I don't think I can do this...

freakmod · 03-10-2007, 10:19 PM

Hi,

I've been trying to put on weight and eat up to 3000 calories daily. I am feeling like **** every day I try though. How can you people eat so many calories? I can get up to about 2000 fine but anything past that I am feeling bloated and horrible throughout the day. I've tried smoothies, meal replacement shakes and bars for those extra calories..... in fact, I just had a shake.. and I feel like I want to lay down and suffer.

Honestly I feel most comfortable eating around 1600 calories a day. Does anyone else have this kind of problem?

(I don't want to start eating junk food or cut out all my fiber though. I always have a bowl of steamed broccoli/peas every day, and a few pieces of fruit, because I feel they are a healthy part of a diet and my goal is health)

-Witek

\S/ · 03-10-2007, 10:25 PM

You sure you need 3k cals?

Do you lift?

PumpJunky · 03-10-2007, 10:25 PM

that sucks, have fun being small...

BigPooper · 03-10-2007, 10:31 PM

Sometimes you just gotta force feed that food down.

Ajaxus · 03-10-2007, 10:35 PM

perhaps slowly increase your caloric intake so your body can adjust to the increase?

also do some research on more calorie dense foods, getting the same number of calories in smaller sized servings may be of great benefit to you. there's alot of great posts on here about such foods.

awesomebill61 · 03-10-2007, 10:37 PM

try some nuts and maybe some mass-gaining shakes that are super-high in calories.

mlc82 · 03-10-2007, 11:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by freakmod

Hi,

I've been trying to put on weight and eat up to 3000 calories daily. I am feeling like **** every day I try though. How can you people eat so many calories? I can get up to about 2000 fine but anything past that I am feeling bloated and horrible throughout the day. I've tried smoothies, meal replacement shakes and bars for those extra calories..... in fact, I just had a shake.. and I feel like I want to lay down and suffer.

Honestly I feel most comfortable eating around 1600 calories a day. Does anyone else have this kind of problem?

(I don't want to start eating junk food or cut out all my fiber though. I always have a bowl of steamed broccoli/peas every day, and a few pieces of fruit, because I feel they are a healthy part of a diet and my goal is health)

-Witek

How many times a day are you eating to get in 3000 cals? You might want to split up some of your meals to make them more frequent but also smaller, eating a big meal usually just makes me want to go to sleep.

JL4LucidDream · 03-11-2007, 12:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PumpJunky

that sucks, have fun being small...

lol

To the OP, cutting is the hard part, you are always hungry and cant wait to eat your next meal. You should make a proper diet consisting of foods you love and stick to it.

freakmod · 03-11-2007, 01:20 AM

Thanks for the replies,

The reason I'm eating 2800-3000 calories is that I want to gain weight, and it's around 500 calories above my maintenance level. At least, that's what I've gathered using various calculators and articles on the net.

I'm currently doing bodyweight exercises (Charles Atlas type stuff.. atlas dips 'til I can't move, situps, hindu squats), but in a few weeks will be getting myself some weights or registration @ a gym. So far I'm getting quite sore from the bodyweight stuff, but I know that won't last long when I gain a bit of strength, so then I'll move on to weights. I also sprint uphill once or twice a week.

I'll try eating more nuts and nut butters, as well as eating smaller meals like you suggested. I think I'll have to eat some larger meals in the morning too, as I find myself cramming the last 500-700 calories in at the end of the day!

Hoping I get used to this volume of food! Sorry for the depressing tone of my first post - I was feeling really bloated and was getting sick of it. I hear of people consuming massive amounts of calories and just wonder how they can handle that! :P I guess I've never been a big eater throughout my life and this is quite a change.

JoeyTS · 03-11-2007, 01:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by freakmod

Thanks for the replies,

The reason I'm eating 2800-3000 calories is that I want to gain weight, and it's around 500 calories above my maintenance level. At least, that's what I've gathered using various calculators and articles on the net.

I'm currently doing bodyweight exercises (Charles Atlas type stuff.. atlas dips 'til I can't move, situps, hindu squats), but in a few weeks will be getting myself some weights or registration @ a gym. So far I'm getting quite sore from the bodyweight stuff, but I know that won't last long when I gain a bit of strength, so then I'll move on to weights. I also sprint uphill once or twice a week.

I'll try eating more nuts and nut butters, as well as eating smaller meals like you suggested. I think I'll have to eat some larger meals in the morning too, as I find myself cramming the last 500-700 calories in at the end of the day!

Hoping I get used to this volume of food! Sorry for the depressing tone of my first post - I was feeling really bloated and was getting sick of it. I hear of people consuming massive amounts of calories and just wonder how they can handle that! :P I guess I've never been a big eater throughout my life and this is quite a change.

here is some additional info to help you get on the right track once you get that gym membership.

This is some info I give out to folks that are looking for direction and want to gain muscle mass. Many pages of good info here, try to read it all; you may find some of it to be helpful. If you can, order Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe, these links are not a substitute but rather an addition to the great book. The book has a lot of great detailed info on solid training techniques and has helped many people reach their goals. Until then, here are some links.

Links working and
updated as of March/11/2007

Hope that helps,
JTS

ironstrife · 03-11-2007, 01:28 AM

Snack on almonds and put Tbsp of olive oil into your shakes... easy extra 500kcal there...

Ryan Zielonka · 03-11-2007, 01:30 AM

You have a tremendous road ahead of you being a vegan. Nutritional considerations circulating around maximizing protein intake are paramount. You're limited to proteins of poorer efficacy found in plant products. I'm unaware of the reasons behind your aversion to consuming meat, dairy, or shellfish, but I can assure you that you are accruing no health benefit in avoiding these foods. Obviously if there are moral or ethical concerns that's a different story.

