How to eat more?
darreneatschicken
Posts: 669 Member
Ever since creating an account on myfitnesspal and keeping track of my macros, I have started eating a lot more, which is great because I really want to gain muscle. However, I still have times and days where I don't have much of an appetite. The worst feeling is when I'm not hungry, but I'm not starving either. I can and should eat more in these situations, but that means that I'll have to stop what I'm doing and either make food or buy some. I just wanted to hear your guys' tips on how to eat more. I am going to list some of my ways, and the pros and cons of each one.
1. Smoke ganja
Pros:
- gives you the munchies
- relaxes you
Cons:
- you can't always be high!
2. Exercising
Pros:
- makes you hungry
- healthy as well
Cons:
- burn calories that must then be replaced
- sometimes, you don't feel hungry after exercising (e.g., get that "not hungry, but not starving feeling), though you know that you should still eat anyways (because you need to buff)!
- takes time
3. Drink liquids such as milk, juice, beer, smoothies, milkshakes, protein shakes, soups
Pros:
- most of these items taste good
- easier to consume because don't really give you that "full" feeling
- convenient, because you can do a lot of activities while drinking (e.g, walking, studying)
Cons:
- better to get your macros from whole foods (don't know if this is actually scientifically proven - can anyone prove or disprove this)?
4. Force food down your stomach
Pros:
- you get closer, or reach, your macro goals
- sometimes, you think you can't eat more, but once you start eating, you find out that you can, in fact, eat more
Cons:
- gag reflex
5. Carry around granola bars and fruits
Pros:
- quick, convenient way to sneak in macros
Cons:
- granola bars taste gross after a while
6. Carry a cooler
Pros:
- portable food that is better tasting than granola bars
Cons:
- annoying to carry a cooler around with you
1. Smoke ganja
Pros:
- gives you the munchies
- relaxes you
Cons:
- you can't always be high!
2. Exercising
Pros:
- makes you hungry
- healthy as well
Cons:
- burn calories that must then be replaced
- sometimes, you don't feel hungry after exercising (e.g., get that "not hungry, but not starving feeling), though you know that you should still eat anyways (because you need to buff)!
- takes time
3. Drink liquids such as milk, juice, beer, smoothies, milkshakes, protein shakes, soups
Pros:
- most of these items taste good
- easier to consume because don't really give you that "full" feeling
- convenient, because you can do a lot of activities while drinking (e.g, walking, studying)
Cons:
- better to get your macros from whole foods (don't know if this is actually scientifically proven - can anyone prove or disprove this)?
4. Force food down your stomach
Pros:
- you get closer, or reach, your macro goals
- sometimes, you think you can't eat more, but once you start eating, you find out that you can, in fact, eat more
Cons:
- gag reflex
5. Carry around granola bars and fruits
Pros:
- quick, convenient way to sneak in macros
Cons:
- granola bars taste gross after a while
6. Carry a cooler
Pros:
- portable food that is better tasting than granola bars
Cons:
- annoying to carry a cooler around with you
0
Replies
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Are you serious?
If you want to gain muscle there are basically 2 things to do: 1. Lift weights and 2. Eat in a surplus.
We could give you advise on both of these points, but that would be rather pointless without knowing exactly what your goals, your exercise routine and intake details. So please tell us more so we can help you better.0 -
I am 5'9 and 138.3 lbs. 19 years of age. My goal is to gain at least 2 lbs muscle a month. Recently, I have started Stronglifts and am a couple weeks in. Myfitnesspal generated the following macro goal for me:
Daily required calories: 2,430
Daily required carbohydrates: 334
Daily required fat: 81
Daily required protein: 91
Daily required sodium: 2,500
Daily required sugar: 49
I have been keeping up in reaching my macro goal, just thought it would be cool to make a post on ways to eat more, since I know I have a problem with this sometimes, especially on days where I am always on the run, and on sober days, where I just simply don't feel like eating.0 -
One thing you didn't mention is eating more calorie dense foods. When someone is restricting calories and hungry, they learn which foods are low in calories but will fill them up. You need to do the opposite. Eat things that are calorie dense (usually means higher in fat) like eggs, cheese, avocados, nuts, nut butters, full fat yoghurt, olive oil, mayonnaise. When you eat meat, or pasta, or bread, just add a bit extra to your portion size. Instead of skinless chicken breasts, eat skin on chicken thighs, instead of tuna steaks (or additionally), eat salmon steaks. Avoid anything labelled "low fat" or "diet" or "lite". If you're not wedded to eating "clean", then the world's your oyster - chocolate, ice cream, cookies, donuts etc.
