Weight-Loss What to do if I haven't gotten enough calories by the end of the day?!

[Super Ghoul]

Alright, here's my situation. I had everything divided up pretty well, but I went to the gym and then just kind of ended up at a movie. When I got back it was late, but I was about 700 calories off. I sort of freaked out and, while paying attention to all the nutrients, tried to consume a bunch of calories at once.

Good/bad choice? If I made a mistake I won't freak out, I'm sure this won't be the first one. I have decided not to weigh myself tomorrow, lol.

I'm finding it very difficult to get my calories and nutrients in. I always seem to be falling short with proteins and carbs. It's hard for me to plan my meals too far ahead of time, because I don't always want that exact meal the next day.

So I guess a recap of my questions:
How do I handle not having eaten enough calories by the evening?
How can I make sure I'm getting balanced carbs, fats and proteins?

 

[Omega]

Hey - I dont know the answer because I have never got through the day and been quite so far off on both my nutrients and calories - but I guess that I would have been tempted to do the same....

After all - the same research that has shown that there is no benefit to eating lots of small meals evenly spread through out the day kind of demonstrates that you can eat your food spread out however you like as long as the calories come out right and so do the nutrients...
http://weight-loss.fitness.com/topic/26335-importance-meal-frequency.html

I have certainly sat late at night and had a couple of yoghurts when I have seen that my protein was a bit down though. I always like to feel that I have given my body the nutrients that it needs.

Better planning next time is the real answer in my book.

I often sit in the morning and enter the food for the day as I think that it will pan out in fitday and see where that gets me. I then see how things are likely to measure up. I then go through and set the quantities to zero so it kind of gets taken out again. I then put the quantities back in as things get eaten or start cooking... That way I keep on top of how the actual is going compared to the plan. I find that it is easiest to have a fitday window permanently open whenever I am on a computer...

 

[bvilleh]

As with many people the idea comes in mind that you must consume some calories to fill the daily amount required, i would think the same. Same with me I'm not really sure but one day of this would not highly effect your body but be sure not to make this happen too often. Calories might also accumulate from the pass calories that you consume which add up to your daily amount that your consumed.

But try to not to freak out to much since consuming a lot of calories before the day ends in an attempt to fill the amount may actually make you consume more then desired.

With nutrients you should not over think the situation to plan a meal since that would just make it more difficult. Proteins, carbohydrates, fats, minerals and others would be consumed already in a healthy lifestyle of eating. With healthy thinking about your fruits, vegetables, meats (like chicken & fish) & starches being consumed daily would be enough BUT you have to know what enough is.

Example:

Morning - Fruits along with a wholegrain cereal with no fat milk
Snacks - Fruit salad, snack bar
Lunch - Chicken wrap with lettuce and mayo
Snacks - Smoothie and rice crackers
Dinner - Ginger Poached fish with seasoned vegetables
Desert - Fruit salad

^ That is a pretty linear and broad plan but you can see with some extra calories among the plan enough nutrients would be consumed daily. As Omega mentioned above The Fit day program is also a great way to track your everyday consumption and help plan for you healthy eating routines.

 

[Steve]

I honestly wouldn't sweat one day. And I certainly wouldn't worry about what my weight did over the course of 24 hours. It's the trends that matter here. Not the acute happenings.

 

[KaraCooks]

I wouldn't sweat one day, but I do think you need to rethink this:

I'm finding it very difficult to get my calories and nutrients in. I always seem to be falling short with proteins and carbs. It's hard for me to plan my meals too far ahead of time, because I don't always want that exact meal the next day.

If you're finding it difficult to get in your calories and nutrients on a regular basis, then you need to plan.

Planning doesn't mean that you're stuck eating something you don't want, but you need to start thinking in terms of options that you can work with. One of the things I do is plan a weeks worth of meals and snacks and then I pick the ones I'm in the mood for at the time.

I also have taught myself what are healthy snacks and healthy sources of calories and protein and so forth. For example, if I were in your position last night, realized that I had only eaten 700 calories and knew I needed more protein, I'd have fixed myself some Greek yogurt and fruit (light snack, but lots of protein). Or I'd have had some peanut butter on apple slices (protein, healthy fats). Or I'd have grabbed a few pieces of turkey out of the fridge and eaten them on a slice of whole grain protein enriched bread. Because I plan ahead and have food like that available, I don't have to freak out ... I know that I can grab 200 or 300 HEALTHY calories.

I mean if you think about it in terms of "I don't like .. " Well, I don't like to get up in the morning and go to work. I don't like to do laundry (HATE folding). I don't particularly like to unload the dishwasher. But I do them because I want to pay my bills, have clothes to wear, and live in a clean house. Planning your meals is the same way - you might not like it, but if you want things to be easy, healthy, and not full of freak outs, you do it. Otherwise, I could choose not to get up in the morning and go to work, but then I can't complain when I get evicted from my home for not paying my rent.

Sometimes I eat things I'm not necessarily in the mood for, but I know I need the calories and the protein. So I eat them anyway and just think of it as fueling my body. That's life sometimes.