Trouble with calories

breckapants
breckapants Posts: 1
in Food and Nutrition
My preset goals are the default - 1200 calories each day, and whatever the other numbers are. I am a relatively healthy eater. I do enjoy snacks that are bad for you (namely potato chips and ice cream), but they're not the brunt of my diet, and not a daily occurrence. My problem I'm finding is that even with a serving of goldfish crackers or salt and vinegar chips in the mix, with my breakfast, my lunch, my snack, and my dinner, I'm barely hitting 1000 calories consumed. I don't have a huge appetite. I eat until I feel full. I rarely overeat.

My breakfasts are between 250-350 calories and are usually comprised of fruit/veggie smoothies, a healthy cereal, or something like a fiber-full English muffin with avocado. Rarely do I have a morning snack, as my breakfasts are always packed with enough fiber/protein to keep me full until lunch time. Lunch is anywhere from 200-350 calories, and consists of a Lean Cuisine, leftovers from dinner, a bologna sandwich + a serving of chips, or whatever. Afternoon snacks are either a non-fat yogurt, string cheese and crackers, a serving of chips or some kind of equally bad for you snack, or some veggies and dip. Dinner is under 450 calories and like tonight, for example, I baked 4 ounces of swai, steamed a medium carrot and about a cup of sugar snap peas, and took a 160 gram russet potato and roasted it with a small amount of olive oil and spices. I ate it all, and it was still only 260 calories. And I am FULL. I might end up having a snack a little later (string cheese, 100 cal popcorn bag, etc), but that's pretty standard for my diet.

My question is, what the heck can I do to up my calories so I'm not potentially hurting my body by not giving it enough? I eat when I'm hungry. So some days, I do get a morning & afternoon snack, and some days, I don't even get snacks at all. Then there's days where I go out for dinner and blow it all out of the water, so obviously, not too worried there. Anyone else have this problem? What are some tips or tricks for packing in more calories in a healthy way, when necessary?

Replies

  • cyl544
    cyl544 Posts: 34 Member
    Peanut butter
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    1200 is not the default, it is the minimum floor and arises from inputs and choices you made in terms of loss rate etc.

    "Lean Cuisine" is obviously not a good choice if you're wanting to get your calories up, as it's a low fat / low calorie product.

    An open diary might help, there are dodgy items in the database and you might be picking some of them up and getting a wrong outcome.
  • JenniDaisy
    JenniDaisy Posts: 526 Member
    This is going to sound super rude, but how did you get overweight in the first place without over eating?
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    eat some ice cream and chips every day... problem solved...
  • SnuggleSmacks
    SnuggleSmacks Posts: 3,731 Member
    This is going to sound super rude, but how did you get overweight in the first place without over eating?

    This. Whatever you were doing before that caused you to gain the weight, just do more of that, only in moderation and within your calorie/macro goal.
  • christullos
    christullos Posts: 89
    My preset goals are the default - 1200 calories each day, and whatever the other numbers are. I am a relatively healthy eater. I do enjoy snacks that are bad for you (namely potato chips and ice cream), but they're not the brunt of my diet, and not a daily occurrence. My problem I'm finding is that even with a serving of goldfish crackers or salt and vinegar chips in the mix, with my breakfast, my lunch, my snack, and my dinner, I'm barely hitting 1000 calories consumed. I don't have a huge appetite. I eat until I feel full. I rarely overeat.

    My breakfasts are between 250-350 calories and are usually comprised of fruit/veggie smoothies, a healthy cereal, or something like a fiber-full English muffin with avocado. Rarely do I have a morning snack, as my breakfasts are always packed with enough fiber/protein to keep me full until lunch time. Lunch is anywhere from 200-350 calories, and consists of a Lean Cuisine, leftovers from dinner, a bologna sandwich + a serving of chips, or whatever. Afternoon snacks are either a non-fat yogurt, string cheese and crackers, a serving of chips or some kind of equally bad for you snack, or some veggies and dip. Dinner is under 450 calories and like tonight, for example, I baked 4 ounces of swai, steamed a medium carrot and about a cup of sugar snap peas, and took a 160 gram russet potato and roasted it with a small amount of olive oil and spices. I ate it all, and it was still only 260 calories. And I am FULL. I might end up having a snack a little later (string cheese, 100 cal popcorn bag, etc), but that's pretty standard for my diet.

    My question is, what the heck can I do to up my calories so I'm not potentially hurting my body by not giving it enough? I eat when I'm hungry. So some days, I do get a morning & afternoon snack, and some days, I don't even get snacks at all. Then there's days where I go out for dinner and blow it all out of the water, so obviously, not too worried there. Anyone else have this problem? What are some tips or tricks for packing in more calories in a healthy way, when necessary?

    I think your calorie count is off and you are eating more than you think. I am getting 390 calories for your dinner

    But as for extra calories; peanut butter or avacados
  • SnuggleSmacks
    SnuggleSmacks Posts: 3,731 Member
    My preset goals are the default - 1200 calories each day, and whatever the other numbers are. I am a relatively healthy eater. I do enjoy snacks that are bad for you (namely potato chips and ice cream), but they're not the brunt of my diet, and not a daily occurrence. My problem I'm finding is that even with a serving of goldfish crackers or salt and vinegar chips in the mix, with my breakfast, my lunch, my snack, and my dinner, I'm barely hitting 1000 calories consumed. I don't have a huge appetite. I eat until I feel full. I rarely overeat.

    My breakfasts are between 250-350 calories and are usually comprised of fruit/veggie smoothies, a healthy cereal, or something like a fiber-full English muffin with avocado. Rarely do I have a morning snack, as my breakfasts are always packed with enough fiber/protein to keep me full until lunch time. Lunch is anywhere from 200-350 calories, and consists of a Lean Cuisine, leftovers from dinner, a bologna sandwich + a serving of chips, or whatever. Afternoon snacks are either a non-fat yogurt, string cheese and crackers, a serving of chips or some kind of equally bad for you snack, or some veggies and dip. Dinner is under 450 calories and like tonight, for example, I baked 4 ounces of swai, steamed a medium carrot and about a cup of sugar snap peas, and took a 160 gram russet potato and roasted it with a small amount of olive oil and spices. I ate it all, and it was still only 260 calories. And I am FULL. I might end up having a snack a little later (string cheese, 100 cal popcorn bag, etc), but that's pretty standard for my diet.

    My question is, what the heck can I do to up my calories so I'm not potentially hurting my body by not giving it enough? I eat when I'm hungry. So some days, I do get a morning & afternoon snack, and some days, I don't even get snacks at all. Then there's days where I go out for dinner and blow it all out of the water, so obviously, not too worried there. Anyone else have this problem? What are some tips or tricks for packing in more calories in a healthy way, when necessary?

    I think your calorie count is off and you are eating more than you think. I am getting 390 calories for your dinner

    But as for extra calories; peanut butter or avacados

    I got 396 using 1 tsp of olive oil as the "small amount." Was there any oil/butter/anything else on the veggies or fish?
  • christullos
    christullos Posts: 89
    When you say thing like "small amount of oil" and "about a cup of sugar peas" it tells me that you are not being exact with your intake.

    Remember also that packaged food like Lean Cuisine, the calories on the box can fluctuate as much as 20%, so that 350 calorie meal can be as high as 420 calories
  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
    Add a TableSpoon or two of Olive oil or Butter to whatever you are eating. That adds calories.
  • skinnyinnotime
    skinnyinnotime Posts: 4,078 Member
    My preset goals are the default - 1200 calories each day, and whatever the other numbers are. I am a relatively healthy eater. I do enjoy snacks that are bad for you (namely potato chips and ice cream), but they're not the brunt of my diet, and not a daily occurrence. My problem I'm finding is that even with a serving of goldfish crackers or salt and vinegar chips in the mix, with my breakfast, my lunch, my snack, and my dinner, I'm barely hitting 1000 calories consumed. I don't have a huge appetite. I eat until I feel full. I rarely overeat.

    My breakfasts are between 250-350 calories and are usually comprised of fruit/veggie smoothies, a healthy cereal, or something like a fiber-full English muffin with avocado. Rarely do I have a morning snack, as my breakfasts are always packed with enough fiber/protein to keep me full until lunch time. Lunch is anywhere from 200-350 calories, and consists of a Lean Cuisine, leftovers from dinner, a bologna sandwich + a serving of chips, or whatever. Afternoon snacks are either a non-fat yogurt, string cheese and crackers, a serving of chips or some kind of equally bad for you snack, or some veggies and dip. Dinner is under 450 calories and like tonight, for example, I baked 4 ounces of swai, steamed a medium carrot and about a cup of sugar snap peas, and took a 160 gram russet potato and roasted it with a small amount of olive oil and spices. I ate it all, and it was still only 260 calories. And I am FULL. I might end up having a snack a little later (string cheese, 100 cal popcorn bag, etc), but that's pretty standard for my diet.

    My question is, what the heck can I do to up my calories so I'm not potentially hurting my body by not giving it enough? I eat when I'm hungry. So some days, I do get a morning & afternoon snack, and some days, I don't even get snacks at all. Then there's days where I go out for dinner and blow it all out of the water, so obviously, not too worried there. Anyone else have this problem? What are some tips or tricks for packing in more calories in a healthy way, when necessary?

    Seems a few people share the same problem on mfp and the answer is always "eat more".

    You know it's not difficult or you wouldn't be in the situation of losing weight!?!?

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