How often can I have a rest day?

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darreneatschicken
darreneatschicken Posts: 669 Member
edited January 2015 in Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
In the sense of not eating a lot. I have to eat a lot (for me) to bulk. This is difficult. It is putting strain on my body because:

a) I am constantly stuffing myself; constantly full; feel guilty when I'm not eating

b) I struggle to hit macros, so find myself constantly going to bed on a full stomach

As a result, I now have acid reflux , and am on meds that my doctor gave me. He said that it was probably from stress, but I didn't tell him about my eating habits. I've been eating relatively healthy since the beginning of the week, but eating a lot in general just puts my body in a lot of strain, and it's Saturday morning now and my body feels like it can't handle anymore, so, I'm wondering how often I can have like a "cheat" day for my eating. Like a day where I don't obsess about how much I am eating, a day where I obviously still eat a good amount, like maybe 1,800 calories or something?

My goal is 2,300 calories a day. Maintenance is around 1,850 calories.

Replies

  • darreneatschicken
    darreneatschicken Posts: 669 Member
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    My diary is open too.
  • moto450
    moto450 Posts: 334 Member
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    I think finding more calorie dense foods would help you out. Nuts for example are very calorie dense. If you have a day you are struggling to meet the 2300 calories you can grab some nuts and that will put you up and over without feeling you have to be eating tons of food. It's not always about quantity. It's mostly important to hit your calories if you want to gain, and a food like nuts is still good for you. Healthy fats.

    Hopefully that can help you avoid the frequent desire to have a cheat day. Although a cheat day here and there is perfectly fine.

    Also, I wouldn't stress about going over your macros so much when you are trying to gain. It's not as important. If you were trying to lose weight or would be a different story.
  • moto450
    moto450 Posts: 334 Member
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    Also, I would be honest with your doctor about everything including eating goals and habits.
  • shawntane37
    shawntane37 Posts: 9
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    I had a lot of the same problems a 2 years ago. When you are a hard gainer you can't always eat clean. Being full or stuffed is going to be a part of it for a while but it will pass. 2 years ago I was 128 lbs I'm 173 now. Try to pick more calorie dense foods
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
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    OP - did you stop smoking weed all day, yet?

    here is my suggestion ..you need to incorporate some calorie dense foods -ice cream, bagels, pizza, etc…< I would suggest incorporating these daily. It is a lot easier to get to 2300 when about 400 of that comes from a bagel and a serving of ice cream ..

    remember "healthy" is important in the context of an overall diet. As long as you are hitting macro/micro/calorie targets you will be fine..


    and get off the weed, bro ..for real...
  • njerry368
    njerry368 Posts: 2
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    Try splitting your meals up if your feeling stuffed. Maybe have a light meal every two hours. Or if you have the money buy a mass gainer supplement, you can get in the calories without feeling stuffed.
  • Wheelhouse15
    Wheelhouse15 Posts: 5,575 Member
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    I've never heard of a cheat day where you eat below you goal so that's unique. Honestly, 2300 cals is pretty small and if you are having trouble eating that much then you are missing the point that bulking is supposed to be the fun part. I would stop worrying too much about macros and more just about getting the calories in.

    Yes, eat healthy but also add in some big calorie items that are fun to eat and stop stressing. Raising your cortisol levels by being stressed is counter productive to gaining muscle.
  • FatFreeFrolicking
    FatFreeFrolicking Posts: 4,252 Member
    edited January 2015
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    How old are you? You look about 15 in your profile picture.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
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    Dude, meet peanut butter and ice cream!
    04195uuzfh48.jpeg

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