So.. Many.. Calories!

EllaBelleAces

Truly, just like the subject line says, I have 1605 calories everyday, and even more if I exercise! Now I am not sure, because I have always done portion control to lose weight. That's how I lost the first 150lbs, but now, with 98lbs to go until I hit my goal weight, portion control just isn't working anymore. I have no idea how I am supposed to eat that many calories in a day. If I exercise, am I suppose to eat the calories I gained exercising? My brain tells me no, but my body tells me "MAKE SURE!"

On top of that, how on earth does anybody keep to the fat/protein/carb ratios when they have such a substantial amount of food to eat?!

Ignaura

Good fats are the best way to add up good calories. Extra Virgin Olive Oil, nuts (almonds, cashews, etc) and butter are my favorite. Almonds are awesome.

jwdieter

Barely over 500 calories/meal, if you eat 3 meals. Might be difficult if all you're eating is raw vegetables.

JesterMFP

I wouldn't really call 1605 a "substantial" amount of calories. It's more that you're used to eating at a certain level, so it seems a bit overwhelming to you right now. It's really not a large amount though. If you don't like the thought of eating a larger quantity of food, then aim for more calorie dense foods like cheese, eggs, nuts, seeds, nut butters, full fat dairy, chocolate, ice cream, olive oil (a spoonful on salads, use it in cooking etc), avocados, slightly larger portions of bread, pasta etc. Sometimes it's easier to drink your calories, so full fat milk, protein shakes, smoothies etc. I would focus on getting to your calorie goal first, and when you have that sorted, look at the macro ratios.

As for macros, I generally struggle with getting enough protein in (always have plenty of fat/carbs!) so I go for Greek yoghurt, protein powder, chicken, turkey and eggs.

And yes, if you're following MFP the way it was designed to work, you are supposed to eat back the exercise calories. Otherwise, it would have given you a higher goal to start with. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/818082-exercise-calories-again-wtf

jess135177

Well first off, depending on how you are estimating your exercise calories you might not want to eat them all. Gym equipment and MFP way overestimates the calorie burn.
Are you eating diet food? Like fat free, low carb, low calorie? If so you can ditch those and have the more tastier versions. I had 850 calories left for dinner last night and I went to taco bell...guilt free!

WTA: Wine and Cheese!!

diannethegeek

If you're using MFP's default macros, I usually consider the protein and fat numbers as minimum goals and the carbs as a maximum. Macros are helpful for fullness and body comp, but it's not necessary to hit them exactly. Make small adjustments every day and eventually you'll get into the habit of hitting them.

As for eating enough, add in calorie dense foods. Nuts, nut butters, olive oil, coconut oil, dark chocolate, avocado, full fat dairy, cheese, Greek yogurt, ice cream, dark chocolate, protein shakes and smoothies, fruit juices, etc. These help increase your calories without forcing you to eat a lot of extra food. It shouldn't be hard to increase each meal by 100-200 calories with a little planning.

Willbenchforcupcakes

I wouldn't really call 1605 a "substantial" amount of calories. It's more that you're used to eating at a certain level, so it seems a bit overwhelming to you right now. It's really not a large amount though. If you don't like the thought of eating a larger quantity of food, then aim for more calorie dense foods like cheese, eggs, nuts, seeds, nut butters, full fat dairy, chocolate, ice cream, olive oil (a spoonful on salads, use it in cooking etc), avocados, slightly larger portions of bread, pasta etc. Sometimes it's easier to drink your calories, so full fat milk, protein shakes, smoothies etc. I would focus on getting to your calorie goal first, and when you have that sorted, look at the macro ratios.

As for macros, I generally struggle with getting enough protein in (always have plenty of fat/carbs!) so I go for Greek yoghurt, protein powder, chicken, turkey and eggs.

And yes, if you're following MFP the way it was designed to work, you are supposed to eat back the exercise calories. Otherwise, it would have given you a higher goal to start with. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/818082-exercise-calories-again-wtf

This. Said much nicer than I would have said it myself.

jonnythan

Truly, just like the subject line says, I have 1605 calories everyday, and even more if I exercise! Now I am not sure, because I have always done portion control to lose weight. That's how I lost the first 150lbs, but now, with 98lbs to go until I hit my goal weight, portion control just isn't working anymore. I have no idea how I am supposed to eat that many calories in a day. If I exercise, am I suppose to eat the calories I gained exercising? My brain tells me no, but my body tells me "MAKE SURE!"

On top of that, how on earth does anybody keep to the fat/protein/carb ratios when they have such a substantial amount of food to eat?!

You were eating more than that to get 250 lbs overweight. I'm sure you can come up with something.

BTW macro ratios are silly. Protein and fat should be portioned according to absolute value.

A little ice cream, peanut butter, milk, cookies, etc will go a long way.

SezxyStef

Truly, just like the subject line says, I have 1605 calories everyday, and even more if I exercise! Now I am not sure, because I have always done portion control to lose weight. That's how I lost the first 150lbs, but now, with 98lbs to go until I hit my goal weight, portion control just isn't working anymore. I have no idea how I am supposed to eat that many calories in a day. If I exercise, am I suppose to eat the calories I gained exercising? My brain tells me no, but my body tells me "MAKE SURE!"

On top of that, how on earth does anybody keep to the fat/protein/carb ratios when they have such a substantial amount of food to eat?!

