How do I "up" my calories?

eventgal
eventgal Posts: 29
edited October 1 in Food and Nutrition
Yes, I'm a week-old newbie, plus, I just got off of HCG a week ago. I saw the light and jumped off that bandwagon early!

I am trying to eat so clean, that I cannot seem to get my calorie level up to what MFP recommends. I really do get full on all this food. I'm not tiny either -- 5'8" and a bit over 200 lbs. Any suggestions on what I should add or adjust? I opened up my food diary for all the world to see, but please, be gentle.

And I keep going over on my daily protein. Is that horribly awful? I can immediately see that I need to cease the protein powder.

Please help me. I so want to be successful in this.

Replies

  • lpirie
    lpirie Posts: 24
    going over your protein is not a bad thing. I try to go way over so I don't loose muscle.
  • taso42_DELETED
    taso42_DELETED Posts: 3,394 Member
    Your protein level is perfectly fine actually (the MFP default starts out quite low; many people manually adjust it to 30 or 40%).

    To increase calories, you can eat pretty much the same stuff, but slightly increase portion size. Maybe add a bit of olive oil or peanut butter here and there as they are very calorie dense. You might also find it easier to eat 5 or 6 meals a day instead of 3.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    As a minimum you should eat 1200 plus eat back what you burned from exercise. so if you burn 300, you should be eating 1500 (1200+3200). And going over on protein is fine, MFP sets protein at 15% but a balanced diet can consist of protein as high as 30% (double MFP's default)
    You don't have to eat more to ingest more calories just make different food choices such as:
    Add nuts, seeds, and/or dehydrated fruit as a snack
    Use nut and seed butters on crackers or fruit
    switch to full fat or higher fat % MF products (switch from 0% yogurt to 3.5%)
    don't eat diet or lite foods, eat the full fat "real" versions
    have a glass of juice in place of a glass of water
    add olive oil to soups or salads (a tsp or 2 each time)
    Add Avocado to salads and sandwiches
    etc
  • janetb21
    janetb21 Posts: 182 Member
    I eat nuts to up my calories - almonds, pistachios, walnuts etc. are all higher in calories and healthy.
  • mandimoore617
    mandimoore617 Posts: 325 Member
    Try adding in a snack or two per day... Bananas, apples, oranges... many fruits will up your calories, plus they are good for you. Just watch the sugar content. :-)

    Hope this helps, and good luck.
  • JEly2011
    JEly2011 Posts: 2 Member
    Have you tried juicing? You can intake a lot of good clean fruits and veggies more at once if they're in juice form. Still just as filling if not more. 400 calories of veggies are easier to take in in juice form rather than eating it raw. Hope this helps!!
  • JennLifts
    JennLifts Posts: 1,913 Member
    Your protein level is perfectly fine actually (the MFP default starts out quite low; many people manually adjust it to 30 or 40%).

    To increase calories, you can eat pretty much the same stuff, but slightly increase portion size. Maybe add a bit of olive oil or peanut butter here and there as they are very calorie dense. You might also find it easier to eat 5 or 6 meals a day instead of 3.


    Ding ding ding! :D
  • Scott_Parkinson
    Scott_Parkinson Posts: 23 Member
    Eating too much protein shouldn't be too much of a problem, especially if you are exercising. If you eat too much protein and don't exercise, well, let's just say, it will cause some instestinal issues (trust me). As for getting your calorie intake up, I would try pastas, beans, or even *gasp* a piece of toast with a tablespoon of peanut butter on it....yes I understand that even low fat peanut butter can be really fatty, as long as your fat intake is moderate, a table spoon won't hurt.
  • JennLifts
    JennLifts Posts: 1,913 Member
    Have you tried juicing? You can intake a lot of good clean fruits and veggies more at once if they're in juice form. Still just as filling if not more. 400 calories of veggies are easier to take in in juice form rather than eating it raw. Hope this helps!!

    That would only make the problem worse, lol.
  • cmw72
    cmw72 Posts: 390 Member
    Don't be afraid to consume a fair amount of protein.

    MFP's default protein levels are too low IMO. You can change your macro-nutrient percentages though in your settings.

