How Many Calories Should I Eat To Gain Weight Calculator? The answer to this question depends on a number of factors such as: gender, age, height and weight. Carbohydrates are one of four macro nutrients that the body needs to function. The others are protein, fat and water. Understanding which ones help you lose weight and which are “bad” for you can be confusing.
How Many Calories Do You Need Gain Weight?
It depends on your BMR and activity level. More you expend in exercise the more you need to consume. Adding 500 calories a day helps to gain 250-500 gm per week or 1lb, a standard way to gain weight. If you want fast weight gain then adding 700-1000 calories per day will help to increase 1kg per week if combined with exercise. Based on this set your expectations and goal.
Different Kind of Calories and Their Effects
There are a lot of ways to increase total calorie intake. Unhealthy sources and healthy sources.
Unhealthy sources are calorie dense and immediately increase your demand but they are rich in saturated and trans fat mainly which though increase your weight but the fat mass not the muscle mass. Some of them are:
- Refined carbohydrates Concentrated sources of calories as well as carbs. Taking more of these in forms of cakes, pastries, doughnuts will no way to lead you metabolic disorders. Better to replace these refined sources with whole grains to get plenty supply of fibre, resistant starch and well as fuel from carbs.
- Processed Foods They are loaded with trans fats, processed sugar which are not a healthy option to boost up calorie intake.
- Trans Fat They are very tasty as deeply fried in reused oil and easily can increase your calorie content of meal but if you want a healthy choices this is not a good option to include. You can swap your unhealthy french fries or pizza with some healthy varieties.
Healthy vs Unhealthy Calories
Refined Carbohydrates
Many of the cheapest calories are also the most addictive and least healthy.
Wolfing down endless refined carbohydrates by eating chips & donuts while drinking soda can lead to a rapid deterioration of your health and the weight gain going to your belly area, which is linked to increased risk of heart disease & type 2 diabetes.
Carbohydrates act as fast fuel. The body can store excess calories in fat but the body, but it can not convert carbohydrates into proteins.
Processed junk foods can help you put on belly fat rather than lean muscle mass.
Proteins
The body uses protein to build lean muscle mass. So if you want to eat more calories to put on healthy weight, it can be a good idea to eat a diet rich in proteins.
Some of the most popular calorie-dense & protein-rich foods include:
- Nuts: peanuts, walnuts, macadamia nuts, almonds or even foods like peanut butter or trail mix.
- Meats: Fattier cuts of beef, pork, chicken & other meats including salmon & other oily fish. Whole eggs are also a fantastic source of protein.
Some people also supplement their meals with high protein weight gainer shakes.
The United States RDA for protein is 0.4g/lb or 0.8g/Kg. Those seeking to gain muscle mass should exceed this by a significant margin.
You should aim to eat at least 0.7 to 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight if you are trying to build body mass. This equates to 1.5 to 2.2 grams of protein per kilogram.
People on higher calorie diets & professional athletes can go well above these levels. If you are “cutting” to lose body fat the recommended range can go as high as 1.5 grams per pound, which equates to 3.3 grams of protein per kilogram.
Fats
The low-fat diet craze over the past 30 years was largely a way of promoting diets where processed junk foods took the place of more expensive calories.
The following are all big winners for those looking to gain healthy weight:
- High-fat dairy foods: While milk, cheeses, creams, full-fat yogurt.
- Oils: Avocado oil & extra virgin olive oil.
- Meats: Go for the fattier cuts when you get a choice.
Carbohydrates
While we don’t advocate ultra-refined carbohydrates (like much of the garbage in the middle isles at most grocery stores), mixing in some bananas, avocados, dried fruits like dates & raises, along with whole grains like oats, granola and brown rice into your meals can help bring your meal costs down while still ensuring you have a calorie dense meal that helps you gain weight.
Sweet potatoes and yams are also popular choices.
Cereal bars & dark chocolate can be a good way to get some quick additional energy between meals.
