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Last Updated on April 20, 2022 by
Are you struggling to bulk up? Well, these high calorie foods for bulking may be for you. The following foods are, in my experience the optimal choices when trying to stack on weight.
Avoid The Dirty Bulk
When doing their first bulk, most dirty bulk. Meaning they’ll eat anything and everything under the sun without tracking calories or macros. This will make you heavier, but most of this weight will be pure fat.
When it’s time to cut again, you don’t want to have to be cutting for half a year. You may have to do this if you mess up your bulk. It’s not fun trust me. If you’re looking to start a cut soon, be sure to check out our proper dieting article.
So, when eating high calorie foods for bulking, it’s vital you don’t consume too many calories throughout the bulk. Do it intelligently, 500 surplus calories per day is an advisable rate.
How Do You Find Your Bulking Calories?
As mentioned above, it’s advisable to eat 500 extra calories per day. Before you’re able to do that you’ll need to know how many calories your body needs to maintain itself, or your maintenance calories.
The simple way to do this is by visiting this calorie calculator tool. It’s the one I use personally.
They’re not always 100% accurate, so you’ll have to see how many calories work for you. However, generally the calculator is fairly accurate.
5 High Calorie Foods For Bulking
As promised, below are my top 5 high calorie foods for bulking.
1. Oats
Oats are in the hall of fame in regards to high calorie foods for bulking. Oats are fast-digesting, versatile and quick to prepare. They’re also great for energy production and carb loading.
The Calories & Macros
In 100g of Oats, there are 374 calories, 66g of Carbohydrates, 17g of protein and 7g of fat (among other nutrients).
Meal Ideas
A simple porridge bowl with honey will do! An excellent pre-workout meal, your muscles will be fuelled and prepared for your workout.
2. Avocado
Avocado is a great high calorie food for bulking. For one, it tastes great, but more importantly, Avocados are an excellent source of healthy fats. These fats aid in optimised testosterone maintenance and production.
The Calories & Macros
In 100g of Avocado, there are 160 calories, 8.5 grams of Carbohydrates, 2g of protein and 15g of fat.
Meal Ideas
Try a shredded Chicken, Cheese, Avocado and salsa sauce wrap for your next lunch meal. This wrap will fit your bulking, nutritional and tastes needs.
3. Whole Milk
Although technically not a high calorie ‘food’ for bulking, whole milk needs to be on this list. Whole milk is very calorie-dense but quick and easy to consume. So don’t forget about it.
The Calories
In 100ml of whole milk, there are 62 calories, 5g of Carbohydrates, 3g of protein and 3g of fat.
Meal Ideas
Instead of using water or skimmed milk, use whole milk with any sort of shake you consume. You can also just drink whole milk throughout the day.
4. Peanut Butter
This is my favourite addition to this list. It’s a great high calorie food for bulking, but be careful with overconsumption. It’s easy to overindulge with peanut butter.
The Calories & Macros
In 100 grams of smooth peanut butter, there are a whopping 588 calories. Out of those calories, there is 20g of Carbohydrates, 25g of Protein and a shocking 50g of fat.
Meal Ideas
Add a tablespoon of peanut butter to your next protein shake mix for an easy extra 200 calories. You could also eat straight from the jar, I wouldn’t advise it as you might finish it all in one go.
5. Nuts & Seeds
Nuts and seeds are excellent high-calorie foods for bulking. This is the case as nuts for their size contain a high-calorie density.
The Calories
Of course, it ranges between which nuts and seeds you pick. But let’s take Almonds for example. In 100g of Almonds, there are 579 calories, 21g of Carbohydrates, 21g of protein and 50g of fat.
Meal Ideas
None needed! I’d suggest taking a large bag with you in your school or work bag, and go about your day. You’ll find yourself snacking throughout the day.
The Best Supplements For Bulking
Along with these high-calorie foods for bulking above, it may be worthwhile for you to use supplements to gain weight faster. This is especially true if you are a hard gainer. So what are the best supplements for bulking?
The first supplement would be a simple Whey protein powder or a similar alternative. It’s a quick way to get your calories in, plus unlike in the past, they taste fairly good these days.
The second supplement for bulking is that of a mass gainer. Similar to the first example, they both include a focused amount of Whey protein. However, a mass gainer contains additional high calorie dense nutrients to bulk you up as fast as possible.
These are just some examples, if you’d like to see more check out our natural muscle gainer supplements list.
How Long Should You Bulk?
It’s very well and good eating high calorie foods for bulking and getting bigger. But, when does this bulk end? You must have an end date, or you’ll simply be obese after a while.
Generally, with most diet plans whether cutting or bulking, people aim for 8-12 weeks. In terms of bulking this is a good time period as it allows you time to find the perfect calorie amount for you.
Also, 8-12 weeks isn’t long enough for you to get terribly overweight. If you do your bulk wrong, and put on more weight than you’d of liked to, it gives you some wiggle room to cut back down.
Final words – Best High Calorie Foods For Bulking
In this article, I’ve included my 5 favourite high calorie foods for bulking. Although not all strictly ‘foods’ they are things that count towards your daily calories.
Keep in mind not to go over 500 calories unless you’re an extremely hard gainer. Or you’ll be regretting it when you have to cut back down, trust me on this one I’ve done it myself.
That’s all from me, but try and integrate some of these foods into your diet plan, you’ll soon see the scales go up.
Your coach,
Jack
