Ok, currently I am 5'10" and 320 lbs and I have read many times that I should be eating 10x my body wait in order to not lose any muscle mass. The problem is that I have been eating about 2000 calories a day and I feel like I am eating ALL the time. I don't know how I could possibly add an additional 1200 calories to my diet. Anyone have any ideas? My typical day looks like this:

Breakfast: oatmeal, banana, orange juice
lunch: turkey sandwich on whole wheat, salad, pretzels
snack: almonds and jerky
dinner: can of peas, cup of brown rice and chicken breast

Basically I patterned my diet after John's. I would really appreciate anyone's input.

Add an extra meal. It does seem like eating all day long to get in the required calories, but after awhile, it becomes second nature. Are you working out? If so, a PWO shake would add calories quickly.

You should get protein with every meal and eat 5 to 6 meals per day. Avoid high fat/carb meals.

I just made 2salmon burgers that total around 1200cals so i really can't see why you can't add more food to your diet.

Ok, currently I am 5'10" and 320 lbs and I have read many times that I should be eating 10x my body wait in order to not lose any muscle mass. The problem is that I have been eating about 2000 calories a day and I feel like I am eating ALL the time. I don't know how I could possibly add an additional 1200 calories to my diet. Anyone have any ideas? My typical day looks like this:

Breakfast: oatmeal, banana, orange juice
lunch: turkey sandwich on whole wheat, salad, pretzels
snack: almonds and jerky
dinner: can of peas, cup of brown rice and chicken breast

Basically I patterned my diet after John's. I would really appreciate anyone's input.
You need to eat a bit more I think.

Breakfast: add some protein. Try eggs, egg whites, turkey bacon, and/or protein powder.

Lunch: need more info. How much turkey, how much bread, what kind of bread, etc.

Snack: Seems a bit small.

Dinner: Seems kinda small too - how much chicken?

For lunch I have 2 slices of Roman Meal Whole Wheat bread and 3 slices of turkey. For dinner I don't have a food scale yet but I would say large chicken breast. This is my workout schedule:

Monday: 30 minutes cardio
Tuesday: weights (legs) 15 minutes cardio
Wednesday: 30 minutes cardio
Thursday: weights (chest and triceps) 15 minutes cardio
Friday: 30 minutes cardio
Saturday: weights (biceps and back) 15 minutes cardio
Sunday: 30 minutes cardio

Also, my whey protein is en route.

For lunch I have 2 slices of Roman Meal Whole Wheat bread and 3 slices of turkey. For dinner I don't have a food scale yet but I would say large chicken breast.
Cool. :)

You don't NEED a scale man. It makes it easier but you don't have to get one. :)

This is my workout schedule:

Monday: 30 minutes cardio
Tuesday: weights (legs) 15 minutes cardio
Wednesday: 30 minutes cardio
Thursday: weights (chest and triceps) 15 minutes cardio
Friday: 30 minutes cardio
Saturday: weights (biceps and back) 15 minutes cardio
Sunday: 30 minutes cardio
That's crazy. I'd be cutting back that cardio personally. You're training 7 days per week, it's not necessary IMHO. Hey if you can keep up with it that's great! I don't think I could. :D I have to have at least 1 day completely off from the gym.

It isn't really that big of a deal for me since I work out at home and I just graduated from college and am not working yet :tucool: . I feel like always in the past when I have decided to let up on my workouts, one day turned into 3 weeks. I'm pretty serious this time which is why I turned to the forums to make sure I'm on track. I really appreciate everyone's help and advice. This place is awesome!

i started out where you are in weight and with the smae problems i couldnt eat enough....basically i started splitting my meals up ...even if it didnt equal up to enough calories i got used to eating more often....so basically this..if i had a tuna sandwich , salad, and an apple for lunch i would only eat half the sandwich , half the salad andhalf the apple...then 2 hours later finish it...that counts as 2 meals..see what im saying..get ued to it...then trust me you will be getting hungrier and hungrier to where you will add more food getting that calorie count up...you have to kickstart your metabolism...which right now yours is probably in a deep hibernation...i just never ever got full ..right when i was thinking .."man this is good" i would stop eating....that way in two hours i was ready too eat...you will get it ....keep going...

but yeah definitly not eating enough

It isn't really that big of a deal for me since I work out at home and I just graduated from college and am not working yet :tucool: . I feel like always in the past when I have decided to let up on my workouts, one day turned into 3 weeks. I'm pretty serious this time which is why I turned to the forums to make sure I'm on track. I really appreciate everyone's help and advice. This place is awesome!

WAIT! This is a big deal. You need to give your body one day a week off to recover. Sometimes even two if you feel tired.

It may not be bad for a week or two, but at some point it will catch up to you. And that's when you are susceptible to having a day turn into three weeks. In other words, by refusing to allow yourself a day off, you are setting yourself up to burn out. A scheduled rest day isn't a break from your training, it's part of your training.

