Suggestions on my diary...pleeeeease!!

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Peque1130deleted
Peque1130deleted Posts: 309
in Food and Nutrition
Ok, so I am trying to reach my 1200 cal/day, and just when I get there, or semi-there...I go and work out and have an extra 500 calories to consume. I think I have been eating pretty well.

Can someone/ anyone, look at my diary and give me any tips or suggestions to up my calories?


THANKS!! :happy:

Replies

  • scott1024
    scott1024 Posts: 279 Member
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    I don't see anything wrong with your diary. It looks balanced to me. Sure, you haven't consumed all your exercise cals, but you could easily slip in a fiber bar or some 90 cal type snack between any of your meals. Don't be so hard on yourself. Seriously, it looks good (I'm no expert, but what you have is what I aim for and I've lost 55 lbs).
  • i_like_snow
    i_like_snow Posts: 64 Member
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    I'm having a hard time reaching my 1,200 calories and then I get 200 cal's added for exercise. Today I only ate 900 cal's and I'm full! I'm eating healthy, drinking lots of water. I don't want to stuff myself and I feel like if I add more food I'm over eating....to full.
  • NashvilleShelley
    NashvilleShelley Posts: 238
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    My suggestion would be more vegetables and fruits....but if I knew anything about eating, I wouldn't need to be here!! LOL!!!
  • realme56
    realme56 Posts: 1,093 Member
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    Nice looking diary, plenty of protein which is great when you are working out. Maybe more fruits and veggies but not bad at all!
  • brucedelaney
    brucedelaney Posts: 433 Member
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    I'd recommend planning out your day ahead of time. If you know you're going to exercise it's much easier to add 100 calories here or there. You're doing great with getting protein but there's no reason you can't have more. Going over on protein is actually a good thing if you're exercising.

    I'm noticing you didn't really have any meat with dinner which is where you could have added some calories and I also noticed that you're not using any oils in your cooking. Olive oil and coconut oil are great to cook with, have lots of good fat and will easily up your calories.

    Try to bump your snacks up a bit as well eat 1.5 servings instead of one... you can top off the cals pretty fast that way.
  • starwhisperer
    starwhisperer Posts: 367
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    I spent a large portion of my day (wow I am online too freakin' much) researching starvation mode. I am now unconvinced that it exists in the manner that is being brought up on this site. The main reason for the 1200 calorie rule is to make sure your body is getting the nutrients that you need. The study that the whole starvation mode is based off had men getting down to 5% body fat through restriction and extreme workouts. And even at 5% they kept losing weight. I would say before you freak out or let people convince you to eat more even when you are full you should do some research yourself. Oh and before anyone starts bombarding me with angry answers, I am in NO way saying people should starve themselves. If you don't feed your body it will become tired, and sick and unwilling to do what you ask of it.
  • Peque1130deleted
    Peque1130deleted Posts: 309
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    I don't see anything wrong with your diary. It looks balanced to me. Sure, you haven't consumed all your exercise cals, but you could easily slip in a fiber bar or some 90 cal type snack between any of your meals. Don't be so hard on yourself. Seriously, it looks good (I'm no expert, but what you have is what I aim for and I've lost 55 lbs).

    I thought I was eating well, but because of the calorie left over at the end of every night, I was getting a little worried about the 'starvation mode'. I really don't think I need to worry about that much but I have not lost any weight this week so I started to freak out a bit...I tend to do this a lot!

    My total goal, right now, is to go down 60lbs, you almost reach MY goal!! Congrats! :wink:
  • bootbuilder
    bootbuilder Posts: 24
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    I actually try not to eat my exercise calories! Why eat/drink what you just spent sweating off. You need to at least hit 1000 calories to avoid starvation mode. I have added high protein foods like Greek yogurt and cottage cheese to my diet. You may also try a protein shake, Vanilla with ice, berries, and banana for a smoothie (this is what hubby does).

    Hope that helps.
  • Peque1130deleted
    Peque1130deleted Posts: 309
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    I'm having a hard time reaching my 1,200 calories and then I get 200 cal's added for exercise. Today I only ate 900 cal's and I'm full! I'm eating healthy, drinking lots of water. I don't want to stuff myself and I feel like if I add more food I'm over eating....to full.

    This is my same issue! And I also dont want to eat past 7pm.By the time I have dinner and work out, it's almost 9pm, I really dont think Ishould be eating then. I prepare all my food the day prior and try to snack so my metabolism keeps running but by the time I get home and have dinner, I dont really want to eat much. I drink water all day except for my one cup of coffee in the morning.
  • Peque1130deleted
    Peque1130deleted Posts: 309
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    My suggestion would be more vegetables and fruits....but if I knew anything about eating, I wouldn't need to be here!! LOL!!!

    None of us would!! BUt we are here to learn from each other, what works for you may or may not work for others, but we would never know if we didnt ask...right? :wink:
  • gingerb85
    gingerb85 Posts: 357 Member
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    I don't eat most my exercise calories. Many days I'd be too full to eat them all! I do try to have nuts or some nut butter with an apple and I'll also look at my overall stats for the day and see what I'm lacking - if protein, then I might have nuts or some tofu. If vitamin A, then perhaps some kale.
  • Peque1130deleted
    Peque1130deleted Posts: 309
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    Nice looking diary, plenty of protein which is great when you are working out. Maybe more fruits and veggies but not bad at all!


