struggling to eat my recomended calories

Are you sure you are burning that much running 3-5 miles?

Forget sugars, MFP lumps all sugars together so it's meaningless.

It's not hard to hit calorie goals if you get out of the diet mindset. Eat food, real food, full fat dairy, lean meats, nuts, peanut butter, eggs, avocado, oil, you know, food. If you've got room, eat some junk food. No one got overweight not eating anything so just dig back in your memory and pull out some of those eating habits.

THIS!
I am by no means an expert, but if I find myself not getting close to my calories, I eat nuts, peanut butter or dairy.
Fat isn't necessarily your enemy.

Eat full fat, full sugar products. Don't eat any "light" foods. Don't be restrictive of what foods you eat, just be restrictive on how much of it you eat. Enjoy things like chips, ice cream, etc. And I agree with the other poster about how many calories you burn. I run 3 miles often, and I never get above 400 calories burned.

I'm a bit surprised to see an 800 calorie burn off of 3-5 miles. Part of the problem may be overestimating exercise calories. Try aiming for 2000-2100 calories a day and see if that isn't as bad.

Don't be afraid of fats. Avocado, nuts, olives, eggs, cheese, etc are all good foods with a lot of nutrition and some fat. Eating fat doesn't make you fat; in fact, our body NEEDS fats. Avoid the "diet," "reduced calorie," or "low fat" version of just about everything. They don't taste as good, have lots of less healthy stuff added in, and just aren't as satisfying. (I do drink skim milk … I just prefer it … but I get plenty of fats and calories from other sources).

Also, measure everything. You may even want to invest in a food scale. It's possible that you really aren't as short on your calorie goal as you think. Eyeballing it doesn't work very well, even for someone who's been at this for a while.

This pretty much covers all I was going to say.

Don't give up, you'll find a way....if you are eating fat free or low fat, switch to full fat..get those calories and adjust your macros as needed to fit the caloric needs.

Also, if you're having trouble eating back your calories then maybe stop running so much. Lift heavy weights instead.

Not bad advice here. I see that you also previously asked about adding in a second run daily. Maybe just stick with your morning run, then in the afternoon do 30 minutes of lifting weights, instead. I have also found that lifting makes me hungrier than running (go figure… :laugh:) So it may solve both sides of the problem at once. Just make sure to eat plenty of protein! I think the recommendation is .85 to 1 g protein per pound body weight.

edited for quote formatting … and typo :grumble:

If I find myself low towards the end of the day, I just have desert. Or a beer.

how about if i reduce my running to twice a week and lifting weights three times a week???

i still want to lose another 28lb but at the same time i want to tone up my body with weights.i also enjoy my runing.

It sounds like a good idea to do both. Running is fun. Lifting is good for you and will help "tone up"

Your sugar overage is coming from the fruits. More vegetables or lean protein, high fiber, and less fruit will cure that simple problem. I had a running coach that essentially told me to consider fruit a dessert of the candy variety. While it has great benefits, it doesn't have benefits that can't be found elsewhere!! Also, remember that you'll get more calorie intake by eating higher carb items. I'm in the same boat you are where, I'm still trying to lose, but running/spinning a lot. Remember that you need a lot of carbs to fuel your body through those exercises. This will raise your nutrition values considerably.

Forget sugars, MFP lumps all sugars together so it's meaningless.

It's not hard to hit calorie goals if you get out of the diet mindset. Eat food, real food, full fat dairy, lean meats, nuts, peanut butter, eggs, avocado, oil, you know, food. If you've got room, eat some junk food. No one got overweight not eating anything so just dig back in your memory and pull out some of those eating habits.

This but forget lean meats... go for the fatty cuts. Grass fed preferably. If you can't swing grass fed, then get lean meats. Toxins are stored in the fat.

Also, if you're having trouble eating back your calories then maybe stop running so much. Lift heavy weights instead.

Not bad advice here. I see that you also previously asked about adding in a second run daily. Maybe just stick with your morning run, then in the afternoon do 30 minutes of lifting weights, instead. I have also found that lifting makes me hungrier than running (go figure… :laugh:) So it may solve both sides of the problem at once. Just make sure to eat plenty of protein! I think the recommendation is .85 to 1 g protein per pound body weight.

edited for quote formatting … and typo :grumble:

So wait. How exactly is my advice bad if you yourself said this a couple of posts later.......

how about if i reduce my running to twice a week and lifting weights three times a week???

i still want to lose another 28lb but at the same time i want to tone up my body with weights.i also enjoy my runing.

It sounds like a good idea to do both. Running is fun. Lifting is good for you and will help "tone up"

I never said to completely stop running. So that can't be the reason I'm giving bad advice. So enlighten me.

She said it's NOT bad advice. You read it wrong because she is actually going along with what you advised.

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So I should up my calories...keep running and mix in some lifting to with it aswell.

If you run and lift you need to eat more- or you'll crash. There is a difference in weight loss and fat loss. Your body will make choices with the limited resources you provide it, based in a large part on the activities you participate in. Excessive aerobic cardio on too few calories will likely contribute to a higher percentage loss of lean body mass. My suggestion would be eat plenty of protein and lift heavy 2-3x per week. Add running once or twice a week if you enjoy it and feel like it, but don't feel obligated to run multiple times a week. Rest and recuperation is a big part of the equation too. Don't wear yourself out doing too much.

I run Monday & Thursday Lift on Tuesday and Friday Rest on Wed,Sat & Sun. I'm a little older and it works well for me. Regardless of how much I eat that's about all I can do without wearing myself down, and that's at caloric maintenance. When I try to lose a few pounds by caloric restriction I cut out the running or I don't have enough energy to do other things.