Ideas to up my calorie intake!

Do you like mixed nuts or trail mix? I use a serving of mixed nuts to up my calories when I'm low, theres alot of calories in nuts! They are tasty, portable and good for you!

A direct quote from a friend of mine who has been helping me with the same exact issue...

"try calorie dense foods, like nuts, avocado, non-reduced fat peanut butter, almond butter, etc."

Hope it helps you!

your eating seems to be quite erratic and frequently you haven't logged. Also I don't think some of the calorie counts are accurate some quite calorie rich items in there seem to log quite low on the calorie side so make sure you are being accurate.
You could start by eating breakfast which you don't seem to do.
That would add in 3-400 calories straight away.
another way to figure things out is to befriend plenty of people who are successful and eat well and check their diaries out for ideas.

Eat breakfast if you're hungry, don't introduce breakfast unless you want to I find a good way to make sure I am getting calories is to try and eat 'whole' foods rather than diet.. Eat natural peanut butter, avocados, olive oil (obviously whilst cooking), etc.

Are you logging all your food? as there is only a couple of days worth of food in your diary and one of them is hardly anything.

Some suggestions: Try adding some nuts on top of your oats in the morning, that will add another 100 cals or so.

Cheese will bulk out your calories, in moderation.

Fruit is great to snack on and add lots of veg to your dinner for more (healthy) cals.

I wouldn't worry about eating back your exercise calories unless you are actually hungry, but that's just what works for me. Some find it works eating them, some don't so just see what works for you.

I tend to add snacks - e.g. an Aero Bubbles dessert (97 cals) after lunch or a Nakd bar (between 92 and 160 cals)...you could also try hard boiled eggs for extra protein (~70 cals) or maybe some fruit? Or maybe add a soup as a starter?
I try to eat half of my exercise calories or even all of them if it's a hungry day so I often have a lot of calories; but then MFP calculates based on your personal calorie need and it will always be under what you'd eat to maintain anyway so I'd hesitate to reduce it too much. You'll find various opinions on eating your exercise calories on here, but if you play around with your diet settings a higher weekly loss goal results in lower calories, so surely if you have 1,700 for 1lb/week and then earn 300 through exercise but don't eat them you'd still get to 1,400, which MFP would allocate if you selected a higher loss goal and should be fine?
Just see what works for you but don't starve yourself!

Always eat breakfast ..........it gets your metabolism going.

This is a myth...
Additionally, meal timing is irrelevant. Eating 1 meal per day or 6 meals it doesn't matter, overall you must eat at a deficit to lose weight..

http://www.theiflife.com/eating-more-meals-does-not-speed-up-your-metabolism/

I did nutiriton at uni and the theory is correct.
If you eat at regular intervals it raises your metabolic rate and keeps it more constant, rather than eating 3 big meals which means your metabolism will peak just after meal times and then plummet before the next. The best idea is to keep it constant, even if you're having half a banana every hour.

xx

Always eat breakfast ..........it gets your metabolism going.

This is a myth...
Additionally, meal timing is irrelevant. Eating 1 meal per day or 6 meals it doesn't matter, overall you must eat at a deficit to lose weight..

http://www.theiflife.com/eating-more-meals-does-not-speed-up-your-metabolism/

I did nutiriton at uni and the theory is correct.
If you eat at regular intervals it raises your metabolic rate and keeps it more constant, rather than eating 3 big meals which means your metabolism will peak just after meal times and then plummet before the next. The best idea is to keep it constant, even if you're having half a banana every hour.

xx

You studied nutrition? Where are your sources? Can you provide articles and evidence to support this claim that 6 small meals or frequently eating has some sort of major metabolic advantage over 3 meals.. or 1 meal..

"One study that carefully demonstrated this, published in 2009 in The British Journal of Nutrition, involved groups of overweight men and women who were randomly assigned to very strict low-calorie diets and followed for eight weeks. Each subject consumed the same number of calories per day, but one group took in three meals a day and the other six.

Both groups lost significant and equivalent amounts of weight. There was no difference between them in fat loss, appetite control or measurements of hormones that signal hunger and satiety. Other studies have had similar results."

http://www.diabetesincontrol.com/articles/diabetes-news/9222-does-eating-more-frequent-meals-increase-metabolism

Citation: The British Journal of Nutrition November 30, 2009; 1-4.

Calories in vs calories out - there are no special tricks. Meal timing is irrelevant. Eat less, move more. Lose weight.


“The effects of differences in meal frequency on body weight, body composition, and energy expenditure were studied in mildly food-restricted male rats. Two groups were fed approximately 80% of usual food intake (as periodically determined in a group of ad libitum fed controls) for 131 days. One group received all of its food in 2 meals/day and the other received all of its food in 10-12 meals/day. The two groups did not differ in food intake, body weight, body composition, food efficiency (carcass energy gain per amount of food eaten), or energy expenditure at any time during the study. Both food-restricted groups had a lower food intake, body weight gain, and energy expenditure than a group of ad libitum-fed controls. In conclusion, these results suggest that amount of food eaten, but not the pattern with which it is ingested, has a major influence on energy balance during mild food restriction.“"

Effects of meal frequency on energy utilization in rats.
Hill JO, Anderson JC, Lin D, Yakubu F. Department of Pediatrics, Vanderbilt University

