Calories, for Body Building

I weigh about 190lb and I'm 6'3", I eat about 2500 calories a day, and I'm not really getting bigger, anyone know how much I'm supposed to be eating?

Replies

  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,439 Member
    More.


    You're going to have to experiment a bit. Raise your daily calories by 100 each week until you find your sweet spot.
  • e123b123
    e123b123 Posts: 27 Member
    More.


    You're going to have to experiment a bit. Raise your daily calories by 100 each week until you find your sweet spot.

    Ahh your killing me... I can't take another bite of anything after 2500.. what foods do you eat?
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    e123b123 wrote: »
    More.


    You're going to have to experiment a bit. Raise your daily calories by 100 each week until you find your sweet spot.

    Ahh your killing me... I can't take another bite of anything after 2500.. what foods do you eat?

    Then you're just not trying! You need more calories dense stuff, full fat dairy, peanut butter, olive oil, the odd doughnut, fattier cuts of meat etc etc
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,439 Member
    edited January 2017
    e123b123 wrote: »
    More.


    You're going to have to experiment a bit. Raise your daily calories by 100 each week until you find your sweet spot.

    Ahh your killing me... I can't take another bite of anything after 2500.. what foods do you eat?

    Ice cream, chocolate, peanut butter, pizza...

    To clarify - I don't only eat those things. I eat "healthy" about 80% of the time, and allow treats the other 20%. ("Healthy" in quotes because I don't want to start that freaking debate.)
  • TR0berts
    TR0berts Posts: 7,739 Member
    e123b123 wrote: »
    More.


    You're going to have to experiment a bit. Raise your daily calories by 100 each week until you find your sweet spot.

    Ahh your killing me... I can't take another bite of anything after 2500.. what foods do you eat?

    Chicken
    Beef
    Pork
    Eggs
    Cheese
    Bread
    Pasta
    Milk
    Ice Cream
    Vegetables
    Fruit
    Pizza
    Greek Yogurt
    Protein Bars
    Reese's Pieces
    Carrot Cake
    Nuts

    ...and on and on and on...


    Really - just get in some good nutrition, then add whatever else you like that has Calories.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,439 Member
    Your profile says 18 year old male. Is that right? How tall are you and how much do you weigh?

    Use a TDEE calculator. scoobysworkshop.com has a pretty good one. Learn your estimated TDEE and adjust from there.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    e123b123 wrote: »
    More.


    You're going to have to experiment a bit. Raise your daily calories by 100 each week until you find your sweet spot.

    Ahh your killing me... I can't take another bite of anything after 2500.. what foods do you eat?

    ice cream, Oreo, bagels, pasta, etc,etc..

    it should not be that hard to get to 3000 calories a day .

    just make sure that you are meeting micro and macro needs and fill as necessary ...
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    Your profile says 18 year old male. Is that right? How tall are you and how much do you weigh?

    Use a TDEE calculator. scoobysworkshop.com has a pretty good one. Learn your estimated TDEE and adjust from there.

    if that is right then OP is not eating enough ..I am a 37 year old male, and my maintenance level is about 2500 to 2600 with working out four days a week...

  • lauamy96
    lauamy96 Posts: 102 Member
    Dairy is actually a good source of protein and things like Greek yogurt and cheese are caloric dense. Also, 2500 is too few calories for you to be gaining mass if you're working out a lot
  • taco_inspector
    taco_inspector Posts: 7,223 Member
    As an 18yr old 6'3" male your BMR (like laying in a coma in the hospital) is about 2100cals/day/.
    if you sat in a chair for 8 hrs a day and rested for the other 16hrs, your caloric burn may get to about the 2500cals that you're eating each day...

    Like folks above have been posting, you do need to add calories to your daily eating to pack on mass (if that's what you're after).

    Take a look at the calculator, referenced above (on scoobysworkshop.com ), and if you wanna build muscle mass, think about exceeding your required calories by up to about 500-cals per day (using healthy fats and some carbs BI you cover your protein needs...). This low-level surplus (500-cals) should help you gain in the range of 1-pound per week, and if you lift heavy, you should be able to add muscle mass as a fair portion of that weight gain.

