First big breakfast

So tomorrow will be my first big breakfast.  I've been tracking my food for a couple of days, counting the calories, on the log here and I wasn't nearly eating enough.  Some days barely a thousand, but I would be full so I thought all is well.  I see why I can't gain weight.  I have a very small frame to begin with.  I went over to mypyramid.org and planned it out.  I came up with 2 slices of turkey bacon, bowl of oatmeal, 1 1/2 pieces of toast with country crock and jelly and glass of OJ.  I hope I can get it all down.  I usually would be done at the oatmeal and OJ.  What do you think?

How do you get all that food down when you're just starting out to get the calories you need?

Get a newspaper. Turn on your favourite radio programme or sit in front of the TV with a show you like. Put your feet up. Meals aren't just made by the eating. But on the eating - eat slowly, drink slowly, and chew your food. After the meal, if you feel bloated or uncomfortable, drink something warm like tea (peppermint and fennel are both good for this) or take a slow short walk.

Your breakfast sounds extremely tasty, I hope you enjoy it. :]

hey rockpea.. getting all the food down can be tough as somtimes there may seem like so much! but what i would recommend is eating higher calorie foods that are so filling ie/ adding nuts or dried fruit to your oatmeal. since your having your 1st big breakfast i would suggest maybe having nuts instead of the 1 1/2 pieces of toast.  

im not sure of the amount of meals you usualy eat but i would recommend eating up to 6 meals a day (ie. bkfst, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, snack) as you wont feel so full after each meal. 

hope this helps! 

Maybe I will try the nuts instead of the toast.  I think I could do that much better.  That comes to be 532 calories.  I think it's more than when I had the toast.

Thanks

That sounds like a great breakfast! There are many ideas in this thread for calorie dense foods. When you have trouble at first fitting in all the calories and also when you have really high caloric needs like some people on here, they really really help.

Be sure you make your oatmeal with whole milk or even add in creamer, or coconut milk if you like it. Add sweetener like sugar or honey or maple syrup too. the nuts and dried fruits will be your best friend. I keep a giant tub of almonds on my kitchen counter and just snack all day. Things like peanut butter or other nut butters are also great. Cook your foods with extra oils and butter, add cheese if you can. make sure your toast is a hearty high calorie bread, muffins can also be made really high calorie. Eat avocados.

Like I said, people like me, lala and many others have had to eat 4000 calories at times, so you'll find a lot of good advice around here!

Also, don't forget that eating is not all about the calories you consume. It's good to make sure you are eating enough, but by counting calories people often forget to pay attention to when they are hungry or full (a skill we are naturally born with, but lose because of society). Also, you say you are full after eating small amounts of food. Be careful not to confuse fullness with the discomfort some people experience as food begins to enter their stomach. Also, if you feel full and feel you have not eaten enough, just remember that feelings of fullness will pass and try not to fear the feeling. You can do it!

It's great that you're making an effort to eat more!

Just a few comments: Oatmeal can be very filling... maybe try something else instead of oats? Some high-calorie breakfast ideas:

-heated cliff bar:), glass of whole milk, banana w/ peanut butter (250+160+110+100= 620 cal)

-2 scrambeled eggs w/ cheddar cheese, orange juice, 1/2 bagel w/ cream cheese  (200+100+100+150+50= 600 cal)

-chilled ensure plus shake, chocolate chip/peanut butter pancakes w/ syrup (350+400+120= 870 cal!)

Another good breakfast that's less filling is something like full fat greek yogurt or cottage cheese with granola, nuts and dried fruit. It's one of my new favorites, along with muesli, nuts, dried fruit, mixed up with applesauce and flavoured coffee creamer. With the portions I use, and a glass of plum juice (160 calories for 8oz and its quite tasty!), I get a good 600-700 calories into my breakfast every morning. And its not overwhemling either, everything fits into a bowl and a class, with the occasional piece of fruit or some baby carrots.

Another good breakfast that's less filling is something like full fat greek yogurt or cottage cheese with granola, nuts and dried fruit. It's one of my new favorites, along with muesli, nuts, dried fruit, mixed up with applesauce and flavoured coffee creamer. With the portions I use, and a glass of plum juice (160 calories for 8oz and its quite tasty!), I get a good 600-700 calories into my breakfast every morning. And its not overwhemling either, everything fits into a bowl and a class, with the occasional piece of fruit or some baby carrots.

