If he drank 500kcal worth of protein shake or ate 500kcal worth of food, he'd get the same amount of kcals.

This post was edited by Lightman on Sep 25 2014 12:19pm

I'm not sure where or why you think i'm drinking too many protein shakes. I drink 2 scoops post work out (which I figured to be normal? Maybe I could drop that to 1, but I have been having 2 for over 5 years now) and then I have 1 scoop at 4. 3 scoops a day, 2 of them being post workout, seems pretty normal/ok.

Also, 1800 calories may seem like a really low amount. But to be honest, when I started eating cleaner (in June) I did my BMR and calculated some stuff out. I was eating more. As I lost weight, I had to adjust my diet to continue to lose weight, to get to where I wanted to be before I started my bulk. Eating what I have been eating, day in and day out (with a cheat meal on the weekend), I have been able to maintain a 168-171 body weight for the past 3-4 weeks straight. It works for me, that's all I can say.

You say your BMR is 1850, what's your TDEE?

Add 100-200 a week until you start seeing a 0.5-1 lb. increase/week?

He wants to hit his protein macro. If he still hits his protein macro with regular food, he will very likely eat more carbs and fat. Thus he will get more cals. That's all I'm saying.

According to IIFYM.com my TDEE is 2581 for the mifflin st-jeor. I'm really not educated enough on any of the formulas or TDEE in general.

chicken breast is 21g protein / 1g fat. 0% fat white cheese is 26g protein / 0 fat / 2g carbs. Beef 97/3. Lean meats of all kinds, etc. Plenty of food choices out there. Stop talking nonesense.

Most sites say chicken breast is a higher ratio of fat to protein. That's not really important though. Unless you eat boiled chicken every day, you are probably using oil to cook that chicken. So more calories.

How is this nonsense? You are playing devil's advocate on an edge case. Most food choices have a lower ratio of protein to other macronutrients than protein powder. Therefore, in general, if you eat food instead of drinking shakes and aim for the same protein intake, you will consume more calories. Notice I said very likely above, not definitely. Further, a shake is very heavy for the little calories it provides if you use water.

This post was edited by juicetoocool17 on Sep 25 2014 01:29pm

okay well this thread has gotten gay

OP, i personally think 1.8k cals is a bit low, even if you're cutting.. i'd try to slowly up your calories, basically reverse diet, and see where that lands you, cause really with the amount of exercise you seem to be getting, and your size, your body would probably need more cals.

any idea what your usual macros are?

The meal plan I listed in my first thread is literally what I eat monday through friday. I'm not joking either, I eat the same shit every day. Doesn't bother me to do so. With that said, I haven't calculated out the macros in a while. I used my fitness pal to get the amount of calories and to just make sure that I was hitting my protein (200ish give or take). The fats and carbs I wasn't too concerned with. I know I should be, but I am/was most concerned about protein.

edit: Monday-Wednesday for dinner is a 6oz (measured raw) ground beef patty for dinner. Thursday & Friday is 6oz chicken

Monda and Tuesday are 1 carton (170g) fresh raspberries and Wednesday - Friday (sometimes saturday) is 150g of fresh pineapple. Just to clear up the variances I put in my little daily meal log.

edit 2: I should also mention that all of my chicken portions are measured cooked, not raw.

This post was edited by owntsk on Sep 25 2014 02:19pm

okay well idk how many carbs are in the fruit/pasta alone, but seems pretty low to sustain for awhile. if i were you, just to see where it landed me, i'd do a moderate refeed, then up my cals to 2100 for a week or so, and see if you start putting on weight or not.. then just up the cals until you start putting on weight.

granted, you will put on weight in the beginning from water and glycogen i'm sure, since your body has been accustom to such a small cal intake, but that will taper off and you will find a more accurate maintenance.

all imo, i'm sure i will get flamed by someone