Question about calories/metabolism

[Saint Nick]

Hey all, so I'm a really tall guy (6' 5") but still have a tough time putting on muscle. Up until about two months ago, I was eating at least 3,000 calories per day, and lifted heavy. It got brutally hot outside, I wasn't making gains, and I quit lifting and gave up on my diet. I lost a lot of my strength between July and now.

I'm trying to get back at it again. I think part of the reason I was getting discouraged is because I wasn't making anymore gains on the bar. When calculating my calories, I calculated my TDEE at about 2250 (1.2 activity variable). 20% over 2250 comes out to 2,700, and so that is how I came out with 3000 calories for my "bulk".

However, when asking around at BB.com and some members here, it seems that a lot of tall guys eat at least 5,000 calories per day. One guy on BB.com, who is 6' 7", said he ate 6,000 per day. I understand the calculators are just supposed to be a starting point, but are they supposed to be off by a couple thousand cals? I'm trying to borrow a BodyBug or Body Media Fit from a friend so I can get a better idea what my TDEE is. Any other tips? I feel like if I "just eat more", I'll get fat. I'm already probably 20% BF. A while back, I felt like I was making such great progress. Now I sort of just don't know what to do anymore. I still look skinny fat, but am definitely stronger than when I started back in early 2011. I'm trying to go for a bodybuilder-esqe build.

 

[surfsatwerk]

Quit worrying about getting fat. Daily meat consumption should be at least 2lbs. Don't eat junk to get big.

 

[Saint Nick]

Two pounds of meat err day? I'm fucked!

 

[tedrodai]

And yeah, you'll put on fat when bulking--can't really help it. If you're really around 20% and are worried about your %, cut while doing resistance training to get down to around 10-12% then bulk with surf's advice.

 

[surfsatwerk]

Two pounds of meat err day? I'm fucked!

It's not that hard. Wednesday I ate 1.5 lbs of chicken wings for lunch. Then at least a pound of pulled pork with my dinner. Had some steam broccoli with dinner to balance things out a bit. I consume olive oil and fish oil daily and try to eat eggs every other day to make sure I'm getting all the fats I need.

This is what I'm eating to lose weight. I'm down to 263 from 287 since July. My ultimate goal is to compete at 242lbs. in a powerlifting meet next July. To gain weight I add in rice or oats to my diet on my carb day.

Granted this is just what I choose to do. There are tons of eating plans out there on the web from guys that are competitive strength athletes.

 

[mchammer187]

what are your lifts at? Are you doing compound exercises? Do you drink milk (easy cals)?

 

[Saint Nick]

what are your lifts at? Are you doing compound exercises? Do you drink milk (easy cals)?

I was progressing pretty well on the Stronglifts 5x5. I stopped at 225x5 squat, 125x5 bench, 85x5 OHP and a pathetic deadlift at about 165lbs. I was doing my DLs wrong for a few months and fixed my form and started over.

I do drink milk, but also am worried that I don't get a balanced diet day to day, so I try to avoid overdoing it on most foods.

I guess I'll "just have to eat more". I know it's the answer, I'm just having a tough time meeting that requirement.

 

[Saint Nick]

I forgot to ask this...what are the consequences of not keeping a steady supply of calories? Does your metabolism ever "crash"? How does this impact cutting?

As I am trying to get back into lifting heavy and eating, there are days I definitely don't meet my calorie requirements, is that going to impact me severely?