[mescelestus]

Hey guys,
Ok so my weight loss has been stalled for about a month, and I definately have been exercising more (3-5 miles on elliptical 4-7 days a week plus other stuff here and there). I am 19 btw, and 194 lbs. I usually try to eat 1200-1400 calories per day, and keep it relatively low carb. I looked on freedieting.com calorie counter, and it said that I should be eating at least 1550 a day, and that would be for extreme weight loss. So it seems that I should up my calorie intake, and as per the website suggests cycle between 1500-1800 calories throughout the week. My problem is that I don't know how to eat enough calories and still eat things that are good for me...Also I don't feel really hungry on my current calories. Please take a look at a sample of what I currently eat on a typical day, and see if you can help me tweek it:

BF:
1 cup Multi-grain cheerios
1/2 cup high fiber twigs
1/2 cup milk
sometimes a small bananna

Snack:
1 string cheese
1 apple or grapefruit (sometimes both)

Lunch:
cut up veggies usually broccoli or zuccini
Hummus
sometimes a little more high fiber cerial.

Dinner:
Usually chicken or turkey breast
Brown rice or whole wheat pasta
A large portion of assorted veggies

No evening/nightime snack.

What should I do guys? I trust you expert advice; thanks in advance.
~sara

[WormwoodDoll]

A good, healthy way to up calories is just to add more of the portion. Instead of a cup of cheerios, how about 1 & 1/2 cups and 1 cup milk? Instead of 4oz chicken/turkey, how about 6oz? Add high-calorie, but healthy foods (like peanut butter/nuts, avocado, cheese, etc). With your string cheese, eat an ounce of nuts. For breakfast, have a slice of whole wheat with a tbsp of peanut butter. Eat a snack after dinner. Small steps! And I would advise upping your intake. It seems a bit too low for you.

[AngelsEulogy]

A friend of mine always has this problem, she hates to eat more calories and usually ends up with wriggle room of about 300 calories. She's started to eat a serving of nuts every day, and it's really worked well for her, plus it's a bit of a treat, and the healthy fat is always a plus in a strict diet.
Other than that, you could try healthy add ins. Like add a bit of a dressing to your broccoli, have some extra milk, enjoy some real juice with your dinner, etc.

[fiberlover]

Add some nuts in there, that will boost your calories in a healthy way, and without adding a lot of extra food.