3000 diet? How long before I see results?

I've lost 40 lbs in the last 2 years due to stress ..looking at myself and constantly being reminded by people that I'm smaller is only more depressing. So basically I'm always stressing. I've decided to do the 3000 calorie diet and interpret muscle gain exercises ..I know that I burn calories daily so I've downloaded an app to help make sure I hit my goal everyday. How long should I see results if 3000 cals a day may result in 5/6 weight gain plus exercising and building muscles? I've boosted my carbs and protein intake so I hope to see results within a week or 2 or is that not really possible? I'm considered under weight 5'7 121 lbs ...any tips would be greatly appreciated!
«1

Replies

  • MityMax96
    MityMax96 Posts: 5,778 Member
    Takes time....
    WHere does 3000 come from?

    Doing weight lifting is a good idea....
    But you might do better setting a goal of about 0.5 - 1.0 lbs / week.....

    But your call
  • xOXoLUV
    xOXoLUV Posts: 16
    I did some research on trying to see fast weight gain and I came across a couple of boards where people were doing the 3000 calorie diet to try and gain fat faster
  • xOXoLUV
    xOXoLUV Posts: 16
    .
  • RHachicho
    RHachicho Posts: 1,115 Member
    If what you want to gain is fat that will do it :) No judging here just frankly stating it. In fact if you are highly active you may even need more than that. Work towards finding out your actual TDEE. I would suggest upping your calories slowly and monitoring your weight. Perhaps start at 2000 or 2500 and weigh in once a week for a month average it out. Figure out how much your deficit is from your average weight loss and if you have to increase. Keep monitoring like that until you hit a point where your weight is starting to climb. I'm assuming you don't wanna end up as actually FAT fat. So I would be satisfied where like the other guy said you are putting on .5 to a lb a week on average.
  • xOXoLUV
    xOXoLUV Posts: 16
    Takes time....
    WHere does 3000 come from?

    Doing weight lifting is a good idea....
    But you might do better setting a goal of about 0.5 - 1.0 lbs / week.....

    But your call

    I did some research on trying to see fast weight gain and I came across a couple of boards where people were doing the 3000 calorie diet to try and gain fat faster
  • xOXoLUV
    xOXoLUV Posts: 16
    If what you want to gain is fat that will do it :) No judging here just frankly stating it. In fact if you are highly active you may even need more than that. Work towards finding out your actual TDEE. I would suggest upping your calories slowly and monitoring your weight. Perhaps start at 2000 or 2500 and weigh in once a week for a month average it out. Figure out how much your deficit is from your average weight loss and if you have to increase. Keep monitoring like that until you hit a point where your weight is starting to climb. I'm assuming you don't wanna end up as actually FAT fat. So I would be satisfied where like the other guy said you are putting on .5 to a lb a week on average.

    Thanks. And no I'm not trying to just gain fat which why I will be exercising also. What is TDEE? I'm new to all of this :) but I'm only as active as my 2 year old and 8 month old makes me other than that I work 8 1/2 hours at a desk sitting job. I'm just trying so see which will give me faster results. I heard that I might see early results being that I'm underweight but idk how true that is.
  • Jim_Barteck
    Jim_Barteck Posts: 274 Member
    Why not 4000? or 5000? or 6000?

    No. Those are not serious questions. The point I am, and I think other commenters are, making is that 3000 is a *completely* arbitrary number. There's nothing magic about 3000.

    The suggestion to set your MFP weight goal to 0.5 to 1.0 lbs per week is an excellent one. Yes, you want to gain weight. But you also say you want to be a *HEALTHY* weight. Anyone can put on fat. It doesn't take anything special other than continuously overeating.

    If you want to be healthy though, you'll need to do it in a managed way. That means resistance training (weight lifting, bodyweight training, etc.). That means appropriate amounts of protein in your diet. That means managing your calories in a controlled and well-thought-out manner.

