Has anyone else built their physique just so you can smash 3000 + calories ED and not look like a pile of shit while you do?
I did this lifting and exercise thing for many many years and then had about 5 years off from the gym…… I got soft and I’m
Now back at it hard because I’d forgotten how much I enjoy the workout and the PWO feeling and crushing large food amounts while not feeling like shit.
If I could eat my 4500 calories (my work is pretty laborious) and not get fat I wouldn’t care about it but I hate looking like a lard ass when I know how to be 225+lbs and be around 9-11% BF.
Though I didn’t feel that way, I could eat anything I wanted without getting out of shape. But I should qualify that I don’t like sweets or soft drinks, so I don’t need to deal with as much blood sugar swing as many others do.
The similarity I have with you was that I needed to eat fairly large quantities of food to maintain body weight. Many people would ask me how I could eat so much without getting fat. I would tell them, “I burn more calories sleeping than you burn doing cardio.” Sure, that is a bit of an exaggeration, but the point is that muscle requires fuel to exist, and a lot more than many people believe.
Kinda. I was always chasing the hunger though. By that I mean that I was just always hungry, never full.
But I absolutely loved getting a double order of wings and steak with a side of steak and crushing it, or going to an all you can eat steak/chicken buffet and making friends with the guys behind the counter because the day before was squat day, or deadlift day.
I work in an office. And there is always junk food around, or potlucks… Donuts, pies, cookies, cake, nachos… just garbage food… I am always very disciplined around it, and rarely eat any of it, so my co workers know not to even ask if i want any, because i wont eat it…
I jokingly tell them, i am waiting for the weekend for my “treats” which to an extent, is true. I enjoy my beer, good food, maybe 1 or 2 small “sweets” but still pretty moderate.
If my co workers are every around me when we go eat “somewhat” healthy food, like sushi, or BBQ, they cant believe how much food i eat. And it is very enjoyable.
But to answer your question, no, i didn’t build my physique so that i COULD eat a lot, but its definitely a perk.
From a personal standpoint, I couldn’t have said it any better. Thanks RT!
I used to believe I was a hardgainer for many years, focusing on a strict protein based diet. Turns out it was a too low calorie diet for things to happen. Training less (but harder) and eating more (incl. carbs and fats) solved this issue. Some friends often joke about me eating “like a horse”, but they don’t train. I’ve always burned more calories even while sedentary than the common (active) man. I wouldn’t be surprised if I generally consume more than 4000 cals a day. I know no other 50 y.o. eating like this.
In my 20s, yes. Lift, eat like a madman and stay in decent shape. Now staring down 40, i have to really limit my calories or ill quickly look like shit. “It’ll happen to you someday,” definitely resonates now.
When I was young, yes. I never thought of a “diet” or watched my food intake. Quarter Pounders and Enchiritos. I would spend a few hours a week with the weights and all was good. Yes, I could exercise my way out of a bad diet. Fast forward, Familial genes take over, metabolism changes, and the smashing 3000 calories a day is a cluster fudge.
