is this enough calories

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NaomiAnna22
NaomiAnna22 Posts: 36 Member
in Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
If i eat 2000 calories every day, work part time as a waitress (which is the extent of my exercising) will i gain any weight over time or just maintain? I'm 5'5 23 years old and weigh 110 and trying to weight 125 but don't have much of an appetite so 2000 is hard enough for me.

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  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,343 Member
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    One way to find out - eat 2000 calories per day for a couple weeks and see what happens to your scale readings. If they're going up, you're eating at a surplus; if it's staying pretty stable, you're eating at maintenance; if it's dropping, you're eating at a deficit.

    Formulas are useful as a rough starting point, but you need to fine tune your intake based upon your results.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    I'm 5ft5 and 135lbs and maintain on about net 2000 cals. Try it for a few weeks, see what the scales do and adjust as necessary
  • comptonelizabeth
    comptonelizabeth Posts: 1,701 Member
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    It varies - calculators are only a rough guide.
    I'm 5'3 (but a lot older than you) and currently weigh 124 lbs. I was around 112 at the start of my logging. I've had to eat around 2100 to gain and I don't have an active job but,it depends on how quickly you want to gain.
    I also have a small appetite but have upped my calorie intake by eating calorie dense foods that don't fill me up- peanut butter,cheese,full fat milk and yoghurt,adding oil to foods,smoothies and shakes.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,411 MFP Moderator
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    Like others said, you should track for a few weeks and see if you see any results, but I honestly doubt 2k is enough for an active young women.


    Also, your appetite isn't based on calories, but rather volume of food. If you struggle to get calories, its based on the choices you are making, so it might require switching the types of foods you eat/drink. The below thread has a good list of foods and strategies to help you increase calories.

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10326769/are-you-a-hard-gainer-please-read/p1
  • Pot8540
    Pot8540 Posts: 17 Member
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    I had a personal trainer on simbi.com recalculate myfitnesspal's recommendations for me. We are about the same demographics wise and the trainer said that my fitnesspal was over-calculating what I needed calorically by over 300cal. I have started to slowly gain even though I rarely hit my calorie goal I think mainly due to weightlifting.
  • serapel
    serapel Posts: 502 Member
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    I read that you multiply your weight in pounds by 15-18 to get your bulking calorie amount.

    I'm 131 lbs, so my calorie intake for bulking is 1965 -3348. I have a high metabolism and am female, so I need about 2250-2300 to build muscle. My maintenance is 2100. When I am looking to lose the extra fat; maybe a 2 or 3 pounds, I'll eat 2000-2100 and lose it slowly.

    I'm 45 years old.
  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
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    There are so many calculators, but in the end it is trial and error. To maintain my weight (non-nursing me) I need about 2500-2700 cals which is way over what any calculator puts me.

    Try it out. If you are gaining then great, if not increase the cals until you are. Also calorie dense foods are your friend: nuts, nut butters, full fat dairy, trail mix, granola, oils, pastas, bagels, ice cream etc

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