I see, it's ok to differ with my opinion. My point is, why bother knowing all the calorie values? The main point is trying to gain more weight, and no limit is set. So, just go on and just eat. If you think even without exercise, eating 3 times a day would do you no good in gaining more weight, simply eat 5 times a day. Knowing calorie values in my opinion is just more important on somebody who wants to get a specific target. If you want to bulk up but planning on gaining just the right amount of weight, go on ahead and get the numbers because that would help you in balancing the whole process. If simply trying to be fat since you're saying you can't get fat and has already bored being skinny, just eat more than you usually does.

47kg for a man, is too skinny.
Just eat a lot of rice and you'll be fine. Try to get up to 5 times a day meal. If you don't have the budget for 5 times of meal, then you need to budget your regular meals so that you can support meals for 5 times a day. Try to drink less during eating so that you can eat more, drink a lot of water is important, just try to drink most after your meal.

One of the reason to calculate the calorie is to avoid the inconsistent of calorie consumption. Most of skinny guy struggling to gain weight doesn't know how much they eat and just eat based on their appetite. When you say eat more, how much is eat more? That's very vague term and hence calorie counting can totally avoid this problem. And a lot skinny guys always "think" they already eat a lot but when the food intake listed out, they realise some day they are eating too few. Or some just try to eat more on certain meals/day and forget about it since they don't feel hungry.

Counting calories isn't necessary at all but it is good practice during your beginning to diet/bulk or when you having problem lose/gain weight. It can be used to diagnose what's the main causes of your fail diet plan which normally is overeating/undereating. Once you get used to to it or after few months/years, you can estimate/know how much you need to eat to reach your goal.

I'm not sure whether drink less water will increase your food intake but liquid calorie is the best for people with low appetite. That's why milk is one of the best bulking food.

This post has been edited by -ccy-: May 11 2015, 04:43 PM

Skinny guys who failed to gain weight always said that they eat a lot but they never able to eat the amount of food they need to gain weight. So are we gonna say, "Eat More, Eat More" to them again and again? Isn't it insanity because they kept doing the same thing to "Eat More, Eat More" yet they still aren't able to gain weight.

My method? Count them calories. I will know how much calorie I need, how much I have eaten a day and how much left I need to reach my calorie goal. If I need another 900kcal but during supper time, I'll make some quick BroTein Shake consist of PB, Full Cream Milk, Chilled Banana, Greek Yogurt and more stuff which will fulfill that 900kcal and BAM, caloric requirement achieve! End of week, my food log will show that I have a 7500kcal calorie surplus and that more or less translate to 1kg of weight gain on the scale.

Sure it's hard to count calorie but it's a fool proof method. You'll teach yourself discipline, consistency, you have your small goals and big goals, and you have knowledge to back it up.

Your method, it's just like flying blind, hoping to reach the end of the landing strips for safe landing.

I see, I see. You are definitely correct on the part that they eat with mood(appetite). Why I recommend the way I said, it is because that's how I gained weight. Other people definitely have other ways, even better ways. I gained 10kgs in just 3-6 month last time (55kg to 65kg), and now are feeling the consequences, hahaha. Maybe how it happened for me, doesn't necessarily possible for someone else but I'll tell how it happened.

During my degree years, eating is hard. I don't have that much money to spend on eating is one thing, not having a transportation to go eat is another. I ended up usually only eat when my friends are going to eat (because they have transportation) and sometimes they only eat once a day. That is how, I started craving to eat, even though it is enough that time, my mind have already remembered how hard is it to get food and eat.

So after I finished my degree, I went back home to stay with my parents and work as a freelance setting up a website. My mother usually would prepare breakfast before she went to work, usually it's nasi goreng and she usually would make more than any of us could finish. So I would eat breakfast (around 7am), then also finish the remaining food later (around 12am). When she comes back from work, she usually would bring back some kuih with her, so that kuih is my food (around 3pm). She would then cook dinner (which the same way she would cook breakfast, more than what we could eat) for us before or after resting for a while, and I would eat that dinner (around 6pm). Around 11pm or 12pm, there would still have leftover from the dinner she cooked so as a good son, I would finish the food at that time.

How can I eat so much? After having living on myself, I've understood the hardship of getting food, so when I went back home and saw the food my mother cooked wasn't finished, I simply can't stand by and just look the food goes to waste. Also as a good son, I would make my mother happy by finishing her hard effort on preparing our meals. (My mother really is a wonder woman, I really cannot do so much activity daily)

Enough about me, why I said that less drinking during eating is because if you occupy your stomach space with water, you won't be able to stuff it with food there. Drinking milk is one way to get the extra meal you're missing.

I don't know how hard during your degree years. I just graduated August last year, and I must say, peanut butter works wonder during my bulk!

