Calories

You could try drinking smoothies or protein shakes or choosing to add things like peanut butter or hummus which has more calories, beware of undereating. I did it for a while and ruined my metabolism.

rickiimarieee wrote: »

The problem with me is I feel up on vegetables before I had the meat. Of course I eat all the meat because I need the calories but most of it I have to force down! About almost every other day I make vegetable pasta with Italian dressing and pepperonis. I love pasta. I haven't looked up recipes of brown rice but I should. But thanks for the help!

Maybe you're eating too many vegetables. If you're filling up on vegetables so much that you don't have room left for adequate amounts of protein and fats, that's not healthy.

rickiimarieee wrote: »

I possibly could be eating too many vegetables (never thought a day would come where I say that lol) I'll lower my vegetable quantity and up my others such as protein and carbs.

Between

Diet A, with too few calories, that consists of
X amount of meat
Y amount of veggies
Z amount of whatever other foods you allow yourself to eat because you consider them not junk

and

Diet B, with an appropriate amount of calories, that consists of
the same X amount of meat as in Diet A above
the same Y amount of veggies as in Diet A above
the same Z amount of other foods as in Diet A above
AND W amount of "junk" (ice cream, cake, etc. -- any foods that you don't have an actual medical reason, such as allergies and intolerances, to avoid)

Diet B is healthier. Calories (energy) are a very important nutrient. It would be better if W included some nutrient dense foods, but adding foods that are energy-dense but low on micronutrients doesn't cancel out the value of the other nutrients in your diets.

rickiimarieee wrote: »

The problem with me is I feel up on vegetables before I had the meat. Of course I eat all the meat because I need the calories but most of it I have to force down! About almost every other day I make vegetable pasta with Italian dressing and pepperonis. I love pasta. I haven't looked up recipes of brown rice but I should. But thanks for the help!

Your day yesterday didn't sound especially high in vegetables -- sausage and green peppers, potatoes, and chicken plus apples. If that really was so filling, add in some higher cal foods (which I'm sure you can think of, but I listed some in my prior post): cook in olive oil, add in some eggs, add in full fat dairy or cheese, add in some avocados and/or nuts and seeds (these are high cal, but very good for you). Use some regular or whole grain pasta. Whole grains in general (although white and brown rice aren't meaningfully different in nutrients), including oats. You seem to eat potatoes, try sweet potatoes. Legumes (beans and lentils) are good. Whole grain toast with nut butter or greek yogurt with some nut butter mixed in. Dried fruit (mixed with nuts makes a delicious and high cal snack).

If you really have to "force down" food to keep calories from being super low, there might be something wrong. It's not a good thing.

Heck, make a vegetable based smoothie with some coconut milk or full fat yogurt and some fruit and maybe some nuts -- the calories in those add up fast and often aren't so filling and you would get in more fruit and veg.

rickiimarieee wrote: »

I got where I'm at from pounding Mountain Dew down everyday and eating junk food all day long and being pregnant. I haven't took my prescription in like 3 days now so people saying that, find something else. I won't eat junk food because I feel like id binge because I completely cut it out. I eat healthier. Yesterday morning I had sausage and green peppers. For lunch I had over roasted potatoes. And for dinner I had chicken breasts and two apples.

That's got to be well under 1000 calories

janejellyroll wrote: »

wolfruhn wrote: »

Keep protein moderate, your choice is to then go higher carb lower fat, or higher fat lower carb. Fat has more calories so you could eat more butter or olive oil. I would not mix fat and carbs personally though in the same meal.

Why wouldn't you mix fat and carbohydrates in the same meal? I can think of many great meals that include both carbohydrates and fat and since many of the vitamins in vegetables are better absorbed when eaten with fat, fat and carbohydrates can also be a very nutritious combination.

I can't even think of many balanced meals that would not include fat and carbs.

I think most meals should have some fat (if one eats meat or eggs, they will have them, and I cook with oil and accent with nuts/seeds and add oil to a salad dressing -- many nutrients are fat soluble, after all, as you say). And I also think most meals should have vegetables (or at least fruit, if not), and there are carbs.

Making a fat free or carb free meal would be IMO quite difficult.

Plus, I couldn't have pasta with a sauce made of shrimp and lots of vegetables cooked with garlic in olive oil, with some olives in the sauce. Or a roasted chicken with roasted potatoes and brussels sprouts. Or pork chops with apples and cabbage and winter squash. Or salmon with green beans, even.

There are plenty of calorie dense foods that are "healthy" and not junk. Eat some nuts...cook your veggies in oil...have something besides meat and veg for dinner...there's nothing inherently unhealthy about rice or pasta, etc.

Getting an appropriate amount of calories is a very important part of proper nutrition. There's also nothing wrong with filling out some calories with "junk"

I need around 2,800 - 3,000 calories per day...I have no problem getting there.