Foods

I felt like I ate a lot today, but I barely broke 1000.  I was kind of grazing throughout the day, so I was never that hungry, but i just finished dinner and put in everything for the day and was surprised.  I had homemade blueberry/oatmeal muffins, some milk, a banana, some applesause, some juice, a turkey sandwich, baby carrotts and a lot of crystal light.  Even if I'm full should i make myself eat something more?

I would say yes, seems like your not getting much protein -- just milk and turkey?  I would suggest some peanut butter or something like that. 

the problem is that w/a daily intake such as you have written, you're not getting nearly enough iron, calcium, zinc, vitamin c, b, potassium, etc etc etc.  you're also not getting enough fats, complex carbohydrates or proteins.  this is all aside from the point that you introduced, which is that it's not enough calories.  as you can see, it would be almost impossible to get sufficient vitamins and minerals on 1000 calories a day.  and it is impossible to get enough fats and proteins and carbs on 1000 calories a day.  so it isn't just about being full; it's about nourishing your body organs.

carrots are the only veggies you've had.  you could have tomatoes, onions, spinach, zucchini, eggplant.  turkey's your only major protein.  you could have soy sausage, beef, pork, tofu, eggs, cottage cheese.  your muffins may have had some fat, i don't know.  but other good sources would be butter on your muffin, mayo on your turkey sandwich, avocado in your turkey sandwich, nuts and peanut butter in general, sauteeing your meat or vegetables in olive oil or drizzling some flaxseed oil on a salad.  for complex carbs, you could have some rice or pasta or couscous or beans or lentils or barley.  by eating a varied diet at enough calories, you will most likely get tons more of the vitamins and minerals you need, and you won't need to worry about getting enough of everything.

Yeah, i understand that I need to have a more varied diet, but right now i'm living on my own in a college apartment on a limited budget, so it's hard for me to buy a lot of different things, especially a variety of produce.  i usually buy a few things and then use them until they're gone and then go shopping again.  I do have peanut butter though, so i'll try to eat more of that.

i hear you about the budget issue.  a couple of suggestions:  frozen veggies are pretty cheap, esp if you buy the super large bag; you can just take out some of the vegetables and leave the rest of the bag (they also maintain vitamins far better than canned vegetables, and some ppl say better than "fresh" vegetables which are often old).  canned beans are cheap, as are pasta, rice, oatmeal, barley.  as for proteins, you can get a lot of meat when it's on sale:  chicken goes on sale fairly often; you can buy the big package and repackage it into smaller portions when you get it home (in ziploc bags or plastic/freezer wrap).  eggs are really cheap, there's usually a brand of cottage cheese on sale.  canned tuna is pretty cheap.  good luck!

For protein:

Nuts are great for boosting calorie and fat intake.

Hard boiled eggs come out to about 25 cents each if you buy a carton of eggs

Chicken breasts, which you can grill, sautee, boil, put in other foods, etc, come to about $2 or $3 dollars a breast. Buy a pack of four, put them in your freezer in individual ziplocs. One breast with 1/2 cup of rice gives you close to 50g of protein. Add some steamed frozen broccoli (microwave it for a minute or so) and you have a tasty lunch for $5.

Lay off the Crystal Light and do protein shakes instead. They cost a little more, but I think they taste better, and they are far more nutritious. Met-Rx RTD51 is available in cans in lots of places, and it has 200 calories and 51g of protein per can.

Tuna is 99 cents a can

Beans are 99 cents a can

Fresh fish like Tilapia and Trout is about $8 a pound in new york where I live. A pound is 2-3 meals depending on the person, so that comes out to $3-4 dollars a meal. And it cooks in about 10 minutes.

you have gotten some really good suggestions so far, and i would like to add my two cents... when i have a day when i feel satisfied on so few calories ( it happens, i know) if i don't fill in at the end with some nutritious protiens, i tend to be ravenous by morning, which for me leads to poorer food choices at least for my breakfast, and often for my whole day.  much better idea to have an extra peice of chicken, boiled egg,  toast with peanut butter, or some other healty treat the night before :)