Too few calories
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lprekan
Posts: 13 Member
I am consistently falling short on calorie intake. For instance, yesterday I was 600 something calories short, with a deficit of 98g in carbs, 10g fat, and 30g protein. Is my best bet just to drink a protein shake to make up for these? I'm rarely hungry, so I can't see eating a bunch more, but if someone has some healthy, high calorie food tips, that aren't high in everything else, I have open ears!
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I very much like to snack on chick peas. I buy them raw, cook them in the instant pot, and then roast them in indian spices (like curry). They're delicious and pretty balanced nutritionally. Just make sure to keep track of the serving size. Sometimes I also just eat peanut butter. I buy the pre-portioned JIF. And sometimes, I do fall back on an extra protein shake.
My only question though is if you're not hitting your base calories or is this calories + exercise calories that you are falling short of? I usually do not worry if it's the exercise calories I don't eat as long as I feel OK.
Also, you might be a lot closer than you think depending on the accuracy of your logging (including any fats you cook with, or even having mints after each meal can add up. Do you have a certain goal in mind? Weight loss, maintain or weight gain?2 -
What was your overall calorie goal? How often are you falling short? What are your goals (gain, lose, maintain)?2
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This will answer you both. I am trying to cut some fat that I have, but overall gain weight. For the goals I have set here, it is recommended I have 2200 calories a day. And I fall short on days I do and don't work out. Because I'm trying to cut a little, I wondered if it was ok to fall short of calories for awhile? And those chick peas sound amazing!0
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I am consistently falling short on calorie intake. For instance, yesterday I was 600 something calories short, with a deficit of 98g in carbs, 10g fat, and 30g protein. Is my best bet just to drink a protein shake to make up for these? I'm rarely hungry, so I can't see eating a bunch more, but if someone has some healthy, high calorie food tips, that aren't high in everything else, I have open ears!
Eating enough calories is the healthiest thing you can do. Consistently falling short because you have self-imposed restrictions on macros or food sources is far worse. In addition to your protein being too low your fat is too low.
Edited to remove 1200 calorie information after reading the follow-up post.3 -
I am consistently falling short on calorie intake. For instance, yesterday I was 600 something calories short, with a deficit of 98g in carbs, 10g fat, and 30g protein. Is my best bet just to drink a protein shake to make up for these? I'm rarely hungry, so I can't see eating a bunch more, but if someone has some healthy, high calorie food tips, that aren't high in everything else, I have open ears!
Eating enough calories is the healthiest thing you can do. Consistently falling short because you have self-imposed restrictions on macros or food sources is far worse. In addition to your protein being too low your fat is too low.
If my math is correct you only ate about 600 calories yesterday which means that you are attempting a 1200 calorie diet. If that is the number that MFP assigned you based on your stats that is fine. If that is a number you heard about and decided to adopt it is a bad idea. An article on 1200 calorie diets:
https://www.aworkoutroutine.com/1200-calorie-diet/
Oh no! I ate over 1800 calories yesterday! It's just that I'm supposedly supposed to be eating so much more to be able to gain any weight. I also at 74g of fat and 96g of protein. But both of those were inevitably short as well.0 -
This will answer you both. I am trying to cut some fat that I have, but overall gain weight. For the goals I have set here, it is recommended I have 2200 calories a day. And I fall short on days I do and don't work out. Because I'm trying to cut a little, I wondered if it was ok to fall short of calories for awhile? And those chick peas sound amazing!
It doesn't really work that way. If you are gaining weight you can gain some muscle but also some fat. Otherwise you can maintain and lose fat and gain muscle but stay the same weight. What you do depends on your stats and goals but you definitely don't want to undereat if your goal is muscle related.1 -
This will answer you both. I am trying to cut some fat that I have, but overall gain weight. For the goals I have set here, it is recommended I have 2200 calories a day. And I fall short on days I do and don't work out. Because I'm trying to cut a little, I wondered if it was ok to fall short of calories for awhile? And those chick peas sound amazing!
If you are trying to gain weight overall, you will need to meet your calorie goal consistently (assuming that your goal is set for you to gain weight). One day of eating 1,600 instead of 2,200 isn't going to be a problem, but doing it too often is going to keep you from meeting your goals.
If you're rarely hungry, it's going to be more of a challenge. If a protein shake is something you enjoy and you find it goes down easier than other things, it would be a good choice. Fats are another thing that many people find easier to eat when they need more calories but hunger is an issue. Since fat has 9 calories a gram, you can get a lot of calories without necessarily eating a lot of food and it can easily be added to a lot of different meals. Think oils, nuts, avocado . . . . things like that. 600 calories is an awful lot of vegetables, but not a lot of peanut butter!4 -
Ultimately, I DO want to gain weight. However, I don't want to eat a bunch of trash to get there. Really, I don't want to eat a LOT extra at all, because I am rarely hungry after what I already eat. I know I'm going to have to add a little something somewhere, like a protein smoothie in the morning and some cheese or something. I was just wondering if anyone else had the same problem as I do, and how they incorporate extra calories into an already satisfying daily diet.1
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The OP in this link provides a list of calorie dense, lower volume foods, so you might find some suggestions there that will work for you. If you want to gain a little weight, you need to eat in a surplus, there's no getting around that
Good luck!
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10326769/are-you-a-hard-gainer-please-read/p15 -
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Ultimately, I DO want to gain weight. However, I don't want to eat a bunch of trash to get there. Really, I don't want to eat a LOT extra at all, because I am rarely hungry after what I already eat. I know I'm going to have to add a little something somewhere, like a protein smoothie in the morning and some cheese or something. I was just wondering if anyone else had the same problem as I do, and how they incorporate extra calories into an already satisfying daily diet.
Nuts, nut butters, seeds, granola, full fat dairy, avocado, oils, dried fruit, pasta, bagels, cereals, juices, higher fat meats and fish, smoothies. I used to gain on over 3500 cals so I definitely incorporated some of that as well as plenty of treats.2 -
Nuts are excellent as they are healthy but calorie dense.
Here is a list and thread on calorie dense foods. you can search the thread for calorie dense foods that are "healthy enough" for you to help bulk your calories without bulking quantity. add them as snacks or in your meals. Avoid "low fat" anything.
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10142490/a-list-of-calorie-dense-foods/p1
ETA: Ok this appears late - i was replying while the other posts were made haha so repeating info.
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janejellyroll wrote: »If you are trying to gain weight overall, you will need to meet your calorie goal consistently (assuming that your goal is set for you to gain weight). One day of eating 1,600 instead of 2,200 isn't going to be a problem, but doing it too often is going to keep you from meeting your goals.
If you're rarely hungry, it's going to be more of a challenge. If a protein shake is something you enjoy and you find it goes down easier than other things, it would be a good choice. Fats are another thing that many people find easier to eat when they need more calories but hunger is an issue. Since fat has 9 calories a gram, you can get a lot of calories without necessarily eating a lot of food and it can easily be added to a lot of different meals. Think oils, nuts, avocado . . . . things like that. 600 calories is an awful lot of vegetables, but not a lot of peanut butter!
Lol, that really would be a lot of veggies! Thank you for your advice! I can def chow down on a little PB from time to time
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Ultimately, I DO want to gain weight. However, I don't want to eat a bunch of trash to get there. Really, I don't want to eat a LOT extra at all, because I am rarely hungry after what I already eat. I know I'm going to have to add a little something somewhere, like a protein smoothie in the morning and some cheese or something. I was just wondering if anyone else had the same problem as I do, and how they incorporate extra calories into an already satisfying daily diet.
A food isn't "trash" just because it is calorie dense. There are plenty of foods that are higher in calories and also rich in nutrients, like the nuts or avocados that I mentioned above.
That said, even if a food didn't have much to offer other than calories it would still be a net benefit if it was helping you meet your weight goals. The only real reason to avoid calorie dense foods is if they're crowding out other things you need or making you overweight. It doesn't sound like either of those are a problem here, so there's no real reason to consider them "trash."4 -
Also, I am willing to bet that a fair amount of the food you call "trash" has nutrients. There are loads of good things in ice cream for instance.0
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janejellyroll wrote: »Ultimately, I DO want to gain weight. However, I don't want to eat a bunch of trash to get there. Really, I don't want to eat a LOT extra at all, because I am rarely hungry after what I already eat. I know I'm going to have to add a little something somewhere, like a protein smoothie in the morning and some cheese or something. I was just wondering if anyone else had the same problem as I do, and how they incorporate extra calories into an already satisfying daily diet.