Anecdotally, my brother whom beared a similar build to you "found his appetite" once he began resistance training.

Dominican1990 · 03-11-2007, 01:59 AM

like the other guy said split your meals eat every 2-3 hours get 7-8 hours of sleep 9-10 cant hurt and dont overtrain any body part good luck and god speed(that was so corne)

bernbabybern820 · 03-11-2007, 11:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by skyline1731

Snack on almonds and put Tbsp of olive oil into your shakes... easy extra 500kcal there...

definitely the way to add extra cals.

gymgrown · 03-11-2007, 11:49 AM

What are you eating to constitute all those calories? I'd stay away from meal replacement bars, they're usually garbage and I think they constipate you. If that's the case, of course you're going to feel like sh!t.
Also, if you're packing in brown rice and bread, you won't feel great either. ZDrax is right about being a vegan: From a health perspective, it's downright foolish. There's plenty of truth to the coarse, non-delicate idea that "red meat makes you a man." With due respect to your dietary choices, stop eating like a panda and live a little.

grapemaster · 03-11-2007, 11:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZDrax

Anecdotally, my brother whom beared a similar build to you "found his appetite" once he began resistance training.

very true, if im not working out, im just not hungry... my body is probably a good indicator of how many calories I should be taking in. When I was a teenager this is generally what we went by, insanely hungry after a competition or working out and would eat a bunch.

corple · 03-11-2007, 12:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by freakmod

Hi,

I've been trying to put on weight and eat up to 3000 calories daily. I am feeling like **** every day I try though. How can you people eat so many calories? I can get up to about 2000 fine but anything past that I am feeling bloated and horrible throughout the day. I've tried smoothies, meal replacement shakes and bars for those extra calories..... in fact, I just had a shake.. and I feel like I want to lay down and suffer.

Honestly I feel most comfortable eating around 1600 calories a day. Does anyone else have this kind of problem?

(I don't want to start eating junk food or cut out all my fiber though. I always have a bowl of steamed broccoli/peas every day, and a few pieces of fruit, because I feel they are a healthy part of a diet and my goal is health)

-Witek

when im sedintary, doing half ass ****, and i eat alot, then ill get that ****ty feeling.
but when i pumped the iron hard, or did some good cardio, i know those cals arent wasted, and my metabolism is insane when i do either of those..so

SilverSpork · 03-11-2007, 02:28 PM

Once you start hitting the weight hard, you'll find it easier to eat more.

user89489489438943 · 03-11-2007, 03:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by freakmod

Hi,

I've been trying to put on weight and eat up to 3000 calories daily. I am feeling like **** every day I try though. How can you people eat so many calories? I can get up to about 2000 fine but anything past that I am feeling bloated and horrible throughout the day. I've tried smoothies, meal replacement shakes and bars for those extra calories..... in fact, I just had a shake.. and I feel like I want to lay down and suffer.

Honestly I feel most comfortable eating around 1600 calories a day. Does anyone else have this kind of problem?

(I don't want to start eating junk food or cut out all my fiber though. I always have a bowl of steamed broccoli/peas every day, and a few pieces of fruit, because I feel they are a healthy part of a diet and my goal is health)

-Witek

easiest way to add more cals is drinks with cals...

freakmod · 03-11-2007, 05:04 PM

Thanks a lot for all the helpful replies!

Quote:

Originally Posted by gymgrown

What are you eating to constitute all those calories? I'd stay away from meal replacement bars, they're usually garbage and I think they constipate you. If that's the case, of course you're going to feel like sh!t.
Also, if you're packing in brown rice and bread, you won't feel great either.

I didn't realize that the meal replacement bars could be an issue. I'll stop eating them for a while and see how I feel (not to mention it will be a bit easier on the wallet

). I'm eating foods like:

Soy Yogurt
Ezekiel Tortillas wrapped around beans, tomatoes, and soy cheese
Tempeh
Salads with tofu
Homemade Peanut Butter Cookies with stevia (no sugar) and protein powder
Banana smoothies with almond milk, protein powder & lettuce
Lots of Hummus
Avocados
Steamed Broccoli, Green Peas
Grapefruits, Oranges
..now adding almonds, olive oil, and coconut oil
..and eliminating fake meal bars and stuff

You're right about the exercising more = more appetite.. I think I'll get that gym membership sooner than I was planning.

gymgrown · 03-11-2007, 05:20 PM

Yeah, a gym membership is one of the best investments you can make.

It looks to me like you're using lots of protein powder and soy to make up for a diet deficient in protein. I know I said this before, but the best way to fix a diet deficient in protein is to change the basics of the diet. Many people here love protein powder as a PWO supplement, and a few people even eat it all the time, but nobody thinks it should constitute your main protein source. Also, soy should be eaten in moderation, and is best eaten in fermented form - miso, tempeh, not tofu or soybeans, and don't eat that soy dairy imitation stuff hoping it'll be as good as milk.

You need ANIMAL protein in its whole, natural state!

[/rant]

ceilos456 · 03-11-2007, 05:58 PM

everything you could ask for

freakmod · 03-11-2007, 07:24 PM

I am considering adding salmon and rainbow trout to my diet. It's the only type of animal product I will consider eating. Do you think this would satisfy these protein requirements you mention?

Also, is canned salmon worse than fresh salmon? It'd be a pain to have to cook it every day.

gymgrown · 03-11-2007, 10:00 PM

I'm pretty sure fish is a complete protein source. Good move.

knightowl · 03-11-2007, 10:07 PM

I would also do cardio in the morning ( assuming proper pre/post cardio nutrition) it will increase your appetite. your body needs to adjust to the amount of food . eat many many meals ( atleast 6 ) . eat ever 2.5-3 hrs . Once your body realizes there is enough food you will start getting hungry more often.

And definitely hit the weights hard!