Macronutrient Ratios
If you are serious about putting on lean muscle mass you should consume an above average share of your calories from protein. Obi Obadike suggested the following as baseline starting points for macronutrient ratios.
| Body Type | Protein | Fat | Carbs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ectomorph (skinny) | 25% | 20% | 55% |
| Mesomorph (muscular & athletic) | 30% | 30% | 40% |
| Endomorph (broad & thick) | 35% | 40% | 25% |
Keep in mind the above is based on the overall percent of calories consumed. Carbohydrates & protein have 4 calories per gram, whereas fat has 9 calories per gram. For a hypothetical 2,500 calorie diet here is the above table in grams.
| Body Type | Protein | Fat | Carbs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ectomorph (skinny) | 156 g | 56 g | 344 g |
| Mesomorph (muscular & athletic) | 188 g | 83 g | 250 g |
| Endomorph (broad & thick) | 219 g | 111 g | 156 g |
You can use the following calculator to quickly estimate your macronutrient consumption needs. By default it is set to a 2,500 calorie diet using the above Mesomorph ratio.
Weight gain calculator – how it works?
Let’s explain how the weight gain calculator works so you can answer the question “How many calories do I need to gain weight?”.
- Enter some details about yourself: sex, height, weight, age, and physical activity level.
- Enter your target weight.
- Choose your weight gain pace.
That’s all! The calorie calculator for weight gain will do all the math for you! After entering the information mentioned above, you will find out how many calories you need to maintain your current weight and therefore the minimum amount of calories you need to gain weight.
Moreover, the graphs below the calculator will show you how your calorie intake should change week by week and how your weight will increase weekly.
Calorie Calculator
The Calorie Calculator can be used to estimate the number of calories a person needs to consume each day. This calculator can also provide some simple guidelines for gaining or losing weight.
This Calorie Calculator is based on several equations, and the results of the calculator are based on an estimated average. The Harris-Benedict Equation was one of the earliest equations used to calculate basal metabolic rate (BMR), which is the amount of energy expended per day at rest. It was revised in 1984 to be more accurate and was used up until 1990, when the Mifflin-St Jeor Equation was introduced. The Mifflin-St Jeor Equation also calculates BMR, and has been shown to be more accurate than the revised Harris-Benedict Equation. The Katch-McArdle Formula is slightly different in that it calculates resting daily energy expenditure (RDEE), which takes lean body mass into account, something that neither the Mifflin-St Jeor nor the Harris-Benedict Equation do. Of these equations, the Mifflin-St Jeor Equation is considered the most accurate equation for calculating BMR with the exception that the Katch-McArdle Formula can be more accurate for people who are leaner and know their body fat percentage. The three equations used by the calculator are listed below:
Mifflin-St Jeor Equation:
For men:
BMR = 10W + 6.25H – 5A + 5
For women:
BMR = 10W + 6.25H – 5A – 161
Revised Harris-Benedict Equation:
For men:
BMR = 13.397W + 4.799H – 5.677A + 88.362
For women:
BMR = 9.247W + 3.098H – 4.330A + 447.593
Katch-McArdle Formula:
BMR = 370 + 21.6(1 – F)W
where:
W is body weight in kg
H is body height in cm
A is age
F is body fat in percentage
The value obtained from these equations is the estimated number of calories a person can consume in a day to maintain their body-weight, assuming they remain at rest. This value is multiplied by an activity factor (generally 1.2-1.95), dependent on a person’s typical levels of exercise, in order to obtain a more realistic value for maintaining body-weight (since people are less likely to be at rest throughout the course of an entire day). 1 pound, or approximately 0.45 kg, equates to about 3,500 calories. As such, in order to lose 1 pound per week, it is recommended that 500 calories be shaved off the estimate of calories necessary for weight maintenance per day. For example, if a person has an estimated allotment of 2,500 calories per day to maintain body-weight, consuming 2,000 calories per day for one week would theoretically result in 3,500 calories (or 1 pound) lost during the period.
It is important to remember that proper diet and exercise is largely accepted as the best way to lose weight. It is inadvisable to lower calorie intake by more than 1,000 calories per day, as losing more than 2 pounds per week can be unhealthy, and can result in the opposite effect in the near future by reducing metabolism. Losing more than 2 pounds a week will likely involve muscle loss, which in turn lowers BMR, since more muscle mass results in higher BMR. Excessive weight loss can also be due to dehydration, which is unhealthy. Furthermore, particularly when exercising in conjunction with dieting, maintaining a good diet is important, since the body needs to be able to support its metabolic processes and replenish itself. Depriving the body of the nutrients it requires as part of heavily unhealthy diets can have serious detrimental effects, and weight lost in this manner has been shown in some studies to be unsustainable, since the weight is often regained in the form of fat (putting the participant in a worse state than when beginning the diet). As such, in addition to monitoring calorie intake, it is important to maintain levels of fiber intake as well as other nutritional necessities to balance the needs of the body.
