Calorie Needs?

alright so i am making this post for someone else. my boyfriend.
i've been discussing with him lately how much he should be eating on a daily basis (because he has been getting sick fairly frequently and doesn't know what to attribute it to.) but he just doesn't believe that the amount i'm telling him that he should be eating could be the right amount. he swears it is considered over eating.

so i figured out that he should be eating 2558 calories a day to maintain 153 at 6"1' (a healthy and slim bmi of 20.2). he walks to school (40 minutes there, 40 minutes back) every week day and some days like tomorrow he'll walk to school and then have to head straight to work after many hours of school.

anyway i thought i'd type out an example day meal plan and see what everyone thinks. just so that i can show him what other people think a normal day of eating looks like.

breakfast
1.5 cups honey nut cheerios (260); 3/4 cup soy milk (75); whole grain english muffin w/ 1 T. earth balance or peanut butter (200); clementine (35); 8-ounce sorange juice (110)
b. total- 680

snack
banana (105)
s. total- 105

lunch
1 cup vegan chicken noodle soup (90); spicy boca chicken patty on two slice whole grain bread w/ spinach, onion, tomato, mustard and veganaise (480); banana (105); baby carrots (35); 8-ounces rice milk (130)
l. total- 840

dinner
stir fried vegetables w/ seitan and brown rice (400); beer (150)
d. total- 550

snack
1 ounce (or 47 kernals) pistachios (161); baby carrots (35); 4 T. hummus (160)
s. total- 358

grand total- 2533

and that leave it a bit short.
what does everyone think. is that an abnormally large amount of food?
or do you think it's adequate?

BTW my boyfriend just turned 22.

It's not an abnormally large amount of food.  In fact, I think he should be looking at more like 3000+ cals a day if he's walking for over an hour to and from school.   Take it he's vegetarian/vegan?  If so, it's not just quantity of food he has to consider it's also balance and nutrition.   Particularly when it comes to iron, B vitamins, zinc, calcium... all of which are much easier to get from an omnivorous diet than a more restricted one.   Vegans really can't afford to leave it to chance and have to be much more on the ball to avoid dietary deficiencies.   If his immune system is low (he's getting sick a lot) it all fits...... so as well as eating a lot more than he normally does he may benefit from a daily multivitamin to cover any missed bases.

He should also consider going to see his doctor for a physical check-up, a few blood-tests etc.  He could be suffering from something that isn't diet-related.

No, that sounds like a normal amount of food, but like gi-jane I think he could definitle afford to eat more with all that exercise too. I could definitely eat all that and more, and I am a 5' 4" girl (also vegan, yay). It is also very balanced and healthy, good for you for looking out for your boyfriend! 

thanks gi-jane and purpleorchid. :)
i want to show him this so that he knows that's it not only me that is telling him this.

i told him his bmr was about 1800 and explained what that meant (and roughly what that would look like) and he didn't even believe he was supposed to eat that much. i think part of it is that when he became vegan and cut meat and cheese out and replaced them with beans, grains, rice milk...exc. he cut down his calories drastically without even knowing.

so now he just eats whatever and just figures that he was getting enough calories before and he's probably getting enough now.

i swear, this boy eats a lot less then me, a lot. and i usually stay around 1400-1700 so it worries me. especially since he went vegan after meeting me a couple years a ago. i kinda feel like it's my fault.

Do you think maybe he has an eating disorder? It's rarer for males, and you might not think he does, but you never know really... most people with EDs hide it from their family and friends out of shame, at least in the beginning or until they get "found out".

When you log all of that food in cc, what is the total grams of protein? fat? He may be low on both and that isn't healthy. Good luck.

Original Post by purpleorchid89:

Do you think maybe he has an eating disorder? It's rarer for males, and you might not think he does, but you never know really... most people with EDs hide it from their family and friends out of shame, at least in the beginning or until they get "found out".

no, i don't think he cares much is the thing.

i think he has an idea of what foods are good for him and what are not but i don't think he pays attention to calorie content of food. i think he just thinks ' well it's vegan, it's good for me and it tastes good so i'll eat this for lunch.' but what he decided to have for lunch could be a burrito with maybe 300 calories. and i just don't think he understands that a meal has to be bigger than that for him.

i think that he thinks he's eating normal and that i'm being ridiculous when i suggests he eats more.

he has suggested that he'd just gain weight if he ate as much as i'm suggesting but i don't think that eating disordered. he doesn't want to lose weight. he's happy where he is and with what he's eating. except for the fact that now he's getting sick frequently.

i've had an eating disorder so i think i probably would have picked up on it if he did. (we've lived together for a couple years now and cook together frequently.)

Original Post by carolann5111:

When you log all of that food in cc, what is the total grams of protein? fat? He may be low on both and that isn't healthy. Good luck.

i didn't log it but i'm using it as an example just to show him how much he can eat. it's somewhat balanced but probably not perfect. he would probably need more protein and fat. but the goal is just to show him, for now, that he could be eating a lot more.

Original Post by gi-jane:

It's not an abnormally large amount of food. In fact, I think he should be looking at more like 3000+ cals a day if he's walking for over an hour to and from school. Take it he's vegetarian/vegan? If so, it's not just quantity of food he has to consider it's also balance and nutrition. Particularly when it comes to iron, B vitamins, zinc, calcium... all of which are much easier to get from an omnivorous diet than a more restricted one. Vegans really can't afford to leave it to chance and have to be much more on the ball to avoid dietary deficiencies. If his immune system is low (he's getting sick a lot) it all fits...... so as well as eating a lot more than he normally does he may benefit from a daily multivitamin to cover any missed bases.

He should also consider going to see his doctor for a physical check-up, a few blood-tests etc. He could be suffering from something that isn't diet-related.

i think he's going to have a check up and some blood work done soon. so hopefully that will reveal anything he's lacking in.

i agree that he could/should probably eat even more than 2558. but i think trying to get him to even eat that much will be a struggle. heck, even getting him to eat 1800 everyday would be great. i'm sure somedays he gets up past 1800 but those are days that he eats 'a lot'.

he does take a multi-vitamin, calcium supplement, b-complex and omega-3 supplement (i wouldn't say everyday).

Good, well if he is going to the hospital, if it's not too much trouble, get him to talk to a nutritionist. Or maybe find articles online about how much people need to eat (wish I had some to offer you) or even just show him our responses or lots of different websites showing how many calories he burns. If he's worried about gaining weight (not necessarily losing), just ask him to try eating more for a while and see how he feels. Good luck.

Original Post by purpleorchid89:

Good, well if he is going to the hospital, if it's not too much trouble, get him to talk to a nutritionist. Or maybe find articles online about how much people need to eat (wish I had some to offer you) or even just show him our responses or lots of different websites showing how many calories he burns. If he's worried about gaining weight (not necessarily losing), just ask him to try eating more for a while and see how he feels. Good luck.

i was planning on showing him this. just so he knows it's not only me that thinks so. :)
thanks.