I need to up my calories!

daniellerusbult1
daniellerusbult1 Posts: 79
in Food and Nutrition
So, MFP has me eating 1200 calories. And I know how to use those calories wisely with a lot of fish, shrimp, chicken breast, ground turkey breast, vegetables with every meal, some whole grain pasta, some fruit, cottage cheese, greek yogurt, eggs, etc. I feel full with every meal (sometimes a little too full, but not much). I have 3 snacks/day. I feel like i'm doing pretty well, but I cant help but read all of the posts saying to eat more calories.

Any tips on how to properly up my calories? I don't want to feel like I'm eating a ton!

Replies

  • ncmedic201
    ncmedic201 Posts: 540 Member
    I slowly increased mine. Try increasing 100cals/day for a week and do that every week until you reach your goal. Don't eat diet foods. Replace low fat with full fat products. Add avocados, nuts, beans and other calorie dense foods.

    I switched to TDEE method because it feels less complicated. I'm still learning how to eat so I get my calories in. Some days, like yesterday, are bad where I don't eat enough so I'm also learning how to eat extra calories the next day to make up for previous deficits. It takes time to learn it all, but has been well worth the effort!

    ETA also adding olive oil and other good fats to your cooking helps a lot!
  • daniellerusbult1
    daniellerusbult1 Posts: 79
    I forgot that I use olive oil all the time :) Not a fan of avocados... I snack on sliced almonds and sunflower seeds at work. Beans don't do well with me LOL

    Any other ideas? Is red meat a go-to food?
  • LJSmith1989
    LJSmith1989 Posts: 650
    I forgot that I use olive oil all the time :) Not a fan of avocados... I snack on sliced almonds and sunflower seeds at work. Beans don't do well with me LOL

    Any other ideas? Is red meat a go-to food?

    Have you calculated you BMR/TDEE - good place to start

    Check out IIFYM group
  • daniellerusbult1
    daniellerusbult1 Posts: 79
    I forgot that I use olive oil all the time :) Not a fan of avocados... I snack on sliced almonds and sunflower seeds at work. Beans don't do well with me LOL

    Any other ideas? Is red meat a go-to food?

    Have you calculated you BMR/TDEE - good place to start

    Check out IIFYM group

    what is IIFYM?
  • daniellemm1
    daniellemm1 Posts: 465 Member
    I forgot that I use olive oil all the time :) Not a fan of avocados... I snack on sliced almonds and sunflower seeds at work. Beans don't do well with me LOL

    Any other ideas? Is red meat a go-to food?

    Have you calculated you BMR/TDEE - good place to start

    Check out IIFYM group

    what is IIFYM?

    If it fits your macros
  • LJSmith1989
    LJSmith1989 Posts: 650
    I forgot that I use olive oil all the time :) Not a fan of avocados... I snack on sliced almonds and sunflower seeds at work. Beans don't do well with me LOL

    Any other ideas? Is red meat a go-to food?

    Have you calculated you BMR/TDEE - good place to start

    Check out IIFYM group

    what is IIFYM?

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/7965-in-place-of-a-road-map

    Sorry. This is the group
  • daniellerusbult1
    daniellerusbult1 Posts: 79
    Okay, I've gone in and read through some of the main stuff. I calculated my TDEE and all that good stuff and it has me eating 2000 calories/day. That's a huge jump. Which is fine, if that's what is going to help me.

    But I'm confused... What sort of activity should I be doing to help myself lose fat along with the 2000 calorie diet? I went and set my macros (per that group) to 55% Carbs, 20% Protein and 25% Fat, which is accurate with my body fat percentage (according to the Military Body Fat Calculator given).
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    Okay, I've gone in and read through some of the main stuff. I calculated my TDEE and all that good stuff and it has me eating 2000 calories/day. That's a huge jump. Which is fine, if that's what is going to help me.

    But I'm confused... What sort of activity should I be doing to help myself lose fat along with the 2000 calorie diet? I went and set my macros (per that group) to 55% Carbs, 20% Protein and 25% Fat, which is accurate with my body fat percentage (according to the Military Body Fat Calculator given).

    What activity level did you use to determine your TDEE? If you set it to sedentary or lightly active, you may not need to do any additional activity to lose weight. Any kind of activity helps to burn calories, whether it's grocery shopping, walking, swimming, jogging, etc.

    It looks like you don't have much to lose? If so, I'd recommend including some resistance training (ie. weight lifting) to help your body preserve more of its lean muscle mass as you lose, but it's not a requirement.
  • daniellerusbult1
    daniellerusbult1 Posts: 79
    In response to the other post, I would say I have about 20-25lbs to lose. I do incorporate weight training into my workouts. I don't think it's much of a workout if it's just cardio :)
    If you don't mind me asking what are your stats and how active are you?
    How long have you been eating at 1200?
    Are you losing weight? If so, how much are you currently losing per week?

    You should not have to consider what activity you need to do to lose fat on 2000 because you input the numbers in order to find your TDEE and it came out to 2000. You have to be honest you with yourself with what activity level you chose.


    What stats are you looking for, exactly?

    Female
    -24
    -5'8"
    -175 as of this morning after my workout
    -Body Fat % varies greatly between different calculators. Anywhere from 27.7%-41.7%
    -I've been at the 1200 calorie/day for about a month.. but I've been doing it off and on for awhile.
    -At that rate, I lost a lot of water weight immediately (around 10lbs), fell off the wagon and I've gained 5 back... So IDK what that says...

    My workouts usually consist of about 25 minutes running on the treadmill at 6-7mph. Stretching. Ab circuit (w/ med balls, kettlebell swings, various crunches). Hip machines (those muscles are weak and affect my running). Then I usually do some weight lifting... row machine, overhead dumbbell press, leg extensions, leg curls, deadlifts, tricep extensions.... But I feel like I'm not doing enough lifting.. or the right lifting.


    So, I feel dumb... but it finally kind of clicked for me. TDEE already is taking into consideration my activity levels (I do, indeed work out at least 5x/week if not more). So if while maintaining the 1200 calorie/day that MFP was suggesting (eating back my calories), then that just meant that I could've been eating 2000 calories, but just burning 800... right?


    Sorry if that's confusing. I want to know which type of activities are going to work the best for me.

    UGH thanks for your help! I feel like an idiot right now!

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