I can't eat that many calories!

christina_marie19
christina_marie19 Posts: 9
edited December 25 in Health and Weight Loss
I'm not skinny by all means, probably because the way I eat is terrible. Sometimes I eat a lot, and other times I don't eat anything at all. Everybody says not to put your body into starvation mode because then you can't lose weight. I've been trying my hardest, I've started Jillian Michael's 30 day shred, and everything has been going perfectly fine, but I just can't constantly eat breakfast, lunch and dinner! It's almost impossible to get all the calories in each day because I have to force food down my throat half the time. What should I do to increase my calorie intake without eating junk or shoving food down my throat?

Replies

  • JessLLoser
    JessLLoser Posts: 235 Member
    Hmmmm, I do not have your problem at all. But try nuts. 1/4 cup is 200 cal. Cheese? 1 oz is 100 or so cal.

    1/4 cup of walnuts and it`s done. Would take you like 2 sec.
  • gingerCE
    gingerCE Posts: 8
    Nuts or peanut butter. Healthy and they are high in calories. Two tbs of peanut butter is nearly 200 calories.
  • Kathy53925
    Kathy53925 Posts: 241 Member
    I was coming to ask this same question! LOL. I never eat 3-4-5 meals a day.
  • MrsMangler
    MrsMangler Posts: 63 Member
    How many calories are you eating? What do you think you should be eating? What's a typical day look light?

    There's always room for fruits and veggies. Make some hard boiled eggs. :heart: eggs
  • jzammetti
    jzammetti Posts: 1,956 Member
    have a lot of trouble with eating breakfast - so I just don't. Beginning at around noon I eat every couple of hours until about 8pm. (protein, veggie for meals and fruits & nuts for snacks). Lots of water and iced tea. My weight loss is significant (albeit slow going) so it must be working out ok for me. Hang in there! I keep my calories around 800 per day and that is enough to keep me from feeling hungry.
  • thejonperry
    thejonperry Posts: 51
    One idea:
    http://www.avocado.org/recipe-details/view/31541/california-avocado-chocolate-mousse
    Avacado's are good for you ang high in fat.

    second idea:
    French Fries made my wieght balloon =D
  • BeantownSooner
    BeantownSooner Posts: 254
    Large banana is about 120 calories, 1/2 hass avocado has about 125, 1 tbsp of olive oil, coconut oil or sesame oil (good fats) all have about 120 calories. Those are my calorie fillers along with the nuts and peanut butter as mentioned by others.
  • ladymember
    ladymember Posts: 9
    How many calories?
    I am suppose to eat 1200 or less.

    Do you smoke? When I smoked, I use to say that too. The smoking stopped me from eating whole meals, which made my metabolism go down to nothing and I could not lose any weight.

    Drink a breakfast smoothy or eat a yougart at least for breakfast.
  • MonicaT1972
    MonicaT1972 Posts: 512
    Try some high colorie low density foods like nuts, avacodos and protein shakes to up your calories without huge volume. Natural peanut butter is another good one.
  • needamulligan
    needamulligan Posts: 558 Member
    I accidentally spent over 400 cal on 1c skim milk, a banana, and 3/4 c Uncle Sam strawberry cereal this morning. How about a bowl of cereal?
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    Your diary isnt open so I cant check, but a ton of the time I see this problem, the person is often eating "low fat/low calories" versions of food. So if that is you, switch to the full variety and you will pick up extra calories.

    Also make sure you are loggin properly. Weighing the food is ideal.

    If neither of those apply, nuts and nut butters, whole eggs, avocado, olive oil or any calorie dense food can be added without adding a ton more food to eat. All have health benefits too. Adding one or two of those to a meal can add up quick.
  • ZugTheMegasaurus
    ZugTheMegasaurus Posts: 801 Member
    I used to have the same problem. I've never been a big eater and having a large volume of food or eating frequently wasn't my problem. When I switched from eating Doritos and soda to eating fresh foods I cooked myself, I kept eating the same amount of food but far fewer calories as a result.

    Since I'm not hungry often, what I do is have two calorie heavy meals per day and very little in between (usually just some coffee, or some vegetables/fruit if I get hungry). For example, the main staple meal of my diet is tostadas that include corn tortillas, homemade salsa, beans, cheese, sour cream, and avocado (and chicken when I can afford it). It's not a huge amount of food in terms of volume so I have no problem eating it all, but there are a lot of calories in it (as well as nutrients and deliciousness).

    Find some healthful, calorie-dense foods that you enjoy and include them in your diet; you'll have a much easier time hitting those numbers without resorting to junk food (or alternatively, eating far too little).
  • robin52077
    robin52077 Posts: 4,383 Member
    Well, you're 18, and you only have 12 pounds you'd like to lose....which means you ARE in a healthy weight zone and are only looking to lose a few vanity pounds, which is fine....wouldn't we all? But what you need to realize is that with so LITTLE to lose, your body DOES NOT want to let it go.
    There are 2 ways to get it to let go...

