How to get ENOUGH calories into a super clean diet?

kayleeslaterdiiorio

I started eating super clean this past week, and blended up some awesome fruits and veggies smoothies as well as started eating lots of salads and lean chicken breast. I had an incident the other night where i got woozy and felt very sick and off; my boyfriend thrn added up my calories for that day and i was super under my maintenance goals; bad for someone who should not lose weight!! Any tips for getting more healthy calories into smoothies and meals??

mudmonkeyonwheels

Try to include more 'healthy' fats and oils- avocados, nuts, coconut oil etc. Try adding chia seeds to your smoothies also.

neanderthin

Eat more smoothies, chicken and salad.

jennifershoo

Chia and hemp seeds add a lot of good calories to your smoothies. Also, coconut oil.

SexyKatherine73

do you eat carbs like bread? that could be why you went all woozy ... your blood sugar levels may of dropped.

Capt_Apollo

you can totally have some eggs, they're super good for you. they're super good in omelettes... yum!!

gmallan

Wash your cake before eating it haha.

But seriously, it depends on what you classify as clean because the definition varies from person to person in my experience.

Healthy fats are the easiest way to up calories - avocado, full fat milk/cream/coconut cream, coconut oil, olive oil, cheese, dark chocolate, nuts/nut butters, seeds, eggs, oily fish, non-lean cuts of meat (thighs/drumsticks etc. instead of breast or steaks).

IMHO - it's more healthy to eat a diet that contains "clean" and "unclean" foods and hit your calorie allowance than it is to undereat (especially if you don't need to lose weight). If you're under eating you're likely not hitting your micros anyway and you're definitely not hitting you macros or providing your body with the energy it needs

cogsci

Goat milk, goat milk yogurt.

cdn_beaver

Nuts, avocados, coconut oil, add flax or hemp to your smoothies. If you're drinking a lot of water make sure you're watching your electrolytes. You need sodium, magnesium, and potassium which are all flushed out by sweating or drinking lots of water. Lack of sodium can cause dizziness and headaches. Most processed foods are loaded with sodium but if you're eating clean then the chances are you're not getting enough.

kayleeslaterdiiorio

Thank you all so much for your suggestions! If its any consolation, this happened by accident and was not a result of me trying to cut calories; just trying to avoid the more processed foods. I should also note I am unfortunately lactose-sensitive... i use almond milk and lactose-free cheese as substitutes. Interesting about hemp seeds though, i didnt know they were high calorie!

jnv7594

Not to be rude, but are you actually using the food log? Curious as to why your BF added them up rather than you keeping track of them in the food log. That's a pretty integral part of MFP. I would add some of the foods mentioned above, and then either prelog or log throughout the day so you know where you stand calorie wise. It will make it easier for you to hit your goal.

kayleeslaterdiiorio

jnv7594 wrote: »

Not to be rude, but are you actually using the food log? Curious as to why your BF added them up rather than you keeping track of them in the food log. That's a pretty integral part of MFP. I would add some of the foods mentioned above, and then either prelog or log throughout the day so you know where you stand calorie wise. It will make it easier for you to hit your goal.

Thats why i joined MFP, and created this dialogue! Also, pre-logging sounds like a really good idea, thanks!

cwolfman13

Dietary fat is healthy and an essential macro-nutrient. My guess is that you've cut a lot of fat out of your diet...eat more fat. Look to things like avocado, nuts, cook with some olive oil (I also really like avocado oil and coconut oil)...

Also, carbs aren't the devil...eat some oats (160 calories per serving)...have a good serving of brown rice with dinner (170ish calories per 1/4 cup dry), eat some legumes (122 calories for a mere 85 gram cooked serving), etc.

You need more than just a bunch of veg and low calorie foods to be healthy. Also, as someone who eats a lot of whole foods and whatnot...sometimes you just need the calories...so sometimes ice cream is perfectly healthy. Part of being healthy is not only your overall diet, but making sure you are feeding your body enough energy.