ASK A DIETITIAN

I feel like I eat very healthy, I exercise five to six days a week, and I am at a healthy weight. What I want to know is how many calories should I eat to maintain this weight?

The number of daily calories you require is dependent on many factors, including your height, weight, age, activity level (not only how many days/week you exercise, but also how long, and how intense), and your unique metabolism. You can use a calorie calculator for that. It's not unusual to find recommended calorie discrepancies between different websites because there are various formulas that can be used to determine calorie requirements. Keep in mind that the answer you get from any calorie calculator is simply a starting place, and not meant to be the absolute final word on your calorie count. If a website suggests you need to eat 2000 calories and you feel uncomfortably full with that amount, but 1600-1800 feels good and is working for you, we'd say that you have your answer! Eating small, frequent meals is a good approach to healthy eating and 300-400 calorie meals are a reasonable size if that fills you up at one time.

I am 21 years old and I feel that I am underweight for my age. I think I weigh between 90-100 pounds. I also feel like I’m not gaining weight at all. How can I gain weight and what are the foods that I should be eating?

At 100 pounds you are teetering on the border of being underweight and at 90lbs you definitely would be considered underweight. In order to gain weight, you need to consistently add calories to your diet. An additional 3,500 calories over the course of time will equal one pound. We'd suggest trying to add an additional 250-500 calories per day in order to gain at the rate of 1/2 – one pound per week. Try adding a regular morning or afternoon snack of trail mix or eating slightly larger portions at meal times. Other calorie dense foods (lots of calories in a small amount) include:

1. Peanut butter

2. Sunflower or pumpkin seeds

3. Any kind of nuts

4. Dried fruits, nectar and juices

5. Salad dressing

6. Avocados

7. Mayonnaise

8. Oil

Try adding these foods to your diet or eating slightly larger portions of them when you eat them. Most of all, be consistent! You'll need to consistently eat a little more food to see the difference.

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