Cant seem to eat enough calories!!! and still eat healthy...

Lpeterson189
Lpeterson189 Posts: 31 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Can anyone help me out with food/recipe/meal ideas here? My diary is open so you can see what I'm eating. I'm aiming for 1400 calories a day, but with my workouts its really hard for me to eat my calories.

I don't want to go into starvation mode, but 1) I am not hungry enough during the day to eat that much 2) its hard to find food that is higher in calories but still good for you (e.g., not a lot of fat, no trans fats, not a lot of sodium or sugars). There is only so much chicken a person can eat! :explode:

Any help is appreciated.

Replies

  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
    Can anyone help me out with food/recipe/meal ideas here? My diary is open so you can see what I'm eating. I'm aiming for 1400 calories a day, but with my workouts its really hard for me to eat my calories.

    I don't want to go into starvation mode, but 1) I am not hungry enough during the day to eat that much 2) its hard to find food that is higher in calories but still good for you (e.g., not a lot of fat, no trans fats, not a lot of sodium or sugars). There is only so much chicken a person can eat! :explode:

    Any help is appreciated.

    Seeing as fat in an of itself isn't unhealthy, nor are all trans fats, I say nuts, nut butters, oils, pasta, ice cream, avocados, full fat dairy, fatty cuts of meat etc etc
  • glovepuppet
    glovepuppet Posts: 1,710 Member
    fat isn't evil. nor are carbs.

    if you demonise normal food then you'll run out of things to eat.
  • pastryari
    pastryari Posts: 8,646 Member
    Eat whatever foods you like, hit cal/macro goals, profit.
  • vkc1978
    vkc1978 Posts: 63 Member
    I would love to have this problem :laugh:

    Olive oil, avocados, peanut butter, white chocolate peanut butter... yummmm. The list of healthy high cal food is endless lol

    Maybe try protein shakes made with whole milk and fruit - those alone can cost a few hundred cals.
  • escloflowneCHANGED
    escloflowneCHANGED Posts: 3,038 Member
    Eat more fat!
  • mdhummel
    mdhummel Posts: 201 Member
    Avocados, raw unsalted almonds, low fat cheese and peanut butter are all great ways to get in some healthy extra calories.
  • DebbieLyn63
    DebbieLyn63 Posts: 2,654 Member
    Your diary looks fine to me. Just keep doing what you are doing. If you want to eat something different, just measure accurately and log it. If you are hungry, eat a little more, but if you aren't hungry, don't worry about eating back all of your exercise calories. For now, you have enough extra energy stores that you don't have to worry about starvation mode.
  • KristysLosing
    KristysLosing Posts: 683
    What about eating your egg yolk in the morning? That would be a little something!
  • LadyPippen
    LadyPippen Posts: 59
    How tall are you? how much do you currently weigh? do you know what your body fat percentage is? do you mind telling me how old you are? all i know is that you're a female. I can help better answer the question with knowing a bit more about you and your current physical state.
    Can anyone help me out with food/recipe/meal ideas here? My diary is open so you can see what I'm eating. I'm aiming for 1400 calories a day, but with my workouts its really hard for me to eat my calories.

    I don't want to go into starvation mode, but 1) I am not hungry enough during the day to eat that much 2) its hard to find food that is higher in calories but still good for you (e.g., not a lot of fat, no trans fats, not a lot of sodium or sugars). There is only so much chicken a person can eat! :explode:

    Any help is appreciated.
  • michellekicks
    michellekicks Posts: 3,624 Member
    Sometimes I eat a pop tart to make up the difference.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    Eat the whole egg.

    Roast some veggies in olive oil.

    Add nuts, nut butters, Greek yogurt, hummus, avocado, full fat dairy, cheese, etc. to your meals.

    In the end, it's actually pretty easy to bump each meal up by a couple of hundred calories with a little planning.
  • elvensnow
    elvensnow Posts: 154 Member
    Well the only way really is to stop thinking of fat as "unhealthy". There are plenty of high fat foods that are good for you - avocados, nuts, and certain oils (olive oil, coconut oil) being some of the best. They have "healthy" fats that have been shown to have numerous health benefits.

    The easiest way IMO to eat more calories without eating a higher quantity of food is to introduce more of the "healthy" fats. Since fats have 9 calories per gram - where carbs and protein only have 4 - you can see how adding some fats into your diet helps so that you don't have to eat large quantities to have a lot of calories ( a serving of nuts, usually 1/4 cup, has around 200 calories). You can dress salad with oils or add them into other foods, or add avocado or guacamole to some dishes.

