Healthy ways to up my calories.
emmaellery1989
Posts: 15 Member
Whatever I try I just don't seem to be eating enough calories. I have 3 meals a day and two snacks and I'm totally full up! But I struggle to eat more than around 1100 calories which obviously isn't enough. I've started adding things like cashews to my diet. Does anyone have any advice or foods I could try?
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Nuts are good. So's avocado. If you're drinking skim milk, go for 2% or even full-fat. Same if you're eating reduced-fat versions of cheese, mayo, etc. Get the regulars.
Dried fruit is pretty high-calorie too.1 -
Spoonfuls of peanut butter? ❤️1
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nuts, seeds, trail mix, whole fat dairy, avocados, olive/coconut oil or butter, fattier cuts of meat (like chicken thigh instead of breast, marbled red meat)
Open your diary for more specific advice...1 -
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I want to avoid anything full of sugars so I tend to avoid dried fruit.
My body also hates dairy so I'm a bit stuck there too.
Wondering whether to just add some more protein?
I have a pretty clean and un processed due to lots of intolerances so I mainly live on meat, fish, veg, nuts and some fruit.
Mainly struggling with my lunches as I eat while I'm working so it's pretty much just salad every day.0 -
Use full-fat salad dressing or oil on your salad, more fatty fish (like salmon), olives, hummus0
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Granola, Oatmeal, Bananas, Pears, Corn, Sweet Potatoes, Almonds, Peanuts2
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Eat some avocados...cook your veg in good cooking oils/butter, etc...full fat dressing...eat some nuts...nut butters...eat whole eggs if you're just eating whites...basically more dietary fat.1
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can you be more specific about your goal? Are you trying to gain weight, maintain? You seem to eat a pretty restricted diet--is there a reason you're avoiding even dried fruit?
anyway some ideas:the following gets you to 1200 or more
b/f: 2 eggs and a slice of avocado toast
lunch: 1 large wrap with 1/3 c hummus and lots of veggies, an apple.
snack: 2 rice cakes with almond butter
dinner: 5 oz salmon, 1 c. couscous and roasted asparagus with olive oil, topped with pine nuts.
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Thanks everyone. Seems most of the stuff I need to eat I can't have without having awful stomach aches. But I'll look into getting different oils and dressings etc
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Bananas! Almonds! Avocado in salad!1
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Nuts, seeds, olive/coconut oil, whole grain breads, cracker type stuff (I'm eating amazing brown rice, roasted red pepper crackers right now and a tiny serving is over 100 calories), full fat dressings/marinades, granola etc.0
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I can't have gluten either. I sometimes have gluten free pasta but it's so full of sugar! I also get severe stomach ache from rice
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Avocado, one whole one is close to 300 cals. Nut butters 1 tbsp is 100 cals. Super easy to add healthy calories.0
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emmaellery1989 wrote: »I can't have gluten either. I sometimes have gluten free pasta but it's so full of sugar! I also get severe stomach ache from rice
Have you tried bean pastas yet? I'm working on getting a lot of beans into my diet right now so I've switched from regular pasta to these and don't mind the taste of them. I use POW! black bean elbow pasta, which only has 1g of sugar per serving/190 calories, and then Banza penne pasta which is made from chickpeas and has 5g of sugar per serving/190 calories. Both are gluten free and I found them in the gluten free section of my grocery store.0 -
Do you have a medical reason for avoiding sugar? Because with all of the things you can't eat because of how they affect you, adding an unnecessary restriction that causes you to avoid perfectly healthy foods seems like a bad idea.6
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emmaellery1989 wrote: »I want to avoid anything full of sugars so I tend to avoid dried fruit.
My body also hates dairy so I'm a bit stuck there too.
Wondering whether to just add some more protein?
I have a pretty clean and un processed due to lots of intolerances so I mainly live on meat, fish, veg, nuts and some fruit.
Mainly struggling with my lunches as I eat while I'm working so it's pretty much just salad every day.
When I struggle on my calories I look at where I'm struggling at w my macros. If ur low on protein, obviously take another protein shake or put 2 scoops in there. If u want more fat brats have alot of fat and protein in there w 1-3 grams of carbs. If it's just fat mix in coconut oil w ur food.that had like 120 calories per tablespoon. And if ur lacking carbs there's a list of things to eat.0 -
I am gaining weight doing the autoimmune protocol (plus eggs as a reintroduction). Grain, nut,seed, dairy free, etc. I am also am low carb at about 100g. Not saying you should do this diet at all, but letting you know it is possible to gain even with restrictions.
Basically eat fattier cuts of meat like 80-85% ground beef, poultry thighs, lamb, seafood like salmon and sardines, offal (can easily be hidden in meatloaf or burgers), avocados, starchier vegetables from winter squashes, rutabagas, and parsnips to higher sweet potatoes and white potatoes. Add a tablespoon or 2 of oil to every dish. With fatty meats, you can save the extra fat to cook other food. If you eat scrambled eggs, mix some mayo and green olives in them. Other cooking fats like tallow and rendered duck are higher in calories than evoo. Full fat coconut milk is a decent higher cal dairy alternative. Those are some things i can think of on the top of my head.1 -
emmaellery1989 wrote: »I can't have gluten either. I sometimes have gluten free pasta but it's so full of sugar! I also get severe stomach ache from rice
Who adds sugar to pasta? I've just looked up a few gf pastas, none of which had sugar..