Honestly, 2,430 is not a huge amount. Given your stats, I highly doubt you will gain any weight eating that amount.0 -
I'm thinking your macros are off. More protein.
And you forgot
- Eat calorie dense foods
---
Whole foods can be made into smoothies. Best of both worlds.
When you eat components(ex. Whey protein) of whole foods you lose out on the stuff science
doesn't know about yet. But, if you are already hitting your micros elsewhere using supplements
helps hitting the macros.0 -
more protein not necescarry, tracking macros not really necessary tbh. just eat lad, 19 years and 138lb. you'll grow like a weed.0
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Good to hear that you started Stronglifts, with that you already have half of the equition covered.I am 5'9 and 138.3 lbs. 19 years of age. My goal is to gain at least 2 lbs muscle a month. Recently, I have started Stronglifts and am a couple weeks in. Myfitnesspal generated the following macro goal for me:
Daily required calories: 2,430
Daily required carbohydrates: 334
Daily required fat: 81
Daily required protein: 91
Daily required sodium: 2,500
Daily required sugar: 49
I have been keeping up in reaching my macro goal, just thought it would be cool to make a post on ways to eat more, since I know I have a problem with this sometimes, especially on days where I am always on the run, and on sober days, where I just simply don't feel like eating.
As the others mentioned, eating more calorie dense food will make it easier to get the needed calories in. I also agree that protein seems rather low in your current settings.
That said I must say I agree with googlebear123 about the tracking your intake and macro's. Are you sure you want to do that in this phase of your life? Eating sandwhiches with peanutbutter whenever hungry and drinking lots of whole milk will probably make you grow like a weed anyway. And that without the added hassle of tracking. Just think about it...0 -
Having a designated meal prep day for the week was honestly the best thing I ever did regarding my diet. I cook up about 7 lbs of chicken breast and 5 lbs of ground turkey breast, bake like 10 sweet potatoes and cook up several cups worth of quinoa or brown rice and then portion it out into Tupperware and freeze them/put them in the refrigerator. Then as long as you have 5 minutes and access to a microwave you have no excuse for not getting healthy meals in. Makes bulking a lot easier when all you have to do is heat something up rather than take the time to cook full meals every 2-3 hrs.
Besides that the name of the game is lean protein, complex carbohydrates and mono/polyunsaturated fats. Ezekiel bread, almond/cashew/peanut butter, lentils, quinoa, brown rice are all great ways to up your calorie intake in a healthy way. If you have to resort to fast food to get your calories you just aren't planning your meals well enough. Bulking with clean foods will leave you leaner in the end and you'll just feel better not eating fast food crap anyways0 -
Having a designated meal prep day for the week was honestly the best thing I ever did regarding my diet. I cook up about 7 lbs of chicken breast and 5 lbs of ground turkey breast, bake like 10 sweet potatoes and cook up several cups worth of quinoa or brown rice and then portion it out into Tupperware and freeze them/put them in the refrigerator. Then as long as you have 5 minutes and access to a microwave you have no excuse for not getting healthy meals in. Makes bulking a lot easier when all you have to do is heat something up rather than take the time to cook full meals every 2-3 hrs.
Besides that the name of the game is lean protein, complex carbohydrates and mono/polyunsaturated fats. Ezekiel bread, almond/cashew/peanut butter, lentils, quinoa, brown rice are all great ways to up your calorie intake in a healthy way. If you have to resort to fast food to get your calories you just aren't planning your meals well enough. Bulking with clean foods will leave you leaner in the end and you'll just feel better not eating fast food crap anyways
In Derns other thread, it was clear that he was going to try and eat 3000 cals a day of higher calorie food as he can't really do volume. As long as he eats 500 cals over a day and hits his protein targets (110-120g) it doesn't matter whether his food is clean or dirty. What will leave him leaner in the end is not overeating, being organised enough to track his calories and heavy lifting.0 -
"On sober days" sounds like you're not actually committed to health. At 19 your brain is still a work in progress; more muscle might be a good thing, but muscles are way sexier with some intelligence to lead them around. Take care of your brain while you're working on your brawn.0
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"On sober days" sounds like you're not actually committed to health. At 19 your brain is still a work in progress; more muscle might be a good thing, but muscles are way sexier with some intelligence to lead them around. Take care of your brain while you're working on your brawn.
