Increasing calorie intake? Foods?

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NadNight
NadNight Posts: 794 Member
in Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
I thought that when I switched to gaining muscle, increasing my calorie intake would be easy. Eat more? Yes please! But whilst it'd be easy to get my calorie intake up in chocolate and pastries, I'm struggling to increase it in healthy food. My diary is public (I'm the worst logger, I've only logged 3 days in the last week but I eat pretty similarly each day) so whilst it's not the most detailed you can see that I'm more in a maintenance range of 1500-1800. I feel so full at the end of the day but the food I'm eating doesn't seem to be giving me enough calories. I'm aiming for just over 2000 a day to start with, I'm not very big so don't think I need huge amounts of food yet.

I've been looking into more calorie dense foods. I hate avocado, and I'm not a fan of peanut butter which seem to be the two popular ones. I've started eating mixed nuts and seeds but was wondering if anyone had any food ideas that help with gaining? Snacks, meals or drinks or any advice in general

Replies

  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    Full fat dairy
  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
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    Have you seen this link with a list of foods and advice to get more cals in?

    community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10326769/are-you-a-hard-gainer-please-read/p1

    And while you want most of your foods to be nutrient dense, there is nothing wrong with a few treats to fill the gaps. Last thing you want to do is feel stuffed all the time and spend all this time killing it in the gym and getting nowhere. Believe me, that sucks!
  • ISweat4This
    ISweat4This Posts: 653 Member
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    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10142490/a-list-of-calorie-dense-foods
  • deannalfisher
    deannalfisher Posts: 5,600 Member
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    full fat dairy is da bomb (Noosa, Culinary circle, brown cow are brands to check out for yogurt; also fairlife whole milk is yummy!)

    i do simple things like baked potato and i'll mix cream cheese into it for extra fat
    i didn't see a lot of protein in general - so simple things like eggs/egg whites; lean meats like chicken/turkey/pork loin; shrimp
  • brendanwhite84
    brendanwhite84 Posts: 220 Member
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    Plain skyr is my go-to for raw protein as a vegetarian: 75% of calories from protein, 25% from carbs.

    Nuts of various kinds for when I don't give a crap about macro ratios and just want to hit a calorie goal with some protein to boot. Chipnuts aren't exactly healthy but man do they pack in calories.
  • 883xlsportster
    883xlsportster Posts: 221 Member
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    Takes time. A vid on YT " You can't expect to bench 250 when your starting out so how can you eat 3000 cals" Or something like that. Work your way up. Personally I'm not a "BIG" eater. I just went with the most dense and nutritional foods I like to eat plus a shake or two. Took a few weeks to up cals. Avocados are great in a blender with vanilla flavoured protein powder IMO. All the best on your goals.
  • joeyy888
    joeyy888 Posts: 17 Member
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    What about fish? Tuna or mackerel from tins is what I usually use. Or just a few eggs, any way you like it.
  • neilgib28
    neilgib28 Posts: 36 Member
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    Speaking from experience, it looks like you are still have the 'diet food' (cutting) mentality when it comes to food choices - I did exactly the same when I switched to a bulk. I had a quick look at your diary and very small changes will get you those extra calories no problem, just pick the 'normal' options (including full fat diary) over the low fat / diet ones.
  • comptonelizabeth
    comptonelizabeth Posts: 1,701 Member
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    Full fat dairy , add oil to everything (well,nearly everything)whole nuts if you don't like peanut butter (I loathe the stuff), add cream to coffee....Also there is nothing wrong with eating chocolate etc to top up your calories as long as that's not all you're eating (I confess to sometimes topping mine up with wine!) If you're worried about healthy, eat dark chocolate which is said to be healthy.
  • misnomer1
    misnomer1 Posts: 646 Member
    edited October 2017
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    Full fat dairy, nuts, oils, bananas and occasional 'junk'
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,013 Member
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    As long as the foundation of your diet is healthy, what's wrong with a treat or two to get your calories up?

    I only looked at the one day, but your protein was a little low, so what about chicken thighs, eggs, full fat dairy? I also find I need to watch my portion size for grains because they are calorie dense (and have a little protein too) so maybe rice, oatmeal, barley.

    It might help to get serious about logging and measuring for awhile. This will help you know exactly how far off mark you are, and it might be easier to see where to tweak when you have all that data there in black & white.
  • PetiteStar17
    PetiteStar17 Posts: 4 Member
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    NadNight that’s my same issue as well I can barely ever get to 2000 cal. This thread was pretty helpful. Good luck!!!!
  • plebbro
    plebbro Posts: 2 Member
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    Wow anything below 2000 is really so little. I'd say you're not really eating enough for anything to matter. Either way, I tend to eat salty and flavorful foods so that it is easier to eat huge. But the downside is the high sodium intake I have. I balance it out with bananas. I love them and they're super cheap for the calories they give (200 for a big one). I'd buy a bunch and bring it around with me and have about 2 a day.

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