    Personally, I would add some hard boiled eggs to your diet. A few spread throughout the day would keep your protein levels up and round out your calories a bit.
  • Soccerstar19
    Soccerstar19 Posts: 56
    Don't be afraid of higher calorie foods. I also spread out my meals so instead of having 3 meals a day try 5-6 meals and eat every 2-3 hours.
  • SheehyCFC
    SheehyCFC Posts: 529 Member
    you're getting lots of good advice here (taso + erickirb), but I'd also like to point out you should make sure the stuff you are entering is accurate... 4oz of chicken is NOT 67calories as I have seen in your diary... ESPECIALLY if it was cooked in 1tbsp of olive oil - the total for that should be more like 150 calories (including the oil)
  • eventgal
    eventgal Posts: 29
    Sheehy, actually it was four chicken breasts cooked in 1 T. of olive oil. I'm eating the last one today so my leftovers don't go to waste. But, I see your point. Thank you.
  • stormieweather
    stormieweather Posts: 2,549 Member
    you're getting lots of good advice here (taso + erickirb), but I'd also like to point out you should make sure the stuff you are entering is accurate... 4oz of chicken is NOT 67calories as I have seen in your diary... ESPECIALLY if it was cooked in 1tbsp of olive oil - the total for that should be more like 150 calories (including the oil)

    Very true. That entry shows zero fat as well. Olive oil has 110 calories and 14g of fat for 1 tablespoon, never mind the 100+ calories for the chicken.

    I suggest that you verify your entries with the packaging until you've built a base of trusted foods, and anything that doesn't come with a package (chicken, gr beef, veggies, fruits) can be verified via nutritiondata.com. Because everyone can enter custom foods, you're going to have a lot of errors in the MFP database. Double check!

    Buy a scale and weigh everything, at least at first. You'd be very surprised at how far off estimates can be. I read a study once that said people underestimate their intake by 20%, which would just about wipe out a deficit.
  • eventgal
    eventgal Posts: 29
    Stormie, thanks for the warning. Because I was so trusting of the nutritional data, I hadn't noticed.

    ALL OF YOU have provided me with some great info!! Thank you so much!! I don't know how many years it's been since I had full-fat anything in my kitchen. My tastebuds are gonna love this! Since I just seem to stay so full, I'm wondering if a bit of the HCG is still hanging around in my system??

    I've been lifting some light weights (doesn't really count from what I read on other boards), but my true love is cardio. I need a change, so I dusted off some old "Slim in 6" DVD's and will start that tonight.

    Now, I will see if I can manually reset my protein to 30%. That will make me feel better, rather than seeing a big, fat negative mark.

    Again, THANKS TO EVERYONE. You gave me the input that I really needed.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    Stormie, thanks for the warning. Because I was so trusting of the nutritional data, I hadn't noticed.

    ALL OF YOU have provided me with some great info!! Thank you so much!! I don't know how many years it's been since I had full-fat anything in my kitchen. My tastebuds are gonna love this! Since I just seem to stay so full, I'm wondering if a bit of the HCG is still hanging around in my system??

    I've been lifting some light weights (doesn't really count from what I read on other boards), but my true love is cardio. I need a change, so I dusted off some old "Slim in 6" DVD's and will start that tonight.

    Now, I will see if I can manually reset my protein to 30%. That will make me feel better, rather than seeing a big, fat negative mark.

    Again, THANKS TO EVERYONE. You gave me the input that I really needed.

    To change your protein %, go to goals, click change goals, select custom, make your changes, then click save changes
  • eventgal
    eventgal Posts: 29
    Yippee! I actually got it changed!
  • Caroline244
    Caroline244 Posts: 56 Member
    Is everyone having success losing weight (with or without adding excercise) by being at 1200 calories per day??

    I have the same problem, trying to get enough calories, by MFP's standards. For about 2 or 3 years, I had used the LA Weightloss system (before they closed) and lost all of the weight I had wanted to lose, and then gradually put it back on. I have been keeping with the LA Weightloss system in food selection (minus eating any protein bars) when I use MFP. However, I tend to eat only between 700 - 900 calories per day. I am 5"5 and weigh about 193 pounds. I am having trouble taking weight off, even though I had great success with the LA Weightloss system and am basically eating the same way now as I did a few years ago. However, I am afraid that if I increase my caloric intake, I will put on even more weight.

    Are you having success losing weight by intaking 1200 calories/day?
  • eventgal
    eventgal Posts: 29
    Caroline, I think everybody else is no longer reading this thread. Amazingly, I AM losing weight eating MFP's recommended calories. I am doing better at getting more calories in each day. I just got off of HCG (I DON'T recommend that), and I think my body was still feeling some effects from that. A personal trainer, who is a longtime family friend, was the first one to say that I needed to eat more calories -- especially if I am working out (cardio is my fav). That's one thing that I had not tried, so I decided that I would give "eating more" a shot. And, it's working!!

    Now, part of the reason I am successful this time is because I very recently discovered that I am hypothyroid, have estrogen dominance, and I am sugar intolerant (on my way to being diabetic if I don't mend my ways). I am being treated by a holistic physician and my body is finally responding appropriately to weight loss attempts. Do you think you might have other issues like these? For the first time in a long time, I finally feel like I have a level playing field when it comes to weight loss.

    So, try eating a few more calories. Hopefully, it will work!! Good luck, dear!
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