How Many Daily Calories You Need to Gain Weight

Hey gang,

I've gone over quite a lot the past few weeks on techniques for working out, but one of the biggest reasons that hardgainers don't gain weight is an insufficient diet.

If you are trying to learn how to gain weight fast, your diet and nutrition is even MORE important for gaining weight then the weight training. Proper weight training with a proper diet will add pounds and pounds of muscle; a proper diet with no workout will add weight in both fat and muscle, but a good workout without a proper diet simply won't result in much of anything except frustration.

So how many calories do you need to gain weight? Well, everybody is different, but fortunately there is an easy formula that you can follow to get an approximate of how many calories to eat if you need to gain weight.

Step 1:

Take your current body weight in pounds (lbs) and multiply by 11.

Example: 150 lbs x 11 = 1,650 calories

Step 2:

Figure out your metabolic factor.

If you are receiving this newsletter, I am assuming you are a hardgainer, therefore we will assume your metabolic rate is that of someone with a fast metabolism.

Now take your metabolic % based on your age below:

Metabolic %

Under 30 years old
Fast Metabolism- 50%

30-40 years old
Fast Metabolism- 45%

Over 40 years old
Fast Metabolism- 40%

Example: 1,650 calories x 50% = 825

So in this example I took the calories needed based on the body weight of 150 pounds, and now we multiply it by the metabolic % and get an additional 825 calories. You need to add these calories because even if you pretty much do nothing all day long, your body is still burning calories by keeping your organs working, walking, getting up, ect.

Step 3:

Put it together.

1,650 + 825 = 2,475 calories

This example suggests that a 150 pound person needs approximately 2,475 calories to maintain his/her weight. Now, since you are most likely trying to gain weight in the form of muscle, we need to take into account the weight training. An average weight training workout to gain weight will usually burn somewhere around 500 calories, so to be safe, let's add that into the equation on workout days.

2,475 + 500 = 2,975 calories

Step 4:

Now, it is said that in order to gain healthy weight, you need to eat about 500 extra calories a day. So, for the last part of the equation, let's add at least another 500 calories to your daily diet.

2,975 + 500 = 3,475 calories

Step 5:

Test, track, and tweak your progress.

One point you don't want to forget is that you must continuously make the necessary adjustments as you gain weight, or you will simply stop gaining weight. So every week or two, redo the equation with your new weight and make the necessary adjustments.

I hope this helps, and I'll talk to your next week.

Your Friend,

Derek Manuel
How to Gain Weight Fast