Eating Disorder - Not Otherwise Specified) where it's not necessarily anorexia, bulimia, or overeating, but a similar mindset and behavior.

If you eat an appropriate amount throughout the day, your body maintains stability and you won't feel the urge to binge as much. I spent so many years of my life starving all day until 10 or 11pm to just binge on something that I normally wouldn't have eaten.

The moment I took a pen and paper (actually a computer) and planned my exact days was the moment my binging stopped. The fact was, I wasn't giving my body the right things all day - typically just coffee and water - so I would sometimes just lose control at night.