Too many calories?

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AngieSnook32
AngieSnook32 Posts: 2 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I'm having a hard time hitting my calorie intake, especially on days when I work out. I'm almost always over on sodium (sometimes not by much, but still almost always over). Are there foods that are high in calories but low in everything else that I can eat? Or is it ok that i'm not getting all the calories?

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  • norcalskater
    norcalskater Posts: 194 Member
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    Yeah there are tons of food outs there high in calories and low in sodium. This is just a guess but I'm going to say you eat a lot of frozen meals? Those tend to be very high in sodium because they need to preserve them. It's okay if you go slightly over on sodium, you might see some water retention from that when you step on the scale but that's about it.
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,134 Member
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    My top options are pasta and rice. Of course, it depends on what sauce you put on them because they can be fairly high, but just having them with some oil or no salt butter is good. That's just what I eat.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    most people who struggle to hit calorie goals have substantially cut out dietary fat and are eating "diet food", low fat/no fat bull ****. Dietary fat is essential to proper nutrition and health...it is essential to hormone regulation and absorption of certain fat soluble vitamins and minerals as well as brain function and nervous system function just to name a few.

    Eat more fat...saute your veggies or roast them in olive oil...1 Tbsp of olive oil has around 120 calories and you've added calories without adding volume. Eat nuts...1 paltry ounce of almonds has 160 calories. Eat nut butters...2 tiny Tbsp of peanut butter has 200 or so calories. Eat avocados...one whole avocado on average has around 230 calories...I eat 1/2 almost daily. Consume full fat dairy products and use full fat dressings on salads...etc, etc, etc

    Another thing to consider is that you may be underestimating your intake...you'd want to verify that first. I'm amazed at the number of people who log a whole chicken breast as 4 oz when in reality a small chicken breast on average is around 8 oz...and it is quite common for chicken breasts to be upwards of 10 - 12 ounces. Just using that as an example...this happens with numerous food items. Often when people think they aren't hitting calorie goals, they are...they're just underestimating in their diary.

    Also beware of overestimating your calorie burn when eating back exercise calories...you should have some error factor figured into your exercise burns.
  • weightliftingdiva
    weightliftingdiva Posts: 522 Member
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    About not hitting your calorie goals - it's okay as long as you eat more calories then your BMR. Your BMR is what your body needs to function. On most days, you should be eating above your BMR (so you can lose weight safely) and below your TDEE (the amount of calories you burn each day). That being said, if one day you're just not that hungry and you eat below your BMR, that's fine. Just don't make it a permanent habit. There are many calculators you can google that will tell you your BMR and TDEE - just keep in mind that they are estimations and you should treat them accordingly.

    About how to bring your calories up - skip diet foods and replace them with filling calories. Full fat yogurt, dairy, cheese (and ice cream of course!) instead of skim or reduced fat. Nuts like almonds and walnuts. Cook with butter and oil. Avocados and peanut butter. Increase serving sizes of everything you normally eat.

    Of course, make sure you're accurately logging everything you put in your mouth - that often times means measuring and weighing your food.

    Best wishes :)
  • jstout365
    jstout365 Posts: 1,686 Member
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    I eat at about a 2300 calorie level and can typically come in under the RDA of 2,300 mg for sodium. My diary is open if you want a look.

    My favorite high calorie go-tos: avocados, natural PB (tend to have less sodium), raw nuts, apple, pear, banana, and lean meats. Most whole foods are lower in sodium. While packaged foods and restaurant/fast food tend to contain a large amount. The more whole foods you can incorporate into your diet, the lower your sodium intake can be.
  • AngieSnook32
    AngieSnook32 Posts: 2 Member
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    Thank you all for your help. I'm going to carefully track my food and see if that helps fill in the gaps. I'm going to use your snack ideas also. I generally allow 200-400 calories over and under without any concerns. I'll give all of this advice a try and go from there. Thanks again!

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