Okay ladies...I need help. I have GOT to find a way to increase my caloric intake! My body is in starvation mode but I have no idea what I can do to increase it without feeling bloated full and fat from food! Yes, I'm eating snacks and all meals, but it isn't amounting to nearly the amount that I need. Please let me know what you guys do to increase the calories in your diet!!
Could you give a little more detail about your daily meals/snacks? Also, how many calories are you taking in?
One easy way may just be to switch to "real" things instead of diet foods.. Like, if you use fat free cheese, switch to the real thing. It will add more fat to your diet, but it won't increase the volume of the actual food. Also, you could try an additional meal replacement shake or bar for about 200 extra calories.
Dinner:
Chicken or Pork Tenderloin
Brocoli
1 sm baked potato, dry or cooked with Pam cooking spray
So see, I need to be taking in, per the Fitness.com site, 2500 cal to maintain my current weight, so if you remove 500 cal to lose weight, I still don't even come close to that.
But I think I might look into having a few of those shakes for additional calories, cause I really don't know what to do...I burn what I eat on the bike at the gym, let alone my pilates and stuff I do at home.
I second Lizzie's suggestion--it will help to increase calories without forcing yourself to actually eat a larger volume of food. Also, you could add things like nuts and nut butters--they have a lot of calories and good fat for a very small amount. I also second Lizzie's request for more info on your current eating habits so we can help you out without telling you to do something you may already be doing
Okay, just kidding--we posted at the same time, so I see your menu now
Anyway, for your weight, I would think 2500 is high for maintenance unless you're doing quite a bit of exercise. That's about MY level of maintenance calories, and I'm about 100 pounds heavier than you! You can't always trust online calculators--for one thing, as you lose weight, your metabolism typically slows--2 people who weigh the same will not burn the same amount of calories if one of them has never weighed more and the other has had to lose weight to get there...the one who has lost weight typically burns fewer calories than the one who never weighed more. Also, the more overweight you are, the less accurate those calculators are since they are deisgned for "normal" bodies with normal proportions of fat and lean body mass (and since fat doesn't burn as many calories as muscle, the more excess fat you have, the more inaccurate the calculators). It's all very evil, but sadly true Same goes for the "calories burned" calculators for different exercises--all are estimates and can be quite inaccurate for us individually.
Anyway, if you still want to add more calories, maybe you can add some fruit to your morning cereal? I always have honey bunches of oats with a banana sliced up--also very good with strawberries. Maybe you could up your milk from skim to 1% for a few more as well. Another suggestion to aid in your weight loss/increased health would be to ditch the honey bunches of oats and potato chips all together and replace them with more wholesome foods--maybe eggs or oatmeal or cottage cheese with fruit for breakfast and a small salad, veggie sticks, or fruit with your Subway sandwich? Some people do really well when they rid as much processed food as possible from their diets. Could you make your own sandwiches instead of having Subway every day? Even just their bread alone packs quite a punch of sodium, if I remember correctly, and not a single one of their breads are actually whole-grain (although I believe the wheat and honey oat breads contain a bit of whole-wheat flour, but it's not the first ingredient).
Add another snack between Lunch and Dinner!! I always try to eat 5 "meals" a day and it helps a lot... I'm not hungry throughout the day and I think it keeps my body continutually burning calories. I average about 1400 a day.
I would say add some fruit, a banana or an orange that will help. Maybe an apple with a tablespoon of peanut butter. Maybe a protien shake or bar.
As first I wasnt eating enough because I was scared that I was going to eat too much, so I started added stuff to increase my calories. Once I did that I realized I coule eat more and still losing. So I started eating a little more here and there and then I had my calories
Thanks girls! I really appreciate all of your replies. Is it horrible that I am quite obsessed with what I eat? I feel like I know all the labels of the food that I have in my cabinets. The mear mention of peanut butter and I'm like 2 tablespoons of that stuff is like 17g of fat! LOL! True, that is Jiff and not organic...but with a 7 year old and a 3 month old, I have to be a bit accomodating to their needs too! But thanks again for all of your advice.
