Usually when it's hard for me to reach the carb goal I add dextrose shakes and all of sudden it's not that much solid food that you have to eat. Good luck

I'd actually separate drinking from eating by about 15 minutes. This is because drinking water while eating dilutes the acid in your stomach and makes it harder to digest. However, if you're having problems eating a lot try adding some fat to make your meals more viscous. It's easier to eat mashed potatoes with a load of melted butter than an equal amount of baked potatoes. Also try avoiding gluten and dairy for a while and see if it helps. If you're gluten intolerant (50% of the population is), then the bloat from those foods will make it nearly impossible to eat a decent amount of food. Dairy may not bloat you as much, but if you get sick from it you won't very much feel like eating a lot.

Currently am 71″ 207lbs (up 4lbs in a week but showing good definition) 14%bf my goals are some what opposite of eachother. i want to gain strength while staying as lean as possible. I am active duty af, and a crossfitter who does str work often. I have been pounding rice krispies with sugar ice cream potatoes (mashed with butter and a dab of sour cream). during the day i eat paleo and follow the guidelines. I have been gluten free for 2 years now and consume raw grassfed milk when i do have milk and limited cheese. I dont know if its because i was strict paleo for so long and my body isnt used to all the carbs or what.Other thing i was curious about is i pound all this and im still so sluggish just cant get motivation in the gym past the hours of 2pm (unfortunately class gets out at 430). I also had to cut back on the caffene in the shakes i was getting jittery and stomach pain. ( i rarely had more than 1 cup of coffee/tea a day). I wont give up but this is harder than i thought. Sorry for the long post. but thank you so much for the responses!