not hitting calories - thinking of drinking them- thoughts?

I find it hard to reach enough calories, as well, when you are making the right choices in foods...many foods that are good for us are low in calories. Yay! However, there are some calorie dense foods that will keep you on track....try a 1/4 of almonds (around 170 calories) or a handful of popcorn (whole grains and fiber that will help fill you up). I personally do not think there is anything wrong with "drinking your calories" if you do it right. I will have a Slim-Fast high protein shake in the morning and feel great through mid-morning, then have a snack to tide me over until lunch. While Slim-Fast is high in sugars, I have great results with it! I think the problem comes when you get your calories from sodas and other drinks that are higher in sugar than Slim-Fast AND on top of that-they don't provide any nutritional benefits whatsoever. So, in short-go for the smoothie or shake! Just ensure that it is the right one for you...Jackie Warner also has a great shake that you can add a scoop of whey protein to...just google her morning shake and the recipe should pop right up! Hope this helps you!

I think smoothies are great. To me, I think of drinking calories as having pop or sweet tea type of things that don't provide you with anything else. Smoothies usually have protein and vitamins and can keep you satisfied.

Nothing at all wrong with it. When you think about it, usually a smoothie does actually have food in it, like bananas or strawberries, it's just liquefied. My breakfast every morning is a protein shake since I'm not really hungry when I get up and it's worked great for me!

p.s. - When I first read the title of your thread I was thinking you were asking if you should be adding in alcohol to drink your calories! :laugh:

The reason smoothies are not he best choice is because they are what's called "predigested" What that means is that your body doesn't have to work to digest it making your body convert it to sugar faster. Having said that, I still think that it's better then nothing and adding natural protein and fibre will slow the process. We all have to decide whats right for us in the long run, so maybe try it and see how you feel. I like to add hemp hearts to my yogurt and salads for extra cal's and protein.

Good luck to you.

p.s. - When I first read the title of your thread I was thinking you were asking if you should be adding in alcohol to drink your calories! :laugh:

Same here. I came to the thread with the intention of an imposing lecture about "consuming quality calories". But OP was already talking about consuming what could be quality calories if done properly.

I don't get where the myth of "you shouldn't drink your calories" came from. Pureed food is still food, right?

Now if we were talking about juicing (specifically the type of juicers that filters out the pulp and leaves you with transparent juice), I'd say the nutrients were in the "gunk bin" and the best policy is to eat the contents of the "gunk bin" and pour the actual juice down the drain.

Pureeing food, however, is basically just chewing it up before it hits your mouth. Certain carbohydrates might not be digested properly because saliva is required to start digestion, but other than that there's really no significant difference.

For me is wasn't the calories that was giving me trouble but on some days I just had a hard time getting enough protein, I love all my fruits and veggies. So now I make myself a shake with a natural whey protein power I get @ our local Co-Op and I am feeling better every day ;~)

I think that's a great idea - I do a Body by Vi shake in the morning as my intial breakfast at 7am, then have a breakfast sandwich (turkey bacon, egg white, english muffin) around 10am. I get protein, calcium and all the vitamins from the Body by Vi shake and add to that with the 2nd half of my breakfast. I feel so much more energized for my workouts.

make a smoothie with 2 or 3 bananas. bananas+1/2 water+ice.

That will get you 2-300 calories and it's delicious. it's Much easier than eating 3 bananas. and Super cheap!

any thoughts? friends are telling me it is a bad idea to drink my calories.

Generally when people say that it's because it uses up calories you'd want to use for food. It seems like a waste to some people. This isn't your situation at all.

Agree

you are in a different situation! You NEED more calories... drinking them is an easy way to fix the problem you are having.

Even a diabetic must consume 130 g of carb a day minimum.

What are you talking about? That's so wrong.

ty everybody..i do have trouble hitting 1200 cal..and on exercise days forget about it...i don't eat breakfast just coffee at 4am and then my lunch around 10 - so thinking smoothie in the morning will help...but i keep going over my sugar for the day as well so i stopped eating yogurt for lunch this past week. i am tracking everything i put in my mouth in my diary even the bad things.. weekends are the worst for me because i usually only have one meal and that is dinner...

this past weekend i made myself have a tuna sandwich for lunch - i occ have a diet soda but have never been one to drink that kind of stuff even when not trying to reduce my weight.

but thanks for all the input, greatly appreciated.

MFP settings for sugar are ridiculously low. Almost everyone goes over, don't obsess about it. Add the yogurt back into your diet and definitely have that protein shake for breakfast. You are eating too few calories. Contrary to what we are pre-programmed to believe...eating less does not always equal weight loss. Sometimes it equals a sluggish slow metabolism, stalled weight loss and plateaus. Eat!