Undereating consistently is not healthy. Make calorie dense salads with roasted starchy vegies cooked in fat, with fattier protein (chicken thighs, salmon, beef, whole eggs etc), with calorie dense dressings (homemade mayo is delicious!)3 -
given that you're intolerant to rice, which is one of the least allergenic foods, it probably makes sense for you to work with your gastroenterologist and an RD--I assume you are under a doctor's care for your food intolerances? Have you been tested for SIBO?5
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I am gaining weight doing the autoimmune protocol (plus eggs as a reintroduction). Grain, nut,seed, dairy free, etc. I am also am low carb at about 100g. Not saying you should do this diet at all, but letting you know it is possible to gain even with restrictions.
Basically eat fattier cuts of meat like 80-85% ground beef, poultry thighs, lamb, seafood like salmon and sardines, offal (can easily be hidden in meatloaf or burgers), avocados, starchier vegetables from winter squashes, rutabagas, and parsnips to higher sweet potatoes and white potatoes. Add a tablespoon or 2 of oil to every dish. With fatty meats, you can save the extra fat to cook other food. If you eat scrambled eggs, mix some mayo and green olives in them. Other cooking fats like tallow and rendered duck are higher in calories than evoo. Full fat coconut milk is a decent higher cal dairy alternative. Those are some things i can think of on the top of my head.
I'm not trying to gain weight I'm trying to loose it.
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Thanks everyone. I know I seem like an incredibly difficult person. But through the years I have discovered that having a very simple diet such as meat, fish and veg has really helped me control my stomach pains and my weight.0
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livingleanlivingclean wrote: »emmaellery1989 wrote: »I can't have gluten either. I sometimes have gluten free pasta but it's so full of sugar! I also get severe stomach ache from rice
Who adds sugar to pasta? I've just looked up a few gf pastas, none of which had sugar..
Undereating consistently is not healthy. Make calorie dense salads with roasted starchy vegies cooked in fat, with fattier protein (chicken thighs, salmon, beef, whole eggs etc), with calorie dense dressings (homemade mayo is delicious!)
Yes I know it's not healthy that's why I'm trying to get in more healthy calories. Gluten free pasta is usually higher in calories than normal pasta that's why I try to avoid it. Anything heavy or carb like makes me Bloat up and be in agony for hours.1 -
emmaellery1989 wrote: »livingleanlivingclean wrote: »emmaellery1989 wrote: »I can't have gluten either. I sometimes have gluten free pasta but it's so full of sugar! I also get severe stomach ache from rice
Who adds sugar to pasta? I've just looked up a few gf pastas, none of which had sugar..
Undereating consistently is not healthy. Make calorie dense salads with roasted starchy vegies cooked in fat, with fattier protein (chicken thighs, salmon, beef, whole eggs etc), with calorie dense dressings (homemade mayo is delicious!)
Yes I know it's not healthy that's why I'm trying to get in more healthy calories. Gluten free pasta is usually higher in calories than normal pasta that's why I try to avoid it. Anything heavy or carb like makes me Bloat up and be in agony for hours.
Thats got nothing to do with being full of sugar, which was your original reason for not eating it. Confused as to why you have an issue with a food having more calories when your original post was about not eating enough calories.
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emmaellery1989 wrote: »so I mainly live on meat, fish, veg, nuts and some fruit.
Taking your list.....
Don't go for lean cuts of meat.
Oily fish.
Starchy carbs in your veg selection.
More nuts.
More fruit including higher calorie ones like bananas.
No eggs? No grains/cereals?
By the way there is no such thing as healthy or unhealthy calories - it's simply a measure of energy.
Healthy foods, sure. But think of your diet in its entirety including your calorie allowance.0 -
emmaellery1989 wrote: »<I am gaining weight doing the autoimmune protocol (plus eggs as a reintroduction). Grain, nut,seed, dairy free, etc. I am also am low carb at about 100g. Not saying you should do this diet at all, but letting you know it is possible to gain even with restrictions.
Basically eat fattier cuts of meat like 80-85% ground beef, poultry thighs, lamb, seafood like salmon and sardines, offal (can easily be hidden in meatloaf or burgers), avocados, starchier vegetables from winter squashes, rutabagas, and parsnips to higher sweet potatoes and white potatoes. Add a tablespoon or 2 of oil to every dish. With fatty meats, you can save the extra fat to cook other food. If you eat scrambled eggs, mix some mayo and green olives in them. Other cooking fats like tallow and rendered duck are higher in calories than evoo. Full fat coconut milk is a decent higher cal dairy alternative. Those are some things i can think of on the top of my head.
I'm not trying to gain weight I'm trying to loose it.
My bad! For some reason, i thought i read in your post that you were trying to gain. Anyway, I know how frustrating it is to deal with food restrictions, and i hope some of my tips will help you anyway.
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livingleanlivingclean wrote: »emmaellery1989 wrote: »livingleanlivingclean wrote: »emmaellery1989 wrote: »I can't have gluten either. I sometimes have gluten free pasta but it's so full of sugar! I also get severe stomach ache from rice
Who adds sugar to pasta? I've just looked up a few gf pastas, none of which had sugar..
Undereating consistently is not healthy. Make calorie dense salads with roasted starchy vegies cooked in fat, with fattier protein (chicken thighs, salmon, beef, whole eggs etc), with calorie dense dressings (homemade mayo is delicious!)
Yes I know it's not healthy that's why I'm trying to get in more healthy calories. Gluten free pasta is usually higher in calories than normal pasta that's why I try to avoid it. Anything heavy or carb like makes me Bloat up and be in agony for hours.
Thats got nothing to do with being full of sugar, which was your original reason for not eating it. Confused as to why you have an issue with a food having more calories when your original post was about not eating enough calories.
this! if you are trying to eat more calories why are you avoiding foods that you know have more calories???3 -
How did you gain weight ion the first place? Because maybe you need to eat a few of the foods that got you there, at least you know you can tolerate those.4
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