I gotta eat some more calories....

Okay here's the deal I've been on MFP for about 13 weeks and have lost 16lbs. The last 2 weeks I've been stuck at 288lbs. I exercise 5 days a week and rarely eat my calories back. So I'm thinking that I'm loosing slow because I don't eat enough. Can you guys give me some higher calorie healthy lunch ideas or menu ideas. I'd appreciate it. I mean I can easily eat some junk eat 1500's with no problem its the healthy part I'm having a hard time with.

Thanks

peanut butter
nuts

Every ten pounds or so I reset MFP to give me a different calorie intake because the smaller you get the fewer calories you burn. I just had mine go from 1430 to 1330 and broke a long plateau. You may have to eat a little less, maybe?

Try eating some more food with calcium - yogurt, cheese in small portion sizes), or a glass of milk

Avacados, nuts, peanut butter, cheese - just have a little bit of what you fancy

Okay, I looked at your diary and you have the same problem that I did! I wasn't losing any weight because I wasn't eating enough but I was still burning a lot. After using MFP more and reading through the forums, I've found the best way to lose weight is to eat a NET of 1200-1500 calories. I've lost more weight by eating back my "exercise calories" than I did just eating 1200-1300 and burning almost 800-1000 a day! Your body is in starvation mode, girl! it's gonna hold onto everything!

Okay, so here's the deal: Bump up your protein on high calorie burning workout days. Some ideas to higher your calories: eat a bigger breakfast! I usually eat oatmeal, mix in a tbsp of peanut butter and have a piece of fruit. If I eat more in the mornings, I'm not as hungry throughout the day, AND oatmeal is a great source of protein. I also make omelettes with veggies/cheese and sometimes turkey. High calorie breakfasts have really helped me out, honestly, especially since I'm not that hungry at night! You can even eat oatmeal for lunch to keep you full throughout the lady part of the day until snack time/dinner! Peanut butter and oatmeal really do have a nice protein content. I also eat a lot of grilled chicken. Most days for lunch i eat lean sliced ham or turkey on wheat bread with some mustard, then eat fruit as well. That's usually 400-500 calories for me.

A lot of my friends drink milk to help bump up their calories because it is hard sometimes to eat THAT much food when you're burning so much! I drink almond milk though, because I don't like regular milk. I also eat a lot of canned tuna for protein and to bump up my calories. Trust me, you're going to feel so much better/energized once you start eating more! It's seriously the best decision I've ever made, and I don't even feel like I'm "dieting". But I agree with Elaine, try some yogurt too! You can check out my diary for some snack/lunch ideas if you'd like! I usually eat a pretty wide variety of foods.

Let me know if you need any more help or anything, and sorry I basically wrote you a novel!

Increase your protien intake... but remember working out strenously without recovery time will also plateau you as well your body has to have time to absorb the vitamins and nutrients before the next workout, or less calories will be burned...good luck!