Calorie Deficit page

[bdfink]

Not sure if these questions make any sense but any feedback would be useful.

Is it possible that relying too heavily on salads for calories can cause me to feel sluggish throughout the week due to my daily calorie expenditure from working out?

I'm starting to feel like I am not consuming enough food to get through my daily workouts. I eat at least two salads, a few eggs and some fish on a daily basis. The quantity of food is enough to satisfy my hunger. I never start a workout or go to sleep hungry. However, I feel like I may not be taking in enough food for how active I am. I often feel sluggish throughout the week for no particular reason.

Anyone ever do a calorie count for any of their salads? Based on a high level review of what I consume, I feel like I potentially get about 600 calories per salad if I'm lucky. Does that sound about right? Salads seem to be nutrient dense, however, they generally wouldn't be calorie dense? I know you wouldn't know how big my salads are but, they tend to be about 1lb.

I eat breakfast with 4 eggs and a couple pieces of fruit throughout the day (2 bananas and maybe an apple). 1200 cal (2 salads) + 450 cal (breakfast) = 1600 cal input. Between 800 to 2000 cal expenditure (cycling/running) plus whatever else burned due to regular daily activities.

I guess the best way to find out is to just eat more and see what happens. I may just need to add more carbs to my diet too. Just wanted to know if anyone has had a similar experience with primal living and endurance training. Thanks!

[mike_h]

Try slicing up some cold steak and adding that to your salads. They may not have enough energy.

[Lawyerchick12]

cold steak, avocado, oil drizzles, eggs....now I am getting hungray

[jakey]

"Is it possible that relying too heavily on salads for calories can cause me to feel sluggish throughout the week due to my daily calorie expenditure from working out?

HELL YES! fiber is damn filling! assuming you digest it well, you can use this to your advantage to lose weight, but it can also become an issue if you feel full before you take in enough calories, and your training hard.

[teach2183]

Yes! I have to be sure I'm eating enough protein and total calories because when I start adding in leafy greens I tend to drop below my weight loss level even and then end up gaining weight and having no energy!

[sbhikes]

I eat at least two salads, a few eggs and some fish on a daily basis.

...


I eat breakfast with 4 eggs and a couple pieces of fruit throughout the day (2 bananas and maybe an apple). 1200 cal (2 salads) + 450 cal (breakfast) = 1600 cal input.

I think you aren't getting enough protein and fat. The fish is pretty good so long as it's fatty fish like salmon, herring, mackerel etc. But if it's tuna, it's not high fat enough (and a tad high on the food chain to eat all the time.) Try meats from four-legged animals. Try offal like liver. Eat some chicken with the skin on. Pastured chicken is so delicious. Once upon a time chicken was a special meal reserved for Sundays. Now it's been rendered a pathetic, tasteless imitation of itself.

[Neckhammer]

ABSOLUTELY. I use to do huge salads with like 5 cups of greens (think the whole 12oz box of organic mixed greens). Now I do like 1-2 cups max with all the same amount of toppings....actually MORE. I do 8-12 oz of meat, 1-2oz of nuts, 1-2 oz of cheese, verry little in the way of other veggies (maybe half an onion some tomato and garlic). Then a salad dressing made with a ton of EVOO, 2-3 raw egg yolks, balsamic, and some mustard. So much more filling

[bdfink]

Really good to hear this. Thanks for the feedback. I'm definitely going to try to fit more meat into my meals and look for additional sources of energy. Just a theory for me at this point so hopefully it pays off. I'll be sure to follow up in a week or so to this thread in case others are interested.

[RichMahogany]

it's been rendered a pathetic, tasteless imitation of itself.

This made me really sad, because I thought of how it applies to us too.

[sbhikes]

Not to me because I'm fueled by pork belly with the skin on. Ha ha. I was yesterday anyway.