I believe Manlet is still studying too. Perhaps bro can share how you eat. I think I remember you saying nasi lemak

I got transport go eat
But now nearing finals so no time go eat
Morning wake up go buy nasi lemak nearby then go campus study
buy roti and milk from 7-11 eat while studying at campus
On the way back home from exam passby macdonalds drive thru
When studying at home munch on cashew and peanuts and drink milo or protein shake haha

hahaha, flying blind doesn't mean you won't reach your destination you know. Bats are blind and they can fly and reach their destination . The way I suggested is the way how I gained my weight.

The thing about eating more is pretty simple at least for me. Usually, people will eat lunch and later dinner, and that is somehow the standard(fixed) value. When you keep eating only lunch and dinner and didn't have any gain on weight, that means you're not eating enough, simple. If you maintain only lunch/dinner (one meal per day) definitely you'll lose weight even if you didn't count them calories. If you maintain your regular 2 meals per day and have no shift in weight basically means you're having just enough to maintain. Now, simply add in another meal or two for the daily meal equation and voila, you'll automatically have the extra calories you need to gain weight.

The problem with this method is not because it didn't count calories, it is because that person keeps on eating differently everyday. If he/she maintain the same kind of diet everyday, having an extra meal or two will definitely gain that calorie needed for the weight gain process. Also, this can be maintained with the same lifestyle, you can't expect to gain weight when you add 2 extra meals but goes on jogging for 5km the same time. Just with the same eating habit and lifestyle, if your weight won't add up, just add more meals.

I don't think you are the same case as those "hardgainer". You have that appetite to eat but you eat little due to your friend and environment factor which is limited food source and money. That's why when you get back to home and food is prepared, you eat the amount that you can eat and gaining weight. So if you start counting calories during your degree years, you will realise your food intake isn't enough and you should start getting some cheap bulking food such as bread and peanut butter. But for most skinny guys, they have the access to food but they just don't have the appetite to eat. Counting calories will "remind" them to eat and how much left to eat. If they are full, they should do like what alien9 suggested which is some protein milkshake which can contain up to 1k calories.

I'm not encouraging everyone to count calorie as I know a lot of my friend thinks that calorie counting is time wasting and planning what to eat is restricting their life. BUT if you want to reach your goal, calorie counting is the best and cheapest tool to help you achieve your goal. You have to sacrifice something for your goal.

ps: spending few minutes each day to key in what you eat each day isn't that difficult compared to surfing facebook for hours.

If counting calories allows you to eat different food everyday and ensuring you will reach your goal, why don't you do it? Same eating habit everyday just not suitable for everyone. Plain rice, chicken breast and broccoli everyday? no thanks lol

This post has been edited by -ccy-: May 11 2015, 05:41 PM

It's not that I cannot simply just eat peanut butter and bread, it's just that peanut butter and bread will cost more than rice if I'm only to consume just that. No budget to simply always restock bread, peanut butter and maggi mee. They simply wouldn't give the same feel of being full.

My life during degree years is not intolerable, it's just enough to make me feel that I shouldn't waste food when it is there, that's how I managed to get the appetite to eat when I'm back at my parent's house.

True, true but I am actually one of those hard gainer. I was 21kg in standard 3 and 31kg in standard 6. I finished SPM with my weight at 45kg and graduated degree with my weight around 55kg. The reason I tell the story is because before degree, I am staying with my parents and the same amount of food is there before too, just that I don't have the mood to eat. I gained such appetite is due to the environment during my degree years. Environment can only build the appetite, but the action of eating more is the one that gain me my kilos. hehe

Is it OK if I bulk with only bodyweight exercise? I'm 175cm and 50kgs atm, how much caloric surplus should I go for? Is 500 too little or? Since I'm extremely underweight for my height.

Calculate ur tdee

Tdee 1.8k sedentary

Imo 500 is the most highest amount of calorie surplus. More than that u'll gain fat. Who knows so u better try fr urself. The amount of surplus is between 300-500. Use myfitnesspal to track ur calories and macros.

mcdonalds, kfc, triple ramli burgers.... fast foods maggie mee.. so we are less likely to take food health into consideration when bulking? do we? hmmmmm.......

10% of your TDEE should suffice. 500cal surplus is a bit too much. You would want to minimize fat gains.

oh thanks bros , ill increase the cals slowly if im not gaining weight.

It depends. Those food choices are usually for people who don't care how much fat their gained during their bulking period. They'll eat what they want as long as they reached their bulking calorie requirement and usually will exceeds by a huge amount.

There are people who still eat healthy (not to confuse with clean) while bulking, making sure the macro and micro are consumed adequately asd keeping the fat gain to a very minimal.

hmmm.... understoood...