Sport Trouble getting calories with good foods

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GT2003

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Started focusing more on diet today. Decided to log everything on Fitday. I've still got one more snack to eat tonight and i've only eaten 1540 calories. I've eaten pretty clean. Now, not as clean as many of you, but fairly healthy. I simply forgot how few calories the natural foods have in them. I feel like I've stuffed myself but still only at 1500 calories or so.

I did kabobs on the grill for dinner along with ceasar salad with light caesar dressing.

Here's the pie chart results so far (w/o the pie chart): Let me know what you think. I really need at least 2000 calories per day even for a deficit. Thanks for the input, Greg

Calories Eaten Today
grams cals %total
Total: 1540
Fat: 42 374 25%
Sat: 10 87 6%
Poly: 12 107 7%
Mono: 15 139 9%
Carbs: 175 641 43%
Fiber: 14 0 0%
Protein: 122 488 32%
Alcohol: 0 0 0%

Fat Carbs
Protein Alcohol
 
I have this problem too. It looks like you're roughly trying to follow a 30/30/40 ratio for your macronutrients. This can sometimes make consuming enough calories difficult. First of all, protein doesn't have very many calories per gram, it also has a higher thermal effect that means you burn more calories digesting it. A high protein diet is great, but you can still eat your recommended daily intake of protein and not strictly follow the 30/30/40 rule. I wouldn't recommend increasing your fat too much, but carbs, yes. Up your after workout carbs. That should make things a little easier.

Also, calorie dense foods can be healthy too. I love bananas. I generally eat them after my workout as a source of carbs. They have 110 calories, and they're relatively small. Just because they are composed of primarily white starch and sugar, it does not make them unhealthy. Peanut butter is another healthy calorie dense food. Avocados are another.

Eating "natural" does not mean you have to eat nothing but salad greens and lean chicken. There are many options.

Yes, it's true, processed foods are cheap and are an easy source of calories, but there are some healthy foods that are surprisingly inexpensive and calorie dense.

I hope this was helpful.
 
My dream problem! Anyway, looks like you're ratios are pretty good, so just try to eat more of all. Nat peanut butter, nuts, olive oil, dried fruit, pasta, brown rice, potatoes all pack a punch. You could also add a proein shake made with skim milk. If you add some of that you shouldn't have trouble getting over 2000. Also, try to eat smaller portions but frequently (i.e. 6 meals of 350 or 400 cals each).
 
Thanks for the input. I was absolutely stuffed yesterday, even after my late night cardio session. I simply couldn't eat any more. I ended with just under 1600 calories which is simply not enough. I appreciate the high calorie, healthy food suggestions. Goal for today, 2000 calories.
 
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you need more protein and fat.

if you're trying to get lean, I wouldn't go any higher on the carbs. fiber's a little low too.
 
I was kind of shooting for 50% carbs then 25% each from protein and fat.

What are current protein recommendations for lifting/cardio? Are they somewhere in the area of 1 gram per pound of bodyweight. If so, I'll make my goal around 190 grams per day. I don't expect I'll need protein to nourish my fat stores.

Why more fat? I was pretty happy with 25%. I wouldn't want to go lower but I was pretty happy with this. I know about EFA's and that fat helps you feel full longer etc. Other reasons?

I'm working on the fiber. My bread has 3 grams per slice but I've eaten wheat english muffins the last couple of days. I'll concentrate more on this from now on.

I'll incorporate almonds or some other kind of "nut" today. These should really pack in the calories and incorporate some more "good fat". Thanks.

Give me some input on recommendations/more foods to incorporate etc. Thanks, Greg
 
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GT2003 said:
What are current protein recommendations for lifting/cardio? Are they somewhere in the area of 1 gram per pound of bodyweight.
Click to expand...

The 1g per pound of body weight is at the high end of the recommendation range, based on strength athletes (heavy weight lifters, body builders, etc.). The low end of the recommendation range is about 0.4g per pound of body weight, applicable to people who do little physical activity (which presumably does not apply to you).

The following have some charts of recommended protein intakes. Note that some use kg of body mass instead of pounds of body weight (and easy conversion), and some use lean body mass (i.e. not including body fat) instead of total body mass to base protein consumption on.



(this one may have an error in the minimum intake for endurance athletes; it looks like the number should be 1.4, not 1/4, g per kg of body mass)
 
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tjl said:
The 1g per pound of body weight is at the high end of the recommendation range, based on strength athletes (heavy weight lifters, body builders, etc.).
Click to expand...

I disagree. 1 g proten/1 lb bodyweight is the MINIMUM range recommendation for strength athletes & body builders. Many shoot for higher levels more akin to 1.25 to 1.5 g protein/lb body weight (Some up to 2 g/lb even).

Based on what I've read, experienced, and observed, IMHO, basically anyone engaged in resistance training several times per week and/or attempting fat loss should aim for this goal of 1 g protein/lb.
 
philsaigon said:
My dream problem!
Click to expand...

+1,000,000,000!!! :beerchug:

Add two full flavored beers to your diet, good for you and loaded with cals. LOL!! J/K!

