Weight Gain Calculator
To gain weight you need to eat a little more than you burn. Enter your details and pick a pace to see your daily calories and protein for gaining mostly muscle.
How we got it
Your maintenance calories (TDEE) come from Mifflin-St Jeor resting energy times your activity level. We add the surplus you pick and round to 50. Protein is 1.6 to 2.0 g per kg of body weight, the band for building muscle. Expected gain uses about 7,700 calories per kg, so treat it as an upper limit: some of the surplus goes into building muscle and moving more.
Updated . Sources: Mifflin, St Jeor and others, 1990, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition; Jäger and others, 2017, ISSN position stand: protein and exercise.
Questions
How many calories do I need to gain weight?
About 250 to 500 calories a day more than you burn. The smaller surplus adds less fat; the larger one is faster.
How do I gain weight without gaining fat?
Use a small surplus, eat protein at every meal and train for strength 3 or 4 times a week. Check your waist as well as the scale.
Is this for weight gain in pregnancy?
No. Pregnancy weight gain follows different guidance, so ask your midwife or doctor.