A food isn't "trash" just because it is calorie dense. There are plenty of foods that are higher in calories and also rich in nutrients, like the nuts or avocados that I mentioned above.
That said, even if a food didn't have much to offer other than calories it would still be a net benefit if it was helping you meet your weight goals. The only real reason to avoid calorie dense foods is if they're crowding out other things you need or making you overweight. It doesn't sound like either of those are a problem here, so there's no real reason to consider them "trash."
When I say trash, I just mean like chips and other snack foods...which I happen to like a little too much lol1 -
janejellyroll wrote: »Ultimately, I DO want to gain weight. However, I don't want to eat a bunch of trash to get there. Really, I don't want to eat a LOT extra at all, because I am rarely hungry after what I already eat. I know I'm going to have to add a little something somewhere, like a protein smoothie in the morning and some cheese or something. I was just wondering if anyone else had the same problem as I do, and how they incorporate extra calories into an already satisfying daily diet.
A food isn't "trash" just because it is calorie dense. There are plenty of foods that are higher in calories and also rich in nutrients, like the nuts or avocados that I mentioned above.
That said, even if a food didn't have much to offer other than calories it would still be a net benefit if it was helping you meet your weight goals. The only real reason to avoid calorie dense foods is if they're crowding out other things you need or making you overweight. It doesn't sound like either of those are a problem here, so there's no real reason to consider them "trash."
When I say trash, I just mean like chips and other snack foods...which I happen to like a little too much lol
You can laugh at people here if you want but describing the foods a lot of us eat as "trash" isn't super funny.7 -
diannethegeek wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »Ultimately, I DO want to gain weight. However, I don't want to eat a bunch of trash to get there. Really, I don't want to eat a LOT extra at all, because I am rarely hungry after what I already eat. I know I'm going to have to add a little something somewhere, like a protein smoothie in the morning and some cheese or something. I was just wondering if anyone else had the same problem as I do, and how they incorporate extra calories into an already satisfying daily diet.
A food isn't "trash" just because it is calorie dense. There are plenty of foods that are higher in calories and also rich in nutrients, like the nuts or avocados that I mentioned above.
That said, even if a food didn't have much to offer other than calories it would still be a net benefit if it was helping you meet your weight goals. The only real reason to avoid calorie dense foods is if they're crowding out other things you need or making you overweight. It doesn't sound like either of those are a problem here, so there's no real reason to consider them "trash."
When I say trash, I just mean like chips and other snack foods...which I happen to like a little too much lol
You can laugh at people here if you want but describing the foods a lot of us eat as "trash" isn't super funny.
I am fairly certain I said I like to eat those foods (a lot), and only laugh at myself these days. It's the only safe thing a person can laugh at anymore1 -
diannethegeek wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »Ultimately, I DO want to gain weight. However, I don't want to eat a bunch of trash to get there. Really, I don't want to eat a LOT extra at all, because I am rarely hungry after what I already eat. I know I'm going to have to add a little something somewhere, like a protein smoothie in the morning and some cheese or something. I was just wondering if anyone else had the same problem as I do, and how they incorporate extra calories into an already satisfying daily diet.
A food isn't "trash" just because it is calorie dense. There are plenty of foods that are higher in calories and also rich in nutrients, like the nuts or avocados that I mentioned above.
That said, even if a food didn't have much to offer other than calories it would still be a net benefit if it was helping you meet your weight goals. The only real reason to avoid calorie dense foods is if they're crowding out other things you need or making you overweight. It doesn't sound like either of those are a problem here, so there's no real reason to consider them "trash."
When I say trash, I just mean like chips and other snack foods...which I happen to like a little too much lol
You can laugh at people here if you want but describing the foods a lot of us eat as "trash" isn't super funny.
I am fairly certain I said I like to eat those foods (a lot), and only laugh at myself these days. It's the only safe thing you can laugh at anymore
Then why call a food that you enjoy "trash"? Mindset matters and the way we talk about and approach our diets matters. Getting rid of descriptors like "trash" or "garbage" and replacing them with more accurate words like "foods I tend to overeat" might help you find ways to boost those calories without all the judgement.
Other than that, all of my ideas are in the "calorie dense foods" list already. There are more recipes at the end of the food if you make it past the pages of The Rock posing with food.7
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