Getting started and surprised

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mikeyrowlands
mikeyrowlands Posts: 31 Member
in Getting Started
Hi, thought I'd jump in and say hello. Ive user MFP over the years but not got into the Macro tracking.

I decided to come away from cradh diets with Noom, WW etc as they arent healthy alongside regular gym work.

What I am massively surprised by and struggling with is the sheer amount of calories I can get through, the first week was tough to trust MFP, I was adding packets of cooked chicken to my lunch and dinner and eating protein yogurts like mad.

Does anyone have any tips on starting to maximise my calories and meeting my Macros, I am assuming meal prep but has anyone gone through this recently and able to share any tips?
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  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,195 Member
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    If you're trying to increase calorie intake, fat is your friend: Calorie dense. Consider nuts, seeds, avocados, full-fat dairy if you eat dairy, fattier cuts of meat, fatty cold-water fish, etc. If you need more protein, those latter few items could be good choices. More olive oil or the like could be helpful in cooking or as a dressing for calories, too.
  • Butt_Snorkeler
    Butt_Snorkeler Posts: 167 Member
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    Welcome Mikey. Ive recently went through the same thing. Ive doubled my calories in the past week. I used multiple online calculators and kind of pulled an average from them.

    I set my protein goal and usually fill out my diary to within 80% of that goal using milk, chicken, or salmon. Totally up to you. I then decide on foods to fill the other macros and adjust my intake from already submitted protein goods if I pass my goal.

    If you are ever struggling to meat fat goals, you can add olive oil to calorie bomb shakes. You can do the same for carbs with whole grain oats.

    The first few days were tough and I felt like I was eating nonstop, but my body is used to it now and asking for more.
  • mikeyrowlands
    mikeyrowlands Posts: 31 Member
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    Great, thanks both, I'm concentrating on a higher carb diet, coming from noom and ww, they were setting 1400 calories and mostly made up with whole meats and veg, moving to 2k calories made up of a reasonable amount of carbs and fat has been interesting.

    I'm managing to lose 2 or 3 pounds per week at the moment and still building some muscle.

    Im gonna have a look at meal prepping over the next weeks so I'm not caught short trying to make calories up from somewhere.

    Interestingly, I feel far healthier and alert since I have moved to a higher calorie diet.

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