Help with calories!! All advice appreciated.

juansgoddess
juansgoddess Posts: 2 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello everyone. I started MFP 20 days ago and I have lost 11 pounds. I currently aim to eat between 1200-1300 calories. I am having trouble figuring out how to increase that to the 1500-1700 range. I currently am doing approximately 60-70 minutes of zumba 6 times per week. I intend to start strength training soon I just wanted to drop some weight so that I would be more comfortable and my body wouldn't be so strained.

Here is an example of my diet

Morning
1 cup nonfat greek yogurt
1/2 cup of blueberries
3/4 cup kashi go lean crisp

Lunch
1 1/2 cups of salad
1 1/2 cups broccoli/ green beans or 1/2 of cottage cheese 1%
grilled chicken pieces (the size of the palm of my hand)

Dinner
1 5 oz piece of baked chicken breast
1/2 cup of cottage cheese 1% and a vegetable or 2 vegetables instead

Snacks
Kashi granola bar
100 calorie pack of unsalted almonds

I also only drink water and try to make sure I drink 5 bottles minimum.

I have been intending to ask about a calorie increase but today really got me in gear. I was exercising and I started feeling dizzy. I at a snack and drank a bottle of water and I felt better. I believe this is the result of my calorie deficit. Does anyone have suggestions of small snacks I could eat for extra calories. Is V8 splash a good option or perhaps a can of tuna. All help is appreciated. I am trying to live a healthier lifestyle. So far my kids have begun to follow suit. They enjoy exercising and have started drinking more water. Thanks for your help.

Replies

  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    " I currently aim to eat between 1200-1300 calories. I am having trouble figuring out how to increase that to the 1500-1700 range"

    Eat something like 36 almonds, done. If I need to up my calories even though I don't feel hungry I'd chose a healthy but calorie rich source like nuts.
  • mulecanter
    mulecanter Posts: 1,792 Member
    protein bars are a quick add but expensive. I eat alot of apples, good for you and filling. A spoonful of peanut butter is good once in a while (fat is not necessarily evil). To be honest, when I saw your question I was thinking "are you kidding me?". I seem to add two hundred calories just by walking by the fridge.
  • sktcporter
    sktcporter Posts: 3
    Hi, congrats on your weight loss! I really like cashews or other nuts/seeds (getting tired of almonds) and avocados both healthy and high calorie. I also like Lara bars, they are all natural and have about 210 calories each.
  • hdelamore
    hdelamore Posts: 206 Member
    nuts and cheese are good high calorie and filling foods!
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    Add some nuts or granola to your morning yogurt. Roast your veggies in some olive oil. Add sauce to your chicken. Add nuts, cheese, croutons, full fat dressing, avocado, seeds, etc. to your salad. Buy higher calorie snack bars or full fat cottage cheese.
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    Basically don't be scared of fat. Fat only makes you fat if you eat so much fat that your calorie intake exceeds your calorie expenditure. If you are tracking your calories and coming in below your TDEE then adding some fat to your diet is not a bad thing.

    Again nuts a good source for some quick calorie gain that is healthy.
  • rpelton8
    rpelton8 Posts: 1
    I definitely agree with your choice to eat more calories since you are doing such a rigorous exercise program. Your body needs to be at a deficit to lose weight, but not so much that it goes into starvation mode and starts keeping in all your stored fat as reserves. Bumping it up to at least 1500 will be beneficial especially when you start weight training and need the calories to build muscle. You are working out so hard that you won't have to worry about whether or not you will lose weight at 1500 calories. You could either eat more of what you are already eating, or you could throw in a couple of new, protein rich items. Have you ever looked on youtube or anywhere for healthy, weight loss recipes? I have found some different protein bar recipes that are relatively cheap to make and actually taste good compared to the ones I'd buy at the store. I recommend Jamie Eason's LIveFit recipes from bodybuilding.com < http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/jamie-eason-livefit-recipes-main-page.html > or Michael Kory has a lot of good recipes on his youtube channel < https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEft2EUTz9I >
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    Your body needs to be at a deficit to lose weight, but not so much that it goes into starvation mode and starts keeping in all your stored fat as reserves.

    Where do people keep getting this from? :-(

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