Any ideas to help increase my calories?

shawnnam

shawnnam

New member
I have been doing the south beach diet and I now eat foods low on the GI (glycemic index) so I don't have to eat a lot to feel full. I also drink almost 100 oz of water per day. I eat a ton of veggies and lean meats. Anyway, I am just now looking at my calories for the day and I am only at 780! I want to be up to 1,350-1,500 everyday, because I know my body need adequate fuel and it is going to be the best way to lose weight in the long run.

I am so worried I am starving my body, but I do not feel hungry, and I don't think about food unless I am. I never get to the point of starvation, once I get a hunger pang I eat some almonds or a TBS ot 2 of peanut butter and a lite string cheese. I eat salads and veggies every meal with lean protein etc. Like I said, I don't really get hungry, even on such low calories because the foods I eat are digesting so slowly and helping me feel satisfied after eating for a long period of time.

What can I do to get my calories up? I don't want to just stop by somewhere and fill up on useless crappy calories. And, is it necessary to eat if I am not hungry, despite where I am in my calories? Should I just eat when my body says I am hungry and stop when it says it is satisfied?

Any help is appreciated :)
 
Yes, you really do need more calories than that. It is unhealthy to eat so few calories and you can harm yourself by exercising on so little energy.

I've done 700 calorie per day diets - all lean proteins and green veg. The plan I followed is strongly recommended to not exceed 6 weeks on that plan or risk nutrition issues.

Add some dressing to your salads - something with olive oil for the healthy fats.
Add some more dairy to your diet. If calories are not an issue for you, then there's no need to eat 0-fat dairy. Have low fat, or even full fat for a chance.

I guess I'm just having a hard time seeing how you can possibly be only eating 700 calories ... maybe you can give a list of what you eat each day?
 
Here is a regular day:

Breakfast:

Turkey Burger (130 calories)
V8 veggie juice (50 calories)

Snack:

About 1.25 TBS of PB (125 calories)
Deli Turkey (50 calories)

Lunch:

Subway Chicken Salad (130 calories)
10 Pistachios (80 calories)

Dinner:

Qdoba
- Taco Salad; romaine, black beans, hot salsa, chicken (160 calories)
- Taco (no shell)x2; steak, black beans, hot salsa (220 calories)

Only 945 calories.... still too low :/ I mean I am not trying to eat so little at all. I really am trying to do this right. Today looks awful...

Breakfast:

Starbucks non-fat chai latte (200 calories) :/

Lunch:

15 almonds (130 calories)
Salad from Subway (130 calories)

Snack:

Approx 1.5 TBS PB (125 calories)
Lite cheese (50 calories)

Dinner:

Crystal Lite (10 calories)
Canned Soup (120 calories)
1 cup coffee w/ non-dairy creamer (15 calories)

And I mean, even looking at the little amount of food, it has really kept me full. Even yesterday at the 945 calories I worked out really hard for 65 minutes, without getting fatigued and managed to burn 840 calories.... I am guessing I will probably have to just start planning my meals in advance to ensure I am eating enough.
 
I can't help but think your numbers are off.

Turkey Burger (130 calories)
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This is a plain patty of ground turkey? Not cooked in any kind of oil or Pam? No bun? No condiments? Just plain dry cooked ground turkey?

Qdoba
- Taco Salad; romaine, black beans, hot salsa, chicken (160 calories)
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Absolutely impossible. Where are you getting these numbers from? If I go to the Qdoba website and enter a plain salad with the ingredients you describe above, I get 360 calories, minimum.

- Taco (no shell)x2; steak, black beans, hot salsa (220 calories)
Click to expand...

The other thing about restaurant food and especially fast food is that you cannot count on measurements being accurate. Research and studies have shown that most restaurant food is actually 25% more calories than they state - not out of fraud, but because the people who make your food aren't measuring to the ounce or gram and they're likely to give you a little bit MORE than a little bit less. So you have to figure that anything you're getting from Qdoba or Subway is going to be at a minimum 25% more than you think it is.


