Struggling to increase calories

Options
sofrances
sofrances Posts: 156 Member
edited April 2020 in Health and Weight Loss
Has anyone else had this experience?

I have been trying to find my maintenance calories for a while. I started at 2100 and have over a few weeks increased to 2300. (MFP says my maintenance calories should be 2700). I'm still losing a bit faster than I want to.

Before that I went through a period where I wasn't counting calories but was just trying to eat a bit less, and I lost a fair bit of weight before I started counting. I started counting because I was losing faster than I thought safe, so the point was actually to give myself the information I needed to eat a bit more and slow down the weight loss.

I am not thin person who struggles to put on weight or anything like that. I am very overweight.

However, I'm really struggling to increase my calories. I feel like I'm really stuffing myself.

It might be that I have changed what I'm eating a fair bit (moderately low carb Mediterranean, I guess). Its difficult to eat an extra 200 calories of veggies.

The idea of eating 2500 calories or 2700 seems impossible. (Although I must have been doing so to put on the weight in the first place!)

Is this normal?
«1

Replies

  • MrsSylvie
    MrsSylvie Posts: 301 Member
    Options
    manitoba hemp hearts at 180 calories and 2 netcarbs for a small 30g serving. they are a great addition to have around for your “ moderately low carb Mediterranean” diet. they easily go with salads, veggies mixes and so on.. They help a lot withoit adding much volume to your foods, i used them myself when i had a hard time meeting my calories a few years ago after giving up added sugar to lose weight, which apparently was my major calorie source for years.. Plus they are good for you if you are not on a low fat diet, i now use them for their omega 3 benefit & fat value.
  • sofrances
    sofrances Posts: 156 Member
    Options
    NovusDies wrote: »
    If you fall short eat ice cream. After all no plan is healthy if you do not eat enough calories.

    One issue is that MFP has made me aware of lots of things other than calories. So sure, I could have a big hunk of cheese and job done, but then my saturated fat would be through the roof. (I know that there's some controversy over the "saturated fat bad" theory, but as a lay person I'm not qualified to adjudicate that dispute, and it feels risky.)
  • gallicinvasion
    gallicinvasion Posts: 1,015 Member
    Options
    I would second the ideas of 1. Pre-planning your day of 2500-2700 in your food diary, 2. Adding sources of fats/high-calorie items (if you’re concerned about saturated fats, there are many sources of fats that are higher in unsaturated fats, like extra olive oil on your bread or veggies or salads, peanut butter, fatty fish, avocados, other nuts and seeds) so that you’re not stuffing yourself on piles of low-cal foods, 3. Look at your food diary, finding the highest-cal-density items you usually consume, and increasing your portions of those, or increasing the serving sizes at a few of your meals. Also 4. If there are too many hrs between one meal and the next, try adding a regular daily snack in-between.

    Personally when I moved to maintenance, I increase the size of my breakfasts (150 calories to 250 calories) and lunch (400 to 500 calories), and added a bigger afternoon snack (150 to 300 cals). I feel more freedom when choosing full fat salad dressing, which I love. This also means I have more flexibility when a social dinner comes up, which is great!
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
    Options
    A few tidbits that seem to conflict. You say you are very overweight but you are trying to find maintenance calories? Why?

    The other is you seem to be overthinking this. We all actually need some saturated fat for brain and hormonal function. Multiple health organizations recommend 10% of calories per day as a ceiling for saturated fat. If you are struggling to increase calories (for reasons that aren't completely clear) why over think and over restrict?
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,419 Member
    Options
    Here's a handy guide to nutrition priorities:

    rsxc7yxst9cg.png

    Start at the foundation, and work your way up, or you're just trying to build castles in the air, nutrition-wise. In your case, worry about getting enough calories.

    Macronutrients (like fat) are secondary. Subsets of macronutrients are part of that, and not the most important part.

    Saturated fat is a subset of fats. Saturated fat is not poisonous. There is debate about whether it's even harmful, in the context of overall sensible macronutrient balance, and proper calories (healthy body weight). Trans-fats, as has been pointed out, may be harmful, and it makes sense to minimize or eliminate added trans-fats from one's eating. That last is more a matter of "poisonous or injurious things really shouldn't count as food", vs. "good"/"bad" foods.

