Trouble Meeting Calorie Goal
SpiderByte
Posts: 24
Ever since I started using MFP, I've never been able to meet my calorie goal. It's just too ****ing high! It's gotten to the point where I don't want to exercise exercising means increasing the calorie goal. I'm at college, so my eating options are limited to whatever is on the menu that day, but it seems like the only way I'd be able to reach my goal is either eating junk food every day or having to eat three plates of 'healthy' food. How am I supposed to meet my calorie goal and cut back on junk food when it seems like the only way to meet the calorie goal is to eat way more than I usually do?
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Replies
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Eat more calorie dense foods. Avacados, full-fat dairy, nothing "diet", nuts, peanut butter, etc...
Also if you opened your diary, gave what your calorie goal is and any sort of info about yourself you'd get more helpful answers.0 -
My goal is apparently 2140. I'm 6'1, about 230 now.0
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How did you get fat, then?
/Thread
It's easy to hit or vastly exceed calorie goal or TDEE eating ice cream and pizza. Its harder eating chicken breast and broccoli. I've been in the boat of struggling to eat enough while on a diet of healthy foods.
Having some of your calories as a liquid in the form of something like a protein shake with milk can help.0 -
Lol I eat 3200 calories of healthy food a day. You just have to increase frequency of meals. I eat 6 meals a day0
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My goal is apparently 2140. I'm 6'1, about 230 now.
That's really not a lot. I'm 5'4 137 lbs and my goal is 1700. So if I had your numbers and i reached my protein macro ... I'd go to Dairy Queen.0 -
I'm at college, and the cafeteria closes. So I can only get three meals a day, four if I bring up an apple or something to save for later.0
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I'm at college, and the cafeteria closes. So I can only get three meals a day, four if I bring up an apple or something to save for later.
Buy a container of peanut butter.
Eat the peanut butter with some dark chocolate.
Or by itself.
Bam.0 -
Lol I eat 3200 calories of healthy food a day. You just have to increase frequency of meals. I eat 6 meals a day
Are you in college on a campus with regular classes and generally access to only buffet style cafeteria's during the day?
It can be difficult for some based on where they are in their lives. Recognize that not everyone has the resources or time that you may have or even as something as simple as access to a refrigerator and a stove.0 -
I'm at college, and the cafeteria closes. So I can only get three meals a day, four if I bring up an apple or something to save for later.
Can you buy your own groceries? You can buy some cheap foods for a good filling snack.
I went to college too...that's how I got fat.0 -
I'm at college, and the cafeteria closes. So I can only get three meals a day, four if I bring up an apple or something to save for later.
Can you buy your own groceries? You can buy some cheap foods for a good filling snack.
I went to college too...that's how I got fat.
^
Took me one year of college to undo 3 years of weight loss and maintenance.0 -
as a matter of fact i am in college attending regular classes with a ****ty cafe. i cook all my food sunday and put the in tuperware containers and heat them up in the microwave0
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Not to mention the fact that largely I don't know how many calories some of the meals have. I had a Buffalo Chicken wrap today, and trying to enter it in was insane. There are literally dozens of calorie entries for the same food item, and I don't know which ones are accurate to the thing I've actually eaten.0
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Copied from the interwebs. You are welcome
"Here's how much of each food group you should be eating for a well-balanced 2,000-calorie-a-day diet—as well as some ways to eat the right amount.
FRUITS & VEGETABLES
How much you should be eating if you need 2,000 calories a day:
2 cups fruit, 2 1/2 cups vegetables
What a daily dose might look like:
1 medium apple
+ 1 cup berries
+ 12 baby carrots
+ 1 cup cooked vegetables
GRAINS (MAKE AT LEAST HALF YOUR GRAINS WHOLE)
How much you should be eating if you need 2,000 calories a day:
6 ounce equivalents
What a daily dose might look like:
1 English muffin
+ a 5-inch tortilla
+ 1 slice bread
+ 1 cup rice
LOW-FAT DAIRY
How much you should be eating if you need 2,000 calories a day:
3 cups
What a daily dose might look like:
1 cup milk or soymilk
+ 1 cup yogurt
+ 1/3 cup shredded cheese
PROTEIN
How much you should be eating if you need 2,000 calories a day:
5 1/2 ounce equivalents
What a daily dose might look like:
3 ounces cooked salmon, chicken or beef
+ 12 almonds
+ 1/4 cup cooked beans
Related: 6 of the Healthiest Fish to Eat, 6 to Avoid
SOFAS (SOLID FATS & ADDED SUGARS)
How much you should be eating if you need 2,000 calories a day:
≤258 calories
What a daily dose might look like:
2-ounce candy bar or a glazed donut
I'd be remiss not to mention that you don't have to eat SoFAS. This is the recommended daily limit, so aim to stick within this parameter.
