What to eat to get minimum calories in a day

Godzirra

Hey guys! Let me start by saying I've read most of the stickies. Actually all of them... some more than once. That being said, a little about me.

MFP says I should eat around 2200 calories a day.

So I've started exercising. A lot. (For me at least). I'm training for a 5k (I'm 6'4 and about 294 lbs, and not in shape at all).

I'm running Monday and Fridays, soccer on saturdays and I've started carrying around a fitbit to keep track of how I'm doing all day. My main problem I've been having is that on exercise days (ESPECIALLY soccer days) I need to eat roughly 3200 calories a day.

How? I have no idea what to eat to get up to that many calories. I usually eat dinner like normal then have a second meal after soccer since I'm starving by then,but usually even then I'm ~500 calories under.

Its not made any easier by the fact that I dislike most vegetables and fish.

Any suggestions would be helpful.

Thanks!

Jesse_Hunter

any kinds of oils, nuts, seeds, peanut butter, rice, breads, pasta, oatmeal.

Peanut butter is 190 calories per 2 tbsp.

questiontheanswers

All of the above. Also, avocados are another calorie-dense (and delicious) food.

ETA: Go with whole grains on the rice, breads, etc., if you're going to use them. I try to use them sparingly and don't really use them to bump up my calories. Nuts, seeds, PB, avocado, though - those are in regular rotation in my diet! Olive oil as well, to a lesser extent.

Godzirra

Thanks!

I usually do whole grain on the bread, and I love peanut butter. Not a fan of avocado unfortunately. I love almonds and plenty of other mixed nuts, as well as pasta so adding these shouldn't be too hard. Any to stay away from in particular?

Jesse_Hunter

Thanks!

I usually do whole grain on the bread, and I love peanut butter. Not a fan of avocado unfortunately. I love almonds and plenty of other mixed nuts, as well as pasta so adding these shouldn't be too hard. Any to stay away from in particular?

Try Ezekiel bread if you never have, you can normally find it in the freezer section. It is 100% sprouted grain bread, really good quality.

Well, I mean it is going to vary from person to person as far as opinions on what to eat and what not to eat. Personally, I eat a diet similar to "Paleo" and I feel fantastic. If you are doing a lot of long endurance cardio and burning A LOT of calories, you may have to eat whatever sometimes to gain back those calories. I know people who carry nothing but twinkles and candy bars when they go on hikes or cycling trips, ha ha.

Personally, the main things I avoid are flour and refined sugars. I eat tons of fruit, sometimes I eat huge meals entirely of fruit. Regardless, fruit is still a low calorie high water content food, so it may not be ideal if you are eating on the go constantly.

As far as things to avoid...Honestly if you are just curious from a weight loss perspective, you don't need to worry too much about it. You need to replace those calories, and unless you are eating 3-500 calories over what you need daily, you're not going to gain weight. Twinkles or fruits and veggies, it doesn't matter (I don't care what anyone says).

However, my main concern is optimal health. This is why I choose not to eat refined sugars and junk food. I feel that perform my best on a natural diet of mostly raw foods and lean meats.

Again though, Even though i don't eat those foods, If I find myself on a long hike where I have burned 1000 calories, I'm going to eat whatever I feel like I need to in order to replace those calories, period. At the end of the day that is your biggest concern here.

Sorry to ramble, i guess my point is just that what to eat is very subjective. I hope this all helps man!

Godzirra

It definitely does, and answered my next question, which was basically whether or not it mattered what I ate on long exercise days.

I don't do long endurance runs or anything (yet) but eventually thats my goal. I'm signing up for a 5k in November (my first one ever ) and I'm doing the couch to 5k to get ready, so I'm pretty excited.

Other than soccer (about 2.5 hours of constant running) on Wednesday, I really only do my 30-40 minutes of training on Monday and Friday for the 5k. I'm going to try and start doing more pushups and squats on my non cardio days to try and help out as well.

Thank you very much for the advice. Its all been helpful.