Can't keep up with all the food!

MissGoHard

So I am 9 lbs away from goal, to be frank, for the first time in 29 years I am actually quite happy with where I am today. My final goal is to be 115 before my 30th bday. (Next June... Yay me). So I have plenty of time...

In October I hit a plateau, where I was working out like a crazy woman and could not get passed 127. So after chatting with a few friends on MFP, I decided to increase my calorie intake, that seems to have done the trick. Now I am back to losing, which of course is wonderful... except I can't keep up with all the food! My magic deficit number is 200 calories, so of course the more I workout the more I have to eat, but many times I'm just not hungry... like today. I've had my post workout protein shake, I'm about to have dinner and I still have 400 calories to spare! I know many may be rolling their eyes.. but this is a big problem for me as I don't want to cut down my workouts ( I workout 5-6 days a week) I enjoy what I do.

Anyway just posting to see if anyone else out there has had this issue...

Thanks for reading!
Xo
MissWeniki

cmriverside

A good problem to have. Congrats on your success.

wonca

I keep almonds and protein bars for when I'm in this range.

robinpickles

I deal with this all the time, and I'm at the general beginning of my journey. I think its the answer the the big question of ...

WHY CAN"T I LOOSE WEIGHT!?

I would say do anything to add the calories, without adding fat or sugar, or good stuff.. maybe a better idea is to add more good calories to each meal as to spread them out over the day......

Hayesgang

I'm right there with ya sister!! :flowerforyou:

I upped my calories to 1650 and eat back my burn calories most days but 3 days a week I'm under by 600-800 calories even after dinner due to a late yoga class and I force myself to eat something. On those days I try really hard to eat alot thru out the day to make up for it but I can only eat so much. I don't like eating when I'm not hungry - that's what got me here in the first place.

I'm interested to see what people have to say and how they deal with it.

AliceWiller

Very simple. If you can't eat all you need to eat, Then chose Higher Calorie foods. Add some Peanut butter to your toast for example.
Its not hard to add in calories and make your healthy intake goal. Good Luck

questionablemethods

What are you doing for exercise? How about doing less of it so you have less of a deficit to try to make up? I'd focus on strength training over cardio.

DKBelle

Try to boost up your metabolism here is some useful site:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cooking-ideasHomemade-Healthy-Foods/179121125503371
www.bodyrock.tv
www.myomytv.com

peachprl

I sometimes fall short by about 200-400 calories, too. My newest addition is any of the trailmixes from Trader Joes. A serving has about 200 calories and is 1/4 cup, so it is bearable when you aren't hungry. Hope that helps!

PatasDeGallina

Very simple. If you can't eat all you need to eat, Then chose Higher Calorie foods. Add some Peanut butter to your toast for example.
Its not hard to add in calories and make your healthy intake goal. Good Luck

MMMM, PEANUT BUTTER.

Yes, this. Peanut butter spread on a snickers bar then rolled in mini chocolate chips.

AngelaeLebron1

Almonds have become my best friend for problems like this

JoDeeD

I have been doing mixed nuts with low salt. I am always trying to eat more throughout the day especially since I have added 45 minutes of Zumba to my nightly routine. I have trouble getting to 1200 calories and then to add the 45 minutes of cardio to the mix I am shy about 500-600 every day.

mcrowe1016

Just plan to eat more tomorrow.

Just1forMe

Definitely nuts like almonds, peanut butter, a double scoop of protein powder instead of 1, higher calorie whole grain breads, full fat cheese, have all helped for me.

MissFit0101

Start by eating a big breakfast, and add in unsalted nuts during the day. Nuts are a sure way to get in the cals because they are very high in cals but not very filling.

Silvercivic

I'm also 9 pounds away from my goal of 115 and I'd like to get there by the time I turn 30 in August! I work out a ton too but I really like eating the calories back.

I've done the opposite thing with calories- I've looked for ways to cut back. For example, I switched to a bread that has 80 calories per slice instead of 110. Maybe you can make little switches to add more calories that way without adding more food? Like eat the same amount of bread but pick the one with more calories. Have 2% milk instead of skim. Go for the full fat/calorie salad dressing. Add condiments. Basically do the opposite of the things that other people who are trying to make easy changes in their diet to decrease their total amount of calories do. I would personally opt to just eat an extra snack or helping of dinner- but it seems like you really don't want to eat more so this is my suggestion to you! good luck!

rlwzgd

That sounds like a happy problem to have! Perhaps I'm way out there with this one, but isn't hunger your body's way of saying, "I need fuel, feed me now"? If you aren't hungry, then perhaps you don't need to eat?