    Eat enough calories. It's the foundation.
  • skinnyjingbb
    skinnyjingbb Posts: 127 Member
    Options
    1. As many said, pre-log your day would help
    2. I am also eating low carb. so no ice-cream! Too much vegetable will make you feel bloated.
    Too much protein might be bad for your kidney.
    So Fat is the one you can have more.
    I think at this point fat is evil is more or less proved false. But if you want be extra safe, use healthier option like olive oil, coconut oil and grass feed butter. Add bit olive oil to you soup or salad, a bit coconut oil in you coffee or tea will improve the taste and also won't make you feeling bloated.
  • MrsSylvie
    MrsSylvie Posts: 301 Member
    Options
    skinnyjingbb wrote: »
    1. As many said, pre-log your day would help
    2. I am also eating low carb. so no ice-cream! Too much vegetable will make you feel bloated.
    Too much protein might be bad for your kidney.
    So Fat is the one you can have more.
    I think at this point fat is evil is more or less proved false. But if you want be extra safe, use healthier option like olive oil, coconut oil and grass feed butter. Add bit olive oil to you soup or salad, a bit coconut oil in you coffee or tea will improve the taste and also won't make you feeling bloated.

    what no ice cream!! we can have it on a low carb/keto diet too without going over our carbs amounts. like there’s 4 netcarbs in breyers vanilla smart carbs ice cream per serving and it tastes pretty much like the real thing..
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,419 Member
    Options
    skinnyjingbb wrote: »
    1. As many said, pre-log your day would help
    2. I am also eating low carb. so no ice-cream! Too much vegetable will make you feel bloated.
    Too much protein might be bad for your kidney.
    So Fat is the one you can have more.
    I think at this point fat is evil is more or less proved false. But if you want be extra safe, use healthier option like olive oil, coconut oil and grass feed butter. Add bit olive oil to you soup or salad, a bit coconut oil in you coffee or tea will improve the taste and also won't make you feeling bloated.

    "Too much" of anything can be bad. But what is "too much"?

    "Too much" vegetable? How much? Which vegetables? I've often eaten 15+ (80g) servings in a day, 45g+ of fiber from food, without "bloating". Maybe bloating isn't a universal reaction to all veggies?

    "Too much" protein? Recent research suggests amounts well above the USDA/WHO minimums may be beneficial if available/affordable, and there's limited evidence that large amounts have a negative affect for people without a pre-existing health condition that contraindicates protein intake.

    Fat is not the "only one you can have more", for anyone with no relevant pre-existing medical conditions, eating a reasonably balanced, well-rounded diet.

    Low carb is fine, if it suits you: It really helps some people. It isn't necessary for most people (without insulin resistance, diabetes, or other relevant health conditions). So, for most people, carbs are also fine . . . including ice cream (which is carbs+fat in terms of calorie contribution, mostly), if overall nutrition is reasonable, and calories are where they need to be.

    An aside: Coconut oil doesn't improve the taste of my coffee. Taste is individual, too.
  • sofrances
    sofrances Posts: 156 Member
    Options
    mmapags wrote: »
    A few tidbits that seem to conflict. You say you are very overweight but you are trying to find maintenance calories? Why?

    1. Curiosity
    2. I lost a fair amount of weight (~10%) pretty quickly, but I think things will go better long term if I slow down now, so I want to find my maintenance calories and then dip a couple of hundred calories below it.
  • sofrances
    sofrances Posts: 156 Member
    Options
    lgfrie wrote: »
    Just one day in my life, I would like to experience the sensation of having a problem eating enough food, to see what it feels like.

    To be honest, I'm pretty surprised to find it happening to me.
  • sofrances
    sofrances Posts: 156 Member
    edited May 2020
    Options
    cmriverside wrote: »
    For the record, I never paid any attention to Sat Fat ever in my life and I'm in my mid sixties. I go to the doctor and have good bloodwork, exercise daily, and I'm at a healthy BMI of 21-22 for the past 13 years since losing 80 pounds. I still eat cheese daily and usually one portion of a fatty meat like bacon, sausage, beef or salmon.

    @cmriverside that's a pretty impressive maintenance story. If you have shared advice based on your success anywhere on the forums, I would be grateful for a link.

Categories