Best food to up Calories
Discussion
Iv been trying to lose weight and nothing has really been working.
so booked in with a PT and he told me I need to up my calories are I'm not eating enough.
im currently 16.8 stone 6 foot 2.
My current calorie intake is around 1800 a day. Iv been told to up this to 2600 and pay attention to micronutrients and that should put me on around 2lb a week drop.
What type of food should I be eating.
As I'm struggling to find the extra calories.
Normally I eat:
a protein shake and banana for Breakfast.
Porridge, hummus, soup for lunch
maybe a protein bar
then dinner normally around 600 calories
any help would be great. Thanks
so booked in with a PT and he told me I need to up my calories are I'm not eating enough.
im currently 16.8 stone 6 foot 2.
My current calorie intake is around 1800 a day. Iv been told to up this to 2600 and pay attention to micronutrients and that should put me on around 2lb a week drop.
What type of food should I be eating.
As I'm struggling to find the extra calories.
Normally I eat:
a protein shake and banana for Breakfast.
Porridge, hummus, soup for lunch
maybe a protein bar
then dinner normally around 600 calories
any help would be great. Thanks
Edited by Jordan210 on Friday 19th January 13:44
Jordan210 said:
Iv been trying to lose weight and nothing has really been working.
so booked in with a PT and he told me I need to up my calories are I'm not eating enough.
im currently 16.8 stone 6 foot 2.
My current calorie intake is around 1800 a day. Iv been told to up this to 2600 and pay attention to micronutrients and that should put me on around 2lb a week drop.
What type of food should I be eating.
As I'm struggling to find the extra calories.
Normally I eat:
a protein shake and banana for Breakfast.
Porridge, hummus, soup for lunch
maybe a protein bar
then dinner orally around 600 calories
any help would be great. Thanks
I tried taking my dinner anally once. so booked in with a PT and he told me I need to up my calories are I'm not eating enough.
im currently 16.8 stone 6 foot 2.
My current calorie intake is around 1800 a day. Iv been told to up this to 2600 and pay attention to micronutrients and that should put me on around 2lb a week drop.
What type of food should I be eating.
As I'm struggling to find the extra calories.
Normally I eat:
a protein shake and banana for Breakfast.
Porridge, hummus, soup for lunch
maybe a protein bar
then dinner orally around 600 calories
any help would be great. Thanks
Not pleasant, but i lost weight....
Add peanut butter to everything.
In all seriousness though, if you like peanut butter, have it on toast for breakfast and move your breakfast to a snack before lunch. 50g of peanut butter will give you 300-325 calories on its own, plus the bread. That's an easy 500 extra calories without much effort.
Then, a small meal/snack of some sort before dinner would have you pretty much at your goal.
Be careful though as eating 6 times per day makes it VERY easy* to increase your total intake beyond what you need and therefore start to put on weight because you're eating too much. Provided you're disciplined though, you'll be okay.
*When I was 18 I was eating that regularly (aspirations of being a ginormous beast) and put on a lot of weight, much of it not muscle.
In all seriousness though, if you like peanut butter, have it on toast for breakfast and move your breakfast to a snack before lunch. 50g of peanut butter will give you 300-325 calories on its own, plus the bread. That's an easy 500 extra calories without much effort.
Then, a small meal/snack of some sort before dinner would have you pretty much at your goal.
Be careful though as eating 6 times per day makes it VERY easy* to increase your total intake beyond what you need and therefore start to put on weight because you're eating too much. Provided you're disciplined though, you'll be okay.
*When I was 18 I was eating that regularly (aspirations of being a ginormous beast) and put on a lot of weight, much of it not muscle.
dave_s13 said:
I'm confused.
You're trying to lose weight and eating what sounds like a calorie deficit to me and your PT tells you to eat more?
How does that work. It doesn't fit with the CICO fundamental weight loss principal does it!
There's a theory - I'm not sure it's much more than that? - which goes along the lines of...You're trying to lose weight and eating what sounds like a calorie deficit to me and your PT tells you to eat more?
How does that work. It doesn't fit with the CICO fundamental weight loss principal does it!
If you eat a lot less calories than you need, your body will go into a sort of survival mode which makes it very difficult to lose weight as the body actively looks to conserve energy and therefore burns less calories.
That would sort of figure here as the OP is a big guy and 1,800 calories isn't much for someone of his size.
MrBarry123 said:
There's a theory - I'm not sure it's much more than that? - which goes along the lines of...
If you eat a lot less calories than you need, your body will go into a sort of survival mode which makes it very difficult to lose weight as the body actively looks to conserve energy and therefore burns less calories.
That would sort of figure here as the OP is a big guy and 1,800 calories isn't much for someone of his size.
Correct - while you do need to be in a calorie deficit to lose weight, go in to too great a deficit, for too long, and your body responds with a slower metabolism amongst other responses.If you eat a lot less calories than you need, your body will go into a sort of survival mode which makes it very difficult to lose weight as the body actively looks to conserve energy and therefore burns less calories.
That would sort of figure here as the OP is a big guy and 1,800 calories isn't much for someone of his size.
There's been a few studies that have shown this - and I too was initially very sceptical of it. However after admitting last year that I had put myself in just this very position - ie undereating for a prolonged period to this extent with no change in body weight (not that I was trying to lose weight - other issues at work...), I gradually increased my intake (it has to be gradual if your body has been in this state for a long time), as I did so, and still being in an overall calorie deficit, my weight began to drop - with the rate of weight loss increasing as my intake increased (again, while still being in a deficit).
