I need advice

Hello everyone, this is my first post and I have a question for you guys. I am having a hard time getting both an A and enough calories. It seems like I can only get one or the other. Any ideas?

What are you eating? Give me an example of an "A" day, and give me an example of when you get enough calories. How many calories are you eating?

On the A days, its usually a lot of salad greens, veggies, chicken breast, turkey sandwiches, that kinda thing and I end up scrambling at the end of the night for more calories. (I'm on 1200 a day) The days where I have enough calories planned, I get c's and b-'s for example, yesterday I had a cereal, a salad, hummus and veggies, and taco salad with chicken. My percentages were good, so were my calories but I got a C+

That's really weird. There's got to be something that's dragging your grade down. Are you eating "A" cereal?

Here was my "A" day today, and it's just under 1400 calories:

Breakfast: 1/2 cup Cinnamon Life, 1/2 cup Kashi GoLean, 3/4 cup skim milk, homemade blueberry muffin (B- rating), instant coffee (w/ 1 fl. oz. milk + Splenda), medium-sized egg, 1 slice Kraft 2% American Cheese

Lunch: 2 cups romaine lettuce, 2 tbsp. Consorzio Raspberry Balsamic dressing, .75 oz Athenos reduced-fat feta cheese, 2 slices of tomato, 3 oz. low-sodium Starkist tuna, 2 tbsp. reduced-fat mayonnaise, 1/2 stalk celery, Light 'n Fit Dannon yogurt

Dinner: 1/6 package of Pillsbury Pizza Crust, 1/4 cup Kraft Fat-Free Mozzarella cheese, 1/4 cup kale, 1/4 cup chopped eggplant, 1/4 cup chopped mushrooms, 1/2 cup broccoli, 2 oz. Ragu pizza sauce (I put it on the side for dipping, not on the pizza, and didn't eat all of it)

Snack: 2 c. air-popped popcorn, 4 medjool dates, 1 ear of corn on the cob

Only thing I drank today was water, aside from my morning coffee. (~100 oz.) I'm thinking you need more vegetables and such. Good going on the hummus and salad and cereal, but there's gotta be something in the taco salad that brought you down. Ground beef? Dunno.

It seems to me that stuff like hummus and low-fat cottage cheese are at least part of the problem, both of them get a C grade so they are probably bringing me down.

Ah-ha. Try to pick up an "A" hummus. Mine is a "B-", but it's yummy. Guiltless Gourmet, roasted garlic. What about yogurt? That's a good "A" dairy instead of cottage cheese. :)

Liz

Here is a typical A day for me, at around 1300 calories.  I had large servings of the A foods and smaller servings of the lower grades.  It averages out.  I go for balance in every meal.

Breakfast:  Egg whites B+, peppers and onions A, 1/2 tsp olive oil F, salsa B, corn tortilla B

Lunch:  Soup made of chicken breast B+, carrots, celery and onions A, brown rice A-

Dinner:  fish (cod) A, asparagus A, winter squash A, lettuce A, no cal dressing B-.

Snacks: Wheat thins (low sodium) C-, sugar free preserves B-, fat free, sugar free pudding C+, strawberries A

I think the amount of protein/fat/carbs makes up your grade more than the actual grade of the food. There are days when I eat all A's and I have a B-. I think its because I have consumed something out of proportion. My B- days are usually days when I have had too many carbs and not enough fat, or not enough protein. Try getting those ratios to the right amount and I think you will have better success!

I myself could not give a crap about the grades of my food :)  Why?  Because then I would get frustrated that I'm not "eating well enough".  As long as I stay within my calories, I could not care less what grade I get :)  I recommend THAT, instead of letting it bother you and bend you out of shape.

I'd modify what finewine said..

I wouldn't give a crap about my grade YET and concentrate, first and foremost, about getting in enough calories. Then as your body gets used to that, then you could consider bettering the food you eat...