Quality of Calories?

vcinri

If it is recommended you eat a certain amount of calories a day for your particular needs does this mean your calories can come from ay source?

In other words, do these calories have to come from plain brown rice, chicken breast, and other super clean foods or can they come from a homemade tuna or chicken salad with reduced or reduced calorie mayonnaise as an example?

I believe I am consuming far less calories than I should but am afraid to eat anything other than super clean foods.
I am doing about 2000 calories per day when my TDEE is calculated at 4528. I can not imagine consuming 3600 calories per day as recommended.

I guess the real question here is it permissible to consume more calorie dense foods to reach the caloric needs?
Not junk food of course but foods like full fat cottage cheese, cheese, mayonnaise, whole grain breads etc..

My job has my activity level off the charts and I am not losing weight at 2000 cals. per day. I am reluctant to eat more because I feel I will gain.

I am not sure but I think I am shutting down my body with too little food for my TDEE.

If I were to up my calories what foods should be considered?

Thanks,

SenseiCole

personal, I would eat clean


this is for me and anyone who has not looked after there body as we should have

We can reverse years of damage to our bodies by deciding to raise our standards for ourselves, then living differently. Old wounds heal, injuries repair, and the whole system improves with just a few changes in what we put into our bodies and how we move them.

JessHealthKick

I try to eat clean 90% of the time. Some people say IIFYM (If it fits your macros) but there is a lot more to food than fat/carbs/protein. It's vital you get all the nutrients your body needs to function properly.

If your TDEE is seriously 4000+ then you really should be eating more. In terms of HOW to eat more, you should definitely be avoiding non-fat products and be eating more carbohydrates to burn throughout the day. Snack on fruit + dip, sweet potatoes, etc etc.

It is important to try and eat within your macros though, such as getting enough protein and not too many carbs (which is harder at first than you would expect).

Good luck!

Lumen1505

From my experience (not an expert by any means) I have more energy filling up on 'clean, healthy filling' whatever you want to call them type foods than I would consuming the same about in a McDonalds etc. My skin is clearer, my eyes brighter and I have more 'bounce' If you are struggling adding olive oil or nuts to your diet can help :flowerforyou:

taunto

If it is recommended you eat a certain amount of calories a day for your particular needs does this mean your calories can come from ay source?

Its optimal for your FITNESS related goals to go with a macro plan. However, for most folks starting out that can be overwhelming and it doesn't really affect weight loss so I don't recommend them worrying about it. For now, just eat under calories from ANY source. If you wanna eat ice cream all day, go for it. Just bread, thats fine. Cheetos are good. Or if you wanna add variety of nutrition and bad food, thats something I recommend. So veggies, meats and then a little bit of junk food as a snack (I keep about 10-15% of my calories reserved for ice cream!)

In other words, do these calories have to come from plain brown rice, chicken breast, and other super clean foods or can they come from a homemade tuna or chicken salad with reduced or reduced calorie mayonnaise as an example?

Once you get the hang of your eating habits (AKA, eating under calories) then you should tackle the macros. The macros can come from any source. Olive oil, doritos, beans, lean meats etc. The good thing about eating with macros is that you most of the time HAVE to eat properly to get your macros. Once you hit the macros, you can eat whatever you wish. Heres a link but ignore this till you get the calories under control since that is more important

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets

[/quote]I believe I am consuming far less calories than I should but am afraid to eat anything other than super clean foods.
I am doing about 2000 calories per day when my TDEE is calculated at 4528. I can not imagine consuming 3600 calories per day as recommended.
[/quote]

The link gives you a link to figure out your TDEE. You have to be extremely overweight to be at 4500 TDEE. Also notice that in the begining, if you have a HUGE weight loss (like 100+ lbs) then you can easily afford to go "too low" in calories but make sure you don't starve yourself.

I guess the real question here is it permissible to consume more calorie dense foods to reach the caloric needs?
Not junk food of course but foods like full fat cottage cheese, cheese, mayonnaise, whole grain breads etc..

Anytime in the past I avoided junk food I ended up binging over them once a week or once every 2 weeks. Better to eat a bit of junk food in moderation. If you can avoid them completely, go for it but for the starting, remember to keep your calories under control which means binging should be avoided which means eating junk food in moderation here and there is fine as long as they don't put you ahead of your calories.

My job has my activity level off the charts and I am not losing weight at 2000 cals. per day. I am reluctant to eat more because I feel I will gain.

You know your activity level better than anyone else. Just know that VERY VERY few people are sedenatory.

I am not sure but I think I am shutting down my body with too little food for my TDEE.

If you feel like your body is craving food, eat. If you're getting headaches etc then eat. Start slow. Calculate your TDEE and cut down 20% off of it. If you aren't seeing steady results then might be worth reviewing your calories allowed and/or how much calories you're really eating (I used to underestimate my calories)

If I were to up my calories what foods should be considered?

Already been answered but I wanted to say one last thing. Be prepared for falling down. If you endup binging etc don't curse yourself. Just try to work it out or move on.

Thanks,
[/quote]

Francl27

90% clean here (I do consider whole grain stuff mostly clean). Some days I need the extra 10% 'junk' to meet my calorie goal anyway. And it stops you from binging, after a while.

But to start I'd get rid of all the food that causes you to binge, or it will be harder.

RllyGudTweetr

"Eating clean" is an extraordinarily nebulous concept that doesn't appear to mean the same thing to any five people you might ask. Barring specific health issues or allergies, the best general advice is to watch your calorie intake while maintaining a healthy macro intake: protein and fiber at or above the (generally considered very low) MFP guidelines, with sufficient fats and carbs.

If you focus on these things, you'll often find yourself making healthier food choices, simply because there's less room in your diet for empty calories.

JessHealthKick

"Eating clean" is an extraordinarily nebulous concept that doesn't appear to mean the same thing to any five people you might ask.

that's true. To me, clean means not processed at all. So fresh vegetables, fresh meat, fresh fruit andddd maybe some brown rice (but that is borderline processed). I try to get locally grown produce but it can be hard - who knew blueberries from Mexico could be so cheap in Japan :laugh:

I do have soymilk and normal milk in there and would say it's borderline too (I'm hoping to change to almond milk when I can find some!)

Barring specific health issues or allergies, the best general advice is to watch your calorie intake while maintaining a healthy macro intake: protein and fiber at or above the (generally considered very low) MFP guidelines, with sufficient fats and carbs.

If you focus on these things, you'll often find yourself making healthier food choices, simply because there's less room in your diet for empty calories.

can't agree more - I try got 30g fibre a day and 100g protein and find my body is so much happier this way! I generally only get my carbs from fruit, vegetables and sweet potatoes and this means it's never above 200g. The moment you reach for white bread you know you're going to be in trouble :ohwell:

Will_Thrust_For_Candy

I guess the real question here is it permissible to consume more calorie dense foods to reach the caloric needs?
Not junk food of course but foods like full fat cottage cheese, cheese, mayonnaise, whole grain breads etc..

Yes! Eat the foods you mentioned above! There are 4 food groups and eat them all! Cheese, yogurt, milk are all fantastic sources of protein! Throw a little mayo in your tuna.....count it and be done! There are plenty of nutritious ways you can make calories add up quickly....peanut butter, nuts, avocado, good fats like EVOO or coconut oil if you prefer. If you want some "junk" in there then have it, but count it. Hit your macros and focus on your protein and it's all good Don't make it super complicated. This is all about calories in vs calories out. What you will find is that whole foods make you full and keep you full for much longer than processed foods will

Good luck :flowerforyou: