What to eat when you have excess calories? Like over 600+

My husband and I frequently have excess calories from exercise, especially when we're going for bike rides. Often times in the evenings we'll have Skinny Cow ice cream treat and a beer to add extra calories... we call it our ice cream and beer diet and it got to a point where the treat wasn't even a treat anymore. To get extra calories I try to snack throughout the day on greek yogurt, low fat cheese, nuts, low fat microwave popcorn. That way I'm not stuck trying to eat a whole lot during the evening when I'm just not hungry.

(snip)
A thought was triggered in me because over the weekend - I did not get a chance to work out like I wanted to and in a span of 7 days I only went to the gym once and had a nice walk/hike on another day.

This resulted in me loosing 3lbs in one week (I ate well and did not overeat while I was away) - could this be because on normal weeks when I cycle and workout I am doing calisthenics 1-2 times a week with an average 2-3 rides during that same time of 60-80 miles during that time. Am I just not eating enough?
(snip)

OP, in case you get this far... If you normally work out 7 days a week and only got in 2 days last week, part of your loss could be due to loss of water/glycogen retention. When you work out, your muscle retain water and glycogen as part of the healing process and usually keep up that retention as long as your workouts are regular. Once you stop working out for a few days, that can be released which can cause a decrease on the scale.

Could be water loss for other reasons too. Or maybe you just got a whoosh...weight loss isn't linear.

However, it is a good idea to have a more reasonable calorie deficit so it's a good question.

I had almost 600 calories yesterday and ended up eating 1/2 a cup of trail mix (it's so calorie dense, that was almost 300 cal) and stopped at McD's on the way home for a dipped cone (270 cal). Everyone's definition of healthy is different but here are a few more "whole" ways to consume those calories without eating a large volume of food:

Nuts, seeds, dried fruit, (mix em all together - trail mix), whole eggs, lean meats, avocado, etc.
Google calorie dense foods for more ideas.

FYI, you don't have to eat all our calories in the same day. Try to eat close to goal but if you have a couple hundred, you could always save them for the next day - as long as the overall average is good, it's no big deal. This could even be a good idea. I know sometimes I'm more hungry the day after a good burn than I am that day.

whatever I have been craving and not indulged in

Peanut butter!

The jury seems to be all in on peanut butter. I agree and take it one step further by making a peanut butter shake.

32g Peanut Butter
24g PB2
1 Greek Yogurt Bar (Caramel or Chocolate variety)
1 Chocolate Protein Shake serving (Costco is my favorite but a powder with milk or water works fine too)

It's a massive boost of protein and healthy fat, fairly low on sugar, and tastes incredible. You can adjust it to provide between 300-600 calories by increasing or decreasing the peanut butter serving or replacing the yogurt bar with ice.

Did anyone even ask what OP's goals are?

Is he interested in weight loss, performance, strength, or bulk?

Does he have problems in general with nutrition? Is he feeling tired or hungry? Does he have disordered eating? Is he trying to lose 100 lbs or 5? Does he have trouble sticking with his plan?

The successful dieter you guys are hating on in this thread has exactly one goal - weight loss. She has lost 200 POUNDS. I'm like her, my primary goal right now is weight loss, not bulk or strength. And she's right, IF that's your only goal, then if you're not hungry, you don't eat.

I'll also say this about her bag of Reese's ... she made a mistake, logged it and moved on. And she's still here, and still losing. How does anything else matter for someone trying to break a lifetime of bad eating habits?

Most of the comments on this thread don't make sense to me. I think of my daily calories like a budget. The goal is not to go over, but if you're under - that's more in the bank. But then, I've never understood people who spend down their entire paycheck leaving nothing in the bank, either, so maybe I'm just weird.

I usually try new things if I have calories to spend, but Taco Bell's quesarito comes to mind.

Did anyone even ask what OP's goals are?

I thought the OP was pretty clear:

"What are some of the things everyone eats that is healthy but still can help count against those calories."

