Adding calories

B

bchgrl40

Cathlete
As anyone had success with adding more calories to their daily I take and finally getting results? I've had people tell me for years to eat more and I'm finally biting the bullet and will slowly increase my calories bc I'm not getting results with my usual super low intake
 
I'm not sure that I qualify as having added more calories and finally seeing results but right now, I'm the leanest I've ever been and I consume more calories than I ever have before. Not eating enough used to drain me of energy which would be reflected in poor workouts. Now I eat a ton and I can perform better during exercise.
 
Curious Lucy Fit PT. Can you post an example of your normal daily meals and snacks for one day including all drinks. Would love to know. Thanks! :)
 
Okay, so here's a typical day. My workouts start at 4am so I don't have time to eat a lot, digest, then workout. I literally roll out of bad, grab a bite, and I'm rockin' and rollin' by 4:10am.

Pre-workout: an orange and a small piece of dark chocolate (85% cacao) w/ lots of water
Post-workout: Greek yogurt w/ berries and a large banana
Breakfast: two hard-boiled eggs, half an avocado, and a LARGE roasted sweet potato w/ water
AM snack: a handful of nuts w/ fruit (or a Larabar)
Lunch: an entire bag of frozen veggies (yes, the whole bag), a can of sardines, w/ coconut aminos (instead of high-sodium soy sauce), an apple, and water
PM snack: half a cup of roasted chickpeas w/ water (mixed w/ apple cider vinegar)
Dinner: grilled chicken with 2-3 cups roasted veggies (if not more, the plate is full!) and water

I drink wine but usually only on Friday and Saturday nights. I eat mostly Paleo except for the yogurt and chickpeas. The calories for me come from portions. I eat HUGE portions. But, I eat only whole foods, nothing processed. It takes planning but it's do-able. I also eat every 2-3 hours, even if I'm not hungry. I workout exclusively to Cathe 6 days per week and I need the fuel to get through those tough workouts.

Hope this helps and that I didn't bore you with my "menu". :)
 
bchgrl40 said:
As anyone had success with adding more calories to their daily I take and finally getting results? I've had people tell me for years to eat more and I'm finally biting the bullet and will slowly increase my calories bc I'm not getting results with my usual super low intake
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Hi Bchgrl40,

I suggest you track and weight every meal (should it be low )to know exactly how many calories you are consuming per day. That being I would not recommend calories counting as a long-term habit! Because you embarked on this challenge, everything, most importantly, your nutrition has to be spot on!

Book an appointment with a competent nutritionist if you have not seen one already.

I can recall a conversation on this forum about damaged metabolism. I do not really want to post the link on here as you probably need to focus on your program. Few cathletes admitted breaking weight loss plateaux increasing calories. Hope they share their opinion with you.

All the best,
 
I have to agree with nckfitheart2009. Definitely meet with a nutritionist if you have justified concerns about your diet. A couple of years ago, I 'thought' I was eating healthy. Then I met with a nutritionist and I was shocked at how much sugar I was consuming (through nightly wine and too much fruit). I also discovered that I wasn't eating enough protein. Sometimes you just need a qualified professional to help open your eyes a bit and they can help you make good changes.
 
I'm slowly upping calories..so far hitting 1300 a day. I am tracking everything I eat with myfitnesspal and weigh or measure everything to be accurate. I never know when calculating calorie needs what option to choose. I'm very sedentary (desk job etc) but I do sts 3x week and turbofire of various lengths 5x a week. In four weeks I haven't lost any weight or body fat. Small amount of tape measure inches tho. I realize its a journey and nothing happens overnight but when I eat more and don't exercise I expect to gain weight and when I eat less and do exercise I would expect to lose weight and that isn't the case. Not to be negative but sometimes you gotta wonder why you're kicking your ass day in and day out for zero return.
 
I'm not a nutritionist, but I can't imagine 1300 calories sustaining me day after day. If you are doing STS and Turbofire regularly, your body needs more fuel than 1300 calories. I know it can be frustrating, especially when you're working so hard and you don't see the results. I think in your case, you should meet with a nutritionist to identify the gaps in your diet. A professional can really help you focus on the right foods (and the right portions) and all it takes is one visit to get you on the right road. Plus, a nutritionist can evaluate your activity (both at work and during exercise) to see how many calories you should be consuming. Keep your chin up and don't give up!
 
Lucy Fit PT said:
Okay, so here's a typical day. My workouts start at 4am so I don't have time to eat a lot, digest, then workout. I literally roll out of bad, grab a bite, and I'm rockin' and rollin' by 4:10am.

Pre-workout: an orange and a small piece of dark chocolate (85% cacao) w/ lots of water
Post-workout: Greek yogurt w/ berries and a large banana
Breakfast: two hard-boiled eggs, half an avocado, and a LARGE roasted sweet potato w/ water
AM snack: a handful of nuts w/ fruit (or a Larabar)
Lunch: an entire bag of frozen veggies (yes, the whole bag), a can of sardines, w/ coconut aminos (instead of high-sodium soy sauce), an apple, and water
PM snack: half a cup of roasted chickpeas w/ water (mixed w/ apple cider vinegar)
Dinner: grilled chicken with 2-3 cups roasted veggies (if not more, the plate is full!) and water

I drink wine but usually only on Friday and Saturday nights. I eat mostly Paleo except for the yogurt and chickpeas. The calories for me come from portions. I eat HUGE portions. But, I eat only whole foods, nothing processed. It takes planning but it's do-able. I also eat every 2-3 hours, even if I'm not hungry. I workout exclusively to Cathe 6 days per week and I need the fuel to get through those tough workouts.

