Upping my calorie intake to avoid plateauing

shelbynicole32
shelbynicole32 Posts: 179 Member
edited December 2024 in Food and Nutrition
I am currently at 1200 calories now and after 1.5 months I have finally hit my plateau.
I have read to up your calorie intake by about 200-300 calories to avoid plateauing,
but the problem is that I am not hungy enough to eat that much more!!!

Any other suggestions to get out of the plateau mode as far as upping exercising or
eating certain foods to reach these extra 300 calories everyday, ect?

Replies

  • SheilaEwing
    SheilaEwing Posts: 4
    If your a yogurt eater switch to low fat instead of no fat, include almonds and other healthy nuts in as a snack, but be sure to avoid the salted ones. Adding a healthy snack is the best way to up your intake instead of grabbing a cheese burger instead of a tuna sandwich. :wink:
  • Zichu
    Zichu Posts: 542 Member
    Nuts.

    I had 50g of Unsalted Cashews today and it was almost 300 calories. I've had to up my calories a bit as well because of weight lifting, so nuts are a really good calorie filler.

    You also try adding certain spreads to meals. Like on sandwiches, go for full fat mayo instead of reduced fat mayo. Have a bit more margarine or butter than you normally would. These are what I call hidden calories, hopefully everyone else see's them as hidden calories as well.

    I find it really easy to hit my higher goal now. You just need to pick foods that aren't reduced really. Go from Skimmed Milk to Semi Skimmed, or Semi Skimmed to Whole Milk. These little changes will help you get your goal intake.

    Obviously, you will get to a point where these hidden calories aren't going to help because you will have to learn how to eat more than you normally would.
  • shelbynicole32
    shelbynicole32 Posts: 179 Member
    So upping your calorie intake is the first step?
  • FammaMel
    FammaMel Posts: 293 Member
    Went through a similar plateau which is brought me here. I have found that eating every hour to two hours is helping to make sure I meet my calorie intake. But will watch this thread for ideas. I live on fruits and veggies and have begun adding more protein to my day but it isn't always easy to eat more.
  • Zichu
    Zichu Posts: 542 Member
    I would stick to the same amount of exercise you are doing now and try and work on in taking more calories. When you have no trouble with, try doing a bit more exercise, this way you should have no trouble eating back those exercise calories on top of your daily intake requirement.

    I think some people try to get more exercise in and still not eat enough which causes them to hit a wall. The way you can do it should help you in the long run and get past this wall.
  • tistal
    tistal Posts: 869 Member
    I hit a plateau and upped mine and lost 2lbs. Hit a plateau again, upped them a bit more and lost 1.8 lbs. Worked for me. I am sitting at 1640 and I do have trouble eating that much. And some days there are no way I can even touch my exercise cals and then there are some days I eat them all!
  • nataliefallbach
    nataliefallbach Posts: 105
    I have also hit the dreaded "haven't lost a pound in weeks" thing, I just upped my calories from 1400 to 1500, lets see how that goes!
  • Abells
    Abells Posts: 756 Member
    I had to up it -- I broke my breakfast up a bit -- I have some oatmeal now before i leave for work and then eat again when I get there. Spreading it out has helped me hit the goal instead of saving em all for dinner
  • 2kidsandadonut
    2kidsandadonut Posts: 137 Member
    Granola bars. They are small have "CHOCOLATE!!!" and have tons of calories. I've had to start eating one before my workout, between the elliptical and the pool and on my way home just to fit in an extra 700 calories because my recommended intake is 1870 and that is before working out!
  • MrsRawwwr
    MrsRawwwr Posts: 166 Member
    I recently increased my calories from 1350 to 1757, AND I eat my exercise calories. The first week, I could not eat my new goal. Slowly, I became more hungry and now I have no problem meeting it. I lost inches right away, but I did gain some weight at first, but I've since lost all of it and then some.
  • ArroganceInStep
    ArroganceInStep Posts: 6,239 Member
    Search -> 'Too full to eat'
  • shelbynicole32
    shelbynicole32 Posts: 179 Member
    Okay, so I will up my intake to 1400 by adding small snacks in the day (after breakfast/before lunch and after lunch/before dinner) and doing regular mayo on my sandwhiches. :)
    Thanks!



    XOXO.
  • KellyDaydream
    KellyDaydream Posts: 1 Member
    When I hit a plateau at the 20 lb. mark, I didn't exercise for two days, drank Guinness and ate pizza, plus had desserts. I went back to my regular calorie and exercise goals that Monday and lost 5 pounds within a week and a half. It's basically a point of tricking your body (metabolism) periodically.
  • shelbynicole32
    shelbynicole32 Posts: 179 Member
    Last week I barely got to excercise at all because I had a family member in the hospital, so I'm hoping that when I start back at the gym this week my body goes back into weight loss mode and starts dropping again.
  • GloriaPenguin
    GloriaPenguin Posts: 35
    I've also hit a plateau and I'll be doing this too! :) hopefully it all goes well.
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