Monday, March 31, 2014

Getting Enough Calories on an Unprocessed Diet

In a previous post, I mentioned that I've lost more weight than I wanted to. I'm not sickly, but I was an appropriate size when I started this diet and I've lost 10lbs which means my pants are too big. I would like to add some toning exercises to my life (pushups and squats) but am afraid of burning more calories when I'm already having trouble keeping up. Whether I add more exercise or not, I spend ~8hours a day on my feet as a waitress speedwalking at least an hour of that time. In the summer I spend closer to 12 hours a day on my feet speedwalking around 8-10 hours a day, which means like it or not, I'm going to need to find more calories.


I started pre-cooking chicken breasts and leaving them in the fridge as a grab and go option when I don't have time or don't want to cook. everytime I make soup, I make 4 servings and freeze half. I also keep uncured, nitrate-free deli meats in there (pepperoni and salami) and cheese. I keep cups of pudding and pot de crème in the fridge beside the chocolate. I have freeze-dried fruit and nuts around the house, but I'm still hungry a lot, so I've been adding smoothies (mango, banana, juice, and flax) and a paleo friend suggested adding healthy fats (olive or coconut oil) to my smoothies to up their fat content without adding bad cholesterol. I'm using the coconut water left from the pot de crème once a week too.


The obvious truth is that eating well takes a lot more effort, not just in grocery bills and prep times but in the amount of food you need to consume to get the same calories you got from grains and starches. Having easy access to immediate calories is helpful, but I still have a long way to go.

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