I'm coming up short calorie wise in my food plan for next week (I go shopping for a week at a time) and I was wondering what/where I could add? Normally I shoot for 1200-1400 (or just above).


For reference I'm lactose int. and I prefer to avoid meat (too much prep), fruit for the most part I'm completely board of. Also, please don't add to much to the portion sizes (by the looks of it i WILL be full, but again, calories too low)...yes, I'm just that complicated


My day:
Breakfast (410):
English muffin with 2 tbsp peanut butter and 2tbsp jelly

Lunch (128):
Cup of chicken soup and carrots and celery

Supper (260):
Cup of Rice with mushrooms and some carrots

Total: 798 Calories...

Edit: Here's my CFP values!

Fat - 24.9% (22 grams)
Protein - 14.6% (29 grams)
Carbohydrates - 54.3% (108 grams)

Well certainly never been a problem for me but here are some ideas:

Throw in two snacks (helps rev the metabolism)

one with some trail mix, or just a handful of nuts and some dried fruits
the other with some guacamole and chips or something similar

You could also add in some sort of toasted pumpernickel (or other healthy bread) with your soup, add pb to your celery at lunch, use some cheese spread like laughing cow with your veggies. Maybe even throw in a salad or half a sandwich with one of the soups.

Do you normally eat this way? If not keep in mind that being too strict might make you break eventually (does me!) so add in a 'dessert' or portion of a favorite snack so you can not miss them too much, you have the room.

Thanks edzard!

Normally the things/amounts I posted is satisfying, but with cutting out refined things and deciding no more soda of course the calories are low. Perhaps I'll add in a rice pudding or tapioca for at the end of my day when the mindless eating normally occurs. With work snacking is somewhat limited, but the nuts and dried fruit would be a good idea (I have almonds in the pantry in fact!)

Which taking those into consideration I'm at a good level and didn't have to mess anything up too much

Thanks for the "dessert" idea!

I'm with edzard, throw in a couple high calorie snacks. Almonds are my fav! I too have been having trouble getting to my calorie limit since I am not makeing poor food decisions. Bananas are relatively high in calories so you can add that as a snack, maybe with some pb.

HaHa, your user name, how clever!

Thanks utgirl, i was listening to my ipod when i was trying to come up with a name and guess what song came on lol I never thought it would be difficult to "find" calories until now, cutting out the crap was the just my "next step" and is apparently harder then it looks...lol

Well, I've added some bread, olive oil (for the bread, italian style ), some pudding and some almonds (for my after work, before supper snack)...and I'm hitting just over 1200, which for now is just fine with me lol.

You could use some more protein in there. No prep meats could be: deli meats, sliced and ready to eat. Shrimp bought precooked and frozen, just thaw and eat. Canned meats like tuna or chicken. Purchase a cooked rotisserie chicken from your deli, that's ready to eat and will last one person several days, excess can be frozen for later thawing/reheating in microwave.

I often have that problem but seriously find that eating at 1500 I lose faster than at 1200. I do have the occasional very low day - I'm sure 'normal' people do too - but try to keep the levels up.

I add in dried fruit or nuts onto salads; I eat a lot of potatoes, steamed or baked but not messed up with fats in anyway - great for carbs and fibre; for protein, I've totally fallen in love with firm tofu - it's great cubed, lightly coated in seasoned flour and fried in a very tiny bit of olive oil.

I have the same problem. At the end of the day when I count up my calories I am sometimes a couple hundred calories short of 1200! I think I may try bumping up my calories just like Ailidh said...maybe it will give me a jump on the weight loss.