    For me, it helped to start adding calories slowly (like 100 cals per week) until I could see the scale creeping up --- All of these calculators use approximations, so watching your own data is far more relevant; the calculators help to establish a guideline for what 'normal' may be.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    e123b123 wrote: »
    I weigh about 190lb and I'm 6'3", I eat about 2500 calories a day, and I'm not really getting bigger

    That's not very surprising!
    I'm three times your age and 6" shorter and 2500 calories a day wouldn't quite be my maintenance level.

    Why can't you eat more?
    Maybe make your food diary public for specific suggestions rather than the generic recommendations of calorie dense foods/more snacks/drink some calories?
  • _benjammin
    _benjammin Posts: 1,224 Member
    Put oil or butter on everything. Drink whole milk.
    I'm 43, 5'10 and only gained 3-4 pounds (~166-170lbs) eating ~3K calories a day.
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,343 Member
    edited January 2017
    Running your stats through Scooby's Calorie Calculator, your TDEE (maintenance level) is 2364 calories even if you're completely sedentary. If you change it to "1-3 hours/wk of light exercise", it jumps up to 2709. So depending on how much you're working out, your maintenance calories could be anywhere from there to upward of 3000 calories/day. So if you're working out regularly and eating 2500 calories, it's conceivable that you could actually be in a deficit (losing weight). I'm 3 inches taller, 20 pounds heavier and three times as old as you (54) and my maintenance intake is around 2700'ish.

    As others have said, eat more calorie dense foods. Cook your meals in oil, grab a jar of peanut butter and a spoon, drink whole milk, use full-fat dressings, sauces, etc. instead of "light" or nonfat ones. Here's a thread which offers more suggestions for "hardgainers": http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10326769/are-you-a-hard-gainer-please-read/p1

    At your age, you're in your prime for building muscle. Don't waste it, because it doesn't last forever. Up your calorie intake and train hard and you'll see results.

  • lauamy96
    lauamy96 Posts: 102 Member
    _benjammin wrote: »
    Put oil or butter on everything. Drink whole milk.
    I'm 43, 5'10 and only gained 3-4 pounds (~166-170lbs) eating ~3K calories a day.
    Butter????
    Also a good way for him to get atherosclerosis by the time he is 30. Lmao.
  • trigden1991
    trigden1991 Posts: 4,658 Member
    2500 is not enough calories for you and is really not that hard to get in. Add oils to your food, drink whole milk, eat peanut butter.
  • unnichaacko
    unnichaacko Posts: 116 Member
    edited January 2017
    e123b123 wrote: »
    More.


    You're going to have to experiment a bit. Raise your daily calories by 100 each week until you find your sweet spot.

    Ahh your killing me... I can't take another bite of anything after 2500.. what foods do you eat?

    I am 5.1' 93lbs, I eat about 2700-3400 calories. It was daunting for the first couple of weeks but now I can't think about eating less. Try adding 100-200 calories every week. It's another banana only.
  • Jokerz9
    Jokerz9 Posts: 24 Member
    If you cant eat much increase your calories by adding meal replacement suppliment ,Mass gainer
  • jasonritson25
    jasonritson25 Posts: 9 Member
    im 6ft 4in 215lbs & i eat between 5 to 7 thousand calories to maintain
    2500 is not alot if your training as well
  • trigden1991
    trigden1991 Posts: 4,658 Member
    im 6ft 4in 215lbs & i eat between 5 to 7 thousand calories to maintain
    2500 is not alot if your training as well

    Unless you are EXTREMELY active, I struggle to believe this.
  • e123b123
    e123b123 Posts: 27 Member
    TR0berts wrote: »
    e123b123 wrote: »
    More.


    You're going to have to experiment a bit. Raise your daily calories by 100 each week until you find your sweet spot.

    Ahh your killing me... I can't take another bite of anything after 2500.. what foods do you eat?

    Chicken
    Beef
    Pork
    Eggs
    Cheese
    Bread
    Pasta
    Milk
    Ice Cream
    Vegetables
    Fruit
    Pizza
    Greek Yogurt
    Protein Bars
    Reese's Pieces
    Carrot Cake
    Nuts

    ...and on and on and on...


    Really - just get in some good nutrition, then add whatever else you like that has Calories.

    Thanks!, I screenshot that list.