    One is stupid: starve yourself and look really skinny and weak and scrawny...
    or Two:
    Eat ALMOST at maintenance and lift some heavy weights. You will be tight, firm, sculpted....sexy! Instead of scrawny/flabby/saggy skinny...

    Your body needs fuel. I can't see your diary but I am guessing you do not have adequate calorie OR protein intake. I am guessing your intake should be more like 1500 and more if you exercise heavily...
    If you are having trouble meeting your calories and are set at 1200, you need to seriously reevaluate what you are doing....

    If you want more tailored advice, you are going to have to open your diary...
  • robin52077
    robin52077 Posts: 4,383 Member

    I am suppose to eat 1200 or less.

    no, you are supposed to REACH 1200, AND eat your exercise calories.

    It is a GOAL, something to REACH, not a "limit".
  • cmeade20
    cmeade20 Posts: 1,238 Member
    Healthy calorie dense foods are the way to go. My midday snack today was 200 calories and all it was was 20 cashews and a light mozzerella string cheese.

    2 extra large eggs are 160 calories so a few eggs with some toast or yogurt for breakfast will get you there

    beans,rice,baked sweet potatoes will help too
  • nikkiprickett
    nikkiprickett Posts: 412 Member
    Yeah, I don't have your problem either.

    Maybe the fact that you either eat a ton or not at all has completely slowed your metabolism down.

    Try to eat smaller meals, throw away all the junk food in your house (this doesn't mean eat it, i've thought that way way to many times and it's just best to throw it away)

    Once your metabolism speeds back up, you will need to eat more because your body will be going through it faster.

    Until then (i'm not sure what your cal intake is at the moment) but I would divvy up the calories so breakfast is the most calories (Because you'll burn most of this during the day) and this doesn't mean pancakes loaded with sugar and syrup. i have a recipe for a quick breakfast shake I'll give you at the end. Then have a snack like nuts or fruit or veggies, then eat a somewhat smaller lunch, then a snack like before, then an even smaller than lunch dinner. (dinner is supposed to be the smallest meal)
    Hope that helps~

    Here's the recipe for a high protein, yummy bfast (or whenever) shake.
    1/2 cup of old fashioned oats (make sure you get old fashioned, otherwise they will be highly processed)
    1 scoop of whey proetin (I use strawberry or vanilla, body fortress brand from walmart)
    1 c skim milk
    1 tbsp of all natural no stir peanut butter (I use the bees knees brand, they also have different flavors like white chocolate and are way better than any other natural PB)
    BE SURE TO BLEND WELL!! THE OATS ARE HARDER TO GROUND AND YOU END UP WITH SOME CHUNKS OF THEM IF NOT. i put those in last so they're closer to the blade...works great.

    It keeps me full for at least 3-4 hours until my mid-afternoon snack.
  • FlaxMilk
    FlaxMilk Posts: 3,452 Member
    Someone in another thread mentioned liquid calories, which seemed like a good idea to me. (But not for me. I have no problem eating my calories. :flowerforyou: ) Just pick a healthy liquid--if you go juice, put some effort into finding a healthy variety. A venti soy milk latte can add 220 calories a day.
  • christina_marie19
    christina_marie19 Posts: 9
    I just opened my diary! I don't smoke or drink, and I cook everything myself mostly.. Maybe I should start drinking more milk and eating more fruits?
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    I just opened my diary! I don't smoke or drink, and I cook everything myself mostly.. Maybe I should start drinking more milk and eating more fruits?

    Lol, first thing I saw was low fat milk.

    Also, you have a serving of turkey for 34 calories for supper. That is really low, how much is a serving?
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    I found that entry. 1 serving is only about an ounce. 100 grams, or 3.5 ounces (which isnt a huge portion) is 104 or so.
  • beansprouts
    beansprouts Posts: 410 Member
    I'm not skinny by all means, probably because the way I eat is terrible. Sometimes I eat a lot, and other times I don't eat anything at all. Everybody says not to put your body into starvation mode because then you can't lose weight. I've been trying my hardest, I've started Jillian Michael's 30 day shred, and everything has been going perfectly fine, but I just can't constantly eat breakfast, lunch and dinner! It's almost impossible to get all the calories in each day because I have to force food down my throat half the time. What should I do to increase my calorie intake without eating junk or shoving food down my throat?

    Contrary to the trash you hear bandied about on message boards...You can only go into "starvation mode" if your body fat falls below 5% for a male and 10% for a female.
  • Kathy53925
    Kathy53925 Posts: 241 Member
    1/8th of a cup of cheese on your pizza? seriously? Did you measure it? That's like 8 strands of cheese.

    Make sure you enter everything correctly. I save my packaging and enter it and if the entry does not match what I have, I keep changing it until it does. (There are some bad things in the food list) Check the exact item and enter it.


    Look up Twizzlers...I had to enter it 6 times before I got one that matched the calories on my bag!!
  • beansprouts
    beansprouts Posts: 410 Member
    The food diary that you have listed today looks great...
This discussion has been closed.

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