The heavier and the larger you are, the more calories you need just to keep that size.
So to gain in spite of that, you have to eat even more.
In theory, if you were to eat 4,000 calories a day, every day, indefinitely, you should eventually reach the size where that's how many calories are needed to stay that particular size.
To borrow calculus notation, if if f(x) is weight, f'(x) would be positive, or an increase in weight, but f''(x) will be negative, in that the rate of increase will go down.
At a given amount of calories consumed, there will always be a point when you plateau if you don't increase the amount you eat.
To be 300 lbs and maintain, an estimated 3,500-4,000 calories is needed daily.
A kilogram of fat is 9,000 calories, or about 4,070 calories per pound of fat. But it's not that simple. The human body consists of a lot of water, there's thermic effect (how many calories are needed to digest food), etc. I've heard estimates of needing 3,500 calories in addition to gain a pound, but this sounds optimistic so it's safer to assume 4,000 is needed.
The human body is a funny thing though, so bottom line, it's very hard to predict. Metabolism, stress, etc. can all effect this. And no, you can't just chug a quart of heavy cream (3,200 calories) and wake up tomorrow 1 pound heavier. Most if not all can't digest such an onslaught of dairy fat at once, so a good part of it may just "pass through." Not a pretty thing to think about, but something to keep in mind.
I suggest figuring out how many calories are needed to keep your size, assuming a moderate amount of activity, or the average between sedentary and moderate, then just make sure you even more than that. This sort of information should be easily available online.
3 years
