I'm eating 5500+ Calories a day and am losing Weight (Need help)

[Ali_Z]

My grandfather had an extremely over-active thyroid gland. No joke, when he was in highschool, he was eating thousands upon thousands of calories each day just to maintain what he had. It got so bad he had to start having a doctors note halfway through his junior year so that he may be excused from school early so that he may go home and eat. This obviously was getting serious, and he eventually had to have surgery on his thyroid (I don't know exactly what happened or what he got removed/altered, but I could ask for you)

Point is, before he passed away I was able to have a small convo about it with him, and he said all he really COULD do was eat to keep whatever bodyweight he had on him. (He was 135 lbs soaking wet)

I am at 165 lbs now so I am gaining weight, however, not at a rate which is relative to my caloric intake. I hope I never have to go to surgery over this. Thanks

[Bonebrake]

First, let me say I am not posting this to scare you.

If you used the same scale under the same conditions there is something wrong; I weigh about 5 lbs. more at night than I do in the morning.

If you are sure your weigh-ins were accurate and you truly lost four pounds on a diet like this there is definitely something pathologically wrong with you: thyroid, malabsorption, parasitic infection, cancer - something.

You need a full work up to figure out what is going on.

At your bodyweight and caloric intake you should be gaining 1-3 pounds per week depending on your caloric expenditure. There is no way you're burning enough to be losing weight unless you're doing slave labor twelve hours each day in the hot sun which I doubt.

Get checked out thoroughly.

[matthor]

eating 5,500kcla a day u can afford to eat 'unclean' for a large portion of meals to hit your calories. Aslong as your protein is adequate and your getting veggies and fruits in a few meals, Id say just go eat whatever for the rest of it

[Ali_Z]

First, let me say I am not posting this to scare you.

If you used the same scale under the same conditions there is something wrong; I weigh about 5 lbs. more at night than I do in the morning.

If you are sure your weigh-ins were accurate and you truly lost four pounds on a diet like this there is definitely something pathologically wrong with you: thyroid, malabsorption, parasitic infection, cancer - something.

You need a full work up to figure out what is going on.

At your bodyweight and caloric intake you should be gaining 1-3 pounds per week depending on your caloric expenditure. There is no way you're burning enough to be losing weight unless you're doing slave labor twelve hours each day in the hot sun which I doubt.

Get checked out thoroughly.

What should I do, who should I go to?

[Bonebrake]

Are you 100% sure your weights were accurate? You said you're gaining weight now? How much have you gain over what period of time? How often do you lift and for how long and how much cardio do you do and for how long?

[Ali_Z]

I think centering 3 of your meals around Dymatize protein might be part of the problem. Your body probably is not absorbing this subpar powder. Do you have a lot of gas or other digestive problems?
I would suggest replacing these Protein powder meals with real solid food (cottage cheese, or natural peanut butter, plain whole fat yogurt, etc.). Also switch Dymatize with a real Whey Isolate product that your body will absorb better, and mix it with cream or raw egg yolks to pack on some size.

Should I get Optimum Whey or what else?

I do have digestion problems like gas. When I eat chicken I tend to get a lot of it.

[Ali_Z]

Are you 100% sure your weights were accurate? You said you're gaining weight now? How much have you gain over what period of time? How often do you lift and for how long and how much cardio do you do and for how long?

My weight, right now, is 165 lbs. I have gone from 143 pounds to 165 in around 4 months time. I lift every other day on Rippetoe's. I do 5 minutes on the elliptical prior to workout.

[The Solution]

why even bother with the 5 minutes on the elliptical.. if ur gonna do cardio do a 30 minute session or something 1 time a week.. its more intense.. but i respect u for the 5 day split ur a good man

i hope ur getting gains in the gym eating like that god damn thats a lot of protein for a 160 lber.. ur nuts

give me ur metabolism so i can eat the world

[Bandini]

Should I get Optimum Whey or what else?

