Optimal calorie goal for gaining muscle + weight

2

Replies

  • mgmgmg1981
    mgmgmg1981 Posts: 31 Member
    Hey @staticsplit !

    Thanks for chiming in.

    I am not eating until full at every meal. I wake up hungry, especially the days after workouts. I am kind of a slow eater so sensing fullness can be tough, and somebody also suggested to not be drinking too much water too during meals.

    Got myself a copy of Intuitive Eating which I just started. I might see a nutritionist, but the issue is just some sort of mental barrier which is super dumb since I am putting so much efforts in my excercising / routines (which I enjoy immensely) but fail to replenish my body correctly...

    I will try hitting this base 2000 kcal goal everyday ; that is one step forward, although definitely not enough for my stats and activity level as you say !

    Thanks again, speaking about this issue feels good !

    Cheers.
  • Morningstar25
    Morningstar25 Posts: 50 Member
    mgmgmg1981 wrote: »
    Hey everyone !

    This is my first post, you probably get a lot like that but I definitely need some advice as per getting back to my normal weight and gaining muscle while eating healthy !

    I've been practicing various bodyweight programs for 3+ years, I am right now following an excellent Parallettes program and I am enjoying it a lot. I train around 1 hour and 30 - 40 minutes 3 times a week, and work on flexibility and recovery in between days. So it's Monday / Wednesday / Friday of following the parallettes routine and Tuesday / Thursday / Saturday OR Sunday as flexibility / recover exercise (around 40 minutes, with some jumping rope cardio too).

    However I am reaching some sort of plateau in my training as I lack strength.
    I am 1m84 (6"03) and currently weight 57kg (125 lbs), which is almost considered underweight -- I am a 37 y/o man and about to turn 38. I feel pretty great in general but I need to gain weight and build more strength.

    I've been logging my daily calories so far and I only reach 1600-1800 kcal per day, which is not enough.
    I'd like to gain weight slowly and build the adequate muscle. My goal is not to be super muscular ; and I feel full pretty easily.

    I'd like to ask you these questions

    - What calories goal should I hit everyday ? I plan to go slow so looking at months of progress here.
    - What should be the optimal macro's ? I eat everything, love fish, fruits, vegetables, beans etc. I'm not too much into junk food. I like to dine out with friends on week-end though and that's probably the days I can go over 2000kcal with the couple of beers or wine I'd be drinking that day.
    - I've been trying super shakes (200-500 kcal) with protein (I got some ESN Whey protein, plain & unsweetened and some leftoverer Pulsin Hemp). I like nut butters for sure. Fat + Protein really fill me up.
    - This will sound dumb but sometime it's hard to make a change. I've been very disciplined as per the food I eat but I need to let go for sure if I want to build the proper strength and gain weight ! Any advice would be nice :-)

    Thanks a lot everyone for any insight you can provide !
    Sharing your experience is cool too -- I'd love to read some similar stories.

    Have a great day !

    I am on a quest to gain weight and strength. I require help!
  • mgmgmg1981
    mgmgmg1981 Posts: 31 Member
    Looks like spam / bot
  • mgmgmg1981
    mgmgmg1981 Posts: 31 Member
    edited June 2019
    One question, when calculating my TDEE, should I put the weight I want to reach?

    70 kg (154 lbs) seems to be a good optimal weight ( https://tdeecalculator.net/result.php?s=metric&g=male&age=38&kg=70&cm=184&act=1.55&f=1 )

    I entered "Moderate exercise" even though I always get a little bit of light exercising during my rest days, so I am active 6 days/week. I always walk, bike too. I have been dusting off my dumbbells too as I plan to condition my arms for my parallettes training.

    So it would be :
    • Maintenance: 2500 kcal
    • Bulking: 2750 - 3000 kcal

    Is that correct ? As per macros, it would be something like :
    • Maintenance : P 30% - 194g / F 35% - 100g / C 35% - 226 g
    • Bulking : P 30% - 230g / F 20% - 120g / C 50% - 270g

    Seems about right :)

    Thanks all for the great information and help!

    Cheers and have an excellent day.
  • jdscrubs32
    jdscrubs32 Posts: 514 Member
    mgmgmg1981 wrote: »
    One question, when calculating my TDEE, should I put the weight I want to reach?