^^^^ exactly!0 -
try protein shakes mixed with extra fine oats, I find it as an easy way to get extra calories in and you don`t need much of an appetite, treat it as a drink0
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Honestly, 2,430 is not a huge amount. Given your stats, I highly doubt you will gain any weight eating that amount.
This. you are barely eating 500 cals more than tiny little me! (and I am already in a deficit)0 -
one and a half years ago I started at 121 pounds since then i've bulked up to a max of 176 pounds and now i'm cutting down to 164 pounds. In the end it all comes down to dedication and consistency. Try to find out your macro needs for bulking then get a solid workout program. In the beginning it'll be very hard to get enough macros in. I'd recommend starting more fluid based protein sources, like eggs, cottage cheese in the beginning. Afterwards getting used to that for awhile shifting to solid proteins from lean meats will add up very easily to your daily protein needs. Carbs are the easiest and cheapest to get in. Spaghetti, potatoes, rice in my country they're extremely cheap. Fats usually come from healthy nuts, seafood, meats. Now you don't have to eat clean every single day. You can obviously try IIFYM or incorporate at least one cheat day in a week.0
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Given that you already have the sufficient answers to your question, I would only say that you cannot eat more that what your body allows. A small word of advice, three full meals and two snacks in between them is good. If you want to gain weight, try banana shake with or without chocolate. That is sure to help.0
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Last try to divide your foods into more meals in a day.0
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I am 5'9 and 138.3 lbs. 19 years of age. My goal is to gain at least 2 lbs muscle a month. Recently, I have started Stronglifts and am a couple weeks in. Myfitnesspal generated the following macro goal for me:
Daily required calories: 2,430
Daily required carbohydrates: 334
Daily required fat: 81
Daily required protein: 91
Daily required sodium: 2,500
Daily required sugar: 49
I have been keeping up in reaching my macro goal, just thought it would be cool to make a post on ways to eat more, since I know I have a problem with this sometimes, especially on days where I am always on the run, and on sober days, where I just simply don't feel like eating.
Two pounds of muscle per month is probably not going to be very realistic unless you have some pretty good genetics. At any rate, it's going to take more than 2,430 calories I'd wager. I'm oldish (pushing 40) @ 5'10" and 180 Lbs and I maintain right around 2800. I need at least 3000-3200 for a good bulk.
I would also up that protein goal...what's you BF%. If you're trying to bulk on muscle you should be shooting for around 1 gram of protein per Lb of LBM. When I was your age I weighed about the same @ roughly 8-10% BF which meant my LBM was around 128 Lbs.
Just eat more calorie dense foods. Not everything has to be "clean"...
Also, while SL 5x5 is a good program, it is a strength program rather than a hypertrophy program. That rep range works best for optimizing actual strength and CNS adaptation, not really putting on mass. If you're new to weight training I would stick with it for awhile though and build up a solid foundation of raw strength...your future hypertrophy program will be better with a solid foundation of strength.0 -
He can eat mcdonalds if he wants but it's his body he's trashing, not mine. What good is bulking and gaining muscle if your body has to rot on the inside to get there.0
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go to nutritiondata.self.com and find foods ranked least satisfying.
the data there is very detailed... for each food it even have scores for suitability with weight gaining purpose.
my goal to is to loose weight, I need to reduce my rice portion but afraid I will be hungry not long after having a meal. So I decided to look for foods that is low in calories but very satisfying (and if possible, cheap too) and I found out at nutritiondata.self.com one of those food is water spinach which is my favourite and I don't mind eating a ton of em... and not only it's cheap, it grows wild everywhere where I live.
So for your case, find one that's least satisfying but high and calories instead.0 -
Honestly, 2,430 is not a huge amount. Given your stats, I highly doubt you will gain any weight eating that amount.
This. you are barely eating 500 cals more than tiny little me! (and I am already in a deficit)
So I should be aiming to eat 3000 a day. And on a lifting day, I should be aiming for 3500?0 -
Google GOMAD0
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He can eat mcdonalds if he wants but it's his body he's trashing, not mine. What good is bulking and gaining muscle if your body has to rot on the inside to get there.
I believe in whole foods too, but unless he's eating trans fats, and staying within his macros, and not eating stuff like this too often, it's fine. Your body won't rot. That's wrong. He can't eat lots of volume yet. His food will need to be calorie packed.
