Strength training + Eating Enough

zerot0nin

Hello Friends!

I'm fairly new to fitness and nutrition, and I've run into a worrisome issue. I'm currently very active: I hike for about an hour and a half 5 days a week and do fairly intense strength training 3x a week and high intensity / short interval cardio workouts + general strength training another 3 days a week. This, on top of working night shifts for 40 hours per week is a lot on my body and while I typically maintain a clean diet, I struggle to get enough calories in and often find myself feeling extremely hungry and feeling symptoms of not eating enough.

I'm 5'2 and weigh about 125 with a fair amount of muscle and am not trying to lose any weight at this point (though I am interested in gaining muscle and losing fat). I'm currently trying to eat 1800 calories at least, but often wind up eating a total of ~1500. This is based off of MFP's calculations HOWEVER, because it doesn't factor in calories burned during weight lifting and other strength exercises, I'm worried that I'm eating at a severe calorie deficit which is not healthy.

Any input? Again, I'm very new to this and any and all advice is welcomed.

Happy days!

moustache_flavored_lube

Look for some higher calorie foods to boost your calories.

nuts, avocado, oils, seeds, trail mix are all quite calorie dense foods....

Smoothies are a great way to add healthy calories that don't make you feel too full.

Also adding a sport drink (I like cytomax) while you are working out will add calories, enhance performance, and boost recovery