1100-1300 is WAY too little for a guy. You're setting yourself up for problems later. General recommendations say the *bare minimum* most women should eat is 1200, and for men it's about 1800.

A quick Google search tells me that the BMR of a 21 y/o male at 6'2" and 285 pounds is just over 2300. BMR = the number of calories you'd burn in a day if you did nothing. Like, stayed in bed and slept. Doctors use BMR to calculate the number of calories to feed coma patients. Are you a coma patient? I hope not!

You should eat at least your BMR if you don't want to kill your metabolism. Eating too far below your BMR for an extended period of time will likely confuse your body, cause your weight loss to plateau, etc. Moreover, it's hardly a sustainable diet for the rest of your life.

You need to figure out your TDEE and take a cut from that. Another quick Google search -- if you're "sedentary" (I don't think you are) your TDEE is approximately 3164. You should be eating somewhere between your BMR and TDEE for best results. A 20% cut from TDEE is 2531. Try eating around there.

How to get the calories in? Eat more often, eat slightly bigger meals. Eat full-fat foods, peanut butter, avocados, beans, nuts, etc. Eat a piece of cake. Your snacks are pretty small - a nutrigrain bar? Try an apple with some peanut butter, pb&j sandwich, etc.

I know it doesn't make sense to eat more to lose weight, BUT...so long as you burn more than you consume, you're good. With all the calories you're burning from day-to-day life and exercise, you're netting very few calories here. Can your body run on 0 fuel? Not forever. Food is fuel -- your body needs it to work properly.

Think about it like this...do you put gas in your car? Of course! Now say you want to drive 500 miles. Do you fill your tank up completely, or do you just put in 1/4 of a tank? You want to fill it up, or else you won't be able to make the trip. If you don't fill it up completely, your car will start stalling somewhere, and you'll be stuck. Now pretend your body is the car -- do you want to properly fuel it (eating/netting your goal) and make it to your destination? Or do you want to get stuck somewhere on the way?

I agree he should up his calorie intake a bit, however, advising the man to eat cake? That is a moronic suggestion when he wants to lose weight.

I agree he should up his calorie intake a bit, however, advising the man to eat cake? That is a moronic suggestion when he wants to lose weight.

I believe you're the moron if you choose to take one sentence out of context, completely ignoring the healthier options I gave him right beforehand. Regardless, eating a piece of cake is hardly a bad piece of advice for someone who wants to lose weight in a sustainable manner. We shouldn't aim for complete restriction; we need to learn how to maintain a healthy balance. This guy is going to come across cake at SOME point in his life. He shouldn't feel like he can NEVER EVER EVER eat cake again. If he can factor a piece of cake into his calorie goals for the day, there is NOTHING wrong with that.

Hi Andrew, how have you progressed in the last couple of weeks?

I am 5'4" and my bf is 6'4", and we both weigh 165lbs! I am using MFP to lose weight, and he is using it to gain weight. We are both now working out 3 days a week. I do all of the food shopping and meal planning for us, and from what you say that you eat, it sounds more like my meals! I go for 1200 calories a day, and my bf aims for 2800. Here are some swaps I make for him to sneak in more calories, healthy fats, and protein:

Breakfast: my oatmeal is made with water and I add fresh/frozen berries. For him, I use whole milk, a banana, and throw in a scoop of protein powder. When we have protein shakes, I use skim milk and water, and for him I use whole milk, peanut butter, and an extra scoop of protein powder.

Lunch: for a chicken or tuna salad, I make mine with greek yogurt and herbs, I make his with olive-oil based mayonnaise and/or avocados. I'll eat mine in lettuce wraps, and I get him whole-grain pita pockets or whole-grain tortilla wraps. He usually needs more food than this, so I pack something else, like Mediterranean pasta with olives and feta, or hummus (with pita chips and red peppers).

Snacks: I eat fresh fruit, 100-calorie containers of greek yogurt, or individual size slim-jims. For him, full fat yogurts, string cheese, and trail mix. We both enjoy having hard boiled eggs for snacks or in the morning for a protein boost. We also like to microwave sweet potatoes, and I top mine with chili powder and greek yogurt, he uses full-fat cheese and sour cream.

Dinner: usually meat/fish and vegetables. I have 1/3 meat, 2/3 veg. He has 1/2 meat, 1/4 veg, 1/4 other carb (pasta, rice, potato).

For him, breakfast is the hardest because he doesn't have an appetite in the morning, but then he's ravenous all day. I make him have a protein shake in the morning, and remind him to eat something small every hour. Also, its a great portion control trick for me to eat about 1/4-1/3 of everything he consumes. I love eating out together, because a single entree is already too big for one person, so we split it 1/4 3/4. We have enough for 2, and never have to pay for 2