I am set for 1600 a day...take a look at my diary..I will go over sometimes for a piece of choclate but in all honesty I think I need to go higher on my calories...

Calorie dense food is easy...peanut butter, ice cream, crackers n cheese, hell have a soda....

As for the exercise yes eat a portion back...MFP is know for "over estimating" them

As for macros they are set at Min daily requirements.

GretaGirl8

peanut butter. almonds. hershey's chocolate bar.

EllaBelleAces

Truly, just like the subject line says, I have 1605 calories everyday, and even more if I exercise! Now I am not sure, because I have always done portion control to lose weight. That's how I lost the first 150lbs, but now, with 98lbs to go until I hit my goal weight, portion control just isn't working anymore. I have no idea how I am supposed to eat that many calories in a day. If I exercise, am I suppose to eat the calories I gained exercising? My brain tells me no, but my body tells me "MAKE SURE!"

On top of that, how on earth does anybody keep to the fat/protein/carb ratios when they have such a substantial amount of food to eat?!

You were eating more than that to get 250 lbs overweight. I'm sure you can come up with something.

BTW macro ratios are silly. Protein and fat should be portioned according to absolute value.

A little ice cream, peanut butter, milk, cookies, etc will go a long way.

Actually, over the course of a lifetime going from a chubby bunny of a kid and growing into an adult, you wouldn't have to eat a substantial amount of calories to gain weight. Consider 12 years where you are slowly gaining weight just by eating 200 calories more than you should everyday, without exercising. Throw in a faulty thyroid and anti-depressants and that's 876,000 calories in 12 years, which divided by 3500 (estimated amount of calories it takes to gain one pound) is... 250! It's not that far fetched to say I wasn't eating a whole heck of a lot of calories to gain that much weight. However, since I only have said amount of pounds to go from that grand total of 250, yes, I more than likely will figure it out.

That being said, I've never counted calories before, so I have no idea how much I was actually eating before this. All the suggestions I've received have been lovely, and I appreciate all the extra information about the macros, and ways to get my calorie count up without deviating from a cleaner type of food style. Sadly, I am allergic to nuts of all forms and have an intolerance that spans to "Unpleasant" for anything with stone seeds (peaches, cherries, avocado, plums etc).

jonnythan

Truly, just like the subject line says, I have 1605 calories everyday, and even more if I exercise! Now I am not sure, because I have always done portion control to lose weight. That's how I lost the first 150lbs, but now, with 98lbs to go until I hit my goal weight, portion control just isn't working anymore. I have no idea how I am supposed to eat that many calories in a day. If I exercise, am I suppose to eat the calories I gained exercising? My brain tells me no, but my body tells me "MAKE SURE!"

On top of that, how on earth does anybody keep to the fat/protein/carb ratios when they have such a substantial amount of food to eat?!

You were eating more than that to get 250 lbs overweight. I'm sure you can come up with something.

BTW macro ratios are silly. Protein and fat should be portioned according to absolute value.

A little ice cream, peanut butter, milk, cookies, etc will go a long way.

Actually, over the course of a lifetime going from a chubby bunny of a kid and growing into an adult, you wouldn't have to eat a substantial amount of calories to gain weight. Consider 12 years where you are slowly gaining weight just by eating 200 calories more than you should everyday, without exercising. Throw in a faulty thyroid and anti-depressants and that's 876,000 calories in 12 years, which divided by 3500 (estimated amount of calories it takes to gain one pound) is... 250! It's not that far fetched to say I wasn't eating a whole heck of a lot of calories to gain that much weight. However, since I only have said amount of pounds to go from that grand total of 250, yes, I more than likely will figure it out.

That being said, I've never counted calories before, so I have no idea how much I was actually eating before this. All the suggestions I've received have been lovely, and I appreciate all the extra information about the macros, and ways to get my calorie count up without deviating from a cleaner type of food style. Sadly, I am allergic to nuts of all forms and have an intolerance that spans to "Unpleasant" for anything with stone seeds (peaches, cherries, avocado, plums etc).

1600 would be well below the TDEE of a person 250 lbs overweight. So, yes, you were necessarily eating significantly more than that to gain all that weight.

But the simplest thing is to just include dairy. Milk, ice cream, cheese. You can easily get 500 calories a day just by replacing a couple drinks with milk and having a small bowl of ice cream after dinner.

parkscs

If you aren't going hungry or feeling lethargic at, say, 1400 calories per day, don't feel you need to pack in 200 extra calories just because MFP says that's 2lb/week. Now I'm not suggesting you cut your calories down excessively low, but don't feel obligated to eat 1600 calories if you aren't hungry. If your net calories come out between 1200 and 1600 calories for any given day, I would consider that a good day and be done with it. Getting to the end of the day and thinking "I'm not hungry but I have to eat a cookie because MFP says I need 200 more calories!" is probably not the way to do it. If you have the room and WANT the cookie, then sure, but it won't kill you to come in slightly under 1600 calories.

trogalicious

don't eat diet foods.

JessyLovesJCS

Don't forget how you are feeling! There are some days when I am OK with 1200 calories, and others when my 1680 isn't enough...depending on how busy my days or how much exercising I do...or TOM. If I've eaten some veggies and fruits and lean meats/proteins and drank enough water, I don't worry so much about a 1200-1400 day if I'm not feeling starved.