    70 kg (154 lbs) seems to be a good optimal weight ( https://tdeecalculator.net/result.php?s=metric&g=male&age=38&kg=70&cm=184&act=1.55&f=1 )

    I entered "Moderate exercise" even though I always get a little bit of light exercising during my rest days, so I am active 6 days/week. I always walk, bike too. I have been dusting off my dumbbells too as I plan to condition my arms for my parallettes training.

    So it would be :
    • Maintenance: 2500 kcal
    • Bulking: 2750 - 3000 kcal

    Is that correct ? As per macros, it would be something like :
    • Maintenance : P 30% - 194g / F 35% - 100g / C 35% - 226 g
    • Bulking : P 30% - 230g / F 20% - 120g / C 50% - 270g

    Seems about right :)

    Thanks all for the great information and help!

    Cheers and have an excellent day.

    I put the goal weight on here which was 70kg as well when I did my first bulk. It was something to aim for so no harm in putting in it. Dont get too stuck on it though and like I said in an earlier post take it slow.

    Your protein for bulking and actually maintenance seems quite high. You dont really need that much protein. Maybe reduce the protein macro to 20% and increase the fat macro to 30%. Again it's all trial and error and it will take time to see what works best for you.
  • mgmgmg1981
    mgmgmg1981 Posts: 31 Member
    Yeah that's A LOT of protein. I love my greek yogurt, whey supplement, fish and chicken but that's quite high. Since I love nuts, milk and olive oil, what you suggest to increase fat % makes sense.
  • jdog022
    jdog022 Posts: 693 Member
    mgmgmg1981 wrote: »
    Yeah that's A LOT of protein. I love my greek yogurt, whey supplement, fish and chicken but that's quite high. Since I love nuts, milk and olive oil, what you suggest to increase fat % makes sense.

    Peanut butter and ice cream is always the answer. I’d up the carbs and drop the protein to about 140 ish. Enjoy some candy
  • mgmgmg1981
    mgmgmg1981 Posts: 31 Member
    Carbs are no prob, huge fruit lover here. Peanut / Almond / Cashew butters too ! Gonna buy some ice cream then 😅
  • jdscrubs32
    jdscrubs32 Posts: 514 Member
    jdog022 wrote: »
    mgmgmg1981 wrote: »
    Yeah that's A LOT of protein. I love my greek yogurt, whey supplement, fish and chicken but that's quite high. Since I love nuts, milk and olive oil, what you suggest to increase fat % makes sense.

    Peanut butter and ice cream is always the answer. I’d up the carbs and drop the protein to about 140 ish. Enjoy some candy
    mgmgmg1981 wrote: »
    Carbs are no prob, huge fruit lover here. Peanut / Almond / Cashew butters too ! Gonna buy some ice cream then 😅

    Would second what @jdog022 mentioned re peanut butter and ice cream. Mix peanut butter in with porridge/oats after its cooked as its delicious. Also agreed what with he suggests about protein in or around 140 grams. Halo Top ice cream if you can get it where you are is not bad ice cream. While Breyers is better, I doubt you can get that so go with Halo Top if you can.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,292 Member
    mgmgmg1981 wrote: »
    One question, when calculating my TDEE, should I put the weight I want to reach?

    70 kg (154 lbs) seems to be a good optimal weight ( https://tdeecalculator.net/result.php?s=metric&g=male&age=38&kg=70&cm=184&act=1.55&f=1 )

    I entered "Moderate exercise" even though I always get a little bit of light exercising during my rest days, so I am active 6 days/week. I always walk, bike too. I have been dusting off my dumbbells too as I plan to condition my arms for my parallettes training.

    So it would be :
    • Maintenance: 2500 kcal
    • Bulking: 2750 - 3000 kcal

    Is that correct ? As per macros, it would be something like :
    • Maintenance : P 30% - 194g / F 35% - 100g / C 35% - 226 g
    • Bulking : P 30% - 230g / F 20% - 120g / C 50% - 270g

    Seems about right :)

    Thanks all for the great information and help!

    Cheers and have an excellent day.

    I was going to say that 70 kg is still quite thin for 6'3", then did the conversion you are 6' even (well 6' and 4th of an inch) so 70kg should be a good low end of weight for 6'

    As for protein, I agree with the others, 125 to 150 grams is plenty given your stats. Carbs will be king for your bulk!
  • staticsplit
    staticsplit Posts: 538 Member
    Enjoy the food! I'm 6 ft and 154 (but am a girl) and I easily maintain on 2100 to 2200 for a point of reference.
  • mgmgmg1981
    mgmgmg1981 Posts: 31 Member
    Thanks everyone !

