Confused on kcal intake - gaining weight and muscle

GreatOnion
GreatOnion Posts: 9 Member
edited December 2024 in Getting Started
Hey there so I am a 20yo guy. I have a desk job and would like to start skateboarding again. On top of that I do some basic (I guess) muscle workouts with one dumbbell (need better equipment) 3-4 times per week. I do deadlifts, hammercurls and stuff (gonna try and start one of the recommended programmes here though).

I weigh 58ish kg and am 170cm tall. Now according to cal calculators I would need to eat about 2100kcal to maintain weight with no exercise factored in. Now some people / websites say I need to add 500kcal to gain weight while other websites (like the one linked in the stickied post) tell me I need to eat about 2300.

How much should I eat now?

Replies

  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    Set MFP to gain 0.5lbs per week and eat back your exercise cals.
  • GreatOnion
    GreatOnion Posts: 9 Member
    Yeah but how do I tell how many cals I burn?
  • tinkerbellang83
    tinkerbellang83 Posts: 9,147 Member
    GreatOnion wrote: »
    Yeah but how do I tell how many cals I burn?

    By real world results. Enter your stats, choose the 0.5lb per week gain and then monitor your weight progress for 4-6 weeks. What your weight does over those 4-6 weeks will indicate how much of a surplus you are in (or are not).

    If you're gaining more than expected then your burn is lower than MFP thinks if you're gaining less than expected it's higher than MFP thinks.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    GreatOnion wrote: »
    Yeah but how do I tell how many cals I burn?

    During exercise? Depends on the exercise you do which methods are best.
    Skateboarding, no idea. Suspect pretty modest though unless you are doing a lot of gymnastic tricks.
    Strength training duration can be logged under the CV part of your exercise diary.

    If your BMR and activity multiplier - this site does it for you when you fill in your stats in the setup.

    (An alternative method if your exercise is consistent is to get a daily goal from a TDEE calculator which includes an estimated daily average of your weekly exercise. Six of one and half a dozen of the other so for most just personal preference.)

    Unless you do start training seriously then keep your surplus low (as reflected by your weight gain over an extended period of time) otherwise the majority of weight gained will be fat.
  • GreatOnion
    GreatOnion Posts: 9 Member
    edited April 2019
    So I should aim for about 2300-2400 cals per day for now? That's about 200-300 cals planned in for exercise per day.
  • tinkerbellang83
    tinkerbellang83 Posts: 9,147 Member
    GreatOnion wrote: »
    So I should aim for about 2300-2400 cals per day? ?

    Depends what method you're choosing MFP's NEAT or TDEE?

    What does MFP give you?
  • GreatOnion
    GreatOnion Posts: 9 Member
    edited April 2019
    How do I set that? I've set it to no activity and gain 0.25kg per week. MFP says I should eat 2130kcal per day
  • tinkerbellang83
    tinkerbellang83 Posts: 9,147 Member
    GreatOnion wrote: »
    How do I set that? I've set it to no activity and gain 0.25kg per week. MFP says I should eat 2130kcal per day

    With MFP that's 2130 + exercise, so log your exercise as the Strength Training option under Cardio exercise on the days that you do it and eat the total.

    or

    if you prefer the TDEE option go into goals and manually adjust your calorie goal to the 2300 and don't log any exercise as it's already included in the total.

  • GreatOnion
    GreatOnion Posts: 9 Member
    Used the strength option, it comes in at about 160cals per hour. Sounds right?
  • tinkerbellang83
    tinkerbellang83 Posts: 9,147 Member
    GreatOnion wrote: »
    Used the strength option, it comes in at about 160cals per hour. Sounds right?

    Sounds fairly reasonable, again you will be able to adjust after a few weeks if you're not gaining as expected.
  • GreatOnion
    GreatOnion Posts: 9 Member
    Thanks for the help everybody. I appreciate it.
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