OILS & SALT
How much you should be eating if you need 2,000 calories a day:
≤27 g oils,
≤2,300 mg salt
What a daily dose might look like:
≤5 1/2 tsp. oil
≤1 tsp. salt0 -
Add more calorie dense foods to your meals. Depending on what's available at your cafeteria, look for nuts, nut butter, avocado, full fat dairy, Greek yogurt, cheese, ice cream, sour cream, full calorie dressings and condiments, etc. It should be pretty easy to increase each meal by a few hundred calories without adding a lot of food to your diet.0
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Copied from the interwebs. You are welcome
"Here's how much of each food group you should be eating for a well-balanced 2,000-calorie-a-day diet—as well as some ways to eat the right amount.
FRUITS & VEGETABLES
How much you should be eating if you need 2,000 calories a day:
2 cups fruit, 2 1/2 cups vegetables
What a daily dose might look like:
1 medium apple
+ 1 cup berries
+ 12 baby carrots
+ 1 cup cooked vegetables
GRAINS (MAKE AT LEAST HALF YOUR GRAINS WHOLE)
How much you should be eating if you need 2,000 calories a day:
6 ounce equivalents
What a daily dose might look like:
1 English muffin
+ a 5-inch tortilla
+ 1 slice bread
+ 1 cup rice
LOW-FAT DAIRY
How much you should be eating if you need 2,000 calories a day:
3 cups
What a daily dose might look like:
1 cup milk or soymilk
+ 1 cup yogurt
+ 1/3 cup shredded cheese
PROTEIN
How much you should be eating if you need 2,000 calories a day:
5 1/2 ounce equivalents
What a daily dose might look like:
3 ounces cooked salmon, chicken or beef
+ 12 almonds
+ 1/4 cup cooked beans
Related: 6 of the Healthiest Fish to Eat, 6 to Avoid
SOFAS (SOLID FATS & ADDED SUGARS)
How much you should be eating if you need 2,000 calories a day:
≤258 calories
What a daily dose might look like:
2-ounce candy bar or a glazed donut
I'd be remiss not to mention that you don't have to eat SoFAS. This is the recommended daily limit, so aim to stick within this parameter.
OILS & SALT
How much you should be eating if you need 2,000 calories a day:
≤27 g oils,
≤2,300 mg salt
What a daily dose might look like:
≤5 1/2 tsp. oil
≤1 tsp. salt
Please stop.0 -
as a matter of fact i am in college attending regular classes with a ****ty cafe. i cook all my food sunday and put the in tuperware containers and heat them up in the microwave
Well not everyone has money, but that's awesome. I should have done that when I was in college.
But OP, the reason people gain weight in college :
1. Alcohol
2. Cafeteria food
While, I get that you only can do 3 meals a day ... I think you could probably eat 2100 calories in 3 meals.
If you can spend $20 on groceries a week for your room...get some nuts, eggs, milk, a few fruits and veggies, might not even be $20 ... and snack on them in between meals.0 -
Not to mention the fact that largely I don't know how many calories some of the meals have. I had a Buffalo Chicken wrap today, and trying to enter it in was insane. There are literally dozens of calorie entries for the same food item, and I don't know which ones are accurate to the thing I've actually eaten.
Probably none of them to be honest..
You are in college...go have a beer, eat some ice cream, the peanut butter and chocolate sounds great....
Just because you are trying to lose weight doesn't mean you have to give up food like that, just eat reasonable portions.0 -
i cook all my food
So you had a kitchen then. Not everyone in college has a kitchen. When I was in college 15 years ago I did not have a kitchen nor was I anywhere near a grocery store nor did I have a car. I didn't even have a refrigerator so its not like access to a grocery store would have helped all that much anyways.
All I am saying is you must understand that not everyone has the resources you have and you first have to determine what they are capable of doing before just laughing and saying you do it easily.
So, OP...do you have access to a kitchen? If so that could help because yes if you can cook your meals on a weekend in preparation for the week you can plan it out better.0 -
Copied from the interwebs. You are welcome
"Here's how much of each food group you should be eating for a well-balanced 2,000-calorie-a-day diet—as well as some ways to eat the right amount.
FRUITS & VEGETABLES
How much you should be eating if you need 2,000 calories a day:
2 cups fruit, 2 1/2 cups vegetables
What a daily dose might look like:
1 medium apple
+ 1 cup berries
+ 12 baby carrots
+ 1 cup cooked vegetables
GRAINS (MAKE AT LEAST HALF YOUR GRAINS WHOLE)
How much you should be eating if you need 2,000 calories a day:
6 ounce equivalents
What a daily dose might look like:
1 English muffin
+ a 5-inch tortilla
+ 1 slice bread
+ 1 cup rice
LOW-FAT DAIRY
How much you should be eating if you need 2,000 calories a day:
3 cups
What a daily dose might look like:
1 cup milk or soymilk
+ 1 cup yogurt
+ 1/3 cup shredded cheese
PROTEIN
How much you should be eating if you need 2,000 calories a day:
5 1/2 ounce equivalents
What a daily dose might look like:
3 ounces cooked salmon, chicken or beef
+ 12 almonds
+ 1/4 cup cooked beans
Related: 6 of the Healthiest Fish to Eat, 6 to Avoid
SOFAS (SOLID FATS & ADDED SUGARS)
How much you should be eating if you need 2,000 calories a day:
≤258 calories
What a daily dose might look like:
2-ounce candy bar or a glazed donut
I'd be remiss not to mention that you don't have to eat SoFAS. This is the recommended daily limit, so aim to stick within this parameter.