    Start with these suggestions, and give yourself a couple of months to see how things are going.
  • xOXoLUV
    xOXoLUV Posts: 16
    Why not 4000? or 5000? or 6000?

    No. Those are not serious questions. The point I am, and I think other commenters are, making is that 3000 is a *completely* arbitrary number. There's nothing magic about 3000.

    The suggestion to set your MFP weight goal to 0.5 to 1.0 lbs per week is an excellent one. Yes, you want to gain weight. But you also say you want to be a *HEALTHY* weight. Anyone can put on fat. It doesn't take anything special other than continuously overeating.

    If you want to be healthy though, you'll need to do it in a managed way. That means resistance training (weight lifting, bodyweight training, etc.). That means appropriate amounts of protein in your diet. That means managing your calories in a controlled and well-thought-out manner.

    Start with these suggestions, and give yourself a couple of months to see how things are going.

    I'm new to all of this I just googled things online and came across that 3000 calorie diet. It says that if I eat a total of 3000 calories a day on top of what I burn daily then I should see at least a 5/6 lb weight gain. I don't know how true it is because again ..I'm new to all of this. And the 3000 calories that I'm eating are healthy foods just bigger portions and added oils.
  • 3laine75
    3laine75 Posts: 3,069 Member
    I did some research on trying to see fast weight gain and I came across a couple of boards where people were doing the 3000 calorie diet to try and gain fat faster

    Are you trying to gain fat too?

    It's obviously unavoidable but setting for +0.5lb (female) or + 1lb (male) should keep muscle and fat gains at about half and half.

    (Visible) Results take time as you probably won't see your results till you've gained then cut back the excess fat.
  • 3laine75
    3laine75 Posts: 3,069 Member
    [/quote]
    I'm new to all of this I just googled things online and came across that 3000 calorie diet. It says that if I eat a total of 3000 calories a day on top of what I burn daily then I should see at least a 5/6 lb weight gain. I don't know how true it is because again ..I'm new to all of this. And the 3000 calories that I'm eating are healthy foods just bigger portions and added oils.

    [/quote]



    Okay, as a female, at 3000 cals it'd still take you 5 or 6 months to gain 5 or 6 lb of MUSCLE. you'd gain way more than 5 or 6 lb of weight. That'd be considered a 'dirty' bulk.

    Go for a 250 surplus or 0.5 lb a week gain. You should gain around 12 lb in 6 months and about 6 lb of that should be muscle (if you're lifting progressively heavier). Then you'd cut the 6lb of fat (if you feel you need to. This would be considered a 'clean' bulk - the quality of food does not matter it would just need to fit your macro split.
  • xOXoLUV
    xOXoLUV Posts: 16
    I did some research on trying to see fast weight gain and I came across a couple of boards where people were doing the 3000 calorie diet to try and gain fat faster

    Are you trying to gain fat too?

    It's obviously unavoidable but setting for +0.5lb (female) or + 1lb (male) should keep muscle and fat gains at about half and half.

    (Visible) Results take time as you probably won't see your results till you've gained then cut back the excess fat.

    Yes, I'm trying to gain fat also. I'm trying to do whatever can make me see FAST results which is why I've took interest in the 3000 calorie diet. I'm exercising so I won't look nasty ..I'm not really focused on the muscle part I just realize it's something I must do while packing on extra pounds. My main goal is to no longer feel a way about myself when I look in the mirror so 6 months is not really a goal I'm trying to set before I finally see results.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    I did some research on trying to see fast weight gain and I came across a couple of boards where people were doing the 3000 calorie diet to try and gain fat faster

    Are you trying to gain fat too?

    It's obviously unavoidable but setting for +0.5lb (female) or + 1lb (male) should keep muscle and fat gains at about half and half.

    (Visible) Results take time as you probably won't see your results till you've gained then cut back the excess fat.

