Need more food! page

[grouchos_tash]

Hey, i've tried searching but it didn't really help

I've just started about a two weeks ago and i'm really struggling to get enough calories. I was ill for about 6 weeks over Christmas, couldn't eat or workout and lost about 5lbs, which doesn't seem much but i'm only 153lbs and that meant two inches off my chest

While i was off work feeling sorry for myself i found this site and it seemed to make sense and back up things i was thinking myself already!

The problem is though, i just don't seem to be eating enough, in a usual day i used to eat 6 meals, made up like: cereal and whey; pwo shake w/whey and oats; tuna pasta; peanut butter sandwich in brown bread; eggs, tomatoes and toast; oats and whey; cottage cheese before bed.

now i think you'll understand looking at that how hard it is for me to adjust. 80% of my old meals aren't allowed! A typical day now is: 2 egg banana omelette (i find it hard to eat on a morning, sweet sugary cereal was easy though); home made tomato soup and prawns; an apple and about 6 almonds; chicken breast and roast veg; then something horrible later cos i'm so hungry.

thanks for your help!

[Dragonfly]

Eat more fat & red meat. Eat cheese if dairy agrees with you.
Good fat sources:
Butter, avocado, bacon, coconut oil

What I eat:
3 eggs cooked in lard or coconut oil, sour cream & salsa
Burger w/cheese with vegetables/butter
Chicken or fish or pork with vegetables
Cheese or bacon for snacks

[Diana Renata]

Wow, your old diet sounds bland.

Sorry.

Throw some steaks in there. Make meatloaf with veggies. Pork. EAT SOME FAT! I see no fat in your typical day save for the eggs. With good food you'll be full enough you won't need to eat 6 meals. Two or three will be enough.

Throw some ground beef, tomatoes, veggies and spices in a crockpot. Voila! Chili. Eat chicken thighs. Lots of them. Eat lots of animals. Tasty, tasty animals. And their fat.

+1 on the avocados.
Pork rinds make a fantastic snack if you need crunch. Add lots of ground beef, cheese and salsa, and you've got nachos.

Coconut ANYTHING is awesome.
Butter makes vegetables fantastic.

[iniQuity]

Judging from your pre-primal food choices and how concerned you were over losing 2 inches off your chest I’m going to assume that a) you’re male and b) you may workout like a bodybuilder

Nothing wrong with either. Now, think about all the “manly” foods that get shunned by the bodybuilding community for perhaps being too fatty --- before I go on, I don’t want to over generalize because I’ve never spent time at bodybuilding circles but back in the day when I was looking for healthier food options most of them emphasized VERY lean protein options and cooking without fat, steaming, etc – and eat those. I’m talking get your ground beef, your steaks, pork, chicken with skin on, etc.

If I got everything wrong and you’re neither male nor do you subscribe to bodybuilding food mantra, the advice still stands. Eat more meat, more fat, more eggs, more avocado, more veggies. My lunch for today is two burgers (made by moi, no buns, so basically ground beef with herbs mixed in) 4 scrambled eggs and 4 strips of bacon. I don’t always eat that much bacon (nor am I always that low carb), but it was leftover from yesterday’s big ass breakfast and it was going to go to waste if I didn’t take it today. For dinner my gf and I are thinking of grilling some chicken and probably just pair it with some veggies, cooked with coconut oil (for fat) and a little butter on veggies (again, for fat) but not too much since I’m still easing her into eating more fat.

[Annlee]

At 153 pounds, I'll *assume* 15% bodyfat (more?? less??) and say you have 130 pounds of lean body mass (LBM). So you need pretty close to 130g of protein per day, especially if you want those 2" back; you can get by on somewhat less if you're maintaining. You want to stay (probably) between 50 and 100g carbs.

The rest is fat - preferably saturated fat. You can easily do this in 2 meals if you like. Meal 1 = 4 slices thick bacon (212 kcal, 16.2g protein, 15.7g fat), 4 eggs, cooked per taste (I use omega 3 eggs, and get extra n3 that way - 350mg n3/egg; 361 kcal, 25g protein, 27g fat). That meal is 41g protein, 45g fat, and zero carbohydrate (functionally - the USDA says the 4 eggs have 1.53g carb).

That meal will probably satisfy you for 5 or 6 hours. Have a good second meal with meat, vegetables, maybe a little fruit - and plenty of fat - and you should be fine. The adaptation will take a little while, as you've been living on (essentially) sugar. All those carbs you've been eating would spike your energy, spike your insulin, and leave you crashed in a few hours. So this much more even flow of energy, with no surges and drops, will take some getting used to by your body and your mind.

But the payoff for most of us is enormous energy, no worries if we don't eat on the clock, and all around just feeling good! If you have trouble, the forums are here to help; the more specific you can be with information about what you eat/what your activity is, and when, the better the help we can give.

[runnergal]

If you are hungry EAT

If you have a hard time eating first thing in the morning don't. Save it for when you ARE hungry. If that means going to work and having breakfast at 10 am, then find some portable breakfasts. By the same token if after dinner you are SO hungry, instead of eating something horrible, eat something great! As the pp said. More veggies, more meat, more fat, more eggs, more avocado

It really looks like you have taken out the carbs but are still trying to eat lowfat. Not going to work. If eating all the saturated fat makes you cringe (you'll get over it....bacon man, you get to eat BACON!! ) then focus on avocados, olives and other such tasty additions to your food.

Greek yogurt is a fabulous transition food for me. I cant quite stomach the full fat version so I either buy the 2% or more often a container of fat free and a full fat and mix. I find it deeply satisfying when nothing else makes me feel satisfied.

Grill up a juicy burger and top it with avocado and salsa.

My dream omelet (if you cant stomach a heavy breakfast this also makes a great dinner) Mushroom, green onion, red pepper omelet topped with sliced avocado and salsa with a side of bacon (cookthe bacon first so you can cook everything else in the bacon drippings)

Switch from chicken breast to chicken thighs if you buy your meat pre-parted. Mmmmm... remember how good chicken tasted when you actually got to eat the rest of the bird? I remember sunday dinner as a kids with a roasted chicken with crackling skin. It was my favorite part.

You used to eat 6 meals a day. While most PB do not and many eat very little, this is not where you should start. If you are used to 6 meals then continue to eat 6 meals PB style until you get the hang of the food. Then you probably wont need to or want to anymore.

[grouchos_tash]

Thankyou sooo much for your replies! it's a much more friendly community here than I've found in other (non-related) forums

So to get more specific:

Yes i have subscribed to the bodybuilding mantra for nearly two years now, going from a 34.5in chest to 39.5 back now to 37.5 (now you see how small i was and why loosing it bothers me so much!).

I was eating 4100ish calories for the last 6 months before i lost my job 5 months ago and could no longer afford to eat that much. I was bulking my diet out with lean meats, oats, olive oil, peanut butter and a gallon of whole milk a day sometimes!

Good guess Annlee - last time i got a bf% test at the gym i was 168lb and it was 14.6%. I'm guessing that's different now that i'm 153lb and my gut measures the same

Whats the deal with saturated fat then? How much?

Oh and by the way for dinner tomorrow i've put together chicken salad (leg meat, poached in skin) with olives, avocado, and olive oil and i just had a snack of 3 rashers of bacon with a pear.

Thanks again,

Gary