Need. More. Calories!!!

[julieez226]

Hey everyone! I've been tracking what I eat religiously for about a week, and since really going Paleo I'm finding it REALLY hard to eat enough calories! I'm 5'0" and weigh 119 lbs. I'm following the slim-down diet because my best look/weight seemed to be around 115 lbs, so I am almost there, but I really feel like I'm still flabby. I'm skinny-fat. Blah! Anyways, I try to eat somewhere in the range of 1200-1500 calories per day. I work out doing strength training 4 days a week and run a few miles, or run stairs at a local high school stadium 2 days a week, and take one day completely off. I noticed when I eat strictly Paleo I'm only eating around 1000-1200 calories MAX. Yet I feel like I eat all the time! I'm definitely don't starve myself because I love to eat I'm going to list what I generally eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks down below and if anyone has any suggestions as to what I should do PLEASE help me! Should I be eating more? If so, what should I eat more of? I feel like I eat enough carbs...sometimes too many! Thanks everyone!

Breakfast: Protein shake made with 1/2 c. skim milk, 1/2 banana, 1 c. spinach, 1 scoop protein powder, ice cubes

AM snack: 3 turkey sausage links

Lunch: 1 can of tuna, carrot sticks

PM snack: Apple with 1.5 tablespoons chunky peanut butter

Dinner: chicken or fish with a salad

Dessert: (I only eat this about 3-4 days a week) 2 T dark chocolate chips

SUGGESTIONS WELCOMED!!!!! I really want to tone up my whole midsection!

[dragonlyre]

Drop the skim milk for 2% or whole.

[Kahuna]

Another idea would be replacing the protien shake with (bio) eggs.

[dragonlyre]

Drop the skim milk for 2% or whole.

Another idea would be replacing the protien shake with (bio) eggs.

Combine all of them!

[Waldo]

Eat more chocolate.

When you are trying to raise caloric levels that are too low, but your all around eating plan and habits are sound, a calorie dense food at the end of the day I see as the best solution. It helps with adherence as well.

[Kahuna]

Nuts would be a good option too 200g almonds have 1200 kcal Alot of fat (108gr i think) and 50 gr Protein.

[Kristen]

Your diet appears a little too low fat, even to me. (I don't eat paleo)

Some suggestions:

Drink whole milk instead of skim.

Eat pork sausage instead of turkey.

Add an avocado to your salad.

Eat oily fish like salmon.

Nuts! Eggs!

Try a higher fat nut butter, like almond, in place of peanut.

I'm not anti-paleo by any means, but any restrictive diet needs to have some "cheat" time built in. Once a week, let yourself eat something that's not normally allowed. Or go crazy for an entire day. My vice is cheeseburgers. And peach pie. And beer. And.... you get the picture. Have a cheeseburger (or whatever that means to you) once in a while!

[Toph821]

I feel like I have a similar problem, though I don't count my calories. I mostly have trouble because I am not always hungry and therefore do not eat unless I'm actually hungry. In honesty, I could probably go more than 24 hours without food.

On a normal day, I will almost always skip breakfast or lunch, but I've been trying not to skip breakfast. I've also been snacking on nuts to try to get some more calories in.