Starbucks non-fat chai latte (200 calories) :/
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Absolutely not an acceptable meal. Yogurt? Fruit? Eggs? Oats? Anything other than a sugary, sweet, high fat latte.

Crystal Lite (10 calories)
Canned Soup (120 calories)
Click to expand...
Also a totally unacceptable meal. First of all, Crystal Lite isn't a food ... there's no redeeming nutritional value in it. Canned soup is high in sodium and low in nutrient.

I'd be surprised if you had 30g of protein in the whole day's worth of meals. There's not nearly enough veggies there, no healthy fats, not enough of anything to be reasonable and healthy.

As a contrast, here's what I ate today:

Breakfast: 0% greek yogurt, blueberries, almond milk, scoop of protein powder made into smoothie.

Snack: gala apple and low fat string cheese, small can of v8

Lunch: smoked salmon over romaine lettuce with a vinaigrette dressing

Snack: orange juice (post workout)

Dinner: grilled chicken breast over baby spinach, feta cheese, marinaded artichoke hearts, sun dried tomatoes, and a dijon vinaigrette.

Total calories 1480, total protein 110g, fat 36g
 
KaraCooks said:
I can't help but think your numbers are off.

This is a plain patty of ground turkey? Not cooked in any kind of oil or Pam? No bun? No condiments? Just plain dry cooked ground turkey?

Absolutely impossible. Where are you getting these numbers from? If I go to the Qdoba website and enter a plain salad with the ingredients you describe above, I get 360 calories, minimum.



The other thing about restaurant food and especially fast food is that you cannot count on measurements being accurate. Research and studies have shown that most restaurant food is actually 25% more calories than they state - not out of fraud, but because the people who make your food aren't measuring to the ounce or gram and they're likely to give you a little bit MORE than a little bit less. So you have to figure that anything you're getting from Qdoba or Subway is going to be at a minimum 25% more than you think it is.



Absolutely not an acceptable meal. Yogurt? Fruit? Eggs? Oats? Anything other than a sugary, sweet, high fat latte.

Also a totally unacceptable meal. First of all, Crystal Lite isn't a food ... there's no redeeming nutritional value in it. Canned soup is high in sodium and low in nutrient.

I'd be surprised if you had 30g of protein in the whole day's worth of meals. There's not nearly enough veggies there, no healthy fats, not enough of anything to be reasonable and healthy.

As a contrast, here's what I ate today:

Breakfast: 0% greek yogurt, blueberries, almond milk, scoop of protein powder made into smoothie.

Snack: gala apple and low fat string cheese, small can of v8

Lunch: smoked salmon over romaine lettuce with a vinaigrette dressing

Snack: orange juice (post workout)

Dinner: grilled chicken breast over baby spinach, feta cheese, marinaded artichoke hearts, sun dried tomatoes, and a dijon vinaigrette.

Total calories 1480, total protein 110g, fat 36g
Click to expand...

Yes, plain ole turkey burger, nothing on it. And the qdoba salad I put was for the smaller portions meal so I got a small salad and tacos but I don't eat the shells, the regular sized salad does have 360 calories. And, I do not get the ranch sauce, I just get a dab of hot salsa. The latte's are a huge mistake, yes I agree, more of a lack of will power on my part. If you look at my diary that just started heppening recently. I usually eat a 2 egg omelet w/ 8 oz V8 veggies juice for breakfast and NEVER have starbucks, like I said the past few days have merely been of a lack of will power on my part. It has been harder since I am in summer school for 4 hours a day, everyday and it isn't seen as acceptable to just plop a salad out for a snack or anything, so I have to stick to nuts. And, the only reason the crystal lite was added was because is does have calories, it was more of a I had it WITH dinner, not for dinner.

I just had some canned tuna (100 calories) and will eat a romaine and spinach salad too which will help. I am just guessing I am going to need to plan out my meals in advance and cook/prepare everything before hand.