"To a group of 8 healthy persons a slightly hypocaloric diet with protein (13% of energy), carbohydrates (46% of energy) and fat (41% of energy) was given as one meal or as five meals in a change-over trial. Each person was 2 weeks on each regimen. Under the conditions of slight undernutrition and neutral temperature the balances of nitrogen, carbon and energy were assessed in 7-day collection periods, and according to 48-hour measurements of gaseous exchange (carbon-nitrogen balance method) by the procedures of indirect calorimetry. Changes of body weight were statistically not significant. At isocaloric supply of metabolizable energy with exactly the same foods in different meal frequencies no differences were found in the retention of carbon and energy. Urinary nitrogen excretion was slightly greater with a single daily meal, indicating influences on protein metabolism. The protein-derived energy was compensated by a decrease in the fat oxidation. The heat production calculated by indirect calorimetry was not significantly different with either meal frequency. Water, sodium and potassium balances were not different. The plasma concentrations of cholesterol and uric acid were not influenced by meal frequency, glucose and triglycerides showed typical behaviour depending on the time interval to the last meal. The results demonstrate that the meal frequency did not influence the energy balance."

Thermogenesis in humans after varying meal time frequency
Wolfram G, Kirchgessner M, Miller HL, Hollomey S.

I didn't look at what your eating but are you getting enough of the healthy fats into your diet? It never hurts to take a shot of olive oil or fax oil on a daily basis.

Always eat breakfast ..........it gets your metabolism going.

This is a myth...
Additionally, meal timing is irrelevant. Eating 1 meal per day or 6 meals it doesn't matter, overall you must eat at a deficit to lose weight..

http://www.theiflife.com/eating-more-meals-does-not-speed-up-your-metabolism/

I did nutiriton at uni and the theory is correct.
If you eat at regular intervals it raises your metabolic rate and keeps it more constant, rather than eating 3 big meals which means your metabolism will peak just after meal times and then plummet before the next. The best idea is to keep it constant, even if you're having half a banana every hour.

xx

You studied nutrition? well that settles that then.. except a little bit of research and...

"One study that carefully demonstrated this, published in 2009 in The British Journal of Nutrition, involved groups of overweight men and women who were randomly assigned to very strict low-calorie diets and followed for eight weeks. Each subject consumed the same number of calories per day, but one group took in three meals a day and the other six.

Both groups lost significant and equivalent amounts of weight. There was no difference between them in fat loss, appetite control or measurements of hormones that signal hunger and satiety. Other studies have had similar results."

http://www.diabetesincontrol.com/articles/diabetes-news/9222-does-eating-more-frequent-meals-increase-metabolism

Citation: The British Journal of Nutrition November 30, 2009; 1-4.

Oh give me a break "randomly assigned to very strict low-calorie diets" I doubt that there are many people on that, also you need a number of studies to prove/disprove a theory anyway it doesn't go on one and there are a million contributing factors to weight loss. Also, it doesnt say whether they were regularly burining calories through exercise, and it doesnt suggest whether or not they were able to keep the weight off. For it to be sustainable you cant just eat minimal calories, you need to change habits and lifestyle. Keeping your metabolism at a constant rate means that your body is able to adjust more to an intake of calories and your weight wont fluctuate.

I cited several studies in my post, and there is plenty of material out there, if you did some research you will find that the whole 'you must eat all the time to keep your metabolism going' is actually false and that breakfast does not 'jump start' your metabolism. Anyway, I am tired of seeing this myth be repeated over and over again like it's truth, without a shred of real evidence.

Sorry but meal timing does matter..............just like I said before a car isn't going to run correctly on no fuel and neither is your body.........do I have research to back it up???? Yes I do ISSA says "eat at least 5 times a day Two or three meals are simply not enough. It is permissable to regard two of these meals as snacks, provided they contain sufficent calories toget you to your next meal and they are comprised of the appropriate ratio of macronutrients. You blood sugar and insulin levels will be controlled and thus your energy level. Yu will get protein in small aounts throughout the day to support growth and revoery and most important body fat will not be stored, but instead metabolized . Wen you eat infrequently your body recognizes a famine situation and your entire endocrine system is thrown for a loop."

Therefore no when you don't eat and you don't fuel your body NOTHING works correctly......metabolism, brain, bodily functions.......nothing! You simply cannot just get up in the morning and not eat til evening and expect your body to run smoothly. If it works for you great........but it is not a safe and effective way to lose weight. I cringe to think about blood sugar levels of those that haven't eaten all day long. You can cite all the research you won't, but you will find just as much stating that you must fuel your body. I agree that there has to be deficit ..........all fine and good, but if you are not eating the correct amount of macronutrients (proteins, carbs, fats) then you are still not going to lose weight!!! How can you possibly get in your calorie requirments by eating one or two meals? This is especially dangerous if you are working out at all.

Therefore, I could really care less if breakfast increases your metabolism. Whether it does or not...........BREAKFAST is important you must feed and fuel your body correctly! It puts fuel in your body to get the endocrine system running cuse it won't function without fuel! So therefore, the best way is to eat 3 meals a day and 2 snacks.

Nuts. Seeds. Peanut butter. Cliff Builder Bars.