Cannot eat enough to gain! Help!

LibbyLong45
LibbyLong45 Posts: 21 Member
edited January 2016 in Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
Ok I am strength training. I need to eat over 2,000 calories a day at the least. I am prescribed adderal so I really don't want to eat anything in the first place. But even after force feeding myself chicken steak rice avocados everything I still always come up 500-700 calories short. Is there any supplements or foods I could take to make up those calories?
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Replies

  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,139 Member
    two servings of ice cream is about 500 calories just add that in at end of day and there you go ...
  • LibbyLong45
    LibbyLong45 Posts: 21 Member
    I really don't want to resort to processed foods and bad sugars though.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,139 Member
    what is bad about sugar?

    and you are already eating processed foods = chicken, steak, rice….
  • LibbyLong45
    LibbyLong45 Posts: 21 Member
    I mean foods packaged in boxes, cans, high in sodium etc.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,139 Member
    LibbyLong45 wrote: »
    I mean foods packaged in boxes, cans, high in sodium etc.

    rice comes in a box, no ?

    Look, I am not going to argue with you about processed foods..

    As long as you are hitting micros and macros there is nothing wrong with eating calorie dense foods to fill in your day. So you can eat oreos, bagels, pasta, ice cream, etc etc…if you'd not get in a surplus then you are not going to gain and good luck eating 2000+ calories of vegetables, rice, and chicken ….

    OR

    keep trying to eat 100% clean and get into a surplus...
  • LibbyLong45
    LibbyLong45 Posts: 21 Member
    Thx!
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    I'm with NDJ - there is no such thing as "bad food".

    But, whole milk, whole fat yogurt, etc. People get in the habit of eating "low fat" or "light" versions of food. Switching them out for the full fat version can add calories quickly.
    Pasta, whole eggs, fattier cuts of meat, salmon, nuts, nut butter. You can add 100 calories easily with tablespoon of peanut or almond butter and it isn't a huge amount of food.

    You can also buy mass gainer supplements.
  • heidilucia13
    heidilucia13 Posts: 9 Member
    Ensure plus have 350...you can drink 2 at day ..one after breakfast and one after dinner
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,344 Member
    A peanut butter & jelly sandwich is close to 500 calories (or more, depending on what bread and how much peanut butter you use).

    As 3dogsrunning mentioned, nuts are very high in calories - a 1 oz. serving of mixed nuts is 170 calories, and one ounce of them isn't even a full handful.
  • 883xlsportster
    883xlsportster Posts: 221 Member
    I've been relying on a 1/2 serving of Serious Mass with milk daily to make my calories. Thats a easy 735 cals. May not be the best but works till I can to get more whole foods worked in down the road.
  • adamhendrickson92
    adamhendrickson92 Posts: 29 Member
    You should prob go with supplements before ice cream :p I go for two protein shakes each day. Whey protein isolate is good right after you workout or first thing in the morning, and it tastes like a strawberry milkshake. Casein protein is slower digesting and good for overnight when you won't be eating anything (but it does have a little weird texture). If you have them with milk, they can easily have 250-300cals each. Throw some Pb2 in there and they're packed with quality nutrition and high calories.

    I also like carnation breakfast essentials dark chocolate. It tastes like hot chocolate but it has a ton of vitamins, carbs, and protein in it. I love having it in the morning with breakfast cuz it adds at least another 200 calories when you have it with milk and it tastes good too :)

    I used to have the same problem when I was prescribed adderall. I really struggled with eating enough, but I found it easy to just down a protein shake instead of sit trying to chew on a steak for 30 mins. I hope you find out something that will work for you!!
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,344 Member
    edited January 2016
    adamhendrickson92 wrote: »
    You should prob go with supplements before ice cream :p I go for two protein shakes each day. Whey protein isolate is good right after you workout or first thing in the morning, and it tastes like a strawberry milkshake. Casein protein is slower digesting and good for overnight when you won't be eating anything (but it does have a little weird texture).

    Not that I'm anti-protein shake at all (I drink them every day), but it's worth nothing that ice cream is made from milk. Both whey and casein protein also come from milk. It's also worth noting that eating dietary fat does not equal making you fat. Ice cream has other things added, of course, and is significantly more calorie-dense than a protein shake - but for somebody who's having trouble hitting their calorie goals, that can be a good thing rather than a bad thing.

    I actually prefer casein (or more accurately, a whey/casein blend) over straight whey protein. Casein makes the shake thicker and creamier, whereas whey shakes tend to be more thin/watery.
  • pinggolfer96
    pinggolfer96 Posts: 2,248 Member
    Nut butters, whole milk, avocados, fatty fish or meat, nuts, dried fruit...etc
  • elite_nal
    elite_nal Posts: 127 Member
    LibbyLong45 wrote: »
    I really don't want to resort to processed foods and bad sugars though.

    Your body cannot recognize individual food items as separate entities. It doesn't say “that’s a chicken breast, that’s an apple and that’s a cup of rice”. It only sees the complete diet as a whole – the total protein, carbs, fats and micronutrients that you consume each day.

    As long as the majority (around 80-90%) of your diet is being derived from “clean” food sources (lean/high quality protein, minimally refined/high fiber carbs and healthy fats) and your vitamin/mineral/other micronutrient needs are being met, slipping in some “cheat foods” to fill in the remaining 10-20% is not going to make any difference to your results.

    What it WILL do, however, is make your overall life more enjoyable while yielding the same results as the next person who is eating nothing but chicken, broccoli and brown rice 24 hours a day.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,139 Member
    adamhendrickson92 wrote: »
    You should prob go with supplements before ice cream :p I go for two protein shakes each day. Whey protein isolate is good right after you workout or first thing in the morning, and it tastes like a strawberry milkshake. Casein protein is slower digesting and good for overnight when you won't be eating anything (but it does have a little weird texture). If you have them with milk, they can easily have 250-300cals each. Throw some Pb2 in there and they're packed with quality nutrition and high calories.

    I also like carnation breakfast essentials dark chocolate. It tastes like hot chocolate but it has a ton of vitamins, carbs, and protein in it. I love having it in the morning with breakfast cuz it adds at least another 200 calories when you have it with milk and it tastes good too :)

    I used to have the same problem when I was prescribed adderall. I really struggled with eating enough, but I found it easy to just down a protein shake instead of sit trying to chew on a steak for 30 mins. I hope you find out something that will work for you!!

    if you have already met micros and macros what does it matter if you have a protein shake or ice cream?
  • Wheelhouse15
    Wheelhouse15 Posts: 5,575 Member
    adamhendrickson92 wrote: »
    You should prob go with supplements before ice cream :p I go for two protein shakes each day. Whey protein isolate is good right after you workout or first thing in the morning, and it tastes like a strawberry milkshake. Casein protein is slower digesting and good for overnight when you won't be eating anything (but it does have a little weird texture). If you have them with milk, they can easily have 250-300cals each. Throw some Pb2 in there and they're packed with quality nutrition and high calories.

    I also like carnation breakfast essentials dark chocolate. It tastes like hot chocolate but it has a ton of vitamins, carbs, and protein in it. I love having it in the morning with breakfast cuz it adds at least another 200 calories when you have it with milk and it tastes good too :)

    I used to have the same problem when I was prescribed adderall. I really struggled with eating enough, but I found it easy to just down a protein shake instead of sit trying to chew on a steak for 30 mins. I hope you find out something that will work for you!!

    Protein shakes are often used more for weight loss than gain due to their low protein to calorie ratio and weight gainers are a waste of money since they are just cheap ingredients tossed together that you'll probably get sick of PDQ. There are certainly better things you can eat than highly processed, and often dubious, powders. Note that I'm not against them protein shakes in general and I do drink them, but I really dislike that being the automatic default recommendation for people trying to gain weight when they really don't need them.
  • adamhendrickson92
    adamhendrickson92 Posts: 29 Member
    edited January 2016
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    adamhendrickson92 wrote: »
    You should prob go with supplements before ice cream :p

    if you have already met micros and macros what does it matter if you have a protein shake or ice cream?

    I prefer my calorie surplus to come from protein before refined sugar and saturated fat.

    Also, the OP is strength training so I think protein should take precedence for this goal. She admitted to being calorie deficit, and I assume she isn't hitting protein goals which are vital for building strength.
  • letsgain01
    letsgain01 Posts: 106 Member
    The other morning I was in a rush and didn't have time for breakfast. I had about 50 pecan halves instead. Almost 500 calories. If you buy in bulk, it doesn't cost as much
  • Owensgte
    Owensgte Posts: 13 Member
    edited January 2016
    LibbyLong45 wrote: »
    Ok I am strength training. I need to eat over 2,000 calories a day at the least. I am prescribed adderal so I really don't want to eat anything in the first place. But even after force feeding myself chicken steak rice avocados everything I still always come up 500-700 calories short. Is there any supplements or foods I could take to make up those calories?

    Eat like fresh pasta with some tuna and abit of mayo ie uncooked 250g of fresh pasta then cook that weight 1 can of tuna 60g of mayo and a tangerine after =like 1.345 cal so eat what your eating then split the tuna pasta in 2 to 3 meals or what ever you can handle
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,139 Member
    adamhendrickson92 wrote: »
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    adamhendrickson92 wrote: »
    You should prob go with supplements before ice cream :p

    if you have already met micros and macros what does it matter if you have a protein shake or ice cream?

    I prefer my calorie surplus to come from protein before refined sugar and saturated fat.

    Also, the OP is strength training so I think protein should take precedence for this goal. She admitted to being calorie deficit, and I assume she isn't hitting protein goals which are vital for building strength.

    actually, carbs are more important when one is bulking, and OP specifically said she wants to gain, and we are in the gaining forum.

    and protein shakes contain sugar in them, so you are still consuming sugar. And sugar is not bad for you, so lets just stop that nonsense right now.

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