Question on calories

[2BME]

Good morning. I posted last week that I was having trouble eating more than 1000 calories a day. I did get some good suggestions, thank you. I have added more fat and more meat in for the last 4-5 days and I have managed to get my calories up to about 1300-1500 a day. The only problem is I have gained 2 1/2 pounds. When I look at my Fitday log the percentages look good although I am higher on fat than I was.

This is my 2nd week on the nut & seed rung but I am still only having a serving 3 times a week. Should I stop with the nuts and just go back to the veggie rung and see if that resolves the weight gain, or is it possible that it is temperary from adding to my calories?

Any thoughts or guidance would be appreciated, thank you.

[not2late]

Re: Question on calories

I think you should give us one of your menues, including the amounts (ounces, tablespoons, etc. ) of the foods you are eating.

[2BME]

Re: Question on calories

Well I tried to copy and past my fitday menu.... It didn't quite work out the way I wanted it to. I guess I will go the long route and type it all out... Sigh.....

1 cup boiled egg
1/4 cup sunflower seeds (hulled)
1 1/4c lettus
3Tbsp butter
1 slice bacon
.2 cup shredded colby-jack cheese
2 Tbsp salad dressing (Kraft Ranch)
96oz water
1 cup Beef Short Ribs (diced)
1 cup cherry/grape tomatoes.
Calories: 1418 Fat: 118 Carb: 17 Prot: 75

[not2late]

Re: Question on calories

1 cup boiled egg
1/4 cup sunflower seeds (hulled)
1 1/4c lettus
3Tbsp butter
1 slice bacon
.2 cup shredded colby-jack cheese
2 Tbsp salad dressing (Kraft Ranch)
96oz water
1 cup Beef Short Ribs (diced)
1 cup cherry/grape tomatoes.
Calories: 1418 Fat: 118 Carb: 17 Prot: 75

Okay...

From what I calculate of the numbers provided above, you are getting about 75% of your total calories from fat, 21% from protein, 4 % from carbs.

Veggies: you only have 2 1/4 cups total listed. That's not even Induction level veggie amounts. Lettuce is okay, but it's not the best choice nutritionally (vitamins, minerals, fiber). It has the lowest number of calories and a lot of volume, which is why lettuce is the darling of low cal diets---it's filling without the calories. Choose a vegetable or a combination of different vegetables from the Induction list with a higher caloric/nutrient value.

Remember, Rung 1 of OWL is adding 5 net carbs of any Induction vegetable to your Induction menu (which had you eating 3 cups of Induction vegetables daily.)

Protein: I'm not sure if you really mean that you ate 1 cup worth of boiled eggs or if you ate 1 boiled egg. This is important because if you are putting in the wrong values into fitday, it will completely screw up the values it lists.

Fats: The items on your list that are "added fats" are the nuts, the salad dressing, and the butter. Since these along with the naturally occurring fat in the eggs and the meats you have eaten comprise 74% of your total caloric intake I have to ask this:

How are you dividing your foods during the day? That is, what are you having for breakfast, lunch and dinner and snacks? If you can remember how you have divided them, please list it so we can see it.

[runnwme]

Re: Question on calories

I'm no expert by any means (having trouble with my own menu!), however, just from looking over yours, I think others would say that you needed to add veggies! maybe stop eating the nuts and seeds for a wekk and see hwat happens too. I had peanut butter (all natural) and gained 2 pounds in a day and had tremendous cravings. So, we deducted that I am allergic to peanuts! Now, I stay away from them completely! I'm in a stall, but that's way better than gaining, you know?

[2BME]

Re: Question on calories

I was wondering about the nuts, runnwme. After surfing through several long time ADBBers fitday journals I have a better idea of what I could eat and I don't think my low calories is very out of the ordinary.

New game plan: cut out the nuts/seeds, add another veggie for each day, cut out all the extra fat that I had been advised to add to up my calorie count. I will work with this for the rest of the week and see what next week's weigh in brings.

Thank you for your suggestons.

not2late:
Breakfast -1c scrambled eggs in 1tbsp butter
snack - 1/8c sunflower seeds
lunch salad with beacon, cheese, and dressing
snack - 1/8c sunflowere seeds
dinner - diced beef cooked in 2tbsp butter and the tomatoes

I started adding the butter to the food on the recomendations I got from this board to up my calorie count. I can easily live without it.

[not2late]

Re: Question on calories

not2late:
Breakfast -1c scrambled eggs in 1tbsp butter
snack - 1/8c sunflower seeds
lunch salad with beacon, cheese, and dressing
snack - 1/8c sunflowere seeds
dinner - diced beef cooked in 2tbsp butter and the tomatoes

I started adding the butter to the food on the recomendations I got from this board to up my calorie count. I can easily live without it.

Add a serving of protein for lunch, rather than eating bacon. Bacon is high in fat, but the amount of protein is negligble. It's important to keep your protein % at about 30% of your total caloric intake. From what I calculated, yours is currently about 21%.

And again, vary the vegetables by eating different "salad" veggies. All the Induction vegetables can be cooked, including the lettuces. So exchanging a 1/2 of lettuce for 1/2 cucumber or celery will increase your fiber and your nutrients. Likewise, having a vegetable omelette or putting vegetables in your scrambled eggs (mushrooms, tomatoes, spinach, etc.) will ensure you are getting those vegetables that you need to eat.