    Thanks!
  • Peque1130deleted
    Peque1130deleted Posts: 309
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    I'd recommend planning out your day ahead of time. If you know you're going to exercise it's much easier to at 100 calories here or there. You're doing great with getting protein but there's no reason you can have more. Going over on protein is actually a good thing if you're exercising.

    I'm noticing you didn't really have any meat with dinner which is where you could have added some calories and I also noticed that you're not using any oils in your cooking. Olive oil and coconut oil are great to cook with, have lots of good fat and will easily up your calories.

    Try to bump your snacks up a bit as well eat 1.5 servings instead of one... you can top off the cals pretty fast that way.

    Well, the thing is that I am full during the day. I eat breakfast at 7am before leaving home. My lunch is at 1130-12:30 and I snack at around 3ish. I get home at 6 and try not to eat past 7.

    I think I will try adding more poultry to my meals, yummy, turkey!! And in regards to the oils, if I am cooking red meat, I cook it in a non stick pan and dont really need oils since it has a bit of fat.> When I cook chicken, turkey or fish, I use a PAM-like spray.

    For my snacks I try to have fruit, but then I look at the sugar intake and it looks bad...all that red! lol
  • 2sexy2bunhealthy
    2sexy2bunhealthy Posts: 33 Member
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    I'm having a hard time reaching my 1,200 calories and then I get 200 cal's added for exercise. Today I only ate 900 cal's and I'm full! I'm eating healthy, drinking lots of water. I don't want to stuff myself and I feel like if I add more food I'm over eating....to full.

    exactly!! How i feel.. thank god its not just me
  • brucedelaney
    brucedelaney Posts: 433 Member
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    I'd recommend planning out your day ahead of time. If you know you're going to exercise it's much easier to at 100 calories here or there. You're doing great with getting protein but there's no reason you can have more. Going over on protein is actually a good thing if you're exercising.

    I'm noticing you didn't really have any meat with dinner which is where you could have added some calories and I also noticed that you're not using any oils in your cooking. Olive oil and coconut oil are great to cook with, have lots of good fat and will easily up your calories.

    Try to bump your snacks up a bit as well eat 1.5 servings instead of one... you can top off the cals pretty fast that way.

    Well, the thing is that I am full during the day. I eat breakfast at 7am before leaving home. My lunch is at 1130-12:30 and I snack at around 3ish. I get home at 6 and try not to eat past 7.

    I think I will try adding more poultry to my meals, yummy, turkey!! And in regards to the oils, if I am cooking red meat, I cook it in a non stick pan and dont really need oils since it has a bit of fat.> When I cook chicken, turkey or fish, I use a PAM-like spray.

    For my snacks I try to have fruit, but then I look at the sugar intake and it looks bad...all that red! lol

    If you're getting your sugar from natural sources with label's reading "No sugar added" it's not as bad as eating the sugar in a pixie stick... Sugar from fruits and veggies in their natural states isn't bad for you.

    When I first joined here I used to freak out because I was over on sugar nearly every day. I even posted my concerns about it and was told that my diary looked good and not to worry to much because MFP seems to automatically set sugars way too low. Since then I've decided to track other nutrients and not worry about sugar any longer.

    I just hit my 55 Day mark and I'm down 24 Pounds and haven't tracked sugar for over a month now.

    Again I think your food choices are great, you're eating cleaner then I am. I think just adding a bit more volume will do the trick.
  • healthybabs
    healthybabs Posts: 590 Member
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    That whole starvation mode-1200 cal-eat your exercise calories thing is driving me absolutely crazy. What I do know is that when I work out heavily I am much hungrier. I try to let that be my guide but I have just increased from 1400 to 1600 calories which provides me about 500-800cal deficit/day. If I am extra hungry I don't necessarily eat more, just foods that are more calorie dense. Add in a sweet potato for dinner, add an avocado and some walnuts to my dinner salad, put an extra ounce of turkey on my sandwich, have a package of peanut butter crackers or a spoonful of peanut or almond butter before I go to bed. If I can just stay off the ice cream I a happy girl!
  • geekymom57
    geekymom57 Posts: 176 Member
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    I was concerned for a bit about the sugar and carbohydrate totals, but my dietitian reviewed my food choices and said they were all fine. I have virtually no processed food in my diet, so the "culprits" were fresh fruit, which she didn't want me to cut down on. So, as others have said, you probably don't need to worry much about the sugar total if the source of it is fruits, etc.
  • zta1989
    zta1989 Posts: 36 Member
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    After coming across an article that chocolate milk is the best post-workout recovery drink, I'm drinking an 8-ounce box of organic chocolate milk after exercising for refueling. I buy in bulk from Costco and each little box has 190 calories. According to the study done at U of Texas, the chocolate milk helps rebuild muscle after working out.

    I am one of the many who question whether you should be eating the exercise calories, but I realize that a hard-working body needs more fuel than a sedentary one. To gain back that many calories, you'd have to eat a lot of fruit or veggies. I treat the chocolate milk like a special treat during the day.

    Here's a link to the study:
    http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/news/20100604/chocolate-milk-refuels-muscles-after-workout

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