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I’m always curious about diet for those of you who are lifting heavy? On heavy lifting days my appetite is pretty ravenous and these are the days I’ll push 2500 calories. On lighter days and rest days I’m closer to 2000 calories. My main focus is getting over 200g of protein and my carbs are relatively low around 100g although I can hit 150g a couple times per week. I just don’t know if this is optimal? I seem to be still gaining strength week after week so I assume my calorie and protein intake is sufficient. I’ve put on 5lbs in the last 6 weeks which appears to be muscle - waist size is the same and my chest and quads are clearly bigger. Bro science says I should be at 4000 calories if I want to put on mass. Bro science also says it should be impossible for a 6’5” 260lbs guy to put on mass and strength at an average of 2200 calories per day but here I am. Curious what everyone else is doing - especially some of the bigger guys my size?

HW - 345lbs Current Weight - 260lbs Height 6'5" Age 40 Started off with the Strong Lifts 5x5 and moved over to Madcow 5x5 relatively early as I needed the increased recovery time on my calorie deficit. Currently eating 2000-2500 calories per day with a minimum of 200g of protein and usually around 100g of CHO. Not sure what my 1RMs are but here are my current working set 1x5 weights. Bench 250lbs Squats 270lbs Deadlifts 365lbs Overhead press 150lbs Barbell rows 200lbs I'm on week 6 of Madcow and so have 6 weeks left. Hoping to end with bench 270lbs, squats 315lbs and DL 405lbs. Not sure how much more I have left for OHP (I'd be happy to hit 160lbs) as it doesn't seem to want to move much...same for BB row and be happy to hit 220lbs. Also started chinups (currently can do 3x3 with strict form and then move on to some band assisted) and weighted dips (adding 20lbs I can do 4x10).

Thanks Albus, I’ve decided to move onto Madcow 5x5. I initially wasn’t going to switch until I was at much heavier weights for DL and squat but the advantage of the program is it’s designed to allow more recovery and it ramps up weight slower. While my goal weights will take significantly more time to reach I figure with my calorie deficit it’s a slower and safer way to proceed. After taking the week off I felt much better at the gym this week. My Sunday workout was my first Madcow which automatically deloads in the beginning. It seemed significantly less taxing ramping up weight for the first three sets and only having to lift heavy for two sets vs all five sets. We’ll see how this goes....

Pre-workout is usually just a banana in a protein shake

Awesome job! I’m interested in your workout routine and diet/calories/macros. It definitely looks like you’ve added lean mass while losing weight.

Thank you! Yeah...just hard trying to figure out what is reasonable as a caloric intake. Most of the people in the hospital program are still eating 600-900 calories per day and so when I say 2000 no one knows what to say. It's nice to see others out there working hard and eating more calories.

Thank you! I will checkout these profiles when I get a chance! I use Myfitness Pal everyday but have not spent much time on their forums.

40yo 6’5” and currently at 255lbs after gastric sleeve in Sept 2018. Started at 345lbs. Weight plateaued about 6 weeks ago but working hard at the gym and feeling good. Looking for advice on training but also fun to read everyone’s stories. Currently eating 2000 “clean” calories per day and lifting heavy 3 days per week.

Gradycat, absolutely...thank you for the encouragement! belikewater, I’ve been super lucky. I’ve never had any pain, vomiting or even nausea post-op. I tried something deep fried about a month ago (just a bite) and while that did not “agree” I have no real food intolerances. On my protein is Optimum Nutrition and I do a post-workout drink. Other than that it’s a multi, vit D3, B7, B12 and calcium. My diet is “real” food - meats, fish, veggies, fruit and minimal processed white crap. Post-op I did a Jim Stoppani Short Cut Size routine which was good to get me back in the gym because it varied weight and reps. I flew through that and felt good. At the time protein was at 120g per day and I was at about 1200 calories per day at the start and 1500 calories by the end. I realized how much strength I lost and decided to do Strong Lifts 5x5 - great for strength and only 3x per week. I’m also putting some HIIT in there too with a sled push and stair climb sprints. With this 5x5 you basically lift every other day and you alternate an A workout (squat, overhead press, deadlift) and a B workout (Squat, bench, barbell rows) - but you squat and add weight every workout - also doing weighted dips and chin-ups. Worried about recovery I moved up to 2000 calories per day and 200g of protein per day when I started this and was doing fine until the last week and half. I have had no problem progressing with weight but just really feeling fatigued afterwards and the next day. Now the fatigue is starting to creep into the next workout day too. Like I said no problem moving the weight during the lifts and no excessive DOMS - matter of fact sometimes none - just feeling worn out and spread thin all the time now. I’ve never needed “deload weeks” or “rest weeks” but I’m going to take a rest week this week. I’ll do some light cardio to keep active but I’m going to take the next week off and see how I feel. I’ve also got some mild, albeit nagging, joint pains here and there so this week should help. I’m also going to cut to 1500 calories per day since I’m not going to be working as hard. At 200g of protein I have definitely added size and strength....maybe not as much as if I were in a real calorie excess but I’ve been pleasantly surprised. This is more than 2.5x more than my program recommends post-op but like I said I’m not a typical post-op patient.

I had gastric sleeve Sept 2018 and I’ve done fantastically well - I’m down 90lbs and my current stats are 40 yo, 6’5” and 255lbs. I’ve been lifting weights seriously for the past 6 years. Prior to surgery I was lifting +325lbs in bench press, squats and deadlifts for reps. As I expected in the 5 months after surgery I’ve lost a lot of strength with the weight loss. My weight stabilized to 255lbs about two months ago and I started back with a 5x5 weight lifting program. I’m back up to bench 225lbs, squats 245lbs, deadlifts 265lbs, Overhead press 150lbs and Barbell rows 190lbs in my 5x5. For the past 2 months I’ve been eating 2000 calories per day and trying to get a minimum of 200g of protein per day. Weight is stable, I’ve put on significant lean mass and strength in my 5x5 program. My goal is to try and get back up to +325lbs for my BP, DL and Squats for no other reason than I really like lifting and I tend to be goal oriented. My goal from day one was lean mass preservation and avoidance of becoming skinny fat. All that said, I’m starting to feel “gassed” as I continue to add weight and I’m showing typical signs of over-training - something I never dealt with in my pre-op calorie excess days. Speaking to various fitness people has not helped. If I speak to a fitness person at the gym who is not familiar with bariatric surgery the answer is I’m in severe calorie restriction and sure a guy my size lifting what I’m lifting could be eating 3500+ calories per day easily and still maintain weight. If I speak to the bariatric program fitness person I’m like the first person they’ve ever met who has come through the program who has maintained any strength and wants to lift 300+ lbs and for everyone else she’s recommending people do pushups...against the wall. I blew the nutritionist’s mind that I was eating 2000 calories per day and still losing weight at my 6 month. She doesn’t know what to do with me other than to say I look good and if I feel good then it’s good. So I’m looking for answers that appear to have no data in the literature and no one knows what to do with me. Anyone here doing heavy lifting post-op and consuming 1500 to 2000 calories per day successfully? If so....Anyone experiencing overtraining and if so what have you done? My plan is to schedule “deload” week every 4-6 weeks depending how I’m feeling. I’m reluctant to increase my calories over 2000 per day as this seems to be my maintenance intake to maintain 255lbs - I’m very happy at 255. Thanks in advance.....