Having Trouble Eating Enough? Use These Calorie-Boosting Tips

Good article for those of us who are trying to maintain. I know I need to add calories now that I'm below my goal weight but my mind says NO! - 5/15/2013 9:29:28 PM

Eat more tips makes no sense to me while trying to lose weight--can someone please explain how adding dairy or snacks to daily nutrition can help me lose weight.... - 3/8/2013 4:33:15 PM

This article is just what I've been looking for. I too struggle to get more than 900 calories, and if you try telling anybody that someone of my size is undernourished they laugh at you! But it isn't funny. My weight has been stuck for months. I've been told that eating more is really a dream diet, but it just isn't that easy to eat more when you're already full!! Thank you so much for your advice. It's a great help! - 2/6/2013 10:18:23 AM

This is exactly what I needed today. I've been struggling to even get to 1000 calories a day! - 1/13/2013 10:30:58 PM

Thank you for this article. I know most people use Spark People to lose weight, but there are people trying to gain weight and this article is helpful. - 12/2/2012 10:53:25 PM

wow what a great article.. thank you so much. read this a few days ago and have got my calories up. found out I was exercising to much and not eating enough. what a shock. feel so much better now. thanks... - 10/6/2012 10:55:53 PM

Just a little p.s. I am increasing my calories with healthy foods, not empty calories like candy or carrot cake, which I really want, but am unable to control how many slices I eat... The hardest thing for me to increase is my fiber. I may bake some whole wheat banana bread using Splenda. It's something to look into. - 7/15/2012 1:00:42 AM

I'm glad to see this article! I just rejoined SP. I found right away that I was not eating enough- not even above 1,000 calories! Eating 3 meals with 2 snacks is hard, but tracking my food is helping me get my calories up there. I am diabetic and have liver disease, so eating right is important. As soon as I began increasing my calories I lost several pounds that I don't think were water. Finally! I'm still trying to increase my intake (I need another meal per day) but I'm getting there and this is certainly helping! - 7/15/2012 12:50:36 AM

This article made a lot of sense. I agree with some of the comments readers have left about adding sugar etc...But it seems to be a choice 'Between the devil and the deep blue sea'?! I've never had much of an appetite, but I'm sure I was slimmer before I started eating only healthy foods.
I've struggled for years with my weight and am always being told to 'eat less'. Even though my daily calories would rarely go over 800 I'm constantly looked at with disbelief when I mention it. I actually took my food and exercise diary to my GP, after reading through it she told me I must be forgetting about foods that I've eaten and overestimating the amount of exercise. Even though I don't want anyone else to go through what I do, it's refreshing to find that I'm not alone. It's a shame that society automatically regards anyone overweight as being 'greedy', There should be more public awareness to the problems of not eating enough!! - 7/13/2012 7:43:17 PM

Thank you! for this article!!! My husband is and has always been at least 10 pounds underweight and currently has a BMI of 17.7. He eats a lot of junk food and never gains weight. (lucky for now). But he's been searching for ways to gain healthy weight. As for me, I am in my healthy weight range but I rarely hit my DR calories or carbs. I think this is why I've been able to eat poorly and still stay thin- and the reason I signed up for Sparkpeople. I am looking for HEALTHY ways to maintain my weight. =] - 6/26/2012 12:37:07 PM

I need to lose 50 lbs this year! I had lost 35 pounds using sparkpeople 1.5 year ago. I got to a plateau for about 4 months with exercise 4 days a week. All of a sudden the weight loss stopped and I couldn't get it going again. I'm ready now ! I know that I probably have'nt been eating enough. Thanks for this article! - 6/19/2012 10:56:06 PM

being diabetic, I have to not only get my calories up but I have to do it without adding additional carbs, fats and proteins...this is so difficult for me. I only need 1600 according to my dietician and I can't seem to get even 1500 in...I feel full all the time. I am eating my snacks, drinking my water,...so hard - 6/16/2012 9:50:17 PM

I never really had a problem hitting my calorie range when I was sedentary (in fact, I often went over) - it was when I started working out consistently, and training for races, that I had trouble getting enough calories.

I had hit a plateau in weight loss, despite running or working out five days a week and staying in the lower range of my calories. Then I actually put in an accurate count of the calories I was burning per week in my Fitness Tracker, and SP automatically adjusted my calorie range, bumping it up by 300 calories a day! It was hard eating all of those calories, but when I made the effort to eat within that range (trying to go as high as possible within the range) while continuing my training, I began to consistently lose, and have been ever since. My body needed fuel to function, plain and simple.

I think this article has some good advice (eating more dairy products, more peanut butter/nuts, more whole grains), and some bad advice (adding sugar to your cereal?! just because it adds calories doesn't mean it's helping your body!), but is overall an interesting read. - 1/13/2012 10:45:26 AM

This article is great. I've met tons and tons of people (and doctors!!) who do not believe me that I really can't seem to get enough calories. I'm quite overweight and young, but it's just not working for me. I was on weightwatchers for a while and tracking foods religiously, but by the time I ate the 6 servings fruit/veggies and I went extra on meat, I was full. Day after day I realized I could eat 1 or even 2 whole candy bars and still be within a normal "points" allotment. I like adding cheese to things, and try to drink 12 oz of milk in the morning, but it's still under. I don't even feel like tracking because I know it's not enough. I've got to start planning days ahead of time. -_- - 11/7/2011 1:40:10 PM

I appreciate the expert advice. I will consult a dietian in my area so I do a healthy much needed overhaul of my food pantry. - 9/2/2011 12:15:31 PM