I used to be phobic of dirty food too. I'm not any more, and am healthier because I'm not slightly overeating all the time and getting over fat. Of so called clean foods. I eat whole foods because I need to eat a lot.0 -
Honestly, 2,430 is not a huge amount. Given your stats, I highly doubt you will gain any weight eating that amount.
This. you are barely eating 500 cals more than tiny little me! (and I am already in a deficit)
So I should be aiming to eat 3000 a day. And on a lifting day, I should be aiming for 3500?
Dern, work out your tdee and add 500 everyday. Lift 3 x per week. Eat lots of protein.
Or, work out your sedentary rate, add your exercise calories for that day, then add 500.
Lifting burns about 200 cals per hour.
Use Scooby's calculator.
Good luck!0 -
Honestly, 2,430 is not a huge amount. Given your stats, I highly doubt you will gain any weight eating that amount.
This. you are barely eating 500 cals more than tiny little me! (and I am already in a deficit)
So I should be aiming to eat 3000 a day. And on a lifting day, I should be aiming for 3500?
Dern, work out your tdee and add 500 everyday. Lift 3 x per week. Eat lots of protein.
Or, work out your sedentary rate, add your exercise calories for that day, then add 500.
Lifting burns about 200 cals per hour.
Use Scooby's calculator.
Good luck!
What is tdee and what is sedentary rate (sorry if these are dumb questions)?0 -
He can eat mcdonalds if he wants but it's his body he's trashing, not mine. What good is bulking and gaining muscle if your body has to rot on the inside to get there.
this is ridiculous.
bulking and gaining muscle is exactly what you'll be doing if lifting and eating at a surplus.
"body rotting on the inside"
LOLOL you're just so cute. Have you read the twinkie diet study?0 -
Honestly, 2,430 is not a huge amount. Given your stats, I highly doubt you will gain any weight eating that amount.
This. you are barely eating 500 cals more than tiny little me! (and I am already in a deficit)
So I should be aiming to eat 3000 a day. And on a lifting day, I should be aiming for 3500?
Dern, work out your tdee and add 500 everyday. Lift 3 x per week. Eat lots of protein.
Or, work out your sedentary rate, add your exercise calories for that day, then add 500.
Lifting burns about 200 cals per hour.
Use Scooby's calculator.
Good luck!
What is tdee and what is sedentary rate (sorry if these are dumb questions)?
With respect Dern, I've spent quite a lot of time explaining and trying to help you and I'm now going to get you to help yourself by using google search and MFP search. It will really educate you! You'll see these terms everywhere and once you get going on this journey you'll want to know everything about it, so put the doobie down, and get googling. Mwah!0 -
My BMR is 1633 calories/day
My TDEE is 2316 calories/day
This is if I exercise 4 times a week (3 workouts and 1 ice hockey game)0 -
My BMR is 1633 calories/day
My TDEE is 2316 calories/day
This is if I exercise 4 times a week (3 workouts and 1 ice hockey game)
Ok, good stuff.
Can you go here and just double check? It seems low...http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/
Get your sedentary rate too...
It may need tweaking as you go.0 -
Daily required calories: 2,430
Daily required carbohydrates: 334
Daily required fat: 81
Daily required protein: 91
Daily required sodium: 2,500
Daily required sugar: 49
Just a comment about how you've worded this: 'daily required' does NOT apply to sodium, in fact the 2500 per day that MFP uses is higher than anyone needs and is the upper limit of what a normal person should be consuming. If you are not running 20km a day or have cystic fibrosis then you do not need to be eating 2500 mg of sodium. In my opinion sugar it is the same situation for sugar. They have simplified the way that these 'goals' are presented but even if you are trying to gain weight I wouldn't recommend 'aiming' to eat 2500 mg of sodium, or 49g of sugar a day.
Source: My nutrition degrees.0 -
more protein not necessary, tracking macros not really necessary tbh. just eat lad, 19 years and 138lb. you'll grow like a weed.
I agree, at 19 and if you're trying to add some size, you don't need to overcomplicate things. I'm 31, 178lbs, and the same height, work a desk job, routine is about 5-6 days a week, and I need at least 3000 cals a day. Even at that, i've only put on 2lbs in over 3 months, and still looking to add more cals a day.
You gotta eat my friend to grow!!!0 -
Having a designated meal prep day for the week ...chicken breast ...ground turkey breast...sweet potatoes...quinoa or brown rice... Ezekiel bread, almond/cashew/peanut butter, lentils, quinoa, brown rice...
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