Worth pointing out that a lot of people will point the finger at this as the reason why they're not losing weight when they claim to be eating in a deficit, when in reality they're significantly under-reporting their calorie intake (this is very common unfortunately), so are still either at maintenance, or in fact in a surplus. Not suggesting or insinuating that's the case here I should add.
Edited by fbc on Saturday 20th January 11:16
...Disclaimer - I am not a medical professional...
IMO, the key to a successful diet is to make it sustainable. A starvation diet plus peanut butter is not going to work long term, put the extra calories into having a better dinner in the evening, so that you can look forward to it and enjoy eating well once a day. It maybe you can then stick to this routine and it will become your diet going forward.
Personally I would ditch anything that says 'Diet' (shakes etc) as realistically your not going to keep eating them forever
IMO, the key to a successful diet is to make it sustainable. A starvation diet plus peanut butter is not going to work long term, put the extra calories into having a better dinner in the evening, so that you can look forward to it and enjoy eating well once a day. It maybe you can then stick to this routine and it will become your diet going forward.
Personally I would ditch anything that says 'Diet' (shakes etc) as realistically your not going to keep eating them forever
Best thing to do is calculate what you're eating and determine what you're missing or if you just need to bump up quantities.
IIFYM - If you're lacking protein and fats, then PB would be a great addition. Also it's generally recommended to spread your intake throughout the day over 5+ meals, so healthy snacks (like PB) are ideal. Best to ask your PT what macro split they recommend for you personally.
Here's a link to my average diet, should be able to use the spreadsheet as a basis and modify with your own values:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1w5EEQJSxjm...
IIFYM - If you're lacking protein and fats, then PB would be a great addition. Also it's generally recommended to spread your intake throughout the day over 5+ meals, so healthy snacks (like PB) are ideal. Best to ask your PT what macro split they recommend for you personally.
Here's a link to my average diet, should be able to use the spreadsheet as a basis and modify with your own values:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1w5EEQJSxjm...
dave_s13 said:
I'm confused.
You're trying to lose weight and eating what sounds like a calorie deficit to me and your PT tells you to eat more?
How does that work. It doesn't fit with the CICO fundamental weight loss principal does it!
My personal trainer said the same to me..I busted my ass and followed the macros and calories of 2800 a day and did not lose weight.You're trying to lose weight and eating what sounds like a calorie deficit to me and your PT tells you to eat more?
How does that work. It doesn't fit with the CICO fundamental weight loss principal does it!
I got stronger granted. I have now created a defecit and I am losing weight.
I no longer have a personal trainer
Jordan210 said:
Thanks for all your help.
Strudul im using myfitnesspal and sorted all my macro's out. Thanks for your spreadsheet with give me some snacks ideas
eating 2800 is hard work. I hope this does help me other wise im going to be one big blob !
While I'm not a doctor, nutritionist, dietitian, or a PT, 2800 seems a high number to be a calorie deficit - you'd need to be doing a hell of a lot of training for that intake to create a sufficient deficit to lose weight. I'd have thought a figure around 2200 (or even 2000) to be closer to the mark, without falling into under-eating territory. Finding the right level does take time and adjustment - there's no calculator that will give you *the* figure, just a starting point to adjust from.Strudul im using myfitnesspal and sorted all my macro's out. Thanks for your spreadsheet with give me some snacks ideas
eating 2800 is hard work. I hope this does help me other wise im going to be one big blob !
There's two keys to losing weight - firstly for the weight loss to be not the actual goal, rather for it to be a side-effect of other positive, permanent lifestyle changes and eating corrections. That's how it will become sustainable, rather than just the first occurrence in a repeating pattern. Secondly, be honest, brutally so,with tracking your calorie intake. People are notoriously bad at doing this, with the error rate often being in the several hundred calorie range. Consider everything - milk added to hot drinks, the odd individual biscuit here and there, everything.
As for specific foods - if weight loss is your goal then it's really just calories that count. Find foods you enjoy and if you need to up your intake have more of them. That said, macros can help in terms of controlling appetite and avoiding snacking via factors like increased satiety level from protein, eating higher volumes of less calorie-dense foods being more filling, etc.
Stick with it, have patience and persistence, be honest and focused, avoid the fads and the vast volumes of half-truths and myths and you'll get there.
Edited by fbc on Monday 22 January 21:36
fbc said:
While I'm not a doctor, nutritionist, dietitian, or a PT, 2800 seems a high number to be a calorie deficit - you'd need to be doing a hell of a lot of training for that intake to create a sufficient deficit to lose weight. I'd have thought a figure around 2200 (or even 2000) to be closer to the mark, without falling into under-eating territory.
Depends which calculator you use, how often / intensely you exercise and how active you are the rest of the time.At 6'2 and 16.8 stone, exercising a few times a week, 3k maintenance calories sounds about right, so 2600 (the number given in the OP) would be about right.
Strudul said:
Depends which calculator you use, how often / intensely you exercise and how active you are the rest of the time.
Yep, it is indeed an inexact science in that no calculator, machine, app, fitness tracker etc can provide an absolute hard reference point - merely starting points (regardless of what the manufacturer claims).Strudul said:
At 6'2 and 16.8 stone, exercising a few times a week, 3k maintenance calories sounds about right, so 2600 (the number given in the OP) would be about right.
In hindsight, and having now converted the OP's weight to kg (I come from a metric land), that is ballpark. though the exercise would likely need to be quite intense and / or of a long duration (and we land in the land of those definitions being subjective). I'd likely still lean towards aiming for around the 2400 mark and adjusting from there.Gassing Station | Health Matters | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff