Beefing up Calories

rainbowxelephant

No pun intended (I don't eat beef anyways)

I'm trying to eat a balanced diet, and at the end of the day over the course of the past week, I'm falling short of my calorie goal on the days that I eat the best. (Best meaning, in this context, the cleanest, so to speak)

If I were trying to melt weight off with no regard to my organs and muscle tissue, then this would be a non-issue. However, I'm planning to start a fairly labor intensive program on monday next week (would have been yesterday but I appear to have contracted the flu), and definitely do not want to be under-eating.

So, my calorie goal is 1700-1900 per day, and the last few days I've been struggling to make it much over the 1200 calorie mark. My TDEE is about 1800 and my BMR is about 1450. I absolutely do not want to be eating this little, but I'm finding that it's incredibly hard for me to eat more calories without eating more carbs. I'm not trying to avoid carbs but I'm aiming for a 40/40/20 split and just can't seem to eat enough calorie dense fats and proteins.

Side note, I don't eat red meats. I was vegan but for the purposes of eating more protein without eating two pounds of tofu in a day, I've added wild caught seafood (I especially enjoy salmon and shrimp), organic chicken, and high protein dairy back into my diet for now (greek yogurt, that's about the only dairy I like)

If anyone has tips on how to eat more calories in a healthy way without eating a ton of carbohydrates, I'd love the input. I'm trying to avoid having to use protein powder, as it's expensive, but I'm not seeing a whey around it (lawl, I'm a real comedian)

Thanks for your help

SezxyStef

without seeing your diary it's hard to say...

For me avocadoes always work, olive oil to cook in, butter to cook in ( I use bacon fat sometimes in my shrimp just for the smoky taste)

Since you have added in seafood etc...cook it in butter or make a white sauce, nuts are good too..not sure of their carb content...

cheese is nom nom esp soft cheese which are high in fat

I am sure there are other things...like full fat milk, yogurt etc..

defauIt

Peanut butter sounds like your ideal solution. It's mostly fat and protein with a little bit of carbs and is incredibly calorie dense in general, meaning it should be easy to fit it in. Alternatively, snacking on some nuts throughout the day would be an easy way to increase proteins and fats.

Cooking with butter/full fat oils/using full fat condiments (mayo, etc.) would be another way to increase fats/proteins.

I would suggest cheese, but you seem adverse to dairy. Eggs are another option that are high in protein/fats and low in carbs, but they are pretty filling and might not be a great solution if you're actually struggling to finish all your food in a day.

rainbowxelephant

I had three tablespoons of peanut butter today, eating nuts is a good idea though. Cheese might be alright, I try to avoid dairy because it makes me feel yucky (I have an issue with the lactose). Condiments are a good idea, I've conditioned myself to use as few empty calories as I can, but even oils are easy to add into salad and what not. I hadn't considered eggs for some reason, but you're absolutely right @default that I'm struggling to eat a high volume of food (that's the basis of the problem)

Aaron_K123

Hand full of almonds is like 200 calories and is pretty good fats and protein as well, either zero or minimal carbs don't remember which.