    Yes, I'm trying to gain fat also. I'm trying to do whatever can make me see FAST results which is why I've took interest in the 3000 calorie diet. I'm exercising so I won't look nasty ..I'm not really focused on the muscle part I just realize it's something I must do while packing on extra pounds. My main goal is to no longer feel a way about myself when I look in the mirror so 6 months is not really a goal I'm trying to set before I finally see results.

    You can do it properly or you can do it fast... Not both...
  • 3laine75
    3laine75 Posts: 3,069 Member
    I did some research on trying to see fast weight gain and I came across a couple of boards where people were doing the 3000 calorie diet to try and gain fat faster

    Are you trying to gain fat too?

    It's obviously unavoidable but setting for +0.5lb (female) or + 1lb (male) should keep muscle and fat gains at about half and half.

    (Visible) Results take time as you probably won't see your results till you've gained then cut back the excess fat.

    Yes, I'm trying to gain fat also. I'm trying to do whatever can make me see FAST results which is why I've took interest in the 3000 calorie diet. I'm exercising so I won't look nasty ..I'm not really focused on the muscle part I just realize it's something I must do while packing on extra pounds. My main goal is to no longer feel a way about myself when I look in the mirror so 6 months is not really a goal I'm trying to set before I finally see results.


    Have at it then.......we'll see you back here when you want to lose 20 lb in a month :grumble:
  • xOXoLUV
    xOXoLUV Posts: 16
    I did some research on trying to see fast weight gain and I came across a couple of boards where people were doing the 3000 calorie diet to try and gain fat faster

    Are you trying to gain fat too?

    It's obviously unavoidable but setting for +0.5lb (female) or + 1lb (male) should keep muscle and fat gains at about half and half.

    (Visible) Results take time as you probably won't see your results till you've gained then cut back the excess fat.

    Yes, I'm trying to gain fat also. I'm trying to do whatever can make me see FAST results which is why I've took interest in the 3000 calorie diet. I'm exercising so I won't look nasty ..I'm not really focused on the muscle part I just realize it's something I must do while packing on extra pounds. My main goal is to no longer feel a way about myself when I look in the mirror so 6 months is not really a goal I'm trying to set before I finally see results.


    Have at it then.......we'll see you back here when you want to lose 20 lb in a month :grumble:

    But you won't ..I'm going to obviously stop the 3000 calorie diet once I reach my goal. All I want to know is how fast will I see results if I follow this plan/diet
  • Jim_Barteck
    Jim_Barteck Posts: 274 Member
    But you won't ..I'm going to obviously stop the 3000 calorie diet once I reach my goal. All I want to know is how fast will I see results if I follow this plan/diet

    Then back to my original point: If you don't actually care about any advice that anyone is giving you, and all you care about is getting FAST!!!!! results here's your plan:

    1. Go to the nearest grocery store.
    2. Buy every 5 lb bag of candy you can find. Maybe 2.
    3. Eat them all. Tomorrow.
    4. Repeat as necessary.

    By the end of the week you should be there. Is that fast enough for you?
  • But you won't ..I'm going to obviously stop the 3000 calorie diet once I reach my goal. All I want to know is how fast will I see results if I follow this plan/diet

    Then back to my original point: If you don't actually care about any advice that anyone is giving you, and all you care about is getting FAST!!!!! results here's your plan:

    1. Go to the nearest grocery store.
    2. Buy every 5 lb bag of candy you can find. Maybe 2.
    3. Eat them all. Tomorrow.
    4. Repeat as necessary.

    By the end of the week you should be there. Is that fast enough for you?

    I really don't see the need for negativity and sarcasm all because I'm not trying to gain weight at your rate. I didn't ask for how many pounds I should gain a week ..I asked how long before I see results! You have replied multiple times and still have not answered that one simple question.
  • kimbelle_vie
    kimbelle_vie Posts: 174 Member
    :noway:
  • sanderdejonge
    sanderdejonge Posts: 415 Member
    You might not want to listen to what Jim is telling you...but let me tell you this.

