Just watched a large man’s “what I eat in a day” IG real and once again mad at how little we can eat

[theoldways]

@shieldofangels cries in 1400 calories

 

[dawn16]

@shieldofangels My husband isn’t even that big, maybe 5’10 160lbs, and he can eat so much more. I’ll be skipping lunch to eat a heartier dinner and he’ll be like “oh yeah. I’m so hungry too. All I had today was a burrito or deli sandwich or all the left overs from last night with hot chocolate or egg nog.” I’m like ok….

Also he’s been working from home since Covid while I’ve been going to the office everyday. He only leaves the house/exercises on the weekends when he has time to go on hikes. His daily exercise is walking to the kitchen area in our tiny studio apt to forage for snacks.

Yeah the height, muscle mass, and testosterone sure do work in their favor for calorie burning.

 

[dsnow]

@dawn16 My boyfriend is a little smaller than him but it’s the same for us. He eats two or three warm meals a day that aren’t always too healthy, can eat a bag of snacks or sweets in one sitting, has some snacks during the day that he doesn’t have to worry about, drinks normal soda (not diet or zero sugar ones) and he still loses weight unless he determines to keep his weight up and/or gain weight so he’ll eat even more. He doesn’t go to the gym, does some cardio but otherwise he gets like 1000 steps a day

…while I try to restrict every meal, do cardio, weight training and get my 15k steps a day, eat celery etc instead of sweets and I keep gaining weight.

Note. My boyfriend and all of his family (siblings, parents, grandparents) are all like this and have always been like this, he’s not sick.

 

[bella7]

@dawn16 Same, it drives me crazy. I'm always like, how do you look so good eating like that?? My portions are so much smaller than his, and I'm always having to explain, I'm a small person, I just don't need a lot.

 

[arda6297]

@dawn16 one of my friends is 5’5 but very active (works in construction and is an active rock climber) and he LOSES weight on 3k cals a day

 

[dawn16]

@arda6297 I remember I could maintain on around 3k cals in high school, but mainly bc I was swimming 2.5-5 hrs a day depending on the competition season.

 

[marytx0]

@shieldofangels My guy friend ate 6 pieces of pizza last night. He’s a total beast in the gym and he has abs lol granted he’s not eating that much pizza each day, but he can put away a ton of food.

My ex was a body builder and he had to eat around 3800 calories to maintain his muscle when he wasn’t cutting or bulking lol this was after years of hard work obviously, but it was insane to watch him pack his lunches haha

 

[husker]

@marytx0

My ex was a body builder and he had to eat around 3800 calories to maintain his muscle

I stumbled into this post from /r/all, and honestly, it's been eye opening.

My TDEE is ~4300.

I thought my wife was on the low side, since hers is ~1750, but I see people talking about >1400. 1400 is like one good meal for me.

 

[sunshine]

@husker downvote just for that lol

 

[arda6297]

@husker 1400 is my whole days worth of calories

 

[brineheart]

@shieldofangels I won't deny that they are lucky to be able to eat a lot, but I'm fine with my current food intake lol

I just cannot imagine eating this much on a daily, ooof! Men are truly something else eh

 

[huskeyboy]

@brineheart Exactly. I’m like I don’t think I’d want to eat this much food if I could anyways. My stomach would be bursting.

 

[blingey123]

@shieldofangels I don’t see what’s so great about it? Every day he needs to spend so much money on food and so much time on cooking, sounds pretty awful to me.

Personally for me the goal is not to eat as much as I can without gaining weight, the goal is to learn to see food as a necessity (although an enjoyable one) rather than the biggest source of dopamine.

 

[jerlvster]

@blingey123 So true! I am still not used to having to buy very little food for the week. I have wasted so much money and food thinking I need a lot of food only to have a lot of it rot. This happens even when I’m not calorie counting. I am shocked at how little I need to feel totally energized and healthy. I am learning that much smaller portion sizes is leading to way less cooking through enjoying leftovers. I am still learning to avoid eating for purely pleasure but it definitely has been worth learning!

 

[blingey123]

@jerlvster It is a slow and hard learning process but it’s so rewarding. Once you battle the food addiction managing weight becomes so much easier

 

[marjo]

@blingey123 Every time I think about working out more or lifting or whatever I just think that I’m gonna have to spend more money on food lol

 

[huskeyboy]

@blingey123 Yes! This exactly. Food as a necessity!

 

[jlegette78]

@shieldofangels My boyfriend is 6’3” and watching the way he causally orders milkshakes with burgers and fries makes my eye twitch. He’s been having to watch what he eats because he hasn’t been having ENOUGH calories I would kill to be even 5’10”

 

[acmowery]

@jlegette78 Right, a milkshake is like a once a year treat and some guys just order them like they're nothing
I'm so sick of being 4'11" lol

 

[dawn16]

@shieldofangels Idk guys after doing intermittent fasting and counting calories for a few months now I can’t even eat much, two meals and I’m stuffed. I’m not even mad about it