So here's the scoop

I seem to be having a bit of a calorie dilemma. As in, mine are too low. I was slipping in my habit of recording my foods in Fitday, so I entered a couple of days worth and found I'm sometimes into the 700-800 range. Not good :/

The reason this seems to be happening is I've been staying away from my sweet treats for a few days. Thought I'd give the whipped cream and chocolate a bit of a break However, I'd always been able to count on upping my calories this way.

I generally eat lots of veggies, not huge amounts of meat because of the $$ factor, and some cheese. I rarely go above 4 oz a day though. I'm not a fan of sour cream, cream cheese, may, cottage cheese, heavy cream etc. unless it's in a dessert, so I don't generally eat them. I do use butter where possible (i.e. on my veggies) but that doesn't add up to more than 1 or 2 tablespoons a day. My LC bread is gone so I can't douse it in butter any more.

Any suggestions? Am I missing some really obvious & easy ways to up my calories?? I don't really want to eat much more cheese, as I don't really enjoy it THAT much, and while I'd love to eat bigger helpings of meat, I'm trying to be budget concious in that area. Any suggestions would be really appreciated! I've got to get those calories up!

(Of course... if anyone wants to tell me I simply must go back to eating LC cheesecake everyday, I bet I could swing it )

Wynter

How about eggs? They're a good, cheap, protein source, and can be "doctored up" many ways. I'm not an egg lover myself, but have found a few ways to get them to taste better..like the pizza quiche recipe in the kitchen section!

Also, a few days of low calories in and of themselves aren't going to hurt you. It takes more than a day or two to trigger the "starvation response" we all worry about.

Hmm... my quick fix is going to McDonald's or Jack In The Box and grabbing a 99 cent burger or two minus the bread whenever Im out and about. I also love string cheese (I know you said you really didn't want to up your cheese intake). Also I'll make this chicken recipe for something quick and easy to make. First grab a bag of the frozen chicken tenders at the grocery. They are usually about $6.00-$7.00 but you get about 6 servings depending on how much you eat of them. Set your oven to broil. I season them with Tony Cacheries (or your choice of seasoning) and put some bell pepper pieces on top. Put them in the oven for 10 minutes. Take them out and flip the tenders and put the bell pepper on the other side. Put them in for another 10 minutes (or until done) then take them out, sprinkle some cheese on top, and eat them! They come out so tender and juicy and they are quick and easy!! You can vary it up too... I have also put a small amount of ranch dressing and real bacon bits before broiling them and that is awesome too with sprinkled cheese on top! The tenders are great for snacks because you can cook as few or as many as you want. Hope these ideas help! Good luck!

is the chicken breaded, I've only seen chicken tenders that are breaded

Do you like buffalo wings? What about getting one of those big bags of frozen wings (make sure they're not pre-breaded)? Spread them out on a baking sheet and bake them at, oh, about 400 F for about 45 minutes (keep an eye on them). While you're doing that, make the sauce by melting butter and your favorite hot sauce (Frank's Red Hot is classic) together - equal parts butter and hot sauce, or go hotter if you wish. When the wings are done, toss them in the sauce. Add some no/low-carb blue cheese dressing and celery sticks, and you're good to go!

I've also heard of people cooking up a batch of wings and keeping them in the fridge to grab for a quick nosh. I keep meaning to do this myself but haven't gotten around to it.

Use olive oil on your salads. At around 119 calories per tablespoon it cranks the calories up fast. I generally use about 1 tablespoon on my salad at lunch time. Of course, I also have eggs and either gorgonzola or bleu cheese on my salad, too.

The frozen chicken tenders I speak of have no breading. They have 0 carbs on labeling too. Im about to have some right now... YUMMY!!

Use olive oil, butter, mayo and so on. On days I need to up my fat I'll suppliment with coconut oil. I'll actually just take a tablespoon full of the stuff. Many do this with flax oil or fish oil for heart health.

I also eat alot of veggies. I've learned to add butter or olive oil to them. It also helps the taste. Breaking my day up into many smaller meals also helps to raise my calorie levels.

I also have the chicken tenders. But what I do is use 4 cubed up in my salad. I'll often cook them in an LC sauce such as BBq or Teriyaki. Then I'll put a tablespoon of olive oil on as a dressing. The oil mixed with the meat taste and works great.

I don't use dairy really at all. If I do it's a small amount of cream cheese or cheese, never heavy cream.

Ideas for cheap higher fat meals with veggies
Zucchini hasbrowns with eggs, butter on top
2 egg omlette with 1/2 cup spinich and 1 tbsp mayo as filler
Spaghetti squash with garlic butter for a side
Quiches
And so on.

To save money shop bulk, then wrap and freeze the meat in individual portions. Look for meat and seafood that has been reduced in price becaus eit's close to the sell by date. Stretch meat out as much as possible by adding veggies and what have you as fillers. Buy eggs by the ton

Look over other members journals and fitday accounts as insperation and to get ideas. Stay away from the sweets, and also LC breads and other franken foods. They may just stall you anyway and aren't really good to add back in intil later stages of OWL anyway.

Thanks for the tips everybody - I'm adding new recipes to my recipe collection this evening and the tips below will help.

(I'm off to shove some more food in my face now )

Wynter