Food recommendations were made
Poor advice about keeping an unhealthy deficit was offered
Healthy advice about eating enough to reach OP's calorie goal was provided
Bacon and Burbon were mentioned, bringing us back to OP's original question.

I did not binge, I do NOT binge. I spent the whole day crying because I missed my kids and grand baby so freaking much. I had an off day is all because of it. And even that is very unusual for me. And thanks to this dude I'm now back having to defend my reason for eating something and it's brought up that very deep hurt, that very painful, heart ripping feeling.

I'd say that's categorically binging- eating excessive amounts of food for emotional reasons??

and yes- I'm straight up judging you- toughen up butter cup- missing someone isn't a reason to bury your face into food- you have to re-evaluate your relationship with food and find a better way to manage your emotions- we all have bad days- no one is saying they don't- but you have to manage yourself.

Secondly- hunger is a HORRID way to tell if you need to eat.
If I used hunger to determine when to feed myself I"d be a fat heifer- why because i'm hungry ALL THE TIME.

And clearly you've never had to bulk- you want those gains- you want to get swole- guess what for months on end- you over eat- you set alarms to eat- you eat before you go to bed- you eat when you wake up- you hit all you can eat sushi buffets- you drink so much milk it makes you sick.

Because the goal is more important than how I feel RIGHT NOW in this moment.

If you have upwards of 1000 calorie deficit you should probably do something about it- hunger or other wise. I try to keep mine no greater than 500. Sometimes if I have a long day and not much time to eat- I wind up having only had 1000 or so for the day and earned significantly more- and leaves me with almost 1500 to eat... guess what- that's unacceptable. gotta go home and have a big glass of milk and several servings of ice cream. Plain and simple.

:noway: LMAO again you don't know me and have no cause to judge. I've been at this for almost 3 years now and if I have one day of slamming some really horrible food, that is NOT a binge. Today I made an amazing cheesecake, tomorrow I'm going to make some homemade milky way bars. Got lots of chocolate to use up before I buy more. Last week before I left I made the most delicious chocolate cake. I make homemade ice cream almost weekly and guess what? I have a bite or two and give the rest away. I enjoy baking sweets (those mini cups were to be used in something delicious but sadly they didn't make it) . It was a bad day emotionally for me yes, but I never eat my feelings, just happens that that day I did.
And no I'm not trying to bulk and I'm not interested in it at this point. I think it's the most boring thing to do. It's worse than watching golf.
We did tend to overeat that week but whatever, I gained a lb or two and I'm back to working on it. I enjoyed my family, cried about missing them before I even left again. I left my kids and grand baby to come back home and take care of my parents, so I'm taking care of two households including cooking for both. I never go to bed with a dirty house. I eek out time in the mornings for me and my exercise even though I'd rather be sleeping. My husband is in Congestive Heart Failure, my mom is legally blind and has COPD and is almost 80 and going downhill everyday, my dad is in Stage 4 Prostate Cancer with less than a year left to be on this Earth, and they are all my responsibility. So please don't tell me to suck it up. You now have a look into MY LIFE. I don't complain about my life because someone out there has it so much worse than I do. Someone's suffering so much more than I. The one thing I do whine about is missing my kids, my heart was ripped out but according to you I have to suck it up and NOT have a moment where I just needed to say to hell with it and do something irrational, even if that irrational thing was eating chocolate and peanut butter.
I'm not sure where I'm supposed to re-evaluate my relationship with food. Me and food get along just fine. 203 lbs lost in 2 years and pretty much maintaining my current weight for the last year seems to say to me I'm doing something right.
Dude you go right ahead and judge me, but you have it all wrong as did the other 2 people. Your just as clueless as they were and still are.

Chips. Or more chicken! I love chicken...

Tonight I had cookies and milk to reach my cal goal.

