Calories vs Type of Food???

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scpdxb
scpdxb Posts: 17 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Looking for some advice here... I'm currently burning up loads of calories training, on average 800 per day and on the weekend 1200... I know I need to eat these calories back but I feel like I am eating soooo much food (goal is 1600 per day before exercise) so most of time when I actually eat them back I feel too full. This is because I'm not eating anything unhealthy, so I am trying to get the extra calories from foods that are generally low calorie. Is it better to stuff myself full of healthy food or just eat the calories back easily by just having a big bad of crisps or box of chocolates or something?? Or doesn't it make a difference?

Also out of interest, if I had say 50 calories left over at the end of a day but was hungry, would it be better to eat a 100 calorie healthy snack like nuts or fruit, or a 50 calorie unhealthy snack like chips or chocolate (albeit it would be a smaller amount).

Replies

  • workitash
    workitash Posts: 7
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    I'd rather eat low calorie foods but more of it. I eat chips and junk food and I'm hungry two seconds after I've eaten :-/
  • vodkoffee
    vodkoffee Posts: 160 Member
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    How about nuts? They have a high caloric density. Also smoothies and protein shakes.
  • I_love_frogs
    I_love_frogs Posts: 340 Member
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    Easy to raise the cals and not eat as much....

    ~~higher fat milk instead of skim
    ~~higher calorie cottage cheese
    ~~real food instead of processed low fat stuff
    ~~add a handful of nuts
    ~~eat a serving of PB
    ~~real salad dressing and not the diet kind

    Its amazing how much better it tastes <at least to me> AND I am not changing the amount of food I am eating :)

    Also... I have heard before that it doesn't really matter if you are on top of your goal, since all the calorie approximations are really educated guesses regarding your burn and your food intake. As long as you are 100 +/- your goal you should be in the ball park from what people have told me.
  • alliemoore12
    alliemoore12 Posts: 1
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    I definitely think it is more important to eat more healthy calories than less sugary calories. It's not just about the number of calories consumed, but the nutrients you are getting (or not getting.)
  • ahavoc
    ahavoc Posts: 464 Member
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    Avocados, peanut butter, nuts, there's many ways to augment what you eat with calorie dense foods. Find some that will work with your food choice menus
  • avir8
    avir8 Posts: 671 Member
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    Also out of interest, if I had say 50 calories left over at the end of a day but was hungry, would it be better to eat a 100 calorie healthy snack like nuts or fruit, or a 50 calorie unhealthy snack like chips or chocolate.

    Stop eating when you're full

    Why don't you eat half of the 100cal healthy snack instead of the 50cal chips? FYI They would both equal 50cal
  • adbohls
    adbohls Posts: 156 Member
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    If I had the will to resist, I would go for the healthy snacks vs. chips. However, having a treat once in a while is not a bad thing either. The suggestions for calorie dense healty choices are the best ideas.
  • ErinRibbens
    ErinRibbens Posts: 370 Member
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    If you are training that hard you will want to eat as nutritious as possible. Just because a food is nutritious doesn't necessarily mean lo-cal. Have some guacamole or nuts, peanut butter, switch to full fat dairy or do what I did and have a huge steak for dinner. :tongue:
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,554 Member
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    Healthy foods and low calorie foods aren't necessarily the same thing.
    Eat real food, not diet food and you won't have any trouble reaching your cals.

    Here's some examples of what I mean by healthy foods:
    Eggs, salmon, rice, red meat, olive oil, avocado, cheese, Greek yoghurt, dark chocolate, nuts.
    Easy!
  • JulsCFdelouest
    JulsCFdelouest Posts: 4 Member
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    why do you feel you "need" to eat these calories back? They are a) probably not accurate and b) if you are eating loads of veges, meat/fish, a bit of good fat, no sugar, easy on the starch, you actually don;t need to count calories to achieve optimal results from a body composition or performance perspective.

    What are your goal exactly? Sorry, I did not take a second to look at your profile, actually I don;t even know if I can! lol
  • sanibelshell
    sanibelshell Posts: 23 Member
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    In addition to the good foods listed above: beans (high in fiber too) and soy or whey protein powder.

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