Low Carb but Moderate Calorie Foods

annshh · February 2012

I am trying to seriously limit my carbs because I feel they make me gain weight the most. However, I am not getting enough calories each day for my workout level. I workout 5-6 times a week and it is fairly strenuous (Army PT). Mix of cardio, circuit intervals, sprints, upper body/abs, depending on the day. Tomorrow, for example, is a ruck march-- jogging/walking 5-6 miles with a 35+ lb pack.

Today I did a 60 min workout- 20 mins of 50 and 100 yard sprints, 20 mins of running football stadium stairs, and 20 mins of pushups/situps (approx 140 pushups and 140 situps). According to my calorie counter, I have only eaten 787 calories today. I have not added in my workout info yet so I don't know how many calories I burned. My problem is, I try to eat several smaller meals as I tend to fill up on small amounts of food anyway. However, I am in class from 9-1 M/W/F so I find myself trying to get in 4 meals from 1-8 pm and I am simply not hungry.

Weight right now is 170. Goal is 168 at the highest (preferably 166) in 2 weeks because I have a weigh in at that point and need to weigh 168 or less due to scholarship requirements. Actual weight loss goal long term would be 150, but I haven't weighed 150 in 6 years (after a loss of 30 lbs... and the way it was done was not in a healthy manner), so I don't know if it is doable, I would be ok with 160 and happy with 155.

Any diet suggestions? Preferably something with 400-500 calories per meal so that I can eat 3-4 meals a day and meet my calorie reqs... but really low carbs.

Rachiepie6 · February 2012

Not going to be much help, but larger meat portions?

marycmeadows · February 2012

how many calories are you eating a day?? I eat carbs but tend to eat very high protein - but if you're not losing weight like you want, chances are it's not the carbs, you might not be eating enough overall.

mymelody_78 · February 2012

Low carb protein shakes?

sdag · February 2012

I am trying to do consume less carbs as well and the way I've been upping my calorie intake is by using more olive oil in dishes, higher cal. salad dressings, cheese and nuts. I try not to go crazy on the dressing or cheese though because they can have a high sodium content and I have to be careful of my blood pressure.

Kym1610 · February 2012

lean meats, nuts, eggs and egg whites. Salad's, vegies, some fruits, beans, yoghurt (greek is generally the best). Sweet potatoes. Basically if your going low carb the easiest way is to keep to "clean" foods

lizard053 · February 2012

Perhaps some extra water? Change up your routine?

Look into healthy fats as well. Avocado and nuts are great sources, and high quality foods too. Eat them early on in your day to stave off hunger all day. Nuts aren't a bad source of protein either! Lean meats, like chicken and pork are a protein fanatic's friend. I'm on a high protein diet, with both low carbs and low fat. Low carb protein shakes are the majority of my day! It works really well for me!

swegiel · February 2012

I have been battling the same problem lower carbs translates to lower calories and you body will not have enough fuel to do the types of exercise that you are doing. As a result your body goes into starvation mode and shuts down your metabolism. When I changed my eating to be higher in calories but lower carb higher protien the weight began to come off. If I varied and didn't eat every 2 to 3 hours or ate low in calories my metabolism just shut down. I lost inches but not the pounds. So here are some meal suggestions. Have a protien shake for breakfast (buy a small blender with a travel cup) - whir together 8oz skim milk, 1 scoop vanilla why protien powder and add in flavor of choice - frozen/fresh berries or a squeeze of chocolate syrup and some ice. Add in a Pepperidge Farm Carb Style slice of bread and peanutbutter and your at a fast 400 to 500 calories to start your day. Add a protien bar like Detour Low Sugar mid morning 170 calories. Grab a sandwich for lunch with turkey and cheddar cheese on a low carb wrap 350 calories. Add an apple or small side salad, Another protien bar for afternoon snack then a good dinner of protien and veggies for dinner. You are now at 1200 to 1300 calories before subtracting out the calorie expenditure.

annshh · February 2012

Thanks guys. I know I am not consuming nearly enough calories especially considering my workout load. I've had less than 800 today and I am about to go to bed (I am sick right now and have to be up at 4am). Honestly, that is probably about how many I am getting... maybe 800-1000/day. I think that is part of the problem of why I can't lose weight and am staying at 170 consistently. The biggest issue I have is that since I get full easily, I feel like I eat a lot / often but at the end of the day I am at <1000 calories. It's not enough.

Oddly enough, on Thursdays I usually end up eating crappy fast food because I am so busy and I can grab it on my way home from lab at night. And sure enough, the next day, I usually wake up weighing less than I did the morning before. It happens every time and I can't figure out why. Maybe it's giving my body enough calories to put me at a more reasonable level or something?

1.5 years ago I had to lose several lbs in order to make my required weight and I easily lost several lbs in a week by reducing my carb intake. I got down to 163 and stayed between 163-166 consistently up until about 1.5 months ago. I am not sure why all of a sudden I put weight on and now I am stuck there and can't get it off. I am slightly panicing because like I said, I have a weigh in coming up in 2 weeks and while normally I would just be counseled for being over the max, this one has a lot on the line and I can not be over.

froeschli · February 2012

My hubby talked me into the south beach diet - it pretty much restricts all carbs for the first 2 weeks. Funny, after 3 days, i drank some v8 and thought it was insanely sweet. I'm almost past the sugar craving - I think it's mostly psychological.

As in how to up the calories, meat, nuts, tofu, hmm, i haven't actually looked into the calory content too much. The first 3-4 days i didn't have much energy, but since it's almost back to normal...

annshh · February 2012

Thanks for the tips guys.

I HAVE to get more calories in me for my workout load. Today I ate a total of 1,345 calories. But according to the tracker, I burned 1,441 today (5 mile ruck march/run with 38 lbs, followed by 2.5 hours of walking with about 15 lbs of gear through the woods, followed by another 3 hours of walking with about 10 lbs of gear through the woods up some pretty steep hills). I am worried that I am not getting enough calories and that is why I can't make any progress with weight loss.

It was really hard because I had to find time to eat today. I woke up at 4 to leave at 5 for the ruck march, got back to my apt at 7 and then had to quickly shower and get to class. I ate breakfast in class (which consisted of raspberries and blueberries), then had 3 eggs and an english muffin for lunch. Right after that I had to head out to ROTC training for 4 hrs, had a 30 minute break for dinner which unfortunately was fast food because it was the only thing I had time to go get, and went back for 3 more hrs of ROTC training.

I need to figure out something because time is ticking for me to get at least a couple lbs off and that's not going to happen if I am not eating enough.

Low Carb but Moderate Calorie Foods

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