Hope this helps and that I didn't bore you with my "menu". :)
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Hello Lucy Fit PT Are you a personal trainer? I love your typical daily food consumption. How do you cook your frozen veggies?

I workout cathe exclusively too BTW ;)
 
Yes, I'm an ACE-Certified Personal Trainer. I'm launching a fitness website on March 1st (I'm so excited, I can hardly wait!). Glad you like my "menu". :) I love food so it's easy for me to take the time to prepare my meals for the week. The frozen-veggie-thing is so easy though so I resort to that a lot. I typically boil them (but not for too long...gotta retain as many nutrients as possible). I'll usually eat them with sardines or grilled chicken but I also love nut butters so I will occasionally mix hot veggies with almond butter. It sounds weird, but it's actually quite tasty. But my favorite way to eat veggies is roasted. I'll roast them in olive oil, coconut oil, or ghee (to switch things up). I'm getting hungry just thinking about it! :)
 
Lucy Fit PT said:
Yes, I'm an ACE-Certified Personal Trainer. I'm launching a fitness website on March 1st (I'm so excited, I can hardly wait!). Glad you like my "menu". :) I love food so it's easy for me to take the time to prepare my meals for the week. The frozen-veggie-thing is so easy though so I resort to that a lot. I typically boil them (but not for too long...gotta retain as many nutrients as possible). I'll usually eat them with sardines or grilled chicken but I also love nut butters so I will occasionally mix hot veggies with almond butter. It sounds weird, but it's actually quite tasty. But my favorite way to eat veggies is roasted. I'll roast them in olive oil, coconut oil, or ghee (to switch things up). I'm getting hungry just thinking about it! :)
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Lol:D:D:D You have made me hungry too. I like almond and cashew butter. I can not have peanut cause I am allergic to it. I do sautee (slightly stir-fry) or micro wave my frozen veggies. Sometime I microwave them in their pre-pack baggies. Almond butter mixed with veggies is not weird. I do mix cashew butter, a tsp, with spinach and garlic and love it ;-).

Nice to virtually meet you fitness professional;) Great stuff:):)
 
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If you like almond and cashew butter, have you ever tried Artisana's walnut butter? I realize that my taste buds have changed since going mostly-paleo, but it tastes just like cookie dough! Delicious! :)
 
Anyone read The Calorie Myth? Why we Get Fat and What to Do About It? Science is now saying calories don't matter. I'm just starting to research and learn this.
 
Lucy Fit PT said:
I'm not sure that I qualify as having added more calories and finally seeing results but right now, I'm the leanest I've ever been and I consume more calories than I ever have before. Not eating enough used to drain me of energy which would be reflected in poor workouts. Now I eat a ton and I can perform better during exercise.
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Hi Lucy how is you normal eating, amount of cal a day, if you can share.Thanks
 
Mariposa1973 said:
Hi Lucy how is you normal eating, amount of cal a day, if you can share.Thanks
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And if I can also add a question to this - how do you eat the sardines??!! I have to admit I haven't eaten them since childhood when my dad and I would have them in sandwiches, then when my sister told me I was eating actual fish with their skeleton I freaked and never ate them again!LOL! But maybe I can get over my fear if there's a trick to eating them without thinking I'm eating a skeleton.....
 
jamie vaughn said:
And if I can also add a question to this - how do you eat the sardines??!! I have to admit I haven't eaten them since childhood when my dad and I would have them in sandwiches, then when my sister told me I was eating actual fish with their skeleton I freaked and never ate them again!LOL! But maybe I can get over my fear if there's a trick to eating them without thinking I'm eating a skeleton.....
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Not Lucy, but I do eat sardines! I love the sardines packed in oil. I smash them in the can with a fork and then dump them into a big bowl of mixed greens/veggies. I choose the kind packed in olive oil for the added fats (I eat lots of fat in my diet) and because then that serves as the protein + the salad dressing (although sometimes I do add a squirt of yellow mustard as well). Throw in some almonds or other nuts/seeds, a dash of black pepper, and it's one of my favorite salad combos. I also enjoy eating the smashed sardines mixed with grilled veggies. I find that when they are smashed it makes it more like canned tuna or canned salmon...no fish faces staring back at you!

Lisa
 
Hi Lisa,
Thanks for the sardine suggestion - good idea to add some nuts as that might be enough to fool myself into thinking it's the almonds I'm crunching on and not skeleton and cartilage LOL!!
Jamie
 
lisa_la_machina said:
Not Lucy, but I do eat sardines! I love the sardines packed in oil. I smash them in the can with a fork and then dump them into a big bowl of mixed greens/veggies. I choose the kind packed in olive oil for the added fats (I eat lots of fat in my diet) and because then that serves as the protein + the salad dressing (although sometimes I do add a squirt of yellow mustard as well). Throw in some almonds or other nuts/seeds, a dash of black pepper, and it's one of my favorite salad combos. I also enjoy eating the smashed sardines mixed with grilled veggies. I find that when they are smashed it makes it more like canned tuna or canned salmon...no fish faces staring back at you!

Lisa
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Haha...that is too funny...fish faces...but so true!
 
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