Can't Eat Enough

danimalkeys

I'm having a hard time hitting my target calories, which is 2700 (TDEE-20%). Yesterday after dinner I still had 1200 left! I ended up having cheese, peanut butter, a couple protein bars, and some almond milk and still ended up 500 calories short. I thought my dinner was going to be good enough to close the gap I had left for the day. I had 8oz of pork tenderloin, rice and salad, and it was only 600 calories. Breakfast was a 580cal protein shake. Lunch, a chicken wrap that was 313cal, so I knew I had a lot to make up, but the pork didn't get it done.

Part of my problem is I don't like to eat early, usually I wait til after I do my cardio. I work at home and sometimes it's 10am before I get that done, so my 1st meal is at 11. I know I have to change that.

Overall, I feel like I'm eating more than I did when I wasn't trying to lose weight.

My weight has stayed constant since I started this program. I retook measurements yesterday and lost an inch of my waist and hips and recalculated my BF and I lost 1%, so thats good.

chubby_checkers

Add oil when cooking
Avocado on your wrap
Full fat dressing on your salad
Nuts/seeds as a topping on your salad (and bacon bits and croutons!!)
Full fat dairy products (if/when you use them)

With a calorie goal of 2700, you can't really do the "diet" foods. Do you snack at all or just meals? Throwing a couple of snacks in would help. I can't see your diary so can't tell what you do; just throwing out suggestions.

danimalkeys

I understand the can't do the diet foods at 2700. I definitely snack/graze as much as I can.

The problem with using full fat versions of things, and seeds/nuts and avocados is then my macros end up being like 45% fat. I'm targeting 40 carb, 30 protein and fat.

I'll open up my diary.

Thanks for the reply!

sagj

I agree with the previous poster on sneeking in calorie dense healthy foods when possible, such as nuts, nut butters, dried fruit, avocados, and olive oil.

Right now I'm eating at TDEE which is 2750 for me. It was hard getting up here but there were a couple points that helped.

1. Calorie dense foods-a handful of cashews can do wonders
2. Tracking my meals from 5 PM to 5 PM-Basically from dinner to the next afternoon's snack. That way you are not trying to cram in a bunch of calories right before bed.
3. Planning out the day of eating the night before-this is a lot easier if you cook your own food, generally eat the same thing daily,or at least have some control over your options. Some people just don't have this as an option but it is something to consider if you can. It also works well with the 5 to 5 in #2.
4. Start eating as early as possible-I workout first thing in the morning so I'm hungry anyway. If know you don't like eating early but if you want to try know that if you do it consistantly for a while your body will get use to it. It may also give you more energy to power through your workouts.
5.Cut back on cardio-I know, I know, cardio is good for you but it certainly adds to your calorie needs. I cut mine back because otherwise my TDEE is between 2800-3000 calories. I just didn't want to eat that much. I'm doing cardio once a week and weight lifting four times. If you really can't get to your 2700 it is worth considering cutting back cardio so you can lower your TDEE-20% value.

hth :flowerforyou:

sagj

Also, I wouldn't get too worried over the total fat percentage unless you have a medical reason. When you have a high fat diet track saturated fat and make sure it is less than 10% of total calories and you should be good. Mono- and polyunsaturated fats are good for you and your heart. The Mediteranian diet is about 40% fat :happy:

You can also adjust as you get use to eating this many calories too. My macros have changed considerably as a figured out ways to make the higher calories work.

ladyace2078

I had to set mini-goals when I first started eating more. Even now I have to target getting no less than 1600 calories before dinner in order to even come close to 2400 by end of the day. I basically eat all morning to get most of my calories in.

Sounds like you have a later start to your day. You may find you have to adjust your meal times to fit your schedule. Your typical lunch may not be until 1 or 2.

danimalkeys

Thanks sagj! Good common sense things to work on.

I ate early today. A cup of cottage cheese, and just a little while ago had some eggs and leftover pork from last night. I just gotta be more disciplined about it.

I guess I could cut back on the cardio. I hate doing it, but I know it's important or my long term health. I was bordering on high bp at my last doc visit, after having it under control while doing my initial weight loss. When I cut back on the cardio, the bp went up. I could cut back on 2 days a week, and skip it on my lifting days, and change up the routine so it's shorter in duration, but harder.

misskym

I would really try to eat breakfast and save your protein shake for your 11am "snack." It's easier to meet your caloric goals if you eat a snack 2-3 hours after your meal. Breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, snack. If you can add in breakfast and additional snacks, you'll be closer to your goal at the end of the day. Also, you won't feel like you're stuffing your face after dinner trying to meet your goal because you're spreading your calories out evenly throughout the day.

sagj

Cutting cardio doesn't need to be forever either. I forgot to mention I'm only cutting it until I'm finished with reset and then adding it back in to help create a deficit. What you could do is cut it back, eat at the resulting TDEE-20% value until that is comfortable, then add cardio back and bring the calories back to 2700. That way you preserve your deficit while being more comfortable and allowing your body to have time to get use to what you are doing.

Shorter, high intensity cardio sessions also sound like a great idea. There are clear benefits to that type of training in terms of the metabolism

nellyett

I would also add that if you're not weighing or measuring your foods, you may want to do that for a bit. You may be eating more calories than you think if you're adding things like nuts and seeds especially. You'd be surprised at how small the portion sizes are!

amandacepstein

I just want to mention that while Conventional Wisdom trashes Saturated Fat, the evidence does not support that it is problematic for most (if not all) people. Don't be afraid of things like butter, coconut oil, and tallow, even lard is mostly monounsaturated fat. The real health risks come from things like corn and soy oil, recent human chemical inventions. Even those may turn out not to be horrible, but who knows for sure.

We DO know that undereating slows down metabolism, so number one is getting in the calories. When you can eat over 2500 you have room for cookies and ice cream too!

danimalkeys

I did good today, 345cals left after dinner. I had pasta with italian sausage and sauce, and garlic bread. 1235cals. Man have I missed pasta...

Going to treat myself to a midweek boubon.

Nellyett I weigh and measure everything.