How Weight Gain Works: Advice For Weebs and Cosplayers
How does somebody get fat?⠀
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People who struggle with their weight need to keep track of the calories they’re consuming. Less calories to lose weight, more calories to gain weight, maintenance calories to stay the same. The simplicity in that statement tends to serve people well, nobody can lose fat without a caloric deficit.
We store our excess calories as body-fat, an amazing evolutionary advantage so that in times of famine we could rely on our waistline as an energy source until our next feeding. Nature has an ironic sense of humour. That survival mechanism that’s saved thousands of lives is now one of the biggest causes of death and disease in the western world.
Using a simplistic example if we were to eat 500 extra calories (two chocolate bars) over maintenance every day a week that would be 3,500 calories which is roughly a pound of fat. Over the course of a year that’s 52 pounds of fat.
Over the course of a lifetime you can certainly see how we have an obesity epidemic.
Calories count. This is why there are seemingly ridiculous examples of successful diets done with McDonalds or Twinkies. It’s not genetics, it’s because all of these individuals ate to their caloric total and stuck to it long term.
Conversely there’s plenty of people the eat “healthy” foods that aren’t losing weight because they’re eating too many calories (nuts have more calories than chocolate per gram).
So how many calories should you be eating? Here are some baseline recommendations:
Men: Bodyweight in kilos x 28⠀
Women: Bodyweight in kilos x 26⠀
⠀
That should bring the average person around their maintenance calories. Honestly, I've never found a better baseline equation. The only exceptions I've encountered are for endurance athletes that do a hell of a lot of training or people with a very active job.
If you wish to lose a pound a week subtract 500 calories from that number. If you wish to gain weight (ie muscle building) add 300 calories to that number. I wouldn’t aim to lose over 2lbs a week as adherence and muscle loss starts to become an issue.
Eat well, be happy, track your calories.
⠀
People who struggle with their weight need to keep track of the calories they’re consuming. Less calories to lose weight, more calories to gain weight, maintenance calories to stay the same. The simplicity in that statement tends to serve people well, nobody can lose fat without a caloric deficit.
We store our excess calories as body-fat, an amazing evolutionary advantage so that in times of famine we could rely on our waistline as an energy source until our next feeding. Nature has an ironic sense of humour. That survival mechanism that’s saved thousands of lives is now one of the biggest causes of death and disease in the western world.
Using a simplistic example if we were to eat 500 extra calories (two chocolate bars) over maintenance every day a week that would be 3,500 calories which is roughly a pound of fat. Over the course of a year that’s 52 pounds of fat.
Over the course of a lifetime you can certainly see how we have an obesity epidemic.
Calories count. This is why there are seemingly ridiculous examples of successful diets done with McDonalds or Twinkies. It’s not genetics, it’s because all of these individuals ate to their caloric total and stuck to it long term.
Conversely there’s plenty of people the eat “healthy” foods that aren’t losing weight because they’re eating too many calories (nuts have more calories than chocolate per gram).
So how many calories should you be eating? Here are some baseline recommendations:
Men: Bodyweight in kilos x 28⠀
Women: Bodyweight in kilos x 26⠀
⠀
That should bring the average person around their maintenance calories. Honestly, I've never found a better baseline equation. The only exceptions I've encountered are for endurance athletes that do a hell of a lot of training or people with a very active job.
If you wish to lose a pound a week subtract 500 calories from that number. If you wish to gain weight (ie muscle building) add 300 calories to that number. I wouldn’t aim to lose over 2lbs a week as adherence and muscle loss starts to become an issue.
Eat well, be happy, track your calories.
If you want to know more about getting as ripped as a shonen anime protagonist check out my free training manual 'The Super Saiyan Six'
Have a nice day guys and always remember: Be More Shonen
Cosplay: Goku (Myself) Vegeta, and Beerus (Lindsay and Richard of SilverLinings Cosplay) | Series: Dragonball Super | Photo: Me and Nomes Cosplay