Confused about calories- lots of food, little kcal :(

bluemorpho1247

Hey,
The past few days I have been doing really well eating, with around 1200kcal, (no exercise as yet, sometimes a 20 min boost-so not net kcal) and ive lost nearly 8lbs.

I decided to look into meals and plan a few to make my days easier, and im finding it really hard to keep above 1200 kcal and in the right place with carbs and fats!

My meals usually include things like this:
Breakfasts- usually a fibre-rich cereal, around 300kcal with milk OR Peanut butter on rice cake or toast
Lunches- 2 egg Omelette with mushrooms and olive oil OR small fish with vegetables and melted cheese (to higher kcal)
Dinners- Gammon with veg and egg OR Big fish portion with loads veg (again, cheese if needed) OR Chicken wrap with veg.
Additional- To make up kcal I eat extra meal, smaller versions of those above OR peanut butter on toast
Snacks- yoghurt

Even with all of this food I am not hitting enough calories and it is so hard to eat so much! I tried different combinations and still cant get it quite right. Carbs are bad for weight loss if they arent burned, but if workout to eliminate them, i need more calories and am back in the same position as before!!

Any advice? (NOT "Add oil or eat avocado" as i already add oils and avocado would make me go waaaay over fat...
Thanks

aymise

Don't worry so much about hitting the carbs, fat and protein numbers. Definitely use them as a guide so you know your meals are balanced, and all of your food isn't in one category, but going over one or another isn't going to ruin your weight loss as long as you stay within the proper calorie range. If you start hitting serious plateaus then you might consider tweaking or paying closer attention to these numbers, but the percentages they use are an estimate based off averages, and we all know no two people function the same way.

Additionally, carbs are not the enemy. Carbs are the first thing your body wants to burn regardless of whether you're working out or just sitting in front of a computer because they are the easiest thing for your body to burn. As long as your carbs are coming from healthy sources like grains, rice (brown and whole grain being better), fruits, and vegetables you really shouldn't worry too much about restricting them. The carbs which are the real enemy come from an abundance of processed sugars and refined flours, and people with a diet high in these are the ones the low carb diets help the most.

Definitely try adding in some fruit to your diet, in addition to upping your kcal, it'll give you a nice boost of vitamins.