Calories in Common Foods
| Food | Serving Size | Calories | kJ |
| Fruit | |||
| Apple | 1 (4 oz.) | 59 | 247 |
| Banana | 1 (6 oz.) | 151 | 632 |
| Grapes | 1 cup | 100 | 419 |
| Orange | 1 (4 oz.) | 53 | 222 |
| Pear | 1 (5 oz.) | 82 | 343 |
| Peach | 1 (6 oz.) | 67 | 281 |
| Pineapple | 1 cup | 82 | 343 |
| Strawberry | 1 cup | 53 | 222 |
| Watermelon | 1 cup | 50 | 209 |
| Vegetables | |||
| Asparagus | 1 cup | 27 | 113 |
| Broccoli | 1 cup | 45 | 188 |
| Carrots | 1 cup | 50 | 209 |
| Cucumber | 4 oz. | 17 | 71 |
| Eggplant | 1 cup | 35 | 147 |
| Lettuce | 1 cup | 5 | 21 |
| Tomato | 1 cup | 22 | 92 |
| Proteins | |||
| Beef, regular, cooked | 2 oz. | 142 | 595 |
| Chicken, cooked | 2 oz. | 136 | 569 |
| Tofu | 4 oz. | 86 | 360 |
| Egg | 1 large | 78 | 327 |
| Fish, Catfish, cooked | 2 oz. | 136 | 569 |
| Pork, cooked | 2 oz. | 137 | 574 |
| Shrimp, cooked | 2 oz. | 56 | 234 |
| Common Meals/Snacks | |||
| Bread, white | 1 slice (1 oz.) | 75 | 314 |
| Butter | 1 tablespoon | 102 | 427 |
| Caesar salad | 3 cups | 481 | 2014 |
| Cheeseburger | 1 sandwich | 285 | 1193 |
| Hamburger | 1 sandwich | 250 | 1047 |
| Dark Chocolate | 1 oz. | 155 | 649 |
| Corn | 1 cup | 132 | 553 |
| Pizza | 1 slice (14″) | 285 | 1193 |
| Potato | 6 oz. | 130 | 544 |
| Rice | 1 cup cooked | 206 | 862 |
| Sandwich | 1 (6″ Subway Turkey Sandwich) | 200 | 837 |
| Beverages/Dairy | |||
| Beer | 1 can | 154 | 645 |
| Coca-Cola Classic | 1 can | 150 | 628 |
| Diet Coke | 1 can | 0 | 0 |
| Milk (1%) | 1 cup | 102 | 427 |
| Milk (2%) | 1 cup | 122 | 511 |
| Milk (Whole) | 1 cup | 146 | 611 |
| Orange Juice | 1 cup | 111 | 465 |
| Apple cider | 1 cup | 117 | 490 |
| Yogurt (low-fat) | 1 cup | 154 | 645 |
| Yogurt (non-fat) | 1 cup | 110 | 461 |
* 1 cup = ~250 milliliters, 1 table spoon = 14.2 gram
Macros Ratio to gain Weight
To build muscle and gain weight macronutrient distribution should be:
Protein : 30% of total Calorie
Fat: 30 % of total Calorie
Carbs: 40 % of total Calorie
General Health Tips To Gain Weight
Exercise
Exercise is one of the best methods to bulk up your muscles along with proper balanced diet. Do not try out strength training activity almost everyday but aim for 3 times in a week balanced with some cardio and warm up sessions.
Divide your activity regime part wise like keep a day for leg muscles, one day for chest and hand, other day for abs along with cardio.
Proper Sleep
This is an extremely important factor to recover your muscle wear and tear. Proper sleep for 7-8 hours boost up your metabolic rate, make you fresh for next activity as well as promotes muscle healing process.
The most common cause for being underweight
- Family History: Heredity plays a common role to determine your physique whether you are obese or underweight.
- Eating disorders : People with anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa may have lower BMI.
- Stress: Often stress is related to undereating which could be one of the reasons to lower your BMI.