Thanks,

It actually wasn't too filling for me.  I did the nuts instead of the toast and didn't feel stuffed.  I had it this morning too.

I wish I could eat banana but I haven't had one of those since I was a little.  I can't stand the taste or smell of it.  I have thought about trying it again and see if I can eat it.  What is greek yougurt?  Is that anything like Yoplait?

I like the breakfast with the scrambled eggs and cream cheese.  I do like blueberry bagels with mixed berry cream cheese.  May have to get some tomorrow.

in a way your lucky if your gaining, you get to eat whatever you want!

for a treat which is probably pretty calorie filled, melted peanut butter with chocolate sauce and melted marshmellows. maybe even graham crackers. all in a bowl. if your looking for something sweet :) yum.

not too healthy though so limit it to once in a while lol

Greek yogurt is sooo much better than yoplait, nutritionally it has about 2-3 times as much protein I think. If you buy a fuller fat kind, its also more calorie dense. And its very thick and creamy.  Every now and again I amuse myself by standing my spoon up straight in the middle of the container and see how long it stays upright. ^.^

Rockpea: Good job and I'm glad you didn't get uncomfortably full in any way. :D Just remember to vary up your breakfasts once in a while so you don't get bored or stuck in a rut. And greek yoghurt is strained natural yoghurt, really. It's lovely stuff. And as Rebel said full fat is more calorie dense and, in my opinion, a lot tastier! It needn't be limited to breakfast use either; given its thickness, and flexibility thanks to its ability to work with lots of flavours, you can use it in savoury dishes too. Or as a cream alternative!

Breakfast is probably my best meal in terms of creativity, so if you'd like breakfast ideas (and give a rough calorie target you aim for with each breakfast) I'd be glad to help you out.

lalabanana - I would like some breakfast ideas or even dinner ideas.  I'm not a big cook and I'm finding what I eat is limited and have fallen under my target of calories today and yesterday.  I've set a goal for myself of 2600, but I would like to surpass that.

I have trouble with feeling full after only a little bit, too. I just finished breakfast (actually, still got half a cup of apple cider to finish), and feel like my tummy is going to explode! I had:
1 egg with a slice of chedder cheese on it (I'm lazy, I just put that in a bowl and microwave it for 1 minute)
1 slice of "Honey Wheat" Wonder bread toasted, with 1 tablespoon peanut butter and 1 tablespoon jelly
1 'cup' Yoplait yogurt
1  cup of apple cider.
The total calories was 580. If I had milk instead (which I'm out of...gotta go shopping) it'd be 650. If I could handle 2 pieces of toast, it'd then be 840.

You asked for recipes for other meals...there's a few on the thread "Support Recipes" (in bold, since it's a sticky). I only have submitted breakfast shakes, because I hate cooking and am lazy ;)
You could also probably get some ideas for combining different foods to be in one meal, from the threads "What did you eat today", and "Official high-cal foods".

Good luck!

P.S. Lala suggested taking it slow. Though I've heard that if you eat fast, your stomach doesn't have time to register the amount of food, so you can eat more before feeling it. I tried this, and it sort of works. But then I get a tummy-ache afterwards, and want to lay down. So I wouldn't suggest it unless you've got time for a nap afterward ;)

The best advice I can give you is to condense your food.  By this I mean make your food as calorie-dense as possible.  Here are some examples of high-cal breakfast that are low in volume:

-smoothie (1 cup whole milk, 1 banana, yogurt,  2+ TB peanut butter) [590 calories] with a piece of whole wheat toast [90] with butter [110] OR nut butter [190] = 980 calories, in just 2 items!

-1 large muffin [600 calories] with butter [110] and yogurt [150] with one 8 oz glass of juice [140] = 1,000 calories

-Peanut butter & jelly sandwich:  2 slices whole wheat bread (180), 4 TB peanut butter (280 calories), 1 TB jelly (50) with 1 large banana (100) and 8 oz juice (140) = 750 calories

-1 LARGE bagel [350 calories] with 3 TB peanut butter [285] with whole milk [150] with chocolate drink powder [90] and 1/4 cup raisins (130) = 1,005 calories

There are plenty of high-calorie, dense food items, you just have to be creative!  Good luck!