4000 Calories a Day

Alright, so I just started counting this morning. I did some research on this site and in some others and it seems like to get my goal of 135 to 175 pounds in 2 months, I have to eat about 4300 calories a day.

This seems possible to me, I did some research and compiled some foods with high calories, and this morning I managed 1500 calories for breakfast.

But before I do this for too long, I'm just looking for some advice. (Will this work? Foods I can eat. Lunch meals. Etc.)

it's definitely possible. i went up over 4000 last time i was gaining weight. i would recommend going up to 4300 slowly; that's usually less of a shock on the body. also, eat six meals and six snacks. i know drinking calories is easier for a lot of people, but it just made me really full. so play around with various low density foods and see what works. there's a sticky thread with lots of good foods for weight gain.

does anyone else but me get this but whenever i eat pass 4000 calories i wake up in the morning with a sort of sharp pain in my waist area and sometimes in my hips and back and i can feel it when i jog or run it feels horrobile and like i dont wanna be touched but its strange coz it feels like the food is just sitting there.oh and how long does it take for digestion off all the food to pass though for the weight to be gained

Hey I'm new to this too, to reach my goal of gaining 4 kilos in a month and half I apparently have to eat around 4000 calories. This is a lot for me, today I managed 3,500 calories. 

You eat that many calories then the theory goes that yes you will gain weight. You could try weightlifting as well -it will build muscle which weighs more than fat, but you probably already know all that. Every one is different the only real way to know if something will work for you is to just give it ago.

Also, 1500 calories for breakfast is impressive! What did you eat?!

Misundastood, I sometimes get what you describe after I go to sleep after eating something that is difficult to digest (I also have other unrelated digestive problems as well though) anything too greasy and too sugary (like ice cream) just seems to sit in my stomach overnight if I go to bed too soon after eating. If I get hungry at night -I always do, I just have a couple of pieces of toast and a glass of milk, it seems to be easier to digest. Maybe you could try to get the bulk of you calorie intake earlier in the day and stick to light and easy to digest foods at night?

ok thanks i might try that today but i think i should go back to not eating past 6pm in future even though i hate going to bed hungry i just hate more when wakeing up so bloated and in pain and carnt go swimming because of it. the pain sticks to my sides for ages, it takes me at least 3 days of eating light for it to go it so annoying i dont think its what i eat at night i think its just if i binge then the food from it takes long to digest

Original Post by keeweeliz:

Hey I'm new to this too, to reach my goal of gaining 4 kilos in a month and half I apparently have to eat around 4000 calories. This is a lot for me, today I managed 3,500 calories.

You eat that many calories then the theory goes that yes you will gain weight. You could try weightlifting as well -it will build muscle which weighs more than fat, but you probably already know all that. Every one is different the only real way to know if something will work for you is to just give it ago.

Also, 1500 calories for breakfast is impressive! What did you eat?!

Misundastood, I sometimes get what you describe after I go to sleep after eating something that is difficult to digest (I also have other unrelated digestive problems as well though) anything too greasy and too sugary (like ice cream) just seems to sit in my stomach overnight if I go to bed too soon after eating. If I get hungry at night -I always do, I just have a couple of pieces of toast and a glass of milk, it seems to be easier to digest. Maybe you could try to get the bulk of you calorie intake earlier in the day and stick to light and easy to digest foods at night?

Yeah I plan to just do three 30 minute workouts a week, free weights mostly. I hope that will be enough to make me gain more muscle then fat, but I'm not sure.

As for breakfast, I ate a bagel with both halves smothered in PB, 2 cartons of high cal yogurt, about 16 dried apricots, a banana with PB and orange juice. It totals to 1500 when I added it all up. :)

I really can't eat much at one time, and I found that not drinking until the end of the meal really helps.

Hey! I also have to eat 4000 to gain anything, and that's slow gain too. But it can be done! My breakfasts are usually around 1000 calories also. The PB is great, and if you get bored try out sun butter and almond butter. I also just tend to grab handuls of nuts anytime I pass by the kitchen because it doesnt really fill you up but the calories add up quickly. Full fat yogurt is great, or if you can find it get greek yogurt, like Fage total, the nutritional content of those is AMAZING. I also add protein powders or you can find powdered whole milk in the baby food section to add to milk, cereal or oatmeals. Dried fruit is good, especially spread with PB :) The bagel is good as are all carbs, try whole wheat pasta or rice, it's really easy to go over the one serving size with those and add olive oil to everything.

I've also started exercising, mostly strenght training in the last few weeks and have noticed a difference in muscle tone. Just make sure to make up for it in calories and eat a lot of protein. It sounds like you're doing all the right things and if you dig around in this weight gain forum you'll find tons of good recipes and ideas. Good luck!

K, sorry, I just couldn't help but wonder, why do you all want to gain so much weight?  I've never had to try to gain weight before.

Walkswithdog: Quite a few of us are recovering anorexics. There may are also those who are not anorexic, but have naturally fast metabolisms and want to go from being underweight to a healthy weight, and those that want to gain muscle and require a surplus of calories to do so.

Original Post by lalabanana:

Walkswithdog: Quite a few of us are recovering anorexics. There may are also those who are not anorexic, but have naturally fast metabolisms and want to go from being underweight to a healthy weight, and those that want to gain muscle and require a surplus of calories to do so.

Exactly. According to the internet.. I should weigh 182lbs or something like that, and I only weigh 135. I was actually a few under that but after a successful second day I believe I'm a solid 135 now. :D

How tall are you Sig?

I'm going to follow this thread closely. I weigh 135 lbs too (6'0) and I'm hoping to get up to about 175-180; although not in 2 months! :D One of the easiest things we can probably do I've heard is get our hands on some of those high calorie / protein / something "Milkshakes". I had a big crate of it once upon a time and it was just so easy to mix up a 500 calorie drink and tote it around. I gained 15lbs over a month period that summer but lost it all after I stopped focusing. Best of luck!

Thinfella: Congratulations to you on being able to -drink- those things. LOL. I had to drink supplement shakes during a bout of mono, and then through kidney infection/food poisoning that both caused me unable to digest anything not liquid... I can't -stand- them anymore. And now I will have to probably reach large caloric amounts to gain weight (105.5 at 6'1. That half a lb came off after increasing to 2000 for a week so it's up again for me!) Shakes are good and balanced if you can stomach them, but don't forget to seek lean protein and a good balance of wholegrains and carbs from food sources too. xP~ Are you aiming to gain muscle or are you recovering? It seems odd to ask, but it can't be forgotten guys suffer from anorexia too x:

Oh! I should probably add, to the OP/signus: I need to gain about 40lbs too [: Though you can probably tell that from my stats! Not necessarily in two months, though. Remember that gaining really quickly can be just as dangerous as losing really quicky - an ideal target is 2lbs a week, apparently 3lbs being possible if you are at a dangerous BMI (like, uh, me. .__.) I will be plugging along with you! Presently trying to reach an intake of 2400 and seeing what happens on that. :] Good luck!

i need help im only 90 pounds and i keep losin about a pound a month i dont know y its rediculous i cant even fit a size DOUBLE ZERO anymore i would really like to start gainin atleat a pound every week nd a half.. but how do i do it???? i dont know what to eat.. lately i just eat a bagel with a load of cream cheese two eggs and orange juice.. what can i add to my daily meals to REALLY help put on some weight... please help 

Stacey, try calorie dense foods.  The problem can be that people who want to gain weight eat the same foods as they always have, but twice as much and then when they reach their goal weight it becomes difficult to reduce the calories b/c they have gotten so use to the quanity. So nuts, avacodos, olive oil, olives, dried fruit, peanut butter, full fat yogurt and cottage cheese are all good items to add.  Also, try making a shake in the morning if you don't like to eat a large breakfast and choose at least 3 fruits (like rasberry banana and strawberry) and also add full fat yogurt or milk and 2T of peanut butter with some ice in a blender or frozen berries.  Could add flax seed or whey protein too, but really has quite a bit of protein on its own.

Original Post by lalabanana:

Lala cheers for the reply ;) Looks like we're all gonna be working away at it for the next while and I hope we all manage to do something! I was delighted to hear that you managed to put on that half a pound, it's somewhat gratifying to hear proof that people our size actually can put on weight... i've been starting to have my doubts! On my way to GA for a week tomorrow but when I get back it's going to be peanut butter and honey roasted peanuts all day long (exaggeration: healthy stuff will be given it's proper mention as well) Thanks a million to everyone for the ideas, and responses, and talk atcha in a bit

 

Thinfella: Thank you ^^ I've been at 2500 for almost a week now, only just quite gotten used to it, and haven't seen a major change - after a weigh in at the doctor her scales showed a 1.8lb loss from eating 2000 for a week, urggh. I'm probably going to have to go up another 500 from 2500 if there is a gain, but if it's too slow. I'm looking for about 2lbs a week, bah. I'm doing light weightlifting a couple of times a week, though, because muscle is always better than fat. Healthier and heavier, much like I want to be. >< Hooray.

