How can I increase my calories?!

m0rganfarrell · May 2013

I've just started tracking my food intake and I'm having a lot of trouble making it to my daily calorie goal. I'm always WAY under!

How can I increase my calories (the healthy way) without stuffing myself too much? I find that I'm just not that hungry but I don't my body to eventually go into starvation mode! Help me!

kellehbeans · May 2013

Add nuts, nut butters, full fat dairy products, avocado, extra protein e.g. eggs or more meat to a meal. There's loads of posts on this about. I personally love adding peanut butter to my breakfast! :-)

mazdauk · May 2013

Don't eat low-fat versions of anything. Make sure you are eating at least three "proper" meals a day - ideally containing some protein, fat and carb. Also weigh what your eating - I'm a good guesser at "solids" like cheese and butter, but things like dry pasta and cereal really need to be weighed - a portion looks tiny if you have a great big bowl!

ETA while salads and veg are an important part of your diet, don't have so much of thsoe that there's no room for the other elements.!

vorgas · May 2013

I find when faced with seemingly impossible tasks like this to break it up into smaller goals that can be obtained.

For example, see if you could add a protein shake first thing in the morning for a week. Next week, eat a handful of nuts right after you workout. Week after that, put some milk in that protein shake. etc, etc. Next thing you know, you're hitting that goal.

Mokey41 · May 2013

Quit trying to live on nothing. You're eating very little and it's mostly vegetables. Eat full fat dairy, nuts, peanut butter, add oils, eggs, lean meats. Living on skim milk and vegetables is not a healthy diet.