Aside from that though, is it possible you might be drinking too much water? I know this sounds absurd and we all need at least 8 glasses a day, but here's where I'm coming from... Most of the time, when I think I'm hungry, I'm really just thirsty, so if I drink water, then I don't feel hungry. On the other hand, if you are utterly floating in water, your stomach will feel full but not have any nutrition. So you won't think about eating because your body thinks it has a lot of fuel to get through.

Otherwise, try adding quality calories to every meal... Trail mixes, nuts, etc are great options for snacks. I've also added things like a handful of grapes and a cheese stick or 1 scrambled egg and a piece of whole grain bread to make a sammie. Just a few more ideas to throw into the mix. Hope this was ok (it's my first post )

KeyMasterOfGozer

Look for foods with high unsaturated fats, especially mono-unsaturated fats. Those kinds of fats work to make you blood triglycerides and cholesterol better. Anything with high fats will get you more calories for less full. People are giving good examples above, like Nuts and Nut Butters. Hummus has some carbs, but it also if full of tahini, which is sesame paste, and has a lot of unsaturated oil.

radfordgal05

I do this everyday. So I usually end with a spoon of peanut butter. It is not really that filling so it doesn't bother me to eat it. A lot of times if I am falling short I eat the peanut butter while making dinner.

pucenavel

I end most days with 20-40 shelled peanuts (that's 40 individual peanuts, not 40 "pairs", mind you). High calories and slow burning fats for endurance workouts.

Pebble321

I think its about finding the balance between exercise and food - if you can't eat enough to sustain your exercise then you need to exercise less.
If you don't want to do this, look at more calorie dense foods, so you aren't increasing the volume so much but are getting more healthy cals. Avocado, olive oil, nuts and cheese come to mind.

Rae6503

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/410771-i-can-t-reach-my-calorie-goal-it-s-too-much-food

I eat 2500 calories when I don't work out. 2800 when I do.

Elleinnz

Time to look at what you eat - and incorporate some of the things back in that you would have eliminated initially to stay on low cals....this way you don't eat more bulk - but you get more calories :-)

good fats
avocado
salmon
bananas
nuts / nut butters
olives
eggs
high fat yoghurt / mayonnaise rather than low fat
pesto
some chocolate

these are some of the lovely foods I get to eat on high calorie days :-)

anubis609

Oh what the hell, everyone suggesting healthy calorie dense food... If you're really not hungry, eat a donut. It won't make you full. Just to add to the redundancy, make it semi-healthy; add some fresh nut butter.

healthyliving_girl

My favorites when I have too many calories or when I burn "too many" in a day:

avocado
almonds
pistachios (really, any nuts work)
granola

really, just a handful of nuts or a few slices of avocado on your sandwich will do it. THey are pretty high in calorie.

eddyca

Peanut Butter if I only need 200 cals
or something high in protein for example: 2 Chile Lime Chicken Burgers from Trader Joe's with a little bit of ketchup. Sometimes it takes me 30 - 60 min to force it down, but it's proven to be worth it

eddyca

Peanut Butter if I only need 200 cals
or something high in protein for example: 2 Chile Lime Chicken Burgers from Trader Joe's with a little bit of ketchup. Sometimes it takes me 30 - 60 min to force it down, but it's proven to be worth it

LillysGranny

Nuts, nut butters, avocado, olive oil on whole grain bread are all good ways to increase your calories. You may also find that you can average your deficit -- maybe leave 400 on a day when you workout a lot and none on your lighter days.

love22step

Since I started strength training, I haven't had many days with a large excess of calories. Lifting weights seems to increase my appetite.

1234IWORKOUT5678

I find that some days I go over my calorie goal and other days I can't seem to make it. I would say do what your body is telling you and if you don't feel like eating then don't eat. But if you do feel like eating, go for it!

MissGoHard

Thank you everyone!

So my choices are nuts, trail mixes, avocado, olive oil, decrease exercise, decrease cardio, increase strength training, peanut butter, play around with the deficit, eat more during the day, have a larger breakfats, eat more calorie dense foods, or just have a donut ( i love that one BTW... LOL) I have definitely learned a lot from everyone here! I have a lot of choices to work with now! THANK YOU!

Thanks for taking the time to read and reply!

Have a great weekend everyone!