4000 calories....Not happening

BruteSquad

Preamble: I am 6'5" tall and over 350 lbs. My daily normal goal calories are 2770 and I am usually okay with 2500 or so NET calories. In three weeks I have lost 17 lbs. (For people looking at the numbers instead of percentage, that is less than 5% body weight from start.) I expect as I continue that the pace will slow a bit.

So here I sit at 3:15 in the afternoon. Due to work being crazy physical today and the fact that I will get a workout in when I get home, my net calories are going to be way low. I just cannot get 4000 calories (raw calories, NOT net) of food that I now eat down in a day. Even if I were to push it, I don't know if I can get over 3000 without being uncomfortable and feeling miserable. I won't do that. (Now about 6 months ago might have been a different story.)

I don't see a reason to skip the work out, and I will probably wake up starving in the morning. But I am okay with that. I am also assuming that our bodies, being analog not digital, will absorb a day of very low or very high net calories. As long as we don't string a bunch of them together. In other words, today is an anomaly and I plan to treat it as such.

Anyone else run into this type of problem.

BruteSquad

For those that might wonder, I don't know my exact weight and won't until Friday. I am guessing the neighborhood of 385.

Rae6503

You have a lot to lose, so it's probably not as important that you eat you exercise calories.

zacherybinx

How about 5-10 bananas spread out? They're approx 100 cals/piece give or take and if you need to just make up a few hundred cals that's a way to do it.

shady1987dre

Ice Cream and Cookies?

AmyLRed

How about 5-10 bananas spread out? They're approx 100 cals/piece give or take and if you need to just make up a few hundred cals that's a way to do it.

dont eat 5 or 6 bananas. They can constipate you!

Quasita

I have a similar issue. You have to increase slowly, a couple hundred a day. I adjusted my eating schedule so that I get a quality protein/fiber source every 2 hours because those are the nutrients I fall short on almost all the time. After a couple days, I easily hit my BMR of 2600, and with a workout putting it up around 3500 or more, it makes it easier to just add another 100 calories per snack.
Lots of us that are bigger feel like it would stuff us and make us uncomfy, and it WILL, but the fact is, this feeling doesn't mean you don't need it. I dealt with feeling full all of the time for about 3 days and then I started getting hungry every 2 hours like clockwork. My metabolism boosted so fast that I found myself waking up in the middle of the night needing to eat, the hunger pains were so severe.

Please add me if you like, I like to think I have decent snacks and meals, and it could help you figure out ways to add calories without hurting. I also have written a couple blogs about the subject, as my rehabilitation from eating disorder has taught me a lot.

I promise, if I can go from never feeling hungry at 1800 to eating 2600+ and still being hungry, all while losing more weight than I did at 1800, you can get there!!

jamiem1102

I have the same problem. I workout at night, so I watch my calories during the day. However, after I workout... I'm dropping around 600 - 800 calories, and I just can't put down that many calories after I've eaten an entire day of food. I try, but why do I have to be uncomfortable? It also doesn't seem healthy to stuff your face when you don't want to eat anymore. ...just sayin'.

NakedLunchTime

How about 5-10 bananas spread out? They're approx 100 cals/piece give or take and if you need to just make up a few hundred cals that's a way to do it.

EW, I'd be sick lol

UponThisRock

Don't worry about it. At your size, you can get away with a large deficit.

Also, being 1,000 cal off isn't really as great when you're talking about big numbers. 3,000 is 75% of 4,000. It's a big issue when you're talking about smaller numbers (i.e. 500 is only 33% of 1500). I'm not sure I stated this very clearly, but it makes sense to me, lol.

MB_Positif

don't sweat it at all. It's just one day and if it's a crazy busy day, it happens that we just don't get to eat. Hopefully you won't make a habit of it. Also, like you said, you may wake up hungry tomorrow. There is no reason you can't use up some of the calories tomorrow or throughout the week as well Good luck!

omma_to_3

I could eat an entire jar of mixed nuts in one sitting. Mmmmm......

RoanneRed

It's a rare occurrence, it won't hurt you.

jacksonpt

When I was being really anal about my macros (fats, mostly) I had a hard time hitting my cal goal on heavy workout days. Since then I've become a bit more relaxed about things and don't have any problems. I'm happier not being obsessive about every gram, and my progress has been pretty steady.

janalayn

As long as you don't do this every day you should be fine. I always use avocado as my go to when I need really calorie dense food.

Gazjam_1985

10 bananas??? What kind of monkey do you think he is??

Just take the calorie deficit and move on! You will just lose more weight for it, if it was every day then obviously reconsider but like you say it isnt, so dont sweat it.

lisaidem

I'm kinda in the same boat. I'm on a 2,200 total calorie diet (disregarding exercise calories), and it is hard to eat that much food when it is the food you are SUPPOSED to eat! It's easy as pie (literally) when it's pizza or...pie, but when it's lean meats and veggies, that's a butt-ton of food! Sometimes you just gotta say no, that's it.

Yanicka1

You have a lot to lose, so it's probably not as important that you eat you exercise calories.

What she said. Just do your best and forget the low fat low calories crap

vim_n_vigor

If your calories are low today, and you are extra hungry tomorrow, eat more tomorrow! Like you said, it isn't happening every day.

sarahgilmore

Yup at your current size you can safely get way with a larger deficit.

techigirl78

Yes. I have had days with 2000+ calories. I think making a weekly target for those types of weeks is good. I have days where I go over too, so it is a balance.