Caloric Intake: I can never make it!

I am 25, 140 lbs., 5'6"

Ok... so it is suggested that for me to lose 10 lbs. by August I should limit my calories to 1700-1900 cals. That is to compensate the workout I do 4 to 5 times a week. Ok, on any given day (and this is even before I wanted to lose weight), the highest caloric intake I can muster is about 1000 - 1200 calories. Many times when I eat high calorie food, it comes with high fat and/or high sodium. What am I doing wrong? I have gone through and put EVERYTHING I stick in my mouth on any given day. Gum, tea, everything. I still have never made the 1500 mark without way too much fat.

Any suggestions?

at 5'6" and 140 pounds, I don't think you need to lose any weight. 

What do you mean by way too much fat?  Adding small amounts of good fats is not unhealthful and the calories in fat are just calories.  Also, how much meat are you eating?  Lean meats add calories too.

My advice would be to eat the healthiest foods and make sure you are getting all your green and yellow vegetables and fruits, and not worry about what the scale says. Exercise to tone up and improve your figure, not to burn calories.  I agree that 140 pounds is a good weight for your height.

Claire

Fat is not necessarily bad! There are many good fats that are very necessary to a healthy diet. It's much more about balance, you need to get alittle of everything in your diet, including fats.

Fats are also very important because they help your body absord nutrients (this is why alittle oil, or salad dressing is actually good, because you need the fats to help you get the nutrients from the vegetables).

I also agree, I don't think that you need to lose much weight, 140 sounds very healthy. If you aren't happy with how you look, and how clothes fit than you may want to try and add some weight training to your workout, it will help you tone up, and look lean. Try not to concentrate on what the scale says. I learned this last summer, when I went from a size 4 to 1, but the scale stayed pretty much exactly the same (I'm 5 2").

Try adding some lean meats to your diet, sugar free peanut butter or a handfull of salt free nuts. Balance is the most important.

I happen to think that fat is bad. Maybe im statistically wrong but i think its gross when theres a disgusting amount of fat in food. When i lost ten pounds in like a few weeks i didnt eat hardly any fat. . .not eating alot of fat helps u lose weight.

but your body needs certen amounts of fat to function. it is good from the brain,skin,hair, and a few other things. granted you shouldnt eat a ton a day but you should eat some after all.

Not eating fat might help you lose weight quickly, but again it's true that you do need fats to function (there are lots of different types of fat, not just the gross looking kind on meat, and the ones you might think of). If you want to keep the weight off, and be healthy it is important to have a good balance diet, which yes, does include fats. Talking to you doctor about what fats you should be eating might help clear up your queestions, and again reassure you that you do need some types of fat. Without fats for a long period of time you will start to see a negative difference, in your skin, hair, nails. Fats are essential to give you energy (just not too much).

Unsaturated fats in moderation can help lower cholesterol and help maintain a healthy heart. Good sources of these fats are found in vegetable oils like sunflower, soya or corn, oily fish like mackerel, sardines and pilchards, olive oils, margarines (labelled high in polyunsaturates ) and avocado pears. (cutting out fats for a long period of time can also have longer term negative affect on your body, your hair may start to fall out, and your nails won't appear to be healthy). These fats don't raise your LDL ("bad") cholesterol levels but can raise your HDL ("good") cholesterol levels. To keep healthy, it is best to choose foods with these fats.

Saturated fat is found mostly in food from animals, like beef, veal, lamb, pork, lard, poultry fat, butter, cream, whole milk dairy products, cheeses, and from some plants, such as tropical oils. Tropical oils include coconut, palm kernel, and palm oils that are found in commercial cakes, cookies, and salty snack foods.
Bad fats are saturdated, ans fatty acids, and dietary cholesterol raise your LDL ("bad") blood cholesterol levels, which can lead to heart disease.

http://www.homehealth-uk.com/index.html?f=bod y|fr=http://www.homehealth-uk.com/medical/healthyb alanceddiet.htm|r

http://www.4woman.gov/faq/diet.htm#4

Natural fats are good for you.  Anyone who thinks getting rid of ALL fat from their diet is a good idea needs their head checked.  If you're gonna cut fat, cut it from the crappy foods.  The chips, the frozen burritos, the fast food burgers.  Keep the lean meat fats, fat from nuts, fat from fish, fat from other natural foods.

Anyways, if you cant muster more than 1200 calories, then dont.  Don't force yourself to eat MORE than you need to.  Just try to add some higher density foods.  Have a handful of peanuts for a snack sometime, that should help you out bigtime.

There is a lot of fat in Almonds, which are very good for you. Eat a handful of blanched almonds. To improve their nutritional properties, soak them in water overnight.