I do have digestion problems like gas. When I eat chicken I tend to get a lot of it.

No, Optimum is basically the same thing...it contains large percentage of whey concentrate. Stick to a 100% whey isolate product with zero lactose and cholesterol.
Digestive enzymes may help as well.
Solid real food is still the best, so I would replace the protein drinks with real food whenever possible.

[The Solution]

try for variety when it comes to foods.. and also stick to calorie dense ( the pasta is a great choice) prob ur best bet.. i dunno really what to tell u

if i eat a piece of cake my weight flies up a pound the next day cause my body is so unuse to sugars and white high gi carb sources.. becasue i eat so damn clean.. so it sucks when i cheat because i look at the scale the next day and pay bad.. even if its just a snack

[Ali_Z]

No, Optimum is basically the same thing...it contains large percentage of whey concentrate. Stick to a 100% whey isolate product with zero lactose and cholesterol.
Digestive enzymes may help as well.
Solid real food is still the best, so I would replace the protein drinks with real food whenever possible.

I would love to eat real food all the time but I am going to college full time in a week so I will not have any time to cook or even eat. What determines whether or not a whey protein product is whey isolate or not?

[adidamps2]

All right so I started a thread the other day which confirmed that I was eating 5500+ calories a day. My diet is as such:

7:00AM : 12 eggs (whole) w/ two peices of whole grain toast
9:00AM : 2 scoops Dynamitze Elite Whey Protein w/ 1 cup steel cut oats
11:00AM: 1 can of tuna
1:00PM : 1 can tuna
3:00PM : 2 scoops Dynamitze Elite Whey Protein w/ 1 cup steel cut oats
5:00PM : 14oz Whole Wheat Spaghetti w/ 1 lb ground beef & tomato paste
8:00PM : 2 scoops Dynamitze Elite Whey Protein w/ 1 cup steel cut oats

(Diet on workout day is similar except I eat brown rice with my tuna.)

Today I weighed myself and I found that I had dropped from 161 to 157 lbs. I can not understand what the problem is. Should I eat more still? If so, how? I go to school and it is very difficult to sneak in my current meal plan.

Any ideas?

i would like to see the fat/carb/fiber/pro content would ya post that up please.
from what it looks like i do not see enough fat in your diet.
also what is body compition looking like?
are you loosing fat but packing on muscle in place of it.

[Ali_Z]

why even bother with the 5 minutes on the elliptical.. if ur gonna do cardio do a 30 minute session or something 1 time a week.. its more intense.. but i respect u for the 5 day split ur a good man

i hope ur getting gains in the gym eating like that god damn thats a lot of protein for a 160 lber.. ur nuts

give me ur metabolism so i can eat the world

The 5 min on the elliptical is just to warm up for squats.

[The Solution]

ah dindt know that sorry.. try maybe just stretching a litle bit extra.. i dont think u need any cardio if u cant put on weight regardless of what u do but i dont blame u for doing a lil bit of cardio before doing legs.. good call sorry i dindt pick up on that earlier

[Ali_Z]

i would like to see the fat/carb/fiber/pro content would ya post that up please.
from what it looks like i do not see enough fat in your diet.
also what is body compition looking like?
are you loosing fat but packing on muscle in place of it.

I do not have those ratios. I was worried about the fat being too much but now that I look at it, it seems as though you are right.

My body is pretty lean. I would say that I am actually loosing fat and gaining muscle. When I flex I get a very clear and defined 6/8 pack.

I am gaining weight but not as quickly as should be anticipated by the amount of food I am eating.

[Bonebrake]

My weight, right now, is 165 lbs. I have gone from 143 pounds to 165 in around 4 months time. I lift every other day on Rippetoe's. I do 5 minutes on the elliptical prior to workout.

You're doing fine then - I would say you're diet is very successful.

[Ali_Z]

You're doing fine then - I would say you're diet is very successful.

Phew!!!