Like I said, the past few days, yeah I have not picked the best things.... if you look at my meal plans before they were really balanced and no crappy lattes.... I do need to regain my will power to say no to those things, I agree.
 
Here is a meal plan from a week ago:

Breakfast:

Turkey Chili (350 calories)
Large Chai tea w/ 1 tbs of non-fat milk (20 calories)

Snack:

Lite string cheese (60 calories)
Approx 5 oz of grilled chicken breast on romaine lettuce (275 calories)

Lunch (planned):

Scrambled Egg (70 calories)
2 pc turkey bacon (70 calories)
Celery w/ hummus (40 calories)

Snack (planned):

2 TBS of peanut butter (210 calories)

Dinner (planned):

Baked Tilapia fillets (120 calories)
Roasted Veggies (170 calories)

Total Calories: 1, 385

I am thinking the missing factor is the prepared food I suppose... I will just have to cook and not rely on eating out.
 
That dinner plan sounds much better, taste and nutrition wise! (And we didn't have to beat you to within inches of death either! lol <j/k>)



Good luck! I hope you can eat that healthy all the time!
 
Right now I am cooking a bunch of stuff to make meals for the week, I seem to hit my calories that way...

I have made roasted egg plant.
I am making stringbeans and mushrooms, and sesame string beans

and I am making a steak meal out of flank steak, some chicken meals using boneless skinless chicken breasts, and some more turkey burgers.

I also plan on grilling some peppers and zucchini on the BBQ.

So, since I will have things already made hopefully I can just hit my goals easier.
 
Planning really helps! :) It does. If I dn't plan my meals in advance, I wind up eating utter crap. It doesn't have to take long - just a little bit of time on a Sunday evening and you can at least make a plan of dinners for the rest of the week.

And you know .. the latte thing ... honestly at the level of calories you're eating, it's not that the calories are bad, but just the missing nutrition. If you wanted to boost your calories every day by having a latte I honestly don't think it would hurt you. :)
 
KaraCooks said:
Planning really helps! :) It does. If I dn't plan my meals in advance, I wind up eating utter crap. It doesn't have to take long - just a little bit of time on a Sunday evening and you can at least make a plan of dinners for the rest of the week.

And you know .. the latte thing ... honestly at the level of calories you're eating, it's not that the calories are bad, but just the missing nutrition. If you wanted to boost your calories every day by having a latte I honestly don't think it would hurt you. :)
Click to expand...

Thanks for your help, at first I kinda took it as an attack, but I know you always are just trying to help and your advise DOES help, so thanks you :)

Here is what today will look like

Breakfast:

2 egg omelet (140 calories)
V8 juice (50 calories)
1 cup coffe w/ non-dairy creamer and splenda (15 calories)

Snack:

Lite baby belle cheese (50 calories)
15 almonds (130 calories)

Lunch:

Spinach & Romaine Salad w/ 6 oz boneless skinless chicken breast (260 calories)
Roasted Egg plant (50 calories)

Snack:
3 hardboiled egg whites (45 calories)
1 TBS PB (105 calories)
Protein Shake (90 calories)

Dinner:

Ancho Grilled Flank Steak (310 calories)
Sesame green beans (50 calories)
Romaine Salad (40 calories)

Grand total: 1,345 calories.... woohoo :-D I guess it gets higher because the things I cook are higher in calories (chili, flank steak, whole chicken breasts) so it boosts my calories up.
 
shawnam- Just wanted to say Thanks! for posting this question! And to KaraCooks for all the helpful info, as well!

I have had problems getting enough calories as well, as I tend to eat only plain, healthy foods (partly to try to be healthy, partly because I'm a bit OCD and don't like foods that are mixed or have multiple tastes). And I wasn't sure what to do because I wasn't feeling hungry anyway and didn't know what to do to increase calories other than be eating all day long. But this thread has given me some good ideas! So, thanks!
 
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