what can i snack on to up my net calories?

JAG1224

I'm confused about the calories intake per day. My goal is 1,200 a day and I usually burn about 600 calories when I work out so does that mean I should take in 1,800 calories and if so, I'm having a hard time getting those calories.. What healthy snacks that are high in calories do you suggest beside fruits and veggies. Most of the time I'm not very hungry and have 400-500 calories left to eat.. Thanks in advance.

Heather75

Nuts.

absolament

If you don't feel hungry, don't worry about it. If anything, your body will let you know when it needs fuel. The biggest battle would be not knowing when to stop. 400-500 isn't too bad. You also have to consider that the calorie burn of most exercises isn't the net calories. Net calories is what you get when you subtract the amount of calories your body consumes at its resting rate over the time that you exercise. Also, unless you are using a calorie monitor while you exercise, the calories from the database are rough estimates and very greatly based on a persons size and gender.

bhalter

I had something similar happen today - at the end of the day, I still had 300+ calories left, and I hadn't even done my planned workout yet! The higher calorie healthy snack that I chose was the 110 whole wheat bagel thins - I toasted them, and put a tablespoon of peanut butter on each one. I think the peanut butter was 190 for a 2 tablespoon serving. Knocked out some calories in a healthy way, PLUS had a nice protein snack before my 30-Day Shred workout.

RedHotRunner

Almonds are my go-to high calorie snack. Or an ounce of cheese if you're feeling indulgent.

Nigel99

Almonds are great. Only problem for me is that I'm already eating them as an afternoon snack pretty much every day. Peanut butter is a good one (I use Crazy Richard's All Natural - with no sodium).

Dark chocolate is actually good for you, so a bit of that every so often is a decent snack.

xomakaxo

Healthy fats (put avocado or peanut butter on something) or protein (turkey or chicken on an english muffin). If you're low on calcium, drink a cup of milk or eat some yogurt with granola or berries. Not hungry? Get a cup of [not super sugary] juice or a smoothie (I love Odwalla juice/smoothies-- C Monster, B Monster, or Superfood; or Bolthouse Farms-- Mango Passion, Vanilla Chai, Chocolate Protein, or C-Boost).

scagneti

If you don't feel hungry, don't worry about it. If anything, your body will let you know when it needs fuel. The biggest battle would be not knowing when to stop. 400-500 isn't too bad. You also have to consider that the calorie burn of most exercises isn't the net calories. Net calories is what you get when you subtract the amount of calories your body consumes at its resting rate over the time that you exercise. Also, unless you are using a calorie monitor while you exercise, the calories from the database are rough estimates and very greatly based on a persons size and gender.

There are a lot of errors here.

1. The OP had the net correct. It's the calories MFP gives you originally PLUS your exercise calories. MFP already gives a deficit before the exercise calories is added. Some of the exercises might be over stated (although your size, sex and height are taken into account on MFP and in some appear that the BMR has been removed), which is why most people have a HRM to determine appropriate burn.

2. 400-500 calories is a HUGE additional deficit on top of the already included deficit.

3. If your body is used to being regularly starved, it could stop telling you that it's hungry because it figures "Why bother? They're not going to feed me anyways. Instead I'll just stop feeding their organs properly". So "listening to your body" and waiting for it to tell you that it's hungry doesn't always work.

And to answer OP -- nuts & nut butters are awesome. So are fruit, cheeses & dairy products. I had a couple hundred calories left, so I had some cheese and two tablespoons of peanut butter and now I'm good for the evening.

Anidorie

watermelon...might be a bit early for that so try some peaches and nuts are good too.

JAG1224

watermelon...might be a bit early for that so try some peaches and nuts are good too.

oh great idea! i LOVE watermelon!

JAG1224

Almonds are my go-to high calorie snack. Or an ounce of cheese if you're feeling indulgent.

i totally forgot about almonds! those will be great!

JAG1224

If you don't feel hungry, don't worry about it. If anything, your body will let you know when it needs fuel. The biggest battle would be not knowing when to stop. 400-500 isn't too bad. You also have to consider that the calorie burn of most exercises isn't the net calories. Net calories is what you get when you subtract the amount of calories your body consumes at its resting rate over the time that you exercise. Also, unless you are using a calorie monitor while you exercise, the calories from the database are rough estimates and very greatly based on a persons size and gender.

There are a lot of errors here.

1. The OP had the net correct. It's the calories MFP gives you originally PLUS your exercise calories. MFP already gives a deficit before the exercise calories is added. Some of the exercises might be over stated (although your size, sex and height are taken into account on MFP and in some appear that the BMR has been removed), which is why most people have a HRM to determine appropriate burn.

2. 400-500 calories is a HUGE additional deficit on top of the already included deficit.

3. If your body is used to being regularly starved, it could stop telling you that it's hungry because it figures "Why bother? They're not going to feed me anyways. Instead I'll just stop feeding their organs properly". So "listening to your body" and waiting for it to tell you that it's hungry doesn't always work.

And to answer OP -- nuts & nut butters are awesome. So are fruit, cheeses & dairy products. I had a couple hundred calories left, so I had some cheese and two tablespoons of peanut butter and now I'm good for the evening.

thanks.

absolament

Scagneti is right. But keep in mind, each person is different with different needs that a website cannot account for. It's a best guess estimate on here. If you are feeling weak, definitely up the calories. If you have lots of energy and your muscles are strong, you're probably getting enough for your body or over estimating your calorie burn. And if you check out other people's diaries and posts, you can see that they may be just as comfortable eating fewer calories than recommended, others more. I'm not sure how your weight is, nor what you eat, nor whether you have eating problems. So my post was based on too much assumption, particularly with how many calories my body is comfortable with (1300-1400). But I am also petite and never do vigorous workouts.