Not eating enough calories for fat loss....

I'm a pretty big guy sitting at 328 pounds right now down from 367.   I'm doing 45- 60 minutes of cardio 5 days a week,  and see a personal trainer 3 days a week for strength and resistance training.   So far,  I feel fantastic and things are going fairly smooth.  

My trainer has me keep a log of everything that I eat so that he can see how I'm doing and adjust my diet accordingly.  Last night he looked and said that I'm not eating nearly enough calories and that will result in losing lean body mass instead of fat which is something that should be avoided.   I'm averaging about 1800 calories a day,   some days I dip as low as 1500,  other days I'm up to about 2100, but the majority is right around 1800.   I SHOULD be eating about 2500-2700 a day but I just can't eat that much.  So I'm looking for some new foods to try and get my calories up where they should be.

Here is an example of a high calorie day of mine.

BREAKFAST

3 egg omelette with ham, mushrooms, green pepper and onions.  

1.5 cups of 2% milk

504 calories, 23.9g fat, 41.9g protein, 28.2g carb

MORNING SNACK

Banana

Fat free light yogurt

190 calories, .3g fat, 8.1g protein, 41g carb

LUNCH

6oz. Grilled chicken breast

1.5 cups Brown rice

2 cups steamed broccoli

720 calories, 10g fat, 67g protein, 91g carbs

AFTERNOON SNACK

Protein bar

4 oz Grapes

280 calories, 5.5g fat, 20.8g protein, 36g carbs

DINNER

8oz. Grilled chicken breast

2 cups steamed broccoli

540 calories, 9g fat, 78g protein, 22g carbs

I have changed my eating habits completely.  No more fast food, no processed foods and no junk.  Just lean proteins, veggies, fruits, good complex carbs and water. It was easy to get 2500-3000 calories a day when you are eating fast food all the time,  but when you start eating right and choosing good foods,  they are generally lower in calories which means I need to eat 4x's as much of it to get to my caloric goal.   Right now,  I feel like I eat all day long.   I'm never hungry and eat 5-6 meals a day, but I'm still not meeting the amount of calories I need. 

Any suggestions on what I can do to add more calories, without adding in junk?

You seem to not eat any bread, that is around 100 cals per slice and is part of your food pyramid so is an idea as you could add or a slice of bread to a meal for an instant 100 cal increase. 

Also add a little cheese, its high cals, not an entirely unhealthy fat and it also gives you an increase in your daily calcium intake and is again part of the food pyramid and not part of the fast food one.  Cheese could be an easy addition to your omlette and instantly add 100 cals to it or lunch as there are so many different kids of it.

Also NUTS.  High in cals, high in protein and easy to snack on, add some almonds or walnuts or peanuts to your snacks. Avoid the ones with added sugar and again you are added a not bad fat to your diet.

Hope that helps. 

You could also start cooking with olive oil (eggs, chicken, sauteed veggies) - that's another way of upping calories without adding bulk.

Add some cottage cheese and a serving of peanut butter before bed, some nuts like almonds or walnuts during your snacks is pretty easy to do, bingo your there.

I'm not so sure your muscle is going to disappear so easily eating a higher protein diet like you are. And overweight people have a tendency to not burn muscle in a deficit as well. But at least your trainer is headed in the right direction, which can't be said for a lot of trainers when giving out nutritional advice. Good luck with it.

Congrats on your weight loss so far! I think the easiest way to add calories without too much bulk will be to add in some healthy monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, which your diet seems very low in. To do that, you can add some avocado slices in your morning omelette (about 160 calories for 1/2 an avocado), some walnuts or almonds to your morning snack (200 calories for 1/4 cup, plus full of protein and fiber), and instead of steaming your lunch and dinner veggies, try sauteeing them with some garlic in extra virgin olive oil (40 calories for a teaspoon).

Ta da! Your 2234 calorie day just became a 2674 calorie day.

Your meals look good, and quite balanced.  To add more calories, you can drizzle some olive oil on your steamed veggies, add some nuts or to your yogurt, maybe some lowfat cheese with your lunch or dinner.  You can also dress up your chicken with salsa, have some additional grains with your dinner, or whole wheat pasta.  And add dessert with dinner!  Have a piece of dark chocolate, or a little ice cream/frozen yogurt if you have the calories for it!!  :) 

Thanks for all the replies and great ideas!

I never even thought about the nuts, cheeses and olive oil.   All great ideas that should help me easily get to where I want to be.

Thank you!

I second the cheese thing. A grilled/melted chese sandwhich is always an awesome snack, and you can always put some lettuce or spinach on it.

Cheese sticks (such as string cheese) could be good for your morning snack, in addition to your yogurt and banana. You could also add some oats to your yogurt. Although they aren't especially high in calories, they are good for you, and don't add much taste.

You could also, instead of having an omlette, have a couple fried egg sandwhiches, cooked with olive oil, on toast, with avocado, or a little mayo. It wouldn't take much more time. One sandwhich for me is less than 2 minutes cook time, so it wouldn't take up precious time.

Thanks for bringing this issue up.  Myself I am new to trying to lose weight.  I am still trying to understand how this works.  Your post answered about half of what I need to know.  Thanks.

I agree with the no bread habit. My diet is similar and is really working. I asked the same question about a week ago and got some great advice from others on the site. I'm getting 90% of my calories from lean proteins, veggies, fruits and good carbs like beans, lentils, yogurt, etc. I am avoiding all processed cards, such as breads, tortillas, sugars, etc. I was having trouble reaching my caloric intake goal when someone recommended trying whey protein powder in fat free milk twice per day, and keeping a jar of natural unsalted peanut butter for days when I need a quick 200-300 calories to meet my goal. It broke my plateau and I am feeling so much better. My energy is back and working out twice as hard. They also recommended, this is up to your discression, having a huge cheat meal evry 10-14 days. They said it stops your body from adapting to your diet and keeps your metabolism up. I still haven't done the cheat meal, it's been 7 days, but I am seriously considering having one this weekend. Good luck!

You could eat more fruit, it's not really filling.  Eat the high sugar ones just before your cardio, they'll give you an energy boost.

Some great suggestions!   Thank you everyone. 

waynerdude - My trainer has told me to eat a cheat meal once a week for that exact same reason.  You need to trick that metabolism so that it doesn't think you are starving yourself.  I don't go crazy with my cheat meals and still try to eat decently,  just high calorie.  And I limit it to only one meal a week.  

Jenniferar - Thanks for the suggestion about the fruit.  In the past I was completely addicted to soda and probably took in about 500mg of caffiene every day which helped me out a bit with energy.   I've given it all up now and occasionally need a bit of an energy boost before my workouts.

hey downdeep!! congrats on ur weight loss and the first thought that came to my mind when i read ur post was NUTS LOL i eat walnuts in/on everything that i think they will taste good on. but sense that suggestion was already taken, here is my 2cents on your calorie?? if you do decide to add bread dont go with the bread that is found at the local grocery store or walmart supercenter. purchase your bread from a health food store and look for "sprouted grain" breads they will be in the refrigerated section. also you might concider adding these suppliments to your diet if you havent already: probiotics, digestive enzymes, multi vitamin/mineral, essential fatty acids (any where from 5-10 Grams or 5000-10000mg) (if you add a serving of diamont walnuts to your yogurt each morning you will be getting 2 grams of essential fatty acids there. ) and one reason why you may be running low on energy is you arent getting enough calories. or your body isnt asymilating the nutrients that you are eating to your cells. the probiotics and digestive enzymes will help with this. About Protein: only use Whey Protein, it is the best on the market and it can be made into shakes/smoothies or even sprinkled on your food. here is another tip for increased energy. its gonna sound a little silly, but it works and it makes you feel great: stand barefooted in the grass (if you can tolorate this) facing the sun with your eyes closed and hands turned palms up. bask in the sun for a few moments then picture the sun light streaming into the center of your forehead. then make fists with your hands and tense up your whole body hold it for a few seconds then relax, do this 2-4 times. then open your mouth and take a big gulp of air and imagine the sunshine flowing into your mouth along with the air. swallow. repeat this a couple more times.(entire exercise should only take 2-5 min) this is an ancient chineese method of obtaining vitality from the sun. you have made a great start by eating live whole foods such as vegies and fruits. this exercise will expound on the effort you have already started.

hope this helps

trish