Jilly...I by no means was meaning that I was even going to ATTEMPT eating 2500 calories. I know what you mean by the counters and calculators being not so accurate. And my diet is a means of convience, because I just had a baby 3 months ago, so I have to do stuff that is quick and easy. And that is the reason for the cereal and subway. And no, I don't eat the same thing everyday, sometimes I have a salad with chicken breast for lunch. But that menu was the most common of the things that I eat. Again, thanks for the advice!
Even natural peanut butter (the kind I have has "peanuts" as the ONLY ingredient) has a lot of fat because peanuts, themselves, have a lot of fat. However, that is NOT a bad thing--fat has gotten a bad rep, but for all the fat in pb, it has 0 trans fats (the super-evil of fats) and very little saturated fat (2.5g in 2 T of natural, and I usually only have 1 T). The rest of that 15-17g of fat per serving is unsaturated, which is actually good for you and required in order for your body to process certain nutrients, so don't be so afraid of the total fat content in some foods
I know that with 2 kids, you probably just want to nap in your spare time, but if you can come up with just an hour a week, you can make your own meals for the whole week and just freeze or refrigerate them. I've heard lots of people doing this with soups/stews, and I have done it with homemade stir-fry dishes and sandwiches--I make my lunches for the whole week on Sunday and just grab them out of the fridge each morning as needed
I didn't think you were going for 2500 calories, but it sounded like you were going to try for 2000 (2500-500), which if it works for you is awesome! I just know that a lot of people your weight would likely maintain or even gain on that amount, but everyone's different, and there are a lot of factors other than your weight that determine how many calories you need/burn, so whatever works!
Oh, and I don't have kids, but I still eat for convenience, as well--a little because I'm busy, but mostly because I'm lazy Like I said, I make a lot of sandwiches ahead of time for the week (reduced-calorie, whole-grain bread, 1T natural pb, 1T no-sugar-added fruit preserves), plus I stock up on SmartOnes Truth About Carbs frozen meals when they are on sale. I also keep reduced-sugar instant oatmeal on hand--SUCH a quick and easy meal or snack, and ALL oatmeal, whether instant or not, is whole-grain.
Maybe you could get creative with things like chicken recipes for dinner--try cooking it in a light sauce with almond slivers. Maybe try adding avocado slices to things like sandwiches and salads--FULL of excellent fats. I'm certainly no angel when it comes to food, but these are just some suggestions
I thought of another question for you... Are you not losing weight? If you`re full, and still losing weight then you`re probably not in starvation mode. Sometimes people lose and stay pretty healthy eating a moderately low number of calories.
Good Point...I guess I dropped the first part of the weight pretty quickly...I lost 10 lbs last month...and this month...2 weeks in I've only dropped 2 lbs. I dunno guess I'm just grasping at straws here. I know, slow and steady wins the race...but I need a boost, and soon....lol!!
By the way Liz...you look FABULOUS! Love that Ecko shirt...or is it a jacket?
Well, it can be hard waiting for the weight to come off but 10lbs last month and 1lb/wk sounds pretty good? But, yes, I'm in the same boat. I need a boost. Any kind, just so long as it is down the scale instead of up.
Hang in there!!
And thanks! It`s a jacket kind of like.. a motorcycle-style jacket but fabric. Still too hot to wear most of the time here since it NEVER seems to get cold.
I only see one mention of veggies and no mention of fruit in your menu. It's a great way to add calories and be eating something that is great for you. And fruits and veggies are great for you kids as well. Just a bowl of cereal is not enough for breakfast. Add a piece of fruit and some protein like turkey sausauge or eggs. Add a salad to your lunch. A great snack is cut up apple with natural peanut butter (one of my favorite snacks).
I don't think any of the things I have mentioned will make you feel fat or bloated.
Need Calories...
Same goes for the "calories burned" calculators for different exercises--all are estimates and can be quite inaccurate for us individually.
