Do Calories Matter?

Im trying to gain muscle so i calculated i should be getting around 3000 calories a day. Now i have been eating a ton of food and its all been clean and healthy. But i added the calories and it was only around 1500, but i was full all day(almost didnt finish my breakfast). So how the heck am i suppose to double what i ate today, there is no way i can eat that much or afford it hah. Here is an example. A cup of spinach is only 7 calories according to mfp. What if i ate 200 cups of spinach, its a ton of food but only 1400 calories. I understand protein and other thing play a big part in it and i have been eating the right ratios. I just dont see how to eat more. Im eating a ton of food, its just they are low calories, but at the same time they are healthy. Thanks for your time.

This is a simple solution:

Cosco has a product called Ancient Grains.
It comes in a box with 2 tubes of mixture to it.
I like the one with almonds.
Pour 1 tube of mixture into a tupperware.
Add 1-2 scoops whey protein.
Add some honey or any type of natural sweetener.
When you are ready to eat, add hot or cold water or milk.

Each tupperware will contain 2200 calories appx.
81g of essential fats
350+g of clean carbs
45g of protein +whatever whey you add, I prefer Ultra Peptide 2.0.

Then its a matter of only filling appx 400cals to goal for the day.

ngredients:
Rolled oats*, unrefined cane sugar*, rolled spelt*, soy oil*, Kamut® Khorasan wheat*, almonds*, inulin*, rolled quinoa*, rolled amaranth*, rice starch*, sea salt, molasses*, cinnamon*, natural vanilla flavor, tocopherols (natural vitamin E).

Hope that helps.

If you're lifting, you need protein. If you're moving around, you need carbs. If you're thinking and alive, you need fat.

When I was younger and trying to gain weight (Oh how great those days were), I did a few of these things:
- I drank whole milk (lots of it).
- I ate pasta (lots of it).
- I ate vegetables, especially carrots, potatoes and beets.
- I used whey protein powder.
- I ate a lot of lean meat.

To build it right, I did a few things:
- I lifted regularly and heavy.
- I walked (army road march with pack) alot.
- I spent more time moving than sitting.

A pint of Ben and jerrys shall do you justice.

If you look at my last 3 days, I have done pretty well on hitting 3000 cals or around, and haven't had takeaway , apart from a roast chicken my husband bought pre cooked. I find weekends hard, because I am with the family, and eating what they want. I am also not so active. On work days, I am starving and have no trouble getting my calories and get pretty close on macros.

You're on my friendslist, you can check out my diary too see what I'm doing to hit my calories. I'm eating a lot of carbs, a lot of startchy carbs. Doing a slow bulk, so I increased my calories slowly.

What are you eating at the moment and amount. I find 3000 calories is very very easy to consume a day

If you eat dirty, yes, but not if you're trying to eat reasonably healthy ?

Healthy =/= low calorie. In fact, I can think of many high calorie foods that are really nutritionally dense, and many low calorie foods that are not nutritionally dense at all.

^THIS^