    Do moderate exercising seems right for my activity level in thr TDEE calculator ? Each routine is between 1 hour 30 and up to 2 hours. It is not very intense like running of course but it is somewhat a contiunous level of moderate to high effort, with resting in between. However I work in my home office so sitting at a desk. I do frequent walk breaks, takes stair all the time, bike, etc.

    Rest day includes stretching, handstand practice, most recently a bit of weight lifting, some jumoing rope and takes zround 40 minutes.

    Somone suggested I should aim for 3000 kcal but quite frankly it seems too high. He had the same stats and was unable to gain weight until he was reaching this goal. From the TDEE, my "Maximum Muscular Potential" is at 84 kg (185 lbs)...

    So many questions and observations haha, I am new to bulking but this is a fairly interesting topic to explore (love data and numbers) while it could positively impact my way too restricted diet...

    Cheers !
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,292 Member
    3000 sounds right to me. At 5'6" 156 I lose on 1900 cals
  • jdog022
    jdog022 Posts: 693 Member
    Work your way up over time. Calculators are only estimates and apply to mostly average people. Use weight trends. Aim for 1-2 pounds per month. More then back off, not happening add 250 cals. Weigh daily first thing after waking up and using bathroom, log it. Don’t weigh again. Libra or Happy scale apps for tracking trend
  • mgmgmg1981
    mgmgmg1981 Posts: 31 Member
    My plan is to get back at eating the appropriate calories I need, which is ~2500 kcal, then I'll go a bit further to bulk. Thanks for all the insights and help! Gimme the ice cream and PB! :D
  • shayd742
    shayd742 Posts: 3 Member
    Whole eggs are excellent source of good fats, good cholesterol and of course one of the best protein sources for absorbing. I throw 6 whole eggs on my oatmeal in the morning. If you want a good source at night cottage cheese is great, full of casein protein. Perfect for recovery while you sleep.
  • staticsplit
    staticsplit Posts: 538 Member
    mgmgmg1981 wrote: »
    Rest day includes stretching, handstand practice, most recently a bit of weight lifting, some jumoing rope and takes zround 40 minutes.

    Psst...that's not a rest day.

    It is important to actually rest for optimal muscle growth and recovery. I.E. no weight lifting, maybe just some stretches/yoga and light walking.

  • jdscrubs32
    jdscrubs32 Posts: 514 Member
    shayd742 wrote: »
    Whole eggs are excellent source of good fats, good cholesterol and of course one of the best protein sources for absorbing. I throw 6 whole eggs on my oatmeal in the morning. If you want a good source at night cottage cheese is great, full of casein protein. Perfect for recovery while you sleep.

    This is not the first time I've seen eggs mixed with porridge. Dont think I could eat that. As for cottage cheese, I tried it once or twice but its not for me. Even thinking about it makes me want to gag.
  • mgmgmg1981
    mgmgmg1981 Posts: 31 Member
    shayd742 wrote: »
    Whole eggs are an excellent source of good fats, good cholesterol and of course one of the best protein sources for absorbing. I throw 6 whole eggs on my oatmeal in the morning. If you want a good source at night cottage cheese is great, full of casein protein. Perfect for recovery while you sleep.

    Hey @shayd742 ! Yup, eggs are nice, it's usually my Sunday breakfast (veggie scramble). I only do 1-2 full eggs and 2-3 egg whites though but I guess 3 or 4 eggs would be way better. In the oatmeal I could try out for sure, does that work with fruits or nut butter or plain nuts? Cottage cheese is also a staple here. I found some coconut yogurt which packs some fat too, it's lovely with a scoop of PB.

    staticsplit wrote: »
    mgmgmg1981 wrote: »
    Rest day includes stretching, handstand practice, most recently a bit of weight lifting, some jumoing rope and takes zround 40 minutes.

    Psst...that's not a rest day.

    It is important to actually rest for optimal muscle growth and recovery. I.E. no weight lifting, maybe just some stretches/yoga and light walking.

    True that... I need to discipline myself with this too...
  • mgmgmg1981
    mgmgmg1981 Posts: 31 Member
    edited July 2019
    Since I need to eat a bunch of carbs... What are your favorite carb-y foods, for breakfast / lunch / dinner and snacks ?

    I love fruit as mentioned before, I guess I shouldn't even limit myself on the fruit servings to begin with!

Categories