How can I increase my calorie intake

Right now, my doctor has me doing a low carb, low fat diet. I feel like I eat well, and often, but I have a terrible time reaching my calorie goal of 1200 a day. I go through this every time I begin a new eating plan. I am stuffed and am still 623 calories short of my goal. I can not survive on 500 something calories a day, I know it is as unhealthy as overeating, but with all the leafy green veggies I've been eating coupled with the protein, I am not hungry. I don't like nuts of any kind so eating nuts won't boost my calories. I am trying to limit my fruit intake so I don't go over in carbs and sugar. So, my options are more leafy green veggies which are hardly any calories or some more meat. I know I used to eat my goal of 1200 twice over in fast food which got me in the place I'm in. Can someone who's been doing this awhile point me in the right direction? I'm frustrated and don't know what to do.

Replies

  • Maybe drink some of your calories?? I watch carbs because of diabetes and I don't always hit 1200 either but on workout days, I try to add in a protein shake to get more calories. If you're drinking them, you're less likely to feel stuffed. The shake I get from GNC is good for low carb diets. Sometimes I also think watching carbs kill appetite. I get in the situation where all of a sudden, I'm 100 lbs and trying to add carbs to get weight on, then all of a sudden I need to lose 15 lbs. It's exhausting, and I wish I could just count calories and forget carbs. Do you have a medical reason for the low carb?
  • jenniferv38
    jenniferv38 Posts: 44 Member
    Make a smoothie and put avocados in it. You can drizzle olive oil on your salads. Make some scrambled eggs. Spread peanut butter on something. That's all I've got :)
  • fit_rox
    fit_rox Posts: 83
    Right now, my doctor has me doing a low carb, low fat diet. I feel like I eat well, and often, but I have a terrible time reaching my calorie goal of 1200 a day. I go through this every time I begin a new eating plan. I am stuffed and am still 623 calories short of my goal. I can not survive on 500 something calories a day, I know it is as unhealthy as overeating, but with all the leafy green veggies I've been eating coupled with the protein, I am not hungry. I don't like nuts of any kind so eating nuts won't boost my calories. I am trying to limit my fruit intake so I don't go over in carbs and sugar. So, my options are more leafy green veggies which are hardly any calories or some more meat. I know I used to eat my goal of 1200 twice over in fast food which got me in the place I'm in. Can someone who's been doing this awhile point me in the right direction? I'm frustrated and don't know what to do.

    Low carb low fat? I haven't heard of something like that before. So your doctor pretty much wants you to just eat lean meat and vegetables...
  • Yes. I have a lot of weight to lose, and my latest blood work came back weird. I'm doing this to knock a bunch of weight off to hopefully even out my blood levels, and get me to a place where I can exercise without killing my knees. I think her plan is to add carbs back in then, but I'm not 100% sure. I go back to her tomorrow so I will ask. Thank you guys for all of your input. I really appreciate it!
  • I have a lot of weight to lose and my last blood work came back weird. I think her goal is to get a lot of weight off of me quick in the beginning, then add in some other carbs when I can exercise without my knees killing me. I go back tomorrow so I plan on asking.
  • I am going to plug and apple with peanut butter into my diary and see if it takes me over my carbs and sugar. Maybe I could just eat a spoon of peanut butter. Not my favorite but it is high in calories which is what I need right now.
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    Do you like hamburgers? Eat a hamburger. It is better than eating 600 calories a day.

    You need to get away from this idea that you must only eat vegetables and whole foods.
  • hearthwood
    hearthwood Posts: 794 Member
    Have you had weight loss surgery, and that's why your doctor has you on a low calorie low carb diet?
  • CyberEd312
    CyberEd312 Posts: 3,536 Member
    I started out a 560 pounds and the first thing my doctor told me was he wouldn't begin to know the first thing about setting me up on a meal plan. If have an ailment, cold, rash, blood work/pressure problems, etc, etc he was the man for the job but when it comes to weight loss that is better left to the professionals that are schooled in that. So he wrote me a script to go see a dietician to see my eating habits from before and establish a plan that would allow me to lose 2 lbs. a week... So I would suggest seeing if you can sit down with a certified dietician to establish a plan... I lost over 300 lbs. and never had to go low carb, low sugar, actually I never tracked a single gram of sugar and I am a type 2 diabetic... Best of Luck to you......