    Not really sure what else to offer.
  • Lpeterson189
    Lpeterson189 Posts: 31 Member
    I'm 5'3", currently at 174lbs, I know I did a body fat % calc but I cant remember. I'm 29y/o.
    How tall are you? how much do you currently weigh? do you know what your body fat percentage is? do you mind telling me how old you are? all i know is that you're a female. I can help better answer the question with knowing a bit more about you and your current physical state.
    Can anyone help me out with food/recipe/meal ideas here? My diary is open so you can see what I'm eating. I'm aiming for 1400 calories a day, but with my workouts its really hard for me to eat my calories.

    I don't want to go into starvation mode, but 1) I am not hungry enough during the day to eat that much 2) its hard to find food that is higher in calories but still good for you (e.g., not a lot of fat, no trans fats, not a lot of sodium or sugars). There is only so much chicken a person can eat! :explode:

    Any help is appreciated.
  • Lpeterson189
    Lpeterson189 Posts: 31 Member
    What about sodium intake? How bad is it to go over that or sugar intake by over 100?
  • LadyPippen
    LadyPippen Posts: 59
    In addition to my previous questions, i have more questions. You said something very profound in your post that you're not hungry enough during the day to eat as many calories. The one question I do have is this.....what are you doing for exercise? is it cardio or are you lifting weights?
    Can anyone help me out with food/recipe/meal ideas here? My diary is open so you can see what I'm eating. I'm aiming for 1400 calories a day, but with my workouts its really hard for me to eat my calories.

    I don't want to go into starvation mode, but 1) I am not hungry enough during the day to eat that much 2) its hard to find food that is higher in calories but still good for you (e.g., not a lot of fat, no trans fats, not a lot of sodium or sugars). There is only so much chicken a person can eat! :explode:

    Any help is appreciated.
  • glovepuppet
    glovepuppet Posts: 1,710 Member
    What about sodium intake?
    how high is your blood pressure?
  • Lpeterson189
    Lpeterson189 Posts: 31 Member
    What about sodium intake?
    how high is your blood pressure?

    Normal range for my age/weight/height. I do have an arrhythmia in my heart, but no pressure issues.
  • LadyPippen
    LadyPippen Posts: 59
    You should be able to take in about 1700 to 1800 calories. I understand that you cant force yourself to do it. Here are some things to get checked out.

    have your doctor check your thyroid, make sure you're not suffering from hyper or hypo thyroidism, because the thyroid regulates the metabolic rate. if everything is going well there, ask your doctor if you're clear to start stregnth training exercises. adding more lean muscle mass can help increase the metabolic rate. Its ok to splurge once in a while, but try to keep processed foods to a mininum. its ok to do cardio, just dont over do it. 30 to 45 minutes is good enough. If you really want to boost the metabolism, increase your lean muscle mass.
    I'm 5'3", currently at 174lbs, I know I did a body fat % calc but I cant remember. I'm 29y/o.
    How tall are you? how much do you currently weigh? do you know what your body fat percentage is? do you mind telling me how old you are? all i know is that you're a female. I can help better answer the question with knowing a bit more about you and your current physical state.
    Can anyone help me out with food/recipe/meal ideas here? My diary is open so you can see what I'm eating. I'm aiming for 1400 calories a day, but with my workouts its really hard for me to eat my calories.

    I don't want to go into starvation mode, but 1) I am not hungry enough during the day to eat that much 2) its hard to find food that is higher in calories but still good for you (e.g., not a lot of fat, no trans fats, not a lot of sodium or sugars). There is only so much chicken a person can eat! :explode:

    Any help is appreciated.
  • jwdieter
    jwdieter Posts: 2,582 Member
    Nuts and bananas are generally considered "healthy", and fit into almost all dietary plans. Most people like them. Easy to transport and eat. Unsalted is easy to find, if salt-averse.
  • Lpeterson189
    Lpeterson189 Posts: 31 Member
    Mon, weds and fri are my couch-to-5k running program, of which I just finished week 4 (might repeat it), those same evenings, (mostly) I do kickboxing class for 30mins (unless I have a work meeting or such, then just 2 eves a week). Tues and Thurs are gym days, where I do 20-25mins of elliptical trainer and then 15-20mins strength training.
    My job though is _veeeeeerry_ sedentary. I'm at a desk all day, only time I get up is for food, restroom and copy machine/printer.
    In addition to my previous questions, i have more questions. You said something very profound in your post that you're not hungry enough during the day to eat as many calories. The one question I do have is this.....what are you doing for exercise? is it cardio or are you lifting weights?
    Can anyone help me out with food/recipe/meal ideas here? My diary is open so you can see what I'm eating. I'm aiming for 1400 calories a day, but with my workouts its really hard for me to eat my calories.