I did not binge, I do NOT binge. I spent the whole day crying because I missed my kids and grand baby so freaking much. I had an off day is all because of it. And even that is very unusual for me. And thanks to this dude I'm now back having to defend my reason for eating something and it's brought up that very deep hurt, that very painful, heart ripping feeling.

I'd say that's categorically binging- eating excessive amounts of food for emotional reasons??

and yes- I'm straight up judging you- toughen up butter cup- missing someone isn't a reason to bury your face into food- you have to re-evaluate your relationship with food and find a better way to manage your emotions- we all have bad days- no one is saying they don't- but you have to manage yourself.

Secondly- hunger is a HORRID way to tell if you need to eat.
If I used hunger to determine when to feed myself I"d be a fat heifer- why because i'm hungry ALL THE TIME.

And clearly you've never had to bulk- you want those gains- you want to get swole- guess what for months on end- you over eat- you set alarms to eat- you eat before you go to bed- you eat when you wake up- you hit all you can eat sushi buffets- you drink so much milk it makes you sick.

Because the goal is more important than how I feel RIGHT NOW in this moment.

If you have upwards of 1000 calorie deficit you should probably do something about it- hunger or other wise. I try to keep mine no greater than 500. Sometimes if I have a long day and not much time to eat- I wind up having only had 1000 or so for the day and earned significantly more- and leaves me with almost 1500 to eat... guess what- that's unacceptable. gotta go home and have a big glass of milk and several servings of ice cream. Plain and simple.

:noway: LMAO again you don't know me and have no cause to judge. I've been at this for almost 3 years now and if I have one day of slamming some really horrible food, that is NOT a binge. Today I made an amazing cheesecake, tomorrow I'm going to make some homemade milky way bars. Got lots of chocolate to use up before I buy more. Last week before I left I made the most delicious chocolate cake. I make homemade ice cream almost weekly and guess what? I have a bite or two and give the rest away. I enjoy baking sweets (those mini cups were to be used in something delicious but sadly they didn't make it) . It was a bad day emotionally for me yes, but I never eat my feelings, just happens that that day I did.
And no I'm not trying to bulk and I'm not interested in it at this point. I think it's the most boring thing to do. It's worse than watching golf.
We did tend to overeat that week but whatever, I gained a lb or two and I'm back to working on it. I enjoyed my family, cried about missing them before I even left again. I left my kids and grand baby to come back home and take care of my parents, so I'm taking care of two households including cooking for both. I never go to bed with a dirty house. I eek out time in the mornings for me and my exercise even though I'd rather be sleeping. My husband is in Congestive Heart Failure, my mom is legally blind and has COPD and is almost 80 and going downhill everyday, my dad is in Stage 4 Prostate Cancer with less than a year left to be on this Earth, and they are all my responsibility. So please don't tell me to suck it up. You now have a look into MY LIFE. I don't complain about my life because someone out there has it so much worse than I do. Someone's suffering so much more than I. The one thing I do whine about is missing my kids, my heart was ripped out but according to you I have to suck it up and NOT have a moment where I just needed to say to hell with it and do something irrational, even if that irrational thing was eating chocolate and peanut butter.
I'm not sure where I'm supposed to re-evaluate my relationship with food. Me and food get along just fine. 203 lbs lost in 2 years and pretty much maintaining my current weight for the last year seems to say to me I'm doing something right.
Dude you go right ahead and judge me, but you have it all wrong as did the other 2 people. Your just as clueless as they were and still are.

BTW I am not trying to get people to feel sorry for me. This post was more about letting people know that you do not know people's situation and they should not be judged by others for one day or 2 years. Especially people with closed diary's should not be judging others. I am not upset that someone "thinks" I have issues, I'm more ticked off that they took it upon their self to look into my space in order to see if they could discredit me. Then proceeded to call me out for things he made up. My weight loss speaks volumes for itself.

I'd probably have some kind fast food or Cake. But healthy things to easily tot up calories, would be Mixed Nuts or Peanut Butter.
I was really shocked to find out how calorific they are!