Haha. As an aside, plain, unsalted roasted peanuts are better for you than salted or honey roasted. ;P Have a good trip!

I'm so excited to find this forum!  I am so in to diet and nutrition but almost everything is related to weight loss.  My own meal plans, goals, and questions are to get me some solid weight gain!  Rarely can I find sources and support relating to GAINING weight.

 

This thread in particular caught my interest because it has been my goal all year to get to 4000 calories.  I have come close a couple times, but overall I usually hover in the low 3000's, sometimes lower.  I tend to maintain on 25-3500, so I feel like if I could at LEAST get consistently over 3500 I might really gain. 

My biggest problems are time and discomfort.  I feel like I am always eating and finally get fed up and quit.  I also struggle with constant stomach issues so I spend a lot of the time I'm not eating in the bathroom--which is made worse BY eating.  Hence, my "good day" where I just eat like crazy tend to be the ones where my stomach is "being nice."  The days where I am trying to eat lunch over 1000 calories but by the time I hit 600 it's been an hour between the bathroom and kitchen I get fed up and "take a break" from eating and end up not getting enough overall...again.

 

I guess that last post turned into a semi-introduction, so I'd like to ask a few specific questions that I think about.

 

1. Do you think 4000 is a good goal intake for me?  Unlike some of you, I have a smaller weight and goal weight.  I just came up with this # since even at under 100lbs I am maintaining on twice what any calculator [including this site] says I should be.

 

2. What's the best way to get there?  Is gradual progression better or making a jump over night?

3. When you get behind on your calories for the day, do you make them up super late?  Even with just keeping myself over 3000 I so often find myself cramming 1-2000 calories in after I get back from work, around 8pm-midnight.  I know this isn't healthy, but is it better to get them in than just let another day go too low?

4. How do you all get your fruit and veggies in?  I find myself going days without any vegetables just because I don't have time for such a low calorie food.

 

Hi tuffstuff! :]

1. Are you male? I'd assume so from your screenname but I'd rather check. xD If you maintain in the area of 3000 though, and want to gain about 2lbs a week, 4000 would be sensible. Finding out what your ideal intake can take a bit of trial and error, as I am personally discovering, so you may want to start off eating steady at 3500 for a week and then seeing if it causes a gain, and going from there.

2. A progression in stages of 300-500 are best if you feel confident enough to do so. Don't jump 1000 in a night - it's likely you'll get veeeery uncomfortable at first.

3. I do do that sometimes, but I aim to get them in in lighter foods (yoghurts, shakes if I have to, or smaller foods like pulses/nuts/dried fruits) and wait for the food to go down before sleeping. Usually, making a plan of what you want to eat and roughly how many calories it will total is the best way to go to prevent being short at the end of the day.

4. I count fruits to my calorie total, but not my vegetables unless they are starchy/dense. Instead, I aim for five a day minimum of fruit/veg. They are still essential, even if low calorie! Hope this helps you :]

Thank you for responding!

 

1. I am actually female-although I eat more like a 6' male than an underweight female, I know. 

2. I think I might mentally have better luck to set my progressions gradually.  I tend to aim so high, then realize I'm not going to make it and give in.  this has kept me over 3000, but maybe if I was STUBBORN about smaller increases I'd really stick to them and move forward rather than bouncing around from 3500+ on a great day to settling for 2800 on a rough one.

Do you think I should try to increase daily until I get to 4000?

3. I usually end up eating nuts at the end of the day.  Paired with cottage cheese and something like cereal or snacks tends to be a good way for me to digest bedtime calories.  I do eat a large 9pm dinner, which can be rough if it's something spicey like Mexican.  That's also pretty much the only time, if ever, I get veggies!

The thing I'm most frustrated is I am currently dividing my calories up by daily totals, but while I've improved by a couple hundred, I'm still doing good to get over 1500 by the end of the day! It's ridiculous and leaves me with unhealthy habits and lower calorie life.  Somehow despite making myself uncomfortable and inconvenienced to cram in foods and drinks on the go this continues to happen.

 

4.  I am considering switching to a plan where I get a certain amount over servings of nutrient-dense foods, and then have those filler calories.  Right now I go from being frustrated by lack of fruits and veggies, to binging on them when I get the chance and ending up with stomach issues and not enough calories.  I'd love for an even average.

 

Thanks again for the suggestions, and I'd love to hear more or anyone else's suggestions or advice!

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