How to eat your calories

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jamontagne
jamontagne Posts: 115
in Food and Nutrition
So - I'm just getting used to the idea of actually eating to lose weight instead of starving myself - but I find that I'm just not quite hungry enough to get in a full 1200+ calories everyday! How do I do it? I don't want to use "empty calories" (i.e. junk food) to close the calorie gap - but if I eat 1200 calories of "good food" I think my might explode!

Any suggestions?

I have been trying to force myself for the past 3 days to eat my 1200 daily calories plus my exercise calories - but in the morning I feel sick. But .... I have lost 1.4 lbs so obviously eating as opposed to starving does help weight loss!

Replies

  • smbland
    smbland Posts: 22 Member
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    I am in the same boat... My calorie goal is 1550, but I exercise a lot so it goes well over 2000... I don't know how to eat that much to begin with!!! can't wait to see some responses....
  • glenna221
    glenna221 Posts: 46
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    Greak snacks: veggies and hummus, fat free yogurt, fortified low-sugar/high fiber cereal, a small handful of almonds as a snack...
  • shonasteele
    shonasteele Posts: 473
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    Nuts are healthy but high calorie. Cheese is a great calorie-killer (of course I'm looking at it from the other side - I want more, more, more), maybe with some whole wheat crackers. Peanut butter.

    Mmmmm, now I'm hungry, darn, that backfired.
  • ChristyP0303
    ChristyP0303 Posts: 212 Member
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    I love pecans and a handful of them has about 200 calories in it. Unsalted and plain.
  • foreverloved
    foreverloved Posts: 220 Member
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    A good cereal/milk can really load you up on cals as well as snacking on nuts and anything healthy with peanut butter on it! All things with good nutritional content!
  • CarrieLincoln
    CarrieLincoln Posts: 33
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    Hey there,

    I so understand where you are. when I started there was no way I was able to meet my 2000 calories!! Man I was bearly eating 1200!! haha
    What I did to help increase my calories and still do when needed is a nut trail mix. They are high in calories, healthy fats too. Try some fruit (strawberries, berries, peach,...)with a side of cottage cheese, how about a banana or yogurt? Sometimes a protein bar, fiber bar may do the trick..

    Hope this helps. I know it helped me and now I pretty much do not have a problem meeting my goal!! I am hungry all day long!! haha.
  • ladybg81
    ladybg81 Posts: 1,553 Member
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    If I see that I still have a lot of calories left, I will sub whole milk for my skim milk in my nightly glass of chocolate milk. Nuts, cheese, real butter (sparingly), peanut butter.

    I find it really funny now that I too have a hard time eating my maintenance calories plus my excercise calories because I am not eating really healthy. You have to eat a lot of good food to get where you need to be. But think of the amazing thing you are doing for your body!
  • mvonk1016
    mvonk1016 Posts: 19
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    Nuts are a great way to add calories without a lot off food. They are really high in fiber too. Although they are high in fat, it is a better fat. :happy:
  • BJC78
    BJC78 Posts: 324 Member
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    Thanx for all these great suggestions! Im in the same boat! Guess ill be pickng up some of these items when I go shopping later!
  • Spayrroe
    Spayrroe Posts: 210 Member
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    Okay, I don't often eat back all of my exercise cals and have recently switched to a mostly organic and/or unprocessed diet. I totally avoid High Fructose Corn Syrup and all that other nasty stuff. Since I started all that, I notice it's harder to get my cals in. Part of what I did was use fruits in my meals instead of veggies to get the required carb (every meal I try to have a protein, a carb, and a starch). Maybe add some fruit juice to your breakfast in the morning? It's a lot of sugar, but they're fruit sugars, so your body actually knows how to use them and all, so it's not really bad (if you go with actual whole fruit juice like Simply Orange oj).

    Hope this helps :)
  • Mommyof3texans
    Mommyof3texans Posts: 347
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    Some easy, healthy calorie ideas:

    Hummus
    Peanut Butter
    Almonds
    Walnuts
    Oatmeal
    String Cheese
    Greek Yogurt w/ honey
    Skim Milk
    Kashi Go Lean crunch or Special K protein plus cereal
    Brown/Wild Rice
    Sweet Potatoes
  • jamontagne
    jamontagne Posts: 115
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    wow thanks guys!

    I decided to add the nuts in - just a handful to munch on at my desk at work. :) and I had a PB&J sandwhich for breakfast - which bumped my calories up from 300 to 400 for breakfast.
    I also added in a cup of yogurt last night - as if I was eating ice cream for dessert but instead it was yogurt!
  • dawLs
    dawLs Posts: 84
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    i used to be a raw vegan and with all the healthy raw veg and fruit i was eating i often found it hard to keep up my cals!
    avocados helped me with that. i ate them every day and dropped weight no problem!
    omg.
    now i want one. too bad they are ridiculously hard to find where i am currently living in china!
  • BigBabba
    BigBabba Posts: 7
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    Seems like a lot of us are in the same boat, myself included. Sometimes I'm under 1000 calories, which I know is bad. But a lot of the fillers are high in fat. I try to stay under 30 grams a day, not sure if it's the right thing to do or not, but it's what a nutritionist once told me. My favorite calorie filler is skim milk banana peanut butter shake. I'll sometimes substitute avocado for the peanut butter. Both high in fat, but it's the good kind of fat.
  • BigBabba
    BigBabba Posts: 7
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    :smile:

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