What should my target daily calories be?

zachsmith3879

The app set my daily target at 2,800 calories based on the information I filled out during the onboarding process. I’m not sure if it is correct for my situation so wanted to see what others suggested or general thoughts.

I’m M/6’4” and my goal is to build as much muscle as possible so I lift weights for on average one hour high intensity sessions 5-6 times a week. I do this in conjunction with running two 5k sessions on a treadmill at the gym after my weight lifting session once Monday and second time Thursday. Some weeks I’ll run more, so between 10-15k ran. I’m keeping this schedule up very well throughout the week.

I would guess my body weight right now is between 12-15%. I’m happy with that but want to keep at that range while building as much muscle as possible. Some old heads at the gym are saying that I need to eat 6,000 calories a day. I’m averaging about 3,000 but not sure if I should be targeting more based on my exercise schedule.

I appreciate your time reading this and commenting. I’m at a loss here and want to make sure that I’m making the best decisions.

zachsmith3879

As an update, I’ve decided to find my TDEE and then add 7% to that. My TDEE includes a very active lifestyle so I don’t modify my exercise calories in MFP app but when I do my two 5ks a week I do use a HRM to determine my calories burned and subtract those. I weigh myself every morning. Will try this for a month and see where my weight ends up, and if I should stop removing calories from the weekly runs and/or change the daily caloric goal.

jerier

Here’s some articles.

https://www.issaonline.com/blog/post/eat-to-gain-musclethe-role-food-plays-in-strength-training

https://www.menshealth.com/nutrition/a19540064/how-to-build-muscle-5-diet-changes-you-need-to-make-gains/

https://www.strengthlog.com/eating-for-muscle-growth/#Calorie_Calculator