Pleeeease tell me this doesn't sound stupid coming from a fat person, but I really struggle to get through all my calories! I've never been one for meals and regular eating, I've just picked at the odd thing here and there and then troughed in a pound of candy or pint of ice-cream at dinner time. I've always eaten the "bad stuff" because it's physically a lot easier to eat and I have a pretty challenging digestive system after 9 bowel surgeries. Now I am switching to food you have to really chew, swallow, there's absolutely heaps of it to spoon in, boy am I feeling exhausted by it being time to eat my way through another giant yoghurt. (It's not giant, I just feel it is).

I am trying to adjust to eating all this food, but wouldn't mind some interim tips for good quality calories so that if I am having one of those "OMG I can't possibly eat any more cottage cheese and it only gets me 80 calories anyway" days then there is something slightly more calorie-dense but still good quality food that I can eat a smaller portion of so I don't feel overwhelmed by the quantities.

It sounds crazy to most people when I say I just can't eat that much.

no it doesnt honest. i'm at 300 lbs, i can put away a large pizza....however, when i eat right i'm eating fruits and veggies, whole grains.......high fiber filling foods....BIG DIFFERENCE.

sometimes i struggle too. on those days, providing i have filled my requirements, i will burn up whats left with cubed cheese or peanut butter.
i'm sure there are other options but those are my go to foods for days i "struggle" to get it all in.

I like peanuts/peanut butter for calorie dense foods. I also will see if there's something I can put olive oil on. Granola is another favorite high calorie option.

I was going to say nuts too. I really like Pistachios and 1/4 cup shelled is 170 calories. If you prefer a sweet flavor over salty, I just found some emerald almonds that are cinnamon brown sugar, they are fabulous and 1oz is 160 calories.

How many caloies a day are you eating, or trying to eat ?

I have the same problem. Its actually what my latest blog entry is about. However for me I honestly did not eat a ton of food, I didnt eat majorly unhealthy foods, no sweets, no candy, no ice cream, no chips or junk food yet still gained weight. It wasnt that I was dieting Im just not a big snacker and Im not a big junk food fan. I always had blood tests growing up to see why I was gaining but never got an answer. Now that I count calories its hard to eat so much because I only used to eat once or twice a day. Keep up the good work though and good luck getting through that yogurt lol

I always try to steer a bit clear of this question because I don't want to open a debate on the topic that assumes a 'normal' lifestyle. Before I post a number let me remind everyone who doesn't know my situation that I am on clinical bed-rest with a spinal injury and I'm being medically monitored, but because of the fact I am extremely sedentary at the present time I'm aiming between 950 and 1200 cals each day, the 1200 days being for the days I have certain medications and treatments and need to bulk things up that wee bit. I am receiving nutritional supplements to make up for the fact that is a very low number of calories, anyone else reading who is not in my situation, don't copy my numbers, please.

You could start using olive/peanut/sunflower/canola/etc. oil to sauté vegetables in or put on top of a salad. 1 tbsp of olive oil is about 120 calories, and full of good fats, so even just a little bit can up that calorie count.

How about rice? Especially rice with milk mixed in or a meal replacement mixed in? I don't know if you have cans of stuff the doctors would recommend as a meal replace, we have a brand here called Ensure. Rice is good to add calories to cooked veggies/meats (savory) and sweets (eat it for breakfast with some milk, banana, stewed prunes). Add some flax oil for healthy fats and extra calories.

I think it would be fairly easy to eat enough rice to make up quite a lot of your day, and it's easy on the bowels/tummy/digestion/palette and all that good stuff.

Oh, and rice with cottage cheese is actually quite delicious. I like the brown/wild variety with cottage cheese mixed in. Yummmmy.

A cup of rice is about 200 calories. I would add it into whatever you are eating to bulk up the calories. That and flax oil. And you can be incredibly lazy and cook up a big pot that will last several days. Easy peasy.

Hi I often have the same problem! It seems as though when I'm eating healthy, whole foods, my body just doesn't crave as much food (maybe because I'm not lacking in nutrients anymore?) Today I felt like I was eating and eating and just added up my calories . . . 957! (I aim for about 1300) I wont rectify it tonight as I try not to eat past 6pm. But I'll have to remember to add some olive oil or nuts tomorrow

If you are looking to reduce your carb input (my diet very easily strays into the 75% carb zone!) what do you put your nut butters onto? I can only think of sandwiches, but maybe cos in the UK peanut butter is much more of a marginal food.

You could put it on apple slices or even a banana. I usually put it on a stalk of celery.

Of course for me that's peanut butter, I don't know how other nut butters would taste on those foods.

Carrots! It's amazing. Also bananas and celery are good.

I stir peanutbutter into my oatmeal too, but I suppose that's high carb. I tastes good stirred into some soups, like a thai curry soup would be awesome with peanutbutter stirred in.

I completely understand. I felt the same way. Like you, my problem stemmed more from eating too much ice cream or a value meal at McDonald's. That's not a lot of food, but it is a lot of calories. I was struggling at times to eat 1200 calories. Now that I'm lower on calories, I'm not so much struggling with trying to reach them anymore. LOL!

I understand the lower calorie diet too. Being sedentary makes it much more difficult and our bodies require much less fuel. My mom is completely sedentary and has gain so, so much weight. Family members can be cruel saying she eats too much or they get on her case for eating a small bowl of ice cream. But when you're 4'9" and sedentary you don't need very many calories and she deserves a bite of ice cream now and then.

Anyway...

Nut butter on bananas and apples is great, but they are high carb items. I like it on celery. Heck, I make my own almond butter with a little honey and it's divine all by itself!

Yogurt is higher calorie, as is pasta or steel cut oats, but again, I know you're watching carbs.