hard to get enough calories

i recently started working out a lot, which is great for me...but it also means i need to eat more calories throughout the day. most days i find this difficult~i went for months restricting myself to around 1200-1300, and now trying to eat 1500-1600 can prove quite difficult. i think my body has gone into starvation mode because for weeks now i've been struggling to hit enough calories (except for on the weekend) and i don't know what to do to get out of it! i've successfully "shrunk" my stomach and really tried to curb my cravings that now i get full off so little...i know this is really a 'good' problem to have, but does anyone else find it difficult to sometimes hit your calories??? my poor body is soooo confused right now...

I think this forum might help you out!

http://www.calorie-count.com/forums/post/1564 4.html

I had the same problem, I'm still working on making sure that I eat enough.  For me, the best way to make sure I was hitting my mark was to start adding back foods I had previously "restricted."  I started having a little peanut butter on toast instead of margarine... There are a lot of calorie dense foods that you can add to your diet that don't feel like you're eating a lot more.  Instead of using fat free dressing, use regular for awhile.  Eat more cheese.  Almonds are a good source of healthy calories too.

Check out that other thread, and if you still have questions please feel free to friend me (or friend me anyway :) ) and I can try for more suggestions or whatever.

Good luck :) !

I'm eating a strawberry and protein powder smoothie right now to help remedy that same problem for tonite.   I was going to make a late nite stop at the gym, but even after the smoothie I'm only at 1300 calories for the day, so I don't think I can afford to do cardio!

I have some granola bars, which aren't the best choice, for some quick calories.  peanut butter is good too, but I gotta find one I like (Skippy Natural isn't very good).  I think I need to take more snacks to work so I'm not trying to load up the last of all my calories so late at nite.  Usually my snacks are 2 pieces of fruit, like today I had a nectarine and a banana.  I think maybe I should also grab a string cheese and maybe more fruit. 

Yes, I cannot seem to eat enough either, and the one thing that made me try was that I was not losing any weight.  SO regardless of any hunger, I learned to eat at snack time, all it takes is an extra bar like a Kashi or southbeach or slim fast snacks, there not extreamly healthy but they do provide some great nutrients.  Most have 100-200 cals and a few grams of fat (less then 5) and then you are up to 1400 cals then, closer to your target. I too was eating only 1100-1200 and I found that that was a bad thing, now I am between 1400-1700 cals per day and I feel better and I work out harder and dont get so tired.  It made a difference. 

ALl you got to do is Graze all day instead of all at once. that is the key.