So, what was on the menu, if you don't mind me asking? I need to do the whole fuller on less thing for a while! I can't seem to stay at or below 2300 cals. I didn't track mine the past two days tho. I may have done fairly well there.
 
sig said:
I disagree. 1 g proten/1 lb bodyweight is the MINIMUM range recommendation for strength athletes & body builders. Many shoot for higher levels more akin to 1.25 to 1.5 g protein/lb body weight (Some up to 2 g/lb even).
Click to expand...

(Note: by "high end" in the previous post, I meant the high end of general recommendations, not the high end of specific recommendations for strength athletes. Obviously, within each category of athletes, there are variations of recommendations.)

Where is this documented? Even t-nation.com and bodybuilding.com, which have the highest protein recommendations that I can find, are not 2g/lb, and amounts significantly greater than 1g/lb are mentioned in the context of special cases or at the elite level. t-nation.com suggests 1g/lb in general for body builders, up to 1.5g/lb for those with fast metabolism. bodybuilding.com suggests "an intake of 1.7g/kg a day rising up to a possible 3.5g/kg during intense microcycles in order to reap maximum gains from resistance training" (these numbers are .8g/lb and 1.6g/lb).

Links to t-nation.com and bodybuilding.com :
TESTOSTERONE NATION
Bodybuilding.com - Glen Danbury - Protein: What Is It And How Much Can You Take?
 
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tjl said:
(Note: by "high end" in the previous post, I meant the high end of general recommendations, not the high end of specific recommendations for strength athletes. Obviously, within each category of athletes, there are variations of recommendations.)

Where is this documented? Even t-nation.com and bodybuilding.com, which have the highest protein recommendations that I can find, are not 2g/lb, and amounts significantly greater than 1g/lb are mentioned in the context of special cases or at the elite level. t-nation.com suggests 1g/lb in general for body builders, up to 1.5g/lb for those with fast metabolism. bodybuilding.com suggests "an intake of 1.7g/kg a day rising up to a possible 3.5g/kg during intense microcycles in order to reap maximum gains from resistance training" (these numbers are .8g/lb and 1.6g/lb).

Links to t-nation.com and bodybuilding.com :
TESTOSTERONE NATION
Bodybuilding.com - Glen Danbury - Protein: What Is It And How Much Can You Take?
Click to expand...

Now that you've explained it further, I don't think we're really disagreeing here. I just had an issue with the phrasing. I'm not saying that 2 g/lb is something you'd see recommended for anything other than elite power-lifter or body builders, and that far more common is 1.25 to 1.5. The real question is how narrowly you define the category of people who should shoot for these levels, and what that means for people who are training though not with as much intensity.

It's true that 1g/lb is on the higher end of what is recommended for the general population. But that should be taken with a grain of salt around here, because most people are not engaged in strength training at all. Beyond that, the standard 'diets' being tossed around tend to overlook the important role that lean proteins play in fat loss.
 
Thanks! I am a dietitian who used to work in the hospital setting for many, many years. The actual recommended protein intake for a "general" person is .8 grams per kg of bodyweight. I just needed input as to current recommendations for the fitness crowd.

Thanks again for more of the food recommendations. I thought I was doing great with 1985 calories before dinner. Ends up I somehow copied some foods multiple times falsely elevating my calories eaten. I'm in a world of hurt now. I'm working out soon so I can hopefully work up an appetite before bed.

I'm still not hungry in the evenings. I'm consciously choosing higher fiber foods and feel this may be the reason. My appetite has been fine the last few days until lunch when I have been eating leftover kabobs consisting of onions, bell peppers, mushrooms, sirloin and chicken breast that were all cooked on the grill. I've been eating probably 1 1/2 cups of the vegetables along with 6-8 ounces of the meats for lunch along with a salad. I'll focus more on higher fiber foods that have a higher calorie content.

Fitday has been a blessing and has really taught me where my calories are coming from and how I need to adjust to meet my needs. Thanks again for the input. I'll post again tomorrow night and see how well I progress. Thanks again, Greg
 
yer a dietician! wow! and you didn't catch the wisdom in the double chocolate expresso brownies?

interesting thread for a dietician to make. Was this a test for our board peeps? How did we do?

I take alot of advice from this place and wonder at times. ;)
 
Everyone did great! I really was not up to date on the current recommendations for sports nutrition. I was always taught .8 g/kg of bodyweight with adjustments for obesity etc. However, I knew the sports related recommendations had changed which made you all the experts. I would leand towards somewhere around 1 gram per Pound of lean bodyweight.

Kind of a funny thread for a dietician...Yes. I'm really good at looking at ways of cutting calories/eating the right foods. I kind of got stuck when I had to concentrate on adding calories to meet specific goals. I figured I could do actual bookwork or get real world advice from those that live it everyday. When I was in college I simply exercised and ate very low fat with moderate protein and fairly high carbs, never measured anything. Since I was lacking up to date knowledge, I came to you all for help and as always, you helped. Thanks again. Eventually I'll keep this ball rolling and get where I need to be. It's all slowly coming back to me.
 
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