    I don't want to go into starvation mode, but 1) I am not hungry enough during the day to eat that much 2) its hard to find food that is higher in calories but still good for you (e.g., not a lot of fat, no trans fats, not a lot of sodium or sugars). There is only so much chicken a person can eat! :explode:

    Any help is appreciated.
  • LaurenAOK
    LaurenAOK Posts: 2,475 Member
    I don't log my food every day (trying to maintain without logging), but I logged a couple of days ago. Take a look at my diary if you'd like. I ate about 1700 calories worth of healthy food, and I could've easily eaten more.

    I break my meals up throughout the day to make it easier. I eat every couple of hours, not because it "boosts metabolism" (which is a myth) but because I end up eating more throughout the day that way. It's really not hard to get all your calories in when you're constantly snacking!

    By the way, there are plenty of healthy foods that are high in calories or fats. Nuts, nut butters, avocados, olive oil, or cheese are just a few examples. In addition, there's nothing wrong with eating unhealthy sometimes. If a little ice cream at the end of the day would help you reach your goals, go for it!
  • melindasuefritz
    melindasuefritz Posts: 3,509 Member
    fat isn't evil. nor are carbs.

    if you demonise normal food then you'll run out of things to eat.
  • melindasuefritz
    melindasuefritz Posts: 3,509 Member
    Eat whatever foods you like, hit cal/macro goals, profit.
  • SailorKnightWing
    SailorKnightWing Posts: 875 Member
    The answer is always peanut butter.
  • Lpeterson189
    Lpeterson189 Posts: 31 Member
    I don't log my food every day (trying to maintain without logging), but I logged a couple of days ago. Take a look at my diary if you'd like. I ate about 1700 calories worth of healthy food, and I could've easily eaten more.

    I break my meals up throughout the day to make it easier. I eat every couple of hours, not because it "boosts metabolism" (which is a myth) but because I end up eating more throughout the day that way. It's really not hard to get all your calories in when you're constantly snacking!

    By the way, there are plenty of healthy foods that are high in calories or fats. Nuts, nut butters, avocados, olive oil, or cheese are just a few examples. In addition, there's nothing wrong with eating unhealthy sometimes. If a little ice cream at the end of the day would help you reach your goals, go for it!

    Thanks! I'll take a look. (btw, you look _awesome!_ ^_^) Good for you! I really wish I liked nuts to snack on...I like them in salads just fine...but not like a bag snacking on them...
    Going to try more avocados and cheese apparently (I love cheese, and I thought I'd have to cut it out!) Thats a great idea you have of tracking the 4-5 meals rather than 3 meals and snacks.
  • alwilson1974
    alwilson1974 Posts: 28 Member
    I like the Larabars or the Kind Bars. They help me to add a couple hundred calories and don't contain alot of the junk that is in other bars. They could be a great desert or pre-workout snack.
  • LadyPippen
    LadyPippen Posts: 59
    Thats a lot of cardio. Its time for you do the opposite, more stregnth training less cardio = more metabolic rate = more food eaten
    Mon, weds and fri are my couch-to-5k running program, of which I just finished week 4 (might repeat it), those same evenings, (mostly) I do kickboxing class for 30mins (unless I have a work meeting or such, then just 2 eves a week). Tues and Thurs are gym days, where I do 20-25mins of elliptical trainer and then 15-20mins strength training.
    My job though is _veeeeeerry_ sedentary. I'm at a desk all day, only time I get up is for food, restroom and copy machine/printer.
    In addition to my previous questions, i have more questions. You said something very profound in your post that you're not hungry enough during the day to eat as many calories. The one question I do have is this.....what are you doing for exercise? is it cardio or are you lifting weights?
    Can anyone help me out with food/recipe/meal ideas here? My diary is open so you can see what I'm eating. I'm aiming for 1400 calories a day, but with my workouts its really hard for me to eat my calories.

    I don't want to go into starvation mode, but 1) I am not hungry enough during the day to eat that much 2) its hard to find food that is higher in calories but still good for you (e.g., not a lot of fat, no trans fats, not a lot of sodium or sugars). There is only so much chicken a person can eat! :explode:

    Any help is appreciated.

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