    If I would eat under 4500cal a day I would loose weight.
    What I'm saying, is that everyone is different.

    So you want to gain weight, please do it in a healthy, controlled manner, like I do:
    Determine your total daily calorie goal (and macro's), based upon your weight, gender, activity level, etc.
    Then determine how much weight you want to gain per week/month.
    Now MyFitnessPal will tell you how much calories you'll need to eat per day. If you do exercises, you'll of course have to eat more.

    There's nothing more to it. A "3000 calorie diet" is just nonsense.
    Do me a favour and eat healthy. :wink:
  • RHachicho
    RHachicho Posts: 1,115 Member
    Okay here is a little rundown of terms.

    BMR - The amount of calories your body needs to maintain it's weight in a coma. The energy needed to breathe pump the heart run the digestive system etc.

    NEAT - The energy you expend doing everyday crap a combination of your BMR and all the energy you spend generally living.

    TDEE - The total energy you expend in a day including BMR, NEAT and Exercise calories.

    The golden rule of weight loss is that if you eat under your TDEE you will lose weight. If say for example you lose 1lb in a week then you ate 3500 calories less than your TDEE over that week. Therefore your TDEE is likeley what you ate +500. With me :) ? in parallel eating over your TDEE results in weight gain. With appropriate muscle stimulation in place and adequate protein intake this results in the creation of fat and muscle. If you just sit on the couch the weight will be fat.

    Oh and as an approximation 1lb of fat = about 3500 calories. Therefore TDEE - 500 Would have you lose 1lb a week TDEE - 1000 Would have you lose 2.

    There are TDEE calculators but honestly calculating this is NOT an exact science so many little factors come into play with TDEE that are simply beyond the scope of a simple calculating tool. Your body however is the ultimate calculator for this. Rely on it instead and feed it various levels of calories and look at your own personal results to find your own personal TDEE.

    An example of which.

    You eat 2000 a week. You lose 1.5lbs average over a month (Weigh loss is not linear. A month is the minimum time to get a reasonable average)

    You decide that your TDEE is probably around 2750 based on this. So you eat that.

    Turns out you still lose .5 lbs a week. This is perfectly normal sometimes upping calories makes you more active. Some weeks you are more active than others. It happens. TDEE fluctuates.

    You up to 3000 calories. And gain .1 or .2 lbs a week.

    Now you know your TDEE is in the 2800 - 2900 range. But you have found where u wanna be.

    This is just an example and the numbers have been pulled out of my head just to demonstrate what the process of finding your TDEE looks like.
  • stephenson_650
    stephenson_650 Posts: 5 Member
    I hope to see results within a week or 2 or is that not really possible?

    your looking at it wrong man fitness is a lifestyle and it takes months/years to see decent results. don't be so concerned with seeing changes instantly instead focus on training hard eating well and being consistent and i promise you can't fail!!!!!!!!!! good luck buddy!
  • MityMax96
    MityMax96 Posts: 5,778 Member
    If you don't care about the weight that you put on...

    Then do One Gallon of Full Fat Milk a day.....
    and peanut butter....

    That should about do it.
  • itsbasschick
    itsbasschick Posts: 1,584 Member
    first off, it makes sense to learn more about nutrition and set a realistic goal with a calorie amount based on solid nutrition rather than a random 3000 calories. next, if you want to gain muscle, not just fat, you need to set a minimum daily protein amount that is enough for your body. but if you want to add calories, i suggest avocado - it's got plenty of healthy fat and it makes great guacamole, you can use it instead of mayo on sandwiches and it's great on salads, either in slices or as a dressing.

    you might also try full fat greek yogurt, which will add both protein and fat to your daily diet.

    btw, it's a funny thing - many people on this board feel they look bad if they have a few pounds, where you think you look bad because you don't. i suspect that how we see ourselves is based mostly on how we feel about ourselves, not on how we actually look.
  • You might not want to listen to what Jim is telling you...but let me tell you this.

