T Nation

Not Enough Calories, HELP!

#1

I'm 5'10" 170 lbs with 15" arms, 45" chest and back, 32" waist

Please help, I started trying to actually body build, vs working out to be in shape. Over the past month I noticed that I was looking really ripped and my measurements showed I was making gains in areas like arms and chest. BUT I keep losing weight!

After recording my diet I found out that my protein intake was right where it should be but my carbs were lacking, but not too bad. My calories however are crap! I'm having a hard time tipping 2000 cal's a day. My problem is I'm already full as hell, b/c im eating so much over 7-8 meals a day. I need more calories but in less food. Any ideas for food high in calories but low in...."mass"?

Long story short I?m cutting when I want to be bulking. Its nice being ripped but I want to add size and weight. Protein is not an issue, carbs are slightly below what I need so I have room to work there, but I NEED calories. I need to know what foods have lots of calories with being too heavy, because I can?t eat much more.

#2

nuts pack a fair amount of cals

#3

What kind have the highest? thanks for the reply also.

#4

Just eat alot of peanut butter and you'll be fine. Try to find a natural brand.

#5

I'm not aware of any nut that is low in calories.

walnuts, pecans, almonds, cashews are all great choice with 200 cals or so per 1/4 c which isn't that much nut wise

#6

Coconut oil

#7

olive oil.

whole milk.

half and half lol

2,000 calories is NOT much man.

slowly up that by 2-300 a day and your body/stomach will adapt and be able to "man up" and take it.

good luck!

#8

what about a litre of whole milk a day

#9

thanks for all the replys! They all sound good except the milk one, i can only do so much milk without getting sick. I'm pretty sure my problem is that my stomach just strank over the past year from eating small meals several times a day so i just have to get used to eating heavy foods again.

I'm hearing different things about carbs though. I keep reading on sites 3-4 carbs per lb of body weight, but then last night a guy whos a heavy lifter told me as long as i get 300-400 i'd be fine. what do u think?

#10

3-4 cbs/lb of bodyweight seems a bit high unless you're an endurance athlete. Personally I get about 400ish, but I'm eating around 4500 cal/day.

If you need that many carbs though (and I don't think you will) go ahead and eat them.

Other's will tell you to do lower carb, higher fat. Kind of depends on how your body handles them.

#11

+1 on the olive oil. ~120 calories per tablespoon. Put it in your shakes, food, whatever. Easy and healthy calories.

#12

Coming from "eating like a bird" all day....it's been tough for me to gain weight too.

While I know I must "eat more"...that is easier said than done for some of us.

small suggestions I can make:

  1. I had been drinking water during my workouts...now I make sure to drink something with some Calories in it. I personally use this drink made for endurance athletes...so there is no protein, but the goal of my "during workout" drink for me is to simply counter some/all of the Calories I'm burning.

  2. I have also increased the number of calories in my PWO drink...from ~200 to ~350 (this of course DOES have protein)

  3. I ALWAYS pack nuts for at least ONE of my snacks during the day.

  4. (this is probably the least impactful) but if I have a PBJ or PB w/honey sandwich...I do 2 slices, instead of one sandwich (if that makes any sense). By eating 1 slice at a time it forces me to put additional PB & Jelly/Honey on it...which ends up being more Calories.

Hope some of that helps....as it's still been a slow....but I'm getting there....road.

#13

It's hard man. Harder than the actual workouts for sure.

Another thing to consider as well as the suggestions in the other posts, is to eat good-tasting foods. No one is going to get very hungry for dry chicken breasts and brown rice. Find some recipes that you like and cook them in bulk.

#14

1 macadamia nut is 18kcal

50 is 900!

#15

4 cups of milk. Easy to down 4 cups, almost a liter. Olive oil, make a few shakes.

Throw 2 bananas, 2 very big tablespoons of natural peanutbutter, a tablespoon of olive oil and a scoop or two of whey in a blender, with 3 cups of milk.

If that doesn't add enough calories, I don't know what will.

#16

www.dpsnutrition.net/get_item_on410.htm

try making this, its something i make every day and contains nearly 1700kcal.

1 serving weight gainer
4-5cups milk
3tbsp natural peanut butter
.5-1 cup cottage cheese

blend it all together and drink it throughout the day. Tastes great and is loaded with protein and fats.

#17

Take a blended, dump some whole milk in, dump some oatmeal in, dump some choc protein powder in, and chuck some natty PB in and blend it for a minute.

You'll get a 1000 calorie breakfast right there. The best part about it is it's quick, easy, and you can bring it out the door if you're in a rush.

#18

Also, I found making a one scoop MD shake with about 5-6oz water is "small" enough in your stomach that you can drink it with a meal. That'll give you extra cals, and tons quality proteins throughout the day.

#19

1 cup 4% fat cottage cheese
1/4 cup whole almonds
1 banana
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
1 scoop grow whey
1/4 cup oats

817 cals, 31g fat, 80g carb, 62g pro

oh and blend all that with some ice and a bit of water to get things moving

#20

The Hulk Strawberry (40 oz.) at Smoothie King. 2088 calories. I eat your daily intake in 10 minutes.

I'd recommend getting one just so you can see how easy it is to get in plenty of calories. But at 52g protein, 70g fat, 314g carbs, I wouldn't make a habit out of it.

Other, better recipes have been posted in here. A blender is your best friend when you're trying to pack in the calories. Along with whole milk, natural peanut butter, olive oil, large quantities of rice or potatoes, hamburgers, steak, spaghetti, pizza...

You see where I'm going? You don't have to eat squeaky clean all the time when you're trying to gain. It isn't an excuse to pig out on nothing but crap, but grilled chicken and broccoli isn't going to make you grow.