Started focusing more on diet today. Decided to log everything on Fitday. I've still got one more snack to eat tonight and i've only eaten 1540 calories. I've eaten pretty clean. Now, not as clean as many of you, but fairly healthy. I simply forgot how few calories the natural foods have in them. I feel like I've stuffed myself but still only at 1500 calories or so.

I did kabobs on the grill for dinner along with ceasar salad with light caesar dressing.

Here's the pie chart results so far (w/o the pie chart): Let me know what you think. I really need at least 2000 calories per day even for a deficit. Thanks for the input, Greg

Calories Eaten Today
grams cals %total
Total: 1540
Fat: 42 374 25%
Sat: 10 87 6%
Poly: 12 107 7%
Mono: 15 139 9%
Carbs: 175 641 43%
Fiber: 14 0 0%
Protein: 122 488 32%
Alcohol: 0 0 0%

Fat Carbs
Protein Alcohol

I have this problem too. It looks like you're roughly trying to follow a 30/30/40 ratio for your macronutrients. This can sometimes make consuming enough calories difficult. First of all, protein doesn't have very many calories per gram, it also has a higher thermal effect that means you burn more calories digesting it. A high protein diet is great, but you can still eat your recommended daily intake of protein and not strictly follow the 30/30/40 rule. I wouldn't recommend increasing your fat too much, but carbs, yes. Up your after workout carbs. That should make things a little easier.

Also, calorie dense foods can be healthy too. I love bananas. I generally eat them after my workout as a source of carbs. They have 110 calories, and they're relatively small. Just because they are composed of primarily white starch and sugar, it does not make them unhealthy. Peanut butter is another healthy calorie dense food. Avocados are another.

Eating "natural" does not mean you have to eat nothing but salad greens and lean chicken. There are many options.

Yes, it's true, processed foods are cheap and are an easy source of calories, but there are some healthy foods that are surprisingly inexpensive and calorie dense.

I hope this was helpful.

My dream problem! Anyway, looks like you're ratios are pretty good, so just try to eat more of all. Nat peanut butter, nuts, olive oil, dried fruit, pasta, brown rice, potatoes all pack a punch. You could also add a proein shake made with skim milk. If you add some of that you shouldn't have trouble getting over 2000. Also, try to eat smaller portions but frequently (i.e. 6 meals of 350 or 400 cals each).

Thanks for the input. I was absolutely stuffed yesterday, even after my late night cardio session. I simply couldn't eat any more. I ended with just under 1600 calories which is simply not enough. I appreciate the high calorie, healthy food suggestions. Goal for today, 2000 calories.

If you need to increase calories while eating healthily, nuts and dried fruit can help.

you need more protein and fat.

if you're trying to get lean, I wouldn't go any higher on the carbs. fiber's a little low too.

I was kind of shooting for 50% carbs then 25% each from protein and fat.

What are current protein recommendations for lifting/cardio? Are they somewhere in the area of 1 gram per pound of bodyweight. If so, I'll make my goal around 190 grams per day. I don't expect I'll need protein to nourish my fat stores.

Why more fat? I was pretty happy with 25%. I wouldn't want to go lower but I was pretty happy with this. I know about EFA's and that fat helps you feel full longer etc. Other reasons?

I'm working on the fiber. My bread has 3 grams per slice but I've eaten wheat english muffins the last couple of days. I'll concentrate more on this from now on.

I'll incorporate almonds or some other kind of "nut" today. These should really pack in the calories and incorporate some more "good fat". Thanks.

Give me some input on recommendations/more foods to incorporate etc. Thanks, Greg

Fat also helps keep testosterone levels up

flax seed, fish oils, cottage cheese, and double chocolate expresso brownies will balance thsi diet out for ya!

When I need calories I go for whole grain pasta or brown rice

The 1g per pound of body weight is at the high end of the recommendation range, based on strength athletes (heavy weight lifters, body builders, etc.). The low end of the recommendation range is about 0.4g per pound of body weight, applicable to people who do little physical activity (which presumably does not apply to you).

The following have some charts of recommended protein intakes. Note that some use kg of body mass instead of pounds of body weight (and easy conversion), and some use lean body mass (i.e. not including body fat) instead of total body mass to base protein consumption on.

BiGHeadFitness
Sports Nutrition: Fuel Movement & Sport
Welcome to Apex Fitness Group (this one may have an error in the minimum intake for endurance athletes; it looks like the number should be 1.4, not 1/4, g per kg of body mass)

I have a hard time keeping my diet under 2300cals
avocado, natural peanut butter, peanuts, cheese, olive oil, etc

I disagree. 1 g proten/1 lb bodyweight is the MINIMUM range recommendation for strength athletes & body builders. Many shoot for higher levels more akin to 1.25 to 1.5 g protein/lb body weight (Some up to 2 g/lb even).

Based on what I've read, experienced, and observed, IMHO, basically anyone engaged in resistance training several times per week and/or attempting fat loss should aim for this goal of 1 g protein/lb.

+1,000,000,000!!!

Add two full flavored beers to your diet, good for you and loaded with cals. LOL!! J/K!

So, what was on the menu, if you don't mind me asking? I need to do the whole fuller on less thing for a while! I can't seem to stay at or below 2300 cals. I didn't track mine the past two days tho. I may have done fairly well there.

(Note: by "high end" in the previous post, I meant the high end of general recommendations, not the high end of specific recommendations for strength athletes. Obviously, within each category of athletes, there are variations of recommendations.)

Where is this documented? Even t-nation.com and bodybuilding.com, which have the highest protein recommendations that I can find, are not 2g/lb, and amounts significantly greater than 1g/lb are mentioned in the context of special cases or at the elite level. t-nation.com suggests 1g/lb in general for body builders, up to 1.5g/lb for those with fast metabolism. bodybuilding.com suggests "an intake of 1.7g/kg a day rising up to a possible 3.5g/kg during intense microcycles in order to reap maximum gains from resistance training" (these numbers are .8g/lb and 1.6g/lb).

Links to t-nation.com and bodybuilding.com :
TESTOSTERONE NATION
Bodybuilding.com - Glen Danbury - Protein: What Is It And How Much Can You Take?