    If I would eat under 4500cal a day I would loose weight.
    What I'm saying, is that everyone is different.

    So you want to gain weight, please do it in a healthy, controlled manner, like I do:
    Determine your total daily calorie goal (and macro's), based upon your weight, gender, activity level, etc.
    Then determine how much weight you want to gain per week/month.
    Now MyFitnessPal will tell you how much calories you'll need to eat per day. If you do exercises, you'll of course have to eat more.

    There's nothing more to it. A "3000 calorie diet" is just nonsense.
    Do me a favour and eat healthy. :wink:

    Who says the food I'm eating is not healthy ?
  • first off, it makes sense to learn more about nutrition and set a realistic goal with a calorie amount based on solid nutrition rather than a random 3000 calories. next, if you want to gain muscle, not just fat, you need to set a minimum daily protein amount that is enough for your body. but if you want to add calories, i suggest avocado - it's got plenty of healthy fat and it makes great guacamole, you can use it instead of mayo on sandwiches and it's great on salads, either in slices or as a dressing.

    you might also try full fat greek yogurt, which will add both protein and fat to your daily diet.

    btw, it's a funny thing - many people on this board feel they look bad if they have a few pounds, where you think you look bad because you don't. i suspect that how we see ourselves is based mostly on how we feel about ourselves, not on how we actually look.

    It's not about how I feel about myself it's based on how I actually look because I'm considered UNDERWEIGHT !!!! I explained that in my first post ..Being under weight is NOT healthy ..I can see and feel my bones ..I lost 40 lbs due to stress and I miss my old self ..it's not like I woke up and thought oh I'm skinny let me gain some weight!
  • Okay here is a little rundown of terms.

    BMR - The amount of calories your body needs to maintain it's weight in a coma. The energy needed to breathe pump the heart run the digestive system etc.

    NEAT - The energy you expend doing everyday crap a combination of your BMR and all the energy you spend generally living.

    TDEE - The total energy you expend in a day including BMR, NEAT and Exercise calories.

    The golden rule of weight loss is that if you eat under your TDEE you will lose weight. If say for example you lose 1lb in a week then you ate 3500 calories less than your TDEE over that week. Therefore your TDEE is likeley what you ate +500. With me :) ? in parallel eating over your TDEE results in weight gain. With appropriate muscle stimulation in place and adequate protein intake this results in the creation of fat and muscle. If you just sit on the couch the weight will be fat.

    Oh and as an approximation 1lb of fat = about 3500 calories. Therefore TDEE - 500 Would have you lose 1lb a week TDEE - 1000 Would have you lose 2.

    There are TDEE calculators but honestly calculating this is NOT an exact science so many little factors come into play with TDEE that are simply beyond the scope of a simple calculating tool. Your body however is the ultimate calculator for this. Rely on it instead and feed it various levels of calories and look at your own personal results to find your own personal TDEE.

    An example of which.

    You eat 2000 a week. You lose 1.5lbs average over a month (Weigh loss is not linear. A month is the minimum time to get a reasonable average)

    You decide that your TDEE is probably around 2750 based on this. So you eat that.

    Turns out you still lose .5 lbs a week. This is perfectly normal sometimes upping calories makes you more active. Some weeks you are more active than others. It happens. TDEE fluctuates.

    You up to 3000 calories. And gain .1 or .2 lbs a week.

    Now you know your TDEE is in the 2800 - 2900 range. But you have found where u wanna be.

    This is just an example and the numbers have been pulled out of my head just to demonstrate what the process of finding your TDEE looks like.

    Thank you so much for your time and patience and not judging or being sarcastic !!!
  • I hope to see results within a week or 2 or is that not really possible?

    your looking at it wrong man fitness is a lifestyle and it takes months/years to see decent results. don't be so concerned with seeing changes instantly instead focus on training hard eating well and being consistent and i promise you can't fail!!!!!!!!!! good luck buddy!

