Total Calories or Net

Darius66
Darius66 Posts: 62 Member
in Food and Nutrition
So I have been having a hard time eating enough to get close to my net goal.

Example:

I ate 1,575 calories on Tuesday and burned 759 with my workout. Leaving me at 816 net. My goal is 1950. I already had to eat all kinds of little snacks like almonds, and rice snacks to even get up to thatnumber but was still only at 816 net because of my work out.

Some days are not so extreme but I find myself usually below not only my total net for the day but usually below the actual total before burning as well.

I am losing about 2lbs per week at a steady pace and will be satisfied hunger wise after I have the snacks trying to catch up.

Should I continue at this pace or should I just start eating as close to the net calories total as possible?

Replies

  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Dude...you're going to hit the wall fast and hard doing that, not only that, you're going to sacrafice a lot of lean body mass in the process. When I was losing I was grossing 2100-2200 calories per day and netting around 1850 to lose 1 Lb per week per my goal.

    Cool if you want to shoot for a little more, but your net calories really shouldn't be below 1,575 calories. Hell, there's chicks on this site that are netting far more than you are right now. Even short, old women shouldn't net below 1,000 calories per day.
  • Darius66
    Darius66 Posts: 62 Member
    Never thought in a million years I would be saying this but.... How the heck do I eat more calories?! I usually feel satisfied by bedtime and have so far to go to eat more.
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,487 Member
    Never thought in a million years I would be saying this but.... How the heck do I eat more calories?! I usually feel satisfied by bedtime and have so far to go to eat more.

    Quit eating the diet food crap and eat real food. Problem solved.
  • MercenaryNoetic26
    MercenaryNoetic26 Posts: 2,747 Member

    Quit eating the diet food crap and eat real food. Problem solved.

    Pretty much. :laugh:
  • RAEQ127
    RAEQ127 Posts: 106 Member
    I notice on days I'm more active and therefore burning more calories I'm not as hungry... go figure right? Have additional protein calories. Whole milk (I don't do skim because of the additives), treat yourself to a hamburger on the days you're burning a lot. Those are the days I get to eat out, or have something really great for desert. If you can't stomach much I suggest a protein shake.
  • ShaunaMcMac
    ShaunaMcMac Posts: 160 Member
    Never thought in a million years I would be saying this but.... How the heck do I eat more calories?! I usually feel satisfied by bedtime and have so far to go to eat more.

    Quit eating the diet food crap and eat real food. Problem solved.

    ^ Yup, eat calorie dense foods. You have the right idea with nuts, add peanut butter, cheese, whole milk, whole eggs, BACON... oops, did I yell that last one... it's just that I love BACON
  • CyberEd312
    CyberEd312 Posts: 3,536 Member
    Never thought in a million years I would be saying this but.... How the heck do I eat more calories?! I usually feel satisfied by bedtime and have so far to go to eat more.

    Quit eating the diet food crap and eat real food. Problem solved.

    QFT
  • mycupyourcake
    mycupyourcake Posts: 279 Member
    Go to your fridge, take a stick of butter out, sprinkle sugar on it and stuff it down your throat...or enjoy it.

    Kidding. Ok, try eating natural nut butters with apples and celery. Avocados will also do the trick. Cut one up and sprinkle some salt, pepper, cumin and paprika on it. Don't eat bacon unless you like it. There is nothing healthy about that crap.
  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
    I would agree on ditching the diet food - it's pushing you over the top on sodium too. Although a couple of days it was Rubio's, which is totally forgivable - I love Rubio's!! :love: Even if their sodium is off the charts.

    Ahem. Anyway, the Lean Cuisines and that sort of thing aren't all that great for ya. Do you not like to cook? Do you have a BBQ or can you get one? Grill yourself up a bunch of chicken or pork tenderloin and veggies - great for dinner and for lunch the next day. Easy to prepare and clean up, and much better for you.

    I'd skip the breakfast cereal and start eating eggs, whole eggs, no egg beaters. :tongue: Fry them in some good coconut oil, and have a slice of toast with a little real butter. Slice up some avocado and grab a bit of salsa for the eggs - tasty breakfast!

    Snack on sliced apples dipped in peanut or almond butter. Or apples with a cheese stick are a good combo, too. Get plain Greek yogurt, toss in some fresh blueberries and drizzle with honey. Throw in a handful of chopped walnuts or almonds. Or take that whole mixture and add it to oatmeal for breakfast - one of my faves.

    Getting all your calories in is important. If you can't get your intake up enough to net a good amount, then you might need to cut back on the high burn workouts.
  • Darius66
    Darius66 Posts: 62 Member
    I am a bad cook and the diet frozen foods saved me from fast food and huge portions with nasty fried foods.

    I should really try and evolve my diet into something more I just haven't really known where to start.

    I am going to take some of these ideas with me to the grocery store tonight.

    Thanks!
  • LaurenAOK
    LaurenAOK Posts: 2,475 Member
    Never thought in a million years I would be saying this but.... How the heck do I eat more calories?! I usually feel satisfied by bedtime and have so far to go to eat more.

    Quit eating the diet food crap and eat real food. Problem solved.

    This!

    Eat full fat sour cream instead of fat free, whole milk instead of skim, etc. And for heavens sakes swing by Taco Bell every once in a while :laugh:

    Also, I'm not sure what your workouts are, but you really don't need to be burning 800 calories in a day. If you're doing something you really enjoy, like you're a long distance runner or something, then obviously it's fine to burn that much. But if you're just exercising for weight loss, maybe lighten it up a little?
  • aubrie917
    aubrie917 Posts: 41 Member
    Dear god... Don't listen to the people saying to eat full fat dairy products. Listen to the ones talking about avocado and natural nut butters. Those have good fats. There are nine calories in each gram of fat. Each gram of protein has 4 calories...so does each gram of carbs. So the easiest way to get the extra calories is by adding good fats. BUT...the most important thing is protein. So get more protein. Add another quest bar each day if you have to. Stuff like that.
  • jzammetti
    jzammetti Posts: 1,956 Member

    Quit eating the diet food crap and eat real food. Problem solved.

    Pretty much. :laugh:

    Yup. :drinker:
  • jzammetti
    jzammetti Posts: 1,956 Member
    Dear god... Don't listen to the people saying to eat full fat dairy products. Listen to the ones talking about avocado and natural nut butters. Those have good fats. There are nine calories in each gram of fat. Each gram of protein has 4 calories...so does each gram of carbs. So the easiest way to get the extra calories is by adding good fats. BUT...the most important thing is protein. So get more protein. Add another quest bar each day if you have to. Stuff like that.

    There is nothing rong with full fat milk or cheese, etc...or ice cream for that matter.
  • aubrie917
    aubrie917 Posts: 41 Member
    There is plenty wrong with everything dairy. We are not meant to consume milk.
  • Diamond05
    Diamond05 Posts: 475 Member
    Dear god... Don't listen to the people saying to eat full fat dairy products. Listen to the ones talking about avocado and natural nut butters. Those have good fats. There are nine calories in each gram of fat. Each gram of protein has 4 calories...so does each gram of carbs. So the easiest way to get the extra calories is by adding good fats. BUT...the most important thing is protein. So get more protein. Add another quest bar each day if you have to. Stuff like that.

    There is nothing rong with full fat milk or cheese, etc...or ice cream for that matter.

    That's true! And the reason they have been saying everywhere to eat the full fat products is its because the fat is usually replaced by a load of salt or sugar.... Just have them in moderation.

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