Trouble reaching reccomended calories.

With your exercising, you need to eat more. That's a very unhealthy number for someone active like you.

Can you open your diary?

Try eating more calorie dense foods - cheese, yogurt, avocado, nut butters, etc.

With a restrictive calorie goal like you've chosen, you really do need to eat some of your calories back (I usually recommend about half). What do you use to log your exercise burns?

This is a generic list and doesn't account for your personal definition of "junk", but anything here can be included in a balanced diet (as long as there are no allergies or medical conditions, obviously):
avocado
cheese
full fat diary
Greek yogurt
ice cream
peanut butter (or other nut butters)
dark chocolate
less lean cuts of meat (including beef, pork, sausage, etc.)
seeds (chia, flax, sunflower, etc.)
nuts
olive oil
coconut oil
butter
beans and lentils
protein shakes, bars, and smoothies
hummus
beef jerky
cornbread
tuna
full calorie condiments
full calorie sauces & dressings
sour cream
guacamole
whole grain pasta
rice
bacon
whole eggs
quinoa
fruit and fruit juices
pretzels
bananas
scones
muffins (bran, blueberry, banana nut, etc.)
potatoes (sweet, red, gold, purple, white, etc.)
granola
coconut
salmon
edamame
honey
molasses

Okay, so MFP is calculating around 1529 total calories and you're still 700-900 UNDER that? That's very unhealthy, and you need to be eating more.

ERICALJACOBS wrote: »

MFP is giving me 329 extra added calories for my exercise. Any ideas for added healthy calories. I also don't know if I am focusing to much on the other numbers it gives me with sugars and so forth.

All calories are healthy if they are getting you to hit the appropriate calorie goal. Eat something you like.

Try a carb snack an hour before your workout to fuel your walk/run. I bet you will have more energy throughout! If at the end of the day you are too low, have a handful of hiker's mix. Presto bango, no longer woefully under.

Yes, you are probably worried "too much" about sugar. MFP targets for sugar are much lower than they need to be for most people. (Some people have diabetes or metabolic disorders and that's a different story of course). Unless you have been doctor-diagnosed with a specific disease and are under medical guidance to specifically get a very low sugar target, you could do what many people around here do and hide your sugar target, replacing it with fiber.

Putting foods into categories like "healthy" and "unhealthy" is actually not nearly as helpful as thinking about whether foods are high in nutrients ("nutrient dense"). Many people here have had a lot of success by planning their food around eating nutrient dense foods first to meet their minimum nutrient goals (protein, fats, carbs, fiber), and then eating pretty much whatever they want to make up any calories left over, or being okay with being a little under as long as they met their macronutrient goals.

It's important to get enough protein for your body, the right amount of healthy fats for your body, enough fiber, etc. Many foods are high in one nutrient and low in another.

Also, be aware that there's an eating disorder called "orthorexia" which is an irrational tendency to perceive label too many foods as "unhealthy" and avoid them beyond what is reasonable: especially to the point of being unwilling to eat enough food to meet your nutritional needs. It can lead to malnutrition. Don't get an eating disorder based on trying to make too many changes to your dietary habits all at once.

"Am I being healthy with still 700-900 calories left to my count at the end of the day?"

NO.

Google "scooby calculator" and it will give you a more accurate calorie count. If you don't fuel the vehicle, it will eventually run out of gas. You need to eat more.