Diets recommending 6,000 calories per day of intake are primarily for active athletes such as bodybuilders, football players and cyclists. These groups of people need the extra energy provided by the calories. Their diets are very structured to ensure the athlete is keeping the right balance of nutrients in his system to achieve the targeted results.
Clark's 6,000-Calorie Diet
Nancy Clark's 6,000-calorie diet is discussed in her book, "Nancy Clark's Sports Nutrition Guidebook," published by Human Kinetics. The Clark diet is for active athletes who need the energy that 6,000 calories can provide.
The Clark diet recommends calories come from specific food sources. This diet states carbohydrates should be 55-75 percent of one's intake. She recommends a 6,000-calorie diet have an intake of 825 to 1,125 grams per day. Examples for carbohydrate sources are breads, cereals, rice, pasta, vegetables and legumes.
Protein intake is recommended at 180-225 grams per day, which is about 12-15 percent of total caloric intake. Protein can come from meat, poultry, fish, dry beans, eggs and nuts.
On the Clark 6,000-calorie diet, fat is recommended to be 20-30 percent of total calories consumed, but the recommendation is for mostly unsaturated fats. These fats can be found in vegetable oils, nuts, seeds and peanut butter.
Kleiner's Diet
The Susan Kleiner, PhD, RD diet recommends anyone seeking to put on muscle consume at least 1.6 grams of protein and 6 or more grams of carbohydrates per kilogram of body weight. The secret is how your body responds to the carbohydrate and how hard you are working out. For Kleiner's 6,000- to 7,000-calorie-a-day diet, she suggests 55-60 percent carbohydrates, 20-25 percent protein and 20 percent fat.
For those working out who want to lose body fat but keep the muscle, Kleiner's diet suggests a regimen of 40 percent carbohydrates, 30 percent protein and 30 percent fat. Protein should be consumed at 2 to 2.2 grams per kilogram of weight and 3 to 4 grams of carbohydrates per kilogram.
Kleiner also makes recommendations for the workout sessions that include drinking plenty of liquid. Also, avoid beginning the workout on an empty stomach. After the workout, the diet shifts to 90 grams of carbohydrates and 30 grams of protein intake.
6,000 One-Day Fad Diet
People who are not athletes have followed fad dieting routines that suggest 6,000 calories on one day per week. This diet requires the caloric intake to be counted on every day of the week. The foods are closely counted on six days and should be nutritious, with low-to-normal calorie intakes. On the seventh day the dieter can consume 6,000 all day long from any source. This has not been found to be safe or effective.
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