But just what do the low thyroid hormones indicate? Should I be gaining more than I am?

[adidamps2]

I do not have those ratios. I was worried about the fat being too much but now that I look at it, it seems as though you are right.

My body is pretty lean. I would say that I am actually loosing fat and gaining muscle. When I flex I get a very clear and defined 6/8 pack.

I am gaining weight but not as quickly as should be anticipated by the amount of food I am eating.

well my suggestion would be to do your best to do a quick macro breakdown and see WHERE it is at.

dont be affraid of fat. it plays to many crucial roles to down play its importance in a healthy diet.

[Ali_Z]

ah dindt know that sorry.. try maybe just stretching a litle bit extra.. i dont think u need any cardio if u cant put on weight regardless of what u do but i dont blame u for doing a lil bit of cardio before doing legs.. good call sorry i dindt pick up on that earlier

I am honestly one of the weakest/ worst squaters I know. I struggle with 185 for 3x5. On the plus side, I am going to do 275 on my DL tomorrow.

[v4lu3s]

the software i am using puts you around 4800-4900 calories a day, and that is assuming 90% lean beef, and has you at 27% carbs, 40% protein and 33% fat.

for the ground beef are you measuring it cooked or raw? if you are measuring raw that could mean you are eating less than 1lb of it.

[Ali_Z]

the software i am using puts you around 4800-4900 calories a day, and that is assuming 90% lean beef, and has you at 27% carbs, 40% protein and 33% fat.

for the ground beef are you measuring it cooked or raw? if you are measuring raw that could mean you are eating less than 1lb of it.

Wow, thanks,

The raw meat is usually a little more than one pound because I buy it prepackaged.

So, what should I change?

Btw, that is strange that their would be more fat then carbs due to all of the pasta annd oats.

[Cybernaut]

now you must die (i'm jealous).
seriously, i've prayed for your problem before .

[smotpoker]

jesus. 6 scoops of protein powder a day and some oats? I'd kill myself.

Eat some real food, see what happens. I bet you'll be surprised.

[Ali_Z]

now you must die (i'm jealous).
seriously, i've prayed for your problem before .

Once you have it you don't want it, trust me.

Why can't I be like everyone else and get fat.

[Caucasian Urkel]

Are you actually eating like that every single day?

I used to claim that I bulked on 5000+ cals a day. In reality it was 5000+ cals if everything went smoothly which was probably only 50% of the time. The other half of the time it was 4000-4500 which ended up making a pretty big difference.

[coop85]

Not sure if this is your case, but I was like that.. I could eat for days when I was your age and not gain a thing. Once I hit around 18-19, you start noticing you can't eat just everything :P Good luck.

[Ali_Z]

Are you actually eating like that every single day?

I used to claim that I bulked on 5000+ cals a day. In reality it was 5000+ cals if everything went smoothly which was probably only 50% of the time. The other half of the time it was 4000-4500 which ended up making a pretty big difference.

Same thing most days. Sometimes I add a chicken breast to a meal or some ground beef. It depends on how much time I have and how much food I have.

[redskin006]

All right, thanks.

it definitely probably wont hurt for you to eat a little dirty just to get calories, fats, etc. i would recommend it and definitely make sure you are taking some kind of weight gainer because they are usually effective.

[Caucasian Urkel]

it definitely probably wont hurt for you to eat a little dirty just to get calories, fats, etc. i would recommend it and definitely make sure you are taking some kind of weight gainer because they are usually effective.

What he is doing now with the oats and whey is much better than any off the shelf weight gainer. Most weight gainers are just whey mixed with different sugars.

[platinumike]

dude eat some real food, 6 protein shakes, and a plate of spaghetti is ****. For breakfast add another piece of toast with 3-4tbsps of peanut butter, add some cheese and milk in there as well, I would spread out the calories a day instead of just eating one large meal of pasta. Try yogurt or cottage cheese, and where are your fruits and veggies, regardless of calories you need them anyways.