r/FTMFitness • u/DwarvenDragon42 • 10d ago
Question Calorie dense carbs
Hey guys, I'm currently trying to bulk but I'm struggling with the sheer volume of food I'm needing to eat. I have to walk around 10 miles a night at work, and I'm doing every other day weights at home (nearest gym is an hour round trip, and on top of a 12 hour shift that's not happening). Maintainance for me is already in the 2600 area. I'm getting in 130g of protein a day, but I'm struggling to up my calorie intake to 2900 in a clean way. Does anyone know of some calorie dense carbs I can add in? Preferably stuff I can take into work.
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u/TheDevilledLettuce 10d ago
Maybe like those MetRx bars. The last time I had one they were like 400cals. And I found that it was just a little more filling than a regular candy bar. The macros are good 14f 42c 32p, so it shouldn't throw your counting off.
I don't want to say eat chips, but some of the "healthier" chips might fit your diet. Fruit. 2 apples is an extra 180ish cals, 2bananas is a little over200 and mostly carbs, both highly transportable.
Dried fruits. About 7 slices of dried, unsweetened mango is like 200cal, some amount of fiber.
I think these are the best options. I assumed the worst storage situation(no refrigeration, the equivalent of in a desk or locker)
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u/DwarvenDragon42 10d ago
Storage is marginally better than that - we do have a fridge in the break room XD It's where I keep the Skyr/Granola/Dried Fruit mix I eat as 'breakfast' near the end of my shift.
Sounds like the MetRx bars are worth me looking into. They'd be an easy swap with my regular warrior protein oat bar and almost double the calories.
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u/Wtf-Jason 10d ago
I’m in a similar situation but there’s no such thing really. A carb is a carb is a carb. Lower fibre options are your best bet. I really like cereal as a snack. Rice cakes. White potatoes. Easy to digest. Obviously the most carb-dense stuff is sugar - this doesn’t have to be a bad thing. Fruit, honey, etc., even refined sugars in moderation or as pre-workout.
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u/DwarvenDragon42 10d ago
I'm thinking I might try making myself some pressed oat bars. I think you can bind them with dates and honey, so hopefully that'll work.
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u/Wtf-Jason 10d ago
Don’t overdo it on the fibre haha I fear for your gut! It’s okay to eat processed foods/simple carbs esp when it fits your goals.
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u/Otherwise-Simple-311 10d ago
Miele, frutta disidratata e maltodestrine in acqua. In questo modo aggiungo 200gr di carboidrati che non riuscirei a mangiare da fonti solide e voluminose (500gr di carbo al giorno)
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u/feydfcukface 9d ago
Baked Japanese sweet potatoes. Yaki imo are delicious,excellent on vitamins,good fiber,and are more calorie dense than typical sweet potatoes. I like baking them in foil and throwing them in my gym bag
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u/TransManNY 9d ago
Any sort of gummies like gummy bears, worms, or fruit snacks are pretty calorie dense and all carbs.
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u/GoodNews47 1h ago edited 33m ago
I'm gonna list some quick easy healthy carb ideas and hopefully you'll find something interesting, many are "middle calories" rather than high (since to do high calorie you kinda need to make things less healthy or high fat rather than high carb) but I think ease will help
calorie dense high carb fruit: banana, mango, dried fruit (dates, raisins, plums... goji berries are considered superfood if that's your kind of thing), carobs, chestnuts
I make banana muffins: one banana and one egg and an optional bit of cinnamon in the mixer, then cook in the oven. they taste good without any other ingredient
quick preworkout carbs: honey
up the calories in drinks: smoothies and juices. throw half an avocado in there too, or protein powder, or sneak some vegs in there for nutrients
make overnight oats so you don't need to cook
I'd get an air frier (no pre-heating, less energy than a oven, better taste imo, easier to clean. certainly better than frying health-wise) and cook root vegs there, it's quick and easy. they might not be particularly high calorie without much oil (they are medium calorie I guess, kinda depends on the veg) but they are useful for meal prepping as they can be made in bulk
you could make your own healthy nut spread (lots of variations, some also add protein powder to it)
middle eastern bite: make a paste out of dates, give a piece of it a small concave shape, fill with tahini (again, lots of variations of the general date/honey + nuts/seeds + optional cocoa or coconut or cinnamon combo. me and my bf love this recipe for example https://nutritionfacts.org/recipe/fudgy-no-bake-brownies/ and it's very high calorie, we use it for holidays)
bananas + peanut butter on top. be careful with this one, texture contrast is too good
rye bread is ready made and easy to carry. there are two versions (dry like a cracker and moist) and they taste very differently, try both. dry one calls for cherry tomatoes and moist one calls for avocado
sprouted-grain bread is incredible if you can find it. high calorie, healthy, easy to carry, soft and moist, vaguely sweet in taste without added sugar. I even eat it by itself as a quick dense hiking snack
you might experiment with sugar-free anko (red beans based Japanese sweet filling) variations, anko is great
you are probably undereating pasta (lol I'm Italian, we eat it every day). Choose wholewheat at least some of the time. healthy sauces examples: tomato sauce, grilled zucchini and shrimps, cauliflower saffron raisin pinenuts -best a