WAIT! This is a big deal. You need to give your body one day a week off to recover. Sometimes even two if you feel tired.

It may not be bad for a week or two, but at some point it will catch up to you. And that's when you are susceptible to having a day turn into three weeks. In other words, by refusing to allow yourself a day off, you are setting yourself up to burn out. A scheduled rest day isn't a break from your training, it's part of your training.

Exactly, unless you're a seasoned athlete, you're body will rebel against that schedule, and even they take rest days. Without proper rest you risk either losing motivation, or (worse) seriously injuring yourself if you try to force a workout while fatigued.

Exactly, unless you're a seasoned athlete, you're body will rebel against that schedule, and even they take rest days. Without proper rest you risk either losing motivation, or (worse) seriously injuring yourself if you try to force a workout while fatigued.

The key is to do it BEFORE you need to "force" a workout. This is sort of like preventative maintainence for your car: You change the oil every 3500 miles - even if the car is running well - and your odds of the engine siezing up are much smaller.

Take a day a week away from the gym. You should still eat reasonably well, but don't put yourself in a situation where your engine will sieze.

I'd just like to add one thing: Don't snack, eat meals. I think many people hear "Eat 6 meals a day rather than 3" and they translate it to "Eat 3 meals and 3 snacks." No. A meal is a meal and it means just that...:) Good luck!

Kdawgpbk......if you absolutely insist on doing cardio everyday how about turning the Mon.,Wed.,Fri. cardio sessions into long slow walks?

..and take Sunday off altogether.

The key is to do it BEFORE you need to "force" a workout. This is sort of like preventative maintainence for your car: You change the oil every 3500 miles - even if the car is running well - and your odds of the engine siezing up are much smaller.

Take a day a week away from the gym. You should still eat reasonably well, but don't put yourself in a situation where your engine will sieze.
Coincidentally, you should also change your oil frequently if it's a new engine...

I'd just like to add one thing: Don't snack, eat meals. I think many people hear "Eat 6 meals a day rather than 3" and they translate it to "Eat 3 meals and 3 snacks." No. A meal is a meal and it means just that... Good luck!
Heh I'm a bit guilty of doing that, but I can't seem to afford to eat two or three chicken breasts a day, and in a shared household all the decent stuff gets eaten :(

I'd just like to add one thing: Don't snack, eat meals. I think many people hear "Eat 6 meals a day rather than 3" and they translate it to "Eat 3 meals and 3 snacks." No. A meal is a meal and it means just that...:) Good luck!
I don't necessarily agree with this. "Snack" is just a word. A "snack" for you might mean a handful of peanuts, but for me a "snack" might mean a protein shake with oats in it. I know it can be confusing, it's just all in how you look at it. I think that what you suggested will probably make it easier for most people, though; your post is still a good one imo.

Also note that a lot of diets will use the word "snack" because it makes it easier for people to comprehend and think about. "Okay, I'm going to have breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but I'm also going to have three snacks in between." .... just make sure those snacks are of decent size. :) I see a lot of BFL articles discussing that plan this way. Three meals, three snacks. The snacks just happen to be a big Myoplex with some fruit on the side (or whatever).

(By the way I do call every meal a "meal" just like you. :))

I don't necessarily agree with this. "Snack" is just a word. A "snack" for you might mean a handful of peanuts, but for me a "snack" might mean a protein shake with oats in it. I know it can be confusing, it's just all in how you look at it. I think that what you suggested will probably make it easier for most people, though; your post is still a good one imo.

Also note that a lot of diets will use the word "snack" because it makes it easier for people to comprehend and think about. "Okay, I'm going to have breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but I'm also going to have three snacks in between." .... just make sure those snacks are of decent size. :) I see a lot of BFL articles discussing that plan this way. Three meals, three snacks. The snacks just happen to be a big Myoplex with some fruit on the side (or whatever).

(By the way I do call every meal a "meal" just like you. :))
Sorry to hijack:
This is a symantical issue, no problem...but while a lot of *diets* tell people to use the word snack and then eat what I would call a meal, the issue for me isn't that..the issue is when people hear on Oprah or from a friend of a friend that they should eat 6 meals and they think it means to snack between meals..so they do! It's the misconception on the part of people who aren't on a structured plan or haven't read enough to know better...as far as this poster's "snack" of almonds and jerky, to me that is a light meal...haha, symantics are fun kids mmmmkay?:claphigh:

I also think a meal is a meal...To talk about snacks can get confusing. It can make people think that they should eat 3 major or real meals/day. And that other meals or "the snacks" should be different in some ways...smaller and other sorts of food. And that they are less important.

I mean it will not be a good start to think like that if you want to plan a healthy diet...