Gaining

bettiebebop wrote


Try calorieking.com.au, it has Aussie foods but if not you can just add in the foods nutritionl info yourself. Handy site.

then make your diary public so I can snoop! Haha.

SynecdocheSam wrote
One useful measure that not too many people consider is calorie density. If a food has more calories per gram, you're going to be able to eat more of it to get the same calories as from something with fewer.

This chart is a good visualization of this.
wisegeek.com/what-does-200-calories-look-like.htm

Also, various web pages exist for the purpose of calculating your 'Basal Metabolic Rate'. (This is one of them: bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/.) The BMR is how many calories you expend every day without even trying. Now, how many calories you expend besides that typically ranges from 20% of the BMR (if your primary form of exercise is eating) and 90% of the BMR (if you run a marathon daily). So, your daily calorie use is somewhere between 1.2 and 1.9 times your BMR, and that's your call on where exactly that falls. If you're especially muscular, go a bit higher on that range than you might think, and if you're especially fat, go a bit lower.

Now, one pound of fat is about 3500 calories. So, the natural conclusion to draw here is that, for every 500 calories you eat daily that exceeds what you use, you will gain one pound per week. However, the body's energy efficiency is about 70%, so that number is probably more like 700 calories. Of course, neither does this factor in all the fanatical adjustments one's metabolism is prone to making when one alters the amount of food entering the system. Also, a digestive system accustomed to eating 2000 calories per day won't be able to process a sudden influx of 5000 calories in a day, and that is a good way to make an enemy of your digestive system.

I guess I had a lot to say on this topic. Apologies to the bored.

Mr Bill wrote
I kind of theorize that if I ate 10,000 calories a day, it'd have pretty much the same effect as eating 50,000 calories a day (if possible). I think everyone has a magic number of how many calories they can process. It'd be nice to know what mine is, honestly.

I count calories like a madman.

I was 127 pounds for 10 years, (age 16 to 26). Over that period of time, I tried to gain numerous ways.

In high school I pigged out everyday when I got home from school. I ate a lot of meatballs (frozen ones we always seemed to have), then pigged out on ice cream, then chugged milk til my stomach was tight. I never gained an ounce.

In college, I did all my homework in the cafeteria, taking my time and constantly snacking. I gained a few pounds, but immediately lost it whenever there was a break in classes.

Out of college, I would order pizza a lot, eat an entire pizza for dinner, and even drink a 2Liter soda with it, despite it not being my top choice. I'd by high calorie frozen dinners, pig out whenever I could. My weight remained steady at 127. It'd spike up to 129 once in a while, then fall back to 127.

Last summer (2008), I got hit with a flu. I didn't pay much attention to my weight during that time. After I recovered, I noticed I looked thinner in the mirror. Like, I could see extra bones, and my face just looked gaunt. I stepped on the scale and weighed 114. I was mortified and absolutely pi$$ed at the same time.

I declared war on my metabolism. I spent the next two months eating at every opportunity. I started religiously eating bagels smothered with egg and cheese for breakfast, four slices of pizza for lunch, I'd stop at Wendy's and Burger King on the way home everyday... then I'd go home, cook some pasta, making sure to use olive oil. Before bed, I'd have a huge bowl of ice cream. I managed to get my weight up to 132, and kept it between 127 and 132 for a year.

It was pretty much a back and forth battle still. If I "slacked off" at all, I'd shed those extra few pounds almost instantly.

In August, I got tired of bouncing down to 127, so I declared war again, and this time I made it more extreme. I repeated much of the same acts as last year (mixing it up, obviously... but cutdown on the fast food). This time, I tried adding Half and Half, and it did wonders (a quart a night 3-5 nights a week; 1280 calories a quart)... and I've also started drinking Ensure Plus (usually 3 a night, recently, I can sometimes drink all six).

The effects have been huge, as I've gone from the mid 130s to the mid 150s in that time. I kind of want to take a break from this, especially since it can be expensive. I also want to "adjust" to this weight a bit. Still, I'm kind of afraid that if I stop for two weeks, I'll suddenly be back at 130ish.

My biggest concerns going forward in either direction are losing the weight I gained (I want to at least maintain this weight), or if I gain the fat will start being distributed where I don't want it.

As I gain, I do get mad at it sometimes. Today I noticed more "neck/chin" fat... it's not a double chin, but there's a roll there if I lower my chin to my chest... I'm kinda like "NO, STOP GOING THERE, MY NECK IS FAT ENOUGH..." My butt has gotten kinda big, my thighs along with it... I have the neck and face of someone who is 50-100 pounds heavier than me... I'm starting to get a gut, and my chest has a little more fat to it, but not a lot... my arms are the same. I think I need some back fat and more on the love handles, to balance things out.

Wow, I went off topic. Too many cookies I think...