4600 calories per day - how to get it all in?

[poloralphloren]

I have an insane metabolism -- currently trying to lean bulk at 200 cals/day surplus over maintenance, but for me this means 4600 calories per day. I have been depending a lot on ice cream and such to get extra cals in addition to regular meals, but the excess sugar has me not feeling good (digestion issues, lightheadedness). I do mass gainer shakes too and those are good, but all the liquid has me going to the bathroom all the time. Any other ideas to get high calorie/low sugar and easy to digest foods ?

Thanks!

[Strawng]

I've needed a similar amount at times, OP. Things like granola, cereal, natty pb, honey, full-fat yogurt, higher carb fruits, homemade burritos, high calorie protein bars/cookies (Fit Crunch has some great ones), & açaí bowls make it easiest for me.

I'll also throw in the occasional cinnamon roll or bit of ice cream, but these things never make up the majority of my diet.

[SuicideGripMe]

4600 is a lot... While I doubt many people need that much, I assume your calculations are correct!

Now, the best advice for easy calories is of course going to be basic stuff... Breakfast: avocado and eggs cooked in fullfat butter over toast. Lunch: peanutbutter sandwich(s) with honey, fruit and a glass of milk. Dinner: Fatty Steak cooked in butter with loaded baked potatoes (sour cream, chives, bacon or ham if you are lazy). Meal 4: homemade flatbread pizza with whatever toppings (pizza, especially homemade with limited ingredients are so darn good that when trying to get those last daily calories... it's not a struggle. I would argue this would be good on the couch watching some tv to wind down).

I would find the diet above to be pretty easy for me and my lifestyle. None of the meals are complicated and you can add vegetables and make easy substitutions to make things less boring. Obviously, you would need to calculate portions based on the ingredients you have locally.

Hope that helps!

Additionally, dishes the like the monster mash from the vertical diet can be calorie dumps that also don't seem to bloat. I personally would avoid most commericial weight gainers that seem to bloat and aren't very cost effective.

[poloralphloren]

Thanks guys, those are all great ideas, I'll try em out! Cereal and flatbread pizza are great examples of what I'm after, easy tasty calories with decent nutrition... I'll see what else I can incorporate, and I'll be sure to get away from all that sugar. Thanks again!

[AdamWW]

I've needed a similar amount at times, OP. Things like granola, cereal, natty pb, honey, full-fat yogurt, higher carb fruits, homemade burritos, high calorie protein bars/cookies (Fit Crunch has some great ones), & açaí bowls make it easiest for me.

I'll also throw in the occasional cinnamon roll or bit of ice cream, but these things never make up the majority of my diet.

100% on all this.

OP you can start by making a basic template of something like 4 meals/snacks each equalling about 1200 calories, and add/subtract as needed.

Things like PBJ sandwiches can be something like 600-700 calories in ONE sandwich if you're generous with the amounts. Add a banana and a protein shake on the side, that's already approaching 1000 calories in a small snack.

It doesn't need to be chicken + broccoli + rice... if your expenditure is high enough, eating things like dates, trail mix, and yes even muffins or ice cream to fill in gaps can be totally legit.

[TearsOfIce]

I wish I had this kind of problems.

[patrenna]

smother everything in peanut butter is the easiest way to add a lot of calories

[Swisslifter]

Back in the day when I started to take my diet seriously as a hardgainer I used to have the same issues, although I was looking at ~5,000 calories. The things that helped me the most:

Liquid food is a lot easier to take in in quantities

E.g. I drink the same shake every morning for the last 10 years at least. 1,400kCal to get me into the day and I can prepare it, consume it and have everything cleaned again in under 10 minutes. I have another shake in the evening that is even easier.

Morning shake (104g P / 167g C / 27g F / 1,370kCal)
150g Oats
250g Yoghurt/Curd (We have something called Skyr that has the consistency and taste of yoghurt while having the macros of curd)
20g Peanut Butter
30g Whey (Usually unflavoured)
200g Bananas
500ml Milk

Evening shake (68g P / 27g C / 14g F / 520kCal)
250g Curd/Yoghurt (Skyr)
30g Whey (Usually flavoured)
20g Peanut Butter
250ml Milk

Fixed meals

I usually have fixed meals like the ones mentioned above (plus a Post Workout Shake) that I build my other meals around. It makes it a lot easier to work with if you have a certain framework that you only need to build around.

The stomach grows

It WILL get easier over time. When I had my morning shake for the first time it would take me half a day to drink and I felt like throwing up for the better part of the day. After 6-12 months I was able to drink it within 20 minutes and eat again 4h later.

Calorie-dense foods

There's certain foods that are a lot denser in calories and easier to eat in quantities than others. Some examples:

Rice vs. Potatoes
Spaghetti vs. Fusilli or even smaller noodles

Generally the smaller the constituents are and the more liquid is involved the less you need to chew and the more you can fit into your stomach before feeling full.

Honestly you don't need sugar to reach 4,600kCal. When I started to get used to eating a lot I could eat 4,000kCal when being sick. It will take some time to get used to it and you need to tinker a bit with what works for you in terms of food but don't just start eating ****ty stuff like ice cream to reach your kCal goals. It's not necessary.



Hope I could help a bit.

[danpire]

When I was struggling to gain weight, I started making this stuff with quinoa. I would take a bunch of cooked quinoa in a skillet on the stove and throw in eggs, sausage, heavy cream, shredded cheese, chopped vegetables, spices, etc. I used a mandoline on the finest setting and would put in carrot, radish, kale, garlic, onion, bell pepper, spicy pepper, cabbage, and mushroom.

I would put it in half-pint mason jars and eat it in between meals. It's super good once you get the mix how you want it and it's easy to add a couple thousand extra calories per day without feeling gross. It keeps pretty well for the week so I'd just make a bunch every Sunday. Everything comes out nicely, as well, on the backend.

[jerrymorelos]

Make your own energy bars or protein balls using ingredients like oats, nuts, seeds, dried fruits, and protein powder. These can be customized to your taste preferences and are convenient for snacking on-the-go.

[poloralphloren]

Thanks guys, really appreciate all the tips and ideas. For sure, for me, the shakes have been the most helpful. Liquid food is easy. I've reduced sugar, and trying to get in more pasta, rice, potato, etc. instead. But still getting some pints of Ben & Jerry's here and there. I wonder about the sugar thing actually, any of you see that paper that went around saying that 2 sodas per week can erase heart health benefits of exercise? (e.g. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/art...m-heart-health). That seems questionable, but I do think reducing sugar is probably a good thing. And the digestion problems I mentioned have greatly improved with lower sugar, so I think I'm figuring this out finally.