    Thank you and I totally understand where you're coming from but this is not my body that I'm used to I want the old me back ..and fast!
  • sharkbev
    sharkbev Posts: 5 Member
    Most of us are trying to loose weight BUT most of us started out like you, thin. Then we went on a diet and "bam" we got fat. I know it sounds weird but drink diet drinks and eat diet food and you will gain weight. Just ask the millions of people who tried to lose weight that way, it never works we all gained weight. Or you could just aim at being the healthiest you can be and don't mess up your body with processed, toxic foods and drinks.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    Most of us are trying to loose weight BUT most of us started out like you, thin. Then we went on a diet and "bam" we got fat. I know it sounds weird but drink diet drinks and eat diet food and you will gain weight. Just ask the millions of people who tried to lose weight that way, it never works we all gained weight. Or you could just aim at being the healthiest you can be and don't mess up your body with processed, toxic foods and drinks.

    :noway: :huh:
  • RHachicho
    RHachicho Posts: 1,115 Member
    Okay here is a little rundown of terms.

    BMR - The amount of calories your body needs to maintain it's weight in a coma. The energy needed to breathe pump the heart run the digestive system etc.

    NEAT - The energy you expend doing everyday crap a combination of your BMR and all the energy you spend generally living.

    TDEE - The total energy you expend in a day including BMR, NEAT and Exercise calories.

    The golden rule of weight loss is that if you eat under your TDEE you will lose weight. If say for example you lose 1lb in a week then you ate 3500 calories less than your TDEE over that week. Therefore your TDEE is likeley what you ate +500. With me :) ? in parallel eating over your TDEE results in weight gain. With appropriate muscle stimulation in place and adequate protein intake this results in the creation of fat and muscle. If you just sit on the couch the weight will be fat.

    Oh and as an approximation 1lb of fat = about 3500 calories. Therefore TDEE - 500 Would have you lose 1lb a week TDEE - 1000 Would have you lose 2.

    There are TDEE calculators but honestly calculating this is NOT an exact science so many little factors come into play with TDEE that are simply beyond the scope of a simple calculating tool. Your body however is the ultimate calculator for this. Rely on it instead and feed it various levels of calories and look at your own personal results to find your own personal TDEE.

    An example of which.

    You eat 2000 a week. You lose 1.5lbs average over a month (Weigh loss is not linear. A month is the minimum time to get a reasonable average)

    You decide that your TDEE is probably around 2750 based on this. So you eat that.

    Turns out you still lose .5 lbs a week. This is perfectly normal sometimes upping calories makes you more active. Some weeks you are more active than others. It happens. TDEE fluctuates.

    You up to 3000 calories. And gain .1 or .2 lbs a week.

    Now you know your TDEE is in the 2800 - 2900 range. But you have found where u wanna be.

    This is just an example and the numbers have been pulled out of my head just to demonstrate what the process of finding your TDEE looks like.

    Thank you so much for your time and patience and not judging or being sarcastic !!!

    That's quite all right a lot of people seem to be jaded because there are a tonne of idiots who show up on the forums looking for a quick fix. When they try and lose weight they eat rabbit food and when they gain they chomp everything in sight like pac man. So the knee jerk reaction of a lot of people when faced with someone who genuinely doesn't know what to do is insult them. Quite the opposite of what the forum is for. But nevertheless an understandable reaction considering the level of idiocy people on these boards sometimes have to deal with lol. I wish you luck =)
  • Most of us are trying to loose weight BUT most of us started out like you, thin. Then we went on a diet and "bam" we got fat. I know it sounds weird but drink diet drinks and eat diet food and you will gain weight. Just ask the millions of people who tried to lose weight that way, it never works we all gained weight. Or you could just aim at being the healthiest you can be and don't mess up your body with processed, toxic foods and drinks.

    Who said the foods that I was consuming were unhealthy ?