Am I doing something wrong?

I tried counting up the calories for my first planned day on my diet (Monday) and I'm only getting a little over 1000, yet I feel it's a ton of food! This is my meal plan.

 B - 1/2 pita with reduced fat cheese. I'm on the run and not an egg person. This (with 8 oz vegetable juice) came to 160.

L - Big salad with chicken, tomatoes, cucumbers, and low fat italian w/ whole wheat crackers and a 70 calorie pudding. This came to 381.

S - Mandarin Orange (40)

D - 8 oz fish, brussel sprouts, and a small baked potato w/ 70 calorie pudding same to 489.

I'm trying to eat at least 1200 calories a day. Any good ideas to get my calories up a bit?

You could try switching the pudding to something snackable but more high-cal? You could also put some avocado, toasted nuts, or cheese on your salad. You could eat a whole pita with breakfast? Or even a banana, to add cals.

Thanks, I just feel like something must be wrong! I feel like that would be plenty of food to eat (I even added a rice cake and it's still not 1100.) I don't want to stuff myself when I'm not hungry, yet I know that 1000 calories is way too low. I can't believe that entire days worth of food is only 1000.

Well, it seems like you're eating a lot of "diet foods" - they're all good for you, and it seems like the kind of diet you'd be full off of, but adding a few high-cal-for-low-volume foods in there couldn't hurt!

Oh, and some peanut (or almond or cashew) butter on your rice cake might help. Plus be delicious.

I actually love low calorie 'diet' foods like this, haha. I could live off salads and salads only.

I'll try the peanut butter trick. Thanks.

Half an avocado?

A few spoonfuls of peanut butter?

Sautee your veggies in olive oil?

Why not add some whole wheat pasta to your lunch salad? Or some black beans or corn?

If you want to take in more healthy calories, then why are you limiting yourself to low-calorie foods? Why eat low fat cheese instead of a small portion of regular cheese? Why use low-fat italian dressing instead of regular? You do need fat in your diet, and it sounds like you aren't getting much of it anywhere else in your meals.

Thanks. Yes, I know it's too low, that's why I'm trying to get it higher. I was mostly trying to make sure I wasn't calculating wrong. Does that meal plan sound like it could be less than 1200? I didn't want to add more fat until I knew I was counting correctly. I've heard a lot of stories of people counting their calories wrong.

Don't worry, I realize how it sounded. If I am counting correctly, then I plan to saute the fish and veggies in olive oil and add some black beans to the salad.

Yeah, lots of people count wrong for sure.

The only way to be totally accurate is to weigh everything. I could see how your day would leave you with too high a calorie deficit. I think you're safe to add some healthy fats in there, easily.

Yep, I bought my trust digital food scale and it is the best thing ever invented. Ounces and grams are so much more accurate than cups.

Thanks again. I think I'll make the leap of faith in myself (that I know how to read labels and use a calculator ) and add in some healthy fats.

I guess I just need a little confidence in myself. I second guess everything I do.

I totally agree about the scales. I have a little food scale and it is SUCH a great little toy! I love it. It makes me feel a lot more confident when logging my calories.

Another thing you might try are muesli or granola bars! I love my little granola bars -- since they are so small, even if I feel a bit full, I can munch one really quickly, and they are about 100 cals each, especially if you get the yummy yogurt or strawberry or apple ones.

Another thing to keep in mind: I try to eat between 1200 and 1300 calories a day to give me a little bit of wiggle room here and there. That way if you count incorrectly, you can still not go over the threshold of having too many calories in a day. Depending on your stats, you might still be able to lose a little weight at around 1400 or 1500 calories a day. But you can definitely go into starvation mode if you eat less than 1200. So if you aim for 1200 or 1300, you give yourself a bit of leeway so that you're still under 1500 but over 1200. :)

Just a bit of advice. Hang in there!

xo ari

ps: I know someone mentioned oils and fats -- Sunflower Oil is a great healthy option for frying. I like margarine myself, but some people worry about trans fats. :P

I LOVE PB for a filler upper. I also like gala apples, oranges, half a cheese quesadilla. I can think of sooooo much to help acquire the calories you need per day.

I also like tuna with either cheese & crackers, or just crackers. It makes a good tasty snack

What type of fish are you eating? If it's white fish then yea you might be getting around 1000... but if you change it to Salmon or other fatty (but very healthy) fish... then you'll get around 1200... which is the minimum amount you should be getting... Also you can add other things to your salad like artichoke hearts, cabbage, zucchini, hard boiled eggs, olives and sun-dried tomatoes (packed in olive oil)

for your snack add veggies with dip and for your meals add milk(healthy but 100 calories a cup) or lemonade.

You should get a small amount of oil - like olive oil, for example. A tablespoon is about 120 calories. Your body has to have some small amount of it every day in order to function properly.

"good fats—monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats—lower disease risk."

Work it into your cooking or salad - it will bring your calories up some.

Avocados have good fats as well and they are extremely healthy. They are about 235 calories for one cup.

Good luck!