Question: I am a 24-year old male. 147 lb. 5’ 11”. 12-14% body fat. I eat about 3315 calories per day. Am I overeating or undereating?
Context: I used to be very skinny at around 121 lb. I started working out and eating more and my weight began to rise very steeply. I also noticed that my appetite was increasing a bit faster than I expected. For the first 2 months of serious lifting, it seemed like my appetite was increasing every week as I got stronger. The meal that satisfied me the previous week was now inadequate for this week. So, I apparently worked my way up to eating a lot of food. I put on about 30 pounds in the first 2 months. My family witnessed this dramatic increase in appetite and criticized me for eating too much. Then, I took a break from lifting because I resumed school but my appetite stayed the same. I got busy and didn’t like cooking so much food for thrice daily eating, so I started eating twice a day (breakfast and dinner). I was initially hungry but my body got used to it. A few weeks later, I dialed back to one meal a day (dinner), and again, my body got used to it. So, that brings us to the present. I have resumed lifting with once daily eating and I am getting stronger and, thankfully, my appetite isn’t increasing. My family still thinks I’m eating too much.
Specifics: I think my lifting age is about 4 months, although I’ve fooled around with weights for more than a year. I work out 3-4x/week in a bro split: Chest & Triceps / Back & Biceps / Legs & Shoulders. Here are some of my recent numbers to gauge my strength:
- Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press 45 lb 5x7
- Pullups (unassisted) 4x7
- Deadlift 155 lb 4x7
- Flat Dumbbell Bench Press 60 lb 4x7
- Dips (unassisted) 5x11
I run 3-4x/week, 2.75 miles/session. I try to increase my speed with each session. Currently @ 7.5 minutes/mile.
My meal info:
- Breakfast: 1 cup of soymilk
- Lunch: None
- Dinner: 1 cup of soymilk, 3.8 servings of broccoli, 4.1 servings of whole grain pasta, 2.9 servings of black eyed peas, 7.8 servings of oatmeal, 3.2 servings of peanuts
Total: 3315 calories 537 g carbs, 155 g protein, 84 g fat, 107 g fiber. 61% carbs 18% protein, 21% fat Besides weightlifting and cardio, I’m very sedentary and work at a desk all day. So, I am eating too much or too little?
EDIT: My estimate is that I am gaining about a pound every 2 weeks. I haven't been tracking my weight as religiously as I used to so I can't say for sure.