OILS & SALT
How much you should be eating if you need 2,000 calories a day:
≤27 g oils,
≤2,300 mg salt
What a daily dose might look like:
≤5 1/2 tsp. oil
≤1 tsp. salt
Literally almost everything on this list consists of things they don't serve here. Or at least not on a very consistent basis.0 -
Not to mention the fact that largely I don't know how many calories some of the meals have. I had a Buffalo Chicken wrap today, and trying to enter it in was insane. There are literally dozens of calorie entries for the same food item, and I don't know which ones are accurate to the thing I've actually eaten.
Didn't think about logging...hmm..
Well if losing weight really means a lot to you ... then maybe lower your calorie goal by a few hundred calories. That way it can make up for some errors in your estimations.0 -
so youre not eating enough food to lose weight.. what are you worried about if you're not exceeding your daliy calories? you're losing weight and isn't that what you wanna do anyway?0
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so youre not eating enough food to lose weight.. what are you worried about if you're not exceeding your daliy calories? you're losing weight and isn't that what you wanna do anyway?
Well true, but I am sure the kid wants to reach his goal....as most of us do.0 -
so youre not eating enough food to lose weight.. what are you worried about if you're not exceeding your daliy calories? you're losing weight and isn't that what you wanna do anyway?
Yeah this is totally true. I mean there is reason to worry about undereating if you are feeling to tired or lethargic to focus on your studies or do any exercise but if you have the energy to get through the day and you are eating healthy foods enough to get the necessary micronutrients and you are under your caloric "goal" and your intent is to lose weight then congratulations, you will lose weight faster.
If your intent is to build muscle then yeah you might have to worry a bit more about your calorie intake but not until you lose the fat (your body makes up for that calorie deficit by consuming your bodyfat).0 -
A: I'm 19.Not to mention the fact that largely I don't know how many calories some of the meals have. I had a Buffalo Chicken wrap today, and trying to enter it in was insane. There are literally dozens of calorie entries for the same food item, and I don't know which ones are accurate to the thing I've actually eaten.
Probably none of them to be honest..
You are in college...go have a beer, eat some ice cream, the peanut butter and chocolate sounds great....
Just because you are trying to lose weight doesn't mean you have to give up food like that, just eat reasonable portions.
B: I actually don't usually eat wraps. In fact, the reason I started eating them was specifically to try to reach my calorie goal. It's not a 'not eating what I don't like' thing, it's an 'apparently I'm eating half of my calorie goal every day' type thing.0 -
i rent a womans kitchen for sunday. you would be amazed at what people will do for money. oh lemme guess not everyone has 10$ though. its always excuses with some people.. just keep making them up and not getting anything done0
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Calculating food like a buffalo chicken wrap from a cafeteria with unknown calories can be really hard. When I get in this situation, I handle it one of two ways.
The first, I surf some restaurant websites to try and find a restaurant that 1. has something that looks similar to what I ate, and 2. has nutrition information online. Then I use the calories for that item, recognizing it could be different.
The second thing I will do is deconstruct the item. Example, log one large flour tortilla. Did your chicken wrap have grilled chicken, log the guesstimated amount of chicken it would have. Was their ranch dressing, you might guess two tablespoons? Log that.0 -
Ummm not sure why my post seemed offensive...
but just wanted to show you that those are things that can be ate to help you make your goal. I used to work in the catering dept of our college cafeteria (aka, we fed the President of the University). They don't have rice and veggies and chicken???? Is it a really small school? I admit, I am old now (34) but I still remember foods like that being served when I was in graduate school. And they always had bowls of fresh fruit, yogurt, and sandwiches as an option for quick lunch stuff.0 -
i rent a womans kitchen for sunday. you would be amazed at what people will do for money. oh lemme guess not everyone has 10$ though. its always excuses with some people.. just keep making them up and not getting anything done
Yeah, shame on me for not being able to replicate your specific, unique situation.0 -
i rent a womans kitchen for sunday. you would be amazed at what people will do for money. oh lemme guess not everyone has 10$ though. its always excuses with some people.. just keep making them up and not getting anything done
Yes dude, not everyone has $10 to spend. Not everyone has a "woman's kitchen" to rent. Not everyone lives in towns or neighborhoods or colleges like the ones you experienced in your own life. People have to work within their own means and it is asinine to just assume that they have identically resources to the ones that you have enjoyed in your life. Why don't you ask the OP what he has access to instead of just assuming.0 -
im just saying if you want something bad enough you can get it. set your mind on something and do it. ask questions, fail, be deterred, fail again, but never give up and you will succeed. you would be amazed at how those failures shape your success.0
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