Consuming enough food

DrummerGavin

Is it just me or is it tough eating enough clean calories?? I can almost never hit my daily goal. Here it is almost 9:00pm and I'm still 1200 calories short! Even if I have another double shake (400 calories) before bed I'm still way short. I know I'm making gains and losing fat but I can't seem to dial it in. I feel like I'm not feeding my muscles right and that I could have even better gains. Thoughts??

jgnatca

Eat great food and if you aren't hitting your minimums fill them in with regular food. Like a sandwich. Fast and convenient.

Or you may add some "clean" fats like olive oil, avocado or nuts. Those calories add up quickly.

DrummerGavin

Thanks so much. I'm at a point to where my weight (the actual number) doesn't matter to me. I understand that muscle weighs more than fat so where I end up (185 or 215) is moot. I'm shooting for "men's physique" and not bigger. So... I have zero idea of what my "goal weight" should be. All I know is I want to lose fat!

jgnatca

You might want to hook up with the weight lifting group here. They repeat ad nauseum that you can't lose fat and gain muscle at the same time. Either eat at a surplus while following a progressive lifting program, or diet at a "cut" to show off your hard earned muscles.

From what I understand it takes months of progressive effort to show off those muscles.

kommodevaran

Make sure you're eating the amount of calories you think you are eating. The easiest way is to track intake correctly. If you don't mind waiting, just watch your weight trend. If you're losing weight, you're in a calorie deficit.

Don't get hung up on "clean eating". It can mean anything, so it means nothing. Sure it's good to eat healthy, but "clean eating" is a restrictive way of eating/thinking, and that is not healthy. A good diet is varied and balanced, and no foods are off limits, it's all about context, portions and proportions.

If your idea of "clean eating" is "low calorie foods" and/or "boring food", it's no wonder why you struggle to get in enough calories. Low calorie foods are made to "fill you up" and boring food is meant to stop you from wanting to eat. It all works fine for a while, until you can't take it anymore, and eat all the foods. Don't do that. Eat what you like, but not too much.

Weight loss and improving health/fitness is not supposed to be torturous. If you want to continue, and it only works if you continue, it has to be pleasant. Find ways to eat and work out that feels right for you.

VeronicaA76

If you are eating extremely healthy (lean protien, steamed/raw veggies, complex carbs) and not much else. Yep, sometimes it can get hard.

1. There are no bad foods (unless you are allergic to it - then yeah that would be bad)
2. If you are on point with all your micros and macros, there is nothing wrong with eating something less healthy to make sure you don't go too far into a calorie deficit. (Adding another 6oz chicken breast a day, just gets old).
3. This is one of the reasons why protien bars were made: at least the ones that are actually healthy. 200-300 calories that are still healthy.

Calichusetts

Same boat here. I just let it ride. I'll drink a beer or call it a day. I'm close to my nutrition goals, eating well and exercise. At the end of the day I'm happy.

Cbean08

Eat more calorie dense stuff like full fat dairy, olive oil, butter, nuts and higher fat cuts of meat. There is nothing wrong with eating fat and it helps add flavor to meals. If all you're eating is brown rice, chicken, broccoli and oatmeal with protein powder, it will get old really fast. I understand if you want to eat nutritious foods, but don't think that you can't eat a wide variety of all types of foods. Just keep it balanced.

DrummerGavin

I feel a lot better about the balance with everyone's feedback! I am going to hit my macros and micros daily and just "fill" the rest. I've lost about a pound and a half a week over the last 10 weeks and am almost down to my weight I was 8 years ago. I'm gonna keep lifting 3 days a week and doing construction so I know I'm burning a lot. Once I get my belly fat in check I'll probably start bulking back up to get more growth. Thanks everyone!!