Increase my daily calories from 2000 to 2500

brianritchie351 · March 2016

Hi All, been doing a lot of reading lately about the right amount of calories I should be consuming daily, because I find myself being hungry a lot.
About me - I'm 39, 178cms tall, weigh 86 kilos and do daily cardio and stretching as well attend a gym 3-4 times a week for approx 1 hour a visit. I have been sticking to 2000 calories a day for just over 2 weeks now and read that with my size and activity I should be consuming closer to 2500 calories a day.
My biggest question is, how do I consume another 500 calories a day, without binging or snacking?
I need to add in another meal.
Where do I find the balance of carbs, fats and proteins from?
Any suggestions, on what the extra meal could consist of?
I guess the easiest answer would be to increase my portion sizes on the meals that I currently eat, but I've been eating the youfoodz.com packaged meals for both lunch and dinner. Which range from 280-350 calories a meal and I really dont want to change away from this. They are delicious and have freed up so much time for other things, plus I find them to be the perfect portion size for both appetite and stomach size. Eyes used to be much larger than my stomach.
Any help is greatly appreciated.
Brian

yarwell · March 2016

So with a 27 BMI could you share your goals ? Sounds like you're looking to maintain.

Snacking isn't a sin or evil you could easily add two 250 calorie snacks a day, but I do question what you're trying to do here.

ZombieMomTreks · March 2016

According to this website: http://www.coachcalorie.com/calorie-calculator
You should indeed be consuming around 2,400 calories a day. Maybe add in some healthy fats: like avocado or coconut oil, nuts or almonds?

brianritchie351 · March 2016

Trying to lose weight and tone - seem to have platueaud with the weight lose over the last 2 weeks remaining at 86. Lost a kilo a week all year except for the last 2.
Currently hitting my daily macros so I'm getting the right balance of nutrients just need to eat more. I think??

zyxst · March 2016

You're wanting to lose more weight, but you want to eat more? Those 2 things don't work together well. There are many reasons you haven't lost weight in 2 weeks (imo that's not a plateau).

But, sticking with your asked question of how to eat more food, what about adding caloric drinks like milk or fruit juice? There's always chocolate.

Godan2b · March 2016

Interesting, it put me at 3, 025 and I'm really in maintenance mode right now. I usually schedule my biggest meal in the morning for breakfast so it could be anywhere from 600-1000 calories. Then I eat an additional 4 'meal's' or snacks during the day. The last one is no later than 7pm. Plus I never ever have an issue of getting more the 9-10 cups of water a day.

motivccess · March 2016

ZombieMomTreks wrote: »

According to this website: http://www.coachcalorie.com/calorie-calculator
You should indeed be consuming around 2,400 calories a day. Maybe add in some healthy fats: like avocado or coconut oil, nuts or almonds?

2400 calories a day to lose weight?!?! oO

Jecka987 · March 2016

brianritchie351 wrote: »

Trying to lose weight and tone - seem to have platueaud with the weight lose over the last 2 weeks remaining at 86. Lost a kilo a week all year except for the last 2.
Currently hitting my daily macros so I'm getting the right balance of nutrients just need to eat more. I think??

How long have you been eating a deficit for? I wouldn't panic about 2 weeks no loss, a month maybe. You need to be in a deficit to lose weight, so going up to you maintenance cals won't help with that. What is your current macro breakdown (% Protein, Fat, Carbs)? Are you doing any weight training?

Also just saying, most people will be hungry, sometimes, when eating deficit, you are deliberately eating less than your body needs - it goes with the territory.

20yearsyounger · March 2016

brianritchie351 wrote: »

Hi All, been doing a lot of reading lately about the right amount of calories I should be consuming daily, because I find myself being hungry a lot.
About me - I'm 39, 178cms tall, weigh 86 kilos and do daily cardio and stretching as well attend a gym 3-4 times a week for approx 1 hour a visit. I have been sticking to 2000 calories a day for just over 2 weeks now and read that with my size and activity I should be consuming closer to 2500 calories a day.
My biggest question is, how do I consume another 500 calories a day, without binging or snacking?
I need to add in another meal.
Where do I find the balance of carbs, fats and proteins from?
Any suggestions, on what the extra meal could consist of?
I guess the easiest answer would be to increase my portion sizes on the meals that I currently eat, but I've been eating the youfoodz.com packaged meals for both lunch and dinner. Which range from 280-350 calories a meal and I really dont want to change away from this. They are delicious and have freed up so much time for other things, plus I find them to be the perfect portion size for both appetite and stomach size. Eyes used to be much larger than my stomach.
Any help is greatly appreciated.
Brian

I have 2 years on you, same height, 16 kilos lighter. I maintain on about 1900 not including exercise (my exercise days are choppy). To get here, I did 1600 not including exercise and only ate back exercise calories if I felt the need to. Unless that number is your TDEE and includes exercise, your haven't plateaued and you don't need to increase from 2000 to 2500. Check your logging instead and just keep going until your body decides its time to drop again.

brianritchie351 · March 2016

Thanks everyone for the feedback - I'm wanting to eat more cause I'm hungry and the days I weight train (currently train 3-4 days a week) I'm really hungry.
So the 2 week slow down is normal? Just need to keep doing what I'm doing?
Been following this eating plan and weight/workout plan for 7 complete weeks as of sunday past.
And yes I drink a minimum of 8 cups of water a day. Some days as much as 3 litres.
Looking for advice. Realising that everyone is different and responds differently to different things.
Thanks again in advance.
Really appreciate people taking the time to reply with helpful advice!

williams969 · March 2016

motivccess wrote: »

ZombieMomTreks wrote: »

According to this website: http://www.coachcalorie.com/calorie-calculator
You should indeed be consuming around 2,400 calories a day. Maybe add in some healthy fats: like avocado or coconut oil, nuts or almonds?

2400 calories a day to lose weight?!?! oO

Could be. I'm female, smaller than OP, and similarly active. I can lose on 1900. I was eating ~1700 for 2 months, but I got too fatigued. I'd rather eat more and lose more slowly, while fueling my activity properly.

OP, if you're sure a 2400 goal is right for you, go ahead and give it a go for a good 4-6 weeks, reassess as necessary (which is always good to do). As far as what extra to eat? Whatever works for you. Could be slightly larger portions throughout the day, or eat a second helping at dinner, or an extra small meal at whatever time.

20yearsyounger · March 2016

when I look at my history, it seems as if I just went straight down, but I know that wasnt the case and I remember complaining about it. Unfortunately I didnt save good shots but maybe this helps some.

What kind of training do you do and how much is your estimated burn? Right now I probably average about 800 calories a day so that puts my TDEE and around 2700 to maintain my current weight. I am very different on most days so I don't really use that method.

Increase my daily calories from 2000 to 2500

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