Trouble with eating enough cals - healthy suggestions

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JessHealthKick
JessHealthKick Posts: 800 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hey there :smile:

So I have upped my intake to 1400 a day (was on 1200 for a while). Before I get the posts about it being bad for my metabolism, let me tell you that mine is already slow. I have hypothyroid and I won't go into details, but it's very confusing for me to argue with Drs (apparently their textbook says 'patient only hypothyroid if blood work shows they are still out of the range', so even though my hormones are acceptable and I'm no longer on hormone treatments, I can assure you the symptoms are still there)!

Anyway, now that I exercise a lot I simply battle to eat the 1900+ cals a day. I don't want to go eat a big mac or demolish a cake (usually) and I don't like to eat gluten (bloating, cramps, though I'm not celiac). I have a sweet tooth for black chocolate but tend to reign that it as much as possible! My adviser at the gym told me to eat 1600 a day (when exercising), with my BMR of 1400, but I would prefer to eat more.

I really like having many healthy whole foods, and I hate feeling really full. Since living in Japan I adjusted to the smaller servings here and am much better for it, but with this exercise I need to be eating more than just 1600!

So any healthy suggestions? My diary is open so you get an idea of what I have on a normal day. None of this 'have a teaspoon of PB' stuff, sorry I am not American :tongue: (this seems to be something you guys LOVE!). No blenders here - I'm a student so there are some limitations to what I have access to in my dorm.

I can feel my body sending me hunger signs, but I have just eating a bunch of sashimi and edamame as well as afull-cream milk protein shake that I am battling to have the tofu as well.

I'm going to try have some pistachio nuts and almonds later tonight :) thanks in advance for reading my mini-essay!

edit: I drink water like no tomorrow - horrible migraines if I don't.

Replies

  • shivles
    shivles Posts: 468 Member
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    Your diary looks great tbh! For extra calories maybe a handful of nuts or some avocado with salad, do you not like peanut butter at all? I like it with apple slices or on crackers. I notice a lot of chicken, maybe try mixing it up with some beef
  • JessHealthKick
    JessHealthKick Posts: 800 Member
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    Your diary looks great tbh! For extra calories maybe a handful of nuts or some avocado with salad, do you not like peanut butter at all? I like it with apple slices or on crackers. I notice a lot of chicken, maybe try mixing it up with some beef

    Hey! Yeah this week has been chicken filled.. I had beef on Tuesday (I think) and I got so sick afterwards. Sounds strange, but I am fine with processed beef/pork mix (I use it occasionally for meatballs), but can't deal with whole-beef. Plus there are countless health reasons to avoid it anyway :P

    YES I forgot beautiful avocados, one of my favourites. Thanks for reminding me, will get on to that next week :D

    edit: well, let's be honest - not the best oils are in there... right? I quite like PB, just don't see it as something which I should be in a habit of eating. I'm Aussie, I should be eating Vegemite (i.e. sodium bomb)
  • shivles
    shivles Posts: 468 Member
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    No it's not completely saintly but does still have some healthy fats and provides a good few extra calories.

    Beef isn't bad as long as its lean, good quality and you don't eat it all the time. Try other oily fish too
  • bostonwolf
    bostonwolf Posts: 3,038 Member
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    Jess,

    I was going to recommend mixed nuts if they are available. I lived in Japan briefly and can't remember ever buying nuts there so hopefully they aren't too expensive. A good-sized handful is probably 200 calories and will really fill you up. A good quality protein powder like Isopure might be an option too. You can get a 3lb jug here for about $35-$40 dollars. I usually add two tablespoons of chia seeds to my shakes as well. 120 calories of fat, healhty carbs and lots of micronutrients.

    They have no taste but the texture can be a little slimy. Think "uni" :)
  • JessHealthKick
    JessHealthKick Posts: 800 Member
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    Jess,

    I was going to recommend mixed nuts if they are available. I lived in Japan briefly and can't remember ever buying nuts there so hopefully they aren't too expensive. A good-sized handful is probably 200 calories and will really fill you up. A good quality protein powder like Isopure might be an option too. You can get a 3lb jug here for about $35-$40 dollars. I usually add two tablespoons of chia seeds to my shakes as well. 120 calories of fat, healhty carbs and lots of micronutrients.

    They have no taste but the texture can be a little slimy. Think "uni" :)

    thanks for your suggestions! yes I love my chia seeds, always have a generous dessert spoon in the morning at breakfast. I have been using a weight-down protein (only about 75cals a serving) but I may need to start taking a normal powder if this keeps up.

    luckily I learnt early from my boyfriend that Japanese love online shopping for NORMAL products... such as toilet paper, tissues... and toilet seats (should have seen my face when I took that delivery for my boyfriend's housemate... Japanese and their crazy techno toilets). So yeah, stocked up on some nuts and seeds from online Amazon :) opening the packets as we speak ;)

    Thanks again guys!
  • JessHealthKick
    JessHealthKick Posts: 800 Member
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    No it's not completely saintly but does still have some healthy fats and provides a good few extra calories.

    Beef isn't bad as long as its lean, good quality and you don't eat it all the time. Try other oily fish too

    yeah, it's a contentious issue! I eat salmon basically every day, but definitely need to get comfortable with cooking/preparing other fish... even though salmon was clearly made by the gods as it tastes like HEAVEN raw or cooked! Raw tuna is great too :) and mackerel!
  • stealthq
    stealthq Posts: 4,298 Member
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    I'm wondering if you have peanut or any nut/seed butters there where the ingredients are just the nuts/seeds - no salt, no other oils/flavorings? All good fats and oils, then :)

    Other alternatives are adding more olive/grapeseed/flax/walnut oil to your diet if you want to add more good fats. You can add them to smoothies or just cook with more. I don't do the add it to the smoothie thing - can't stand the taste and texture - but others swear they don't notice.
  • JessHealthKick
    JessHealthKick Posts: 800 Member
    Options
    I'm wondering if you have peanut or any nut/seed butters there where the ingredients are just the nuts/seeds - no salt, no other oils/flavorings? All good fats and oils, then :)

    Other alternatives are adding more olive/grapeseed/flax/walnut oil to your diet if you want to add more good fats. You can add them to smoothies or just cook with more. I don't do the add it to the smoothie thing - can't stand the taste and texture - but others swear they don't notice.

    Yeah I need to get back on the flaxseed bandwagon actually, thanks for reminding me! I don't have any means to make a smoothie, and no point buying a maker since I am moving home in 4 months (back to my country). I would love some organic peanut butter, unfortunately finding peanut better alone is hard enough in Japan haha! But I do love my fresh honey, I have great neighbours back in Sydney who always gift us their honey. Yum yum!

    Well, when my payment comes through off to amazon it is to get me some flax seed. Thanks guys :)
  • lisadlocks
    lisadlocks Posts: 212 Member
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    You noticed you have a sweet tooth for black chocolate. The higher the cocao number 85% plus (the darker the chocolate), the higher the fat content and the lower the sugar content. Read the labels. This should be a nice addition to go with your nuts.
  • JessHealthKick
    JessHealthKick Posts: 800 Member
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    You noticed you have a sweet tooth for black chocolate. The higher the cocao number 85% plus (the darker the chocolate), the higher the fat content and the lower the sugar content. Read the labels. This should be a nice addition to go with your nuts.

    who would say no to eating more chocolate?? I will hunt for some 85%, 90% is my favourite but is hard to come by!
  • rmontpetit
    rmontpetit Posts: 31 Member
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    Hey! Yeah this week has been chicken filled.. I had beef on Tuesday (I think) and I got so sick afterwards. Sounds strange, but I am fine with processed beef/pork mix (I use it occasionally for meatballs), but can't deal with whole-beef. Plus there are countless health reasons to avoid it anyway :P

    If you don't like beef you may want to start with pork the teast is less strong. and still less lean than chiken I don't know the kind of meat are available were you are but Ostrich, kangourou, horse and bison meat have different teast and can be nice choice.
  • JessHealthKick
    JessHealthKick Posts: 800 Member
    Options

    Hey! Yeah this week has been chicken filled.. I had beef on Tuesday (I think) and I got so sick afterwards. Sounds strange, but I am fine with processed beef/pork mix (I use it occasionally for meatballs), but can't deal with whole-beef. Plus there are countless health reasons to avoid it anyway :P

    If you don't like beef you may want to start with pork the teast is less strong. and still less lean than chiken I don't know the kind of meat are available were you are but Ostrich, kangourou, horse and bison meat have different teast and can be nice choice.

    hey!

    It's nothing to do with flavour - I loveeee pork and like beef as well. My stomach doesn't like steak that much, that's all. I love kangaroo meat, I'll have to wait until I'm back in Aus!

    But for health reasons I want to avoid red anyway, whether or not claims are true, there are too many arrows pointing to heart disease and such in relation to red meat.
  • rmontpetit
    rmontpetit Posts: 31 Member
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    But for health reasons I want to avoid red anyway, whether or not claims are true, there are too many arrows pointing to heart disease and such in relation to red meat.

    For the heart desease it is more if you eat it really often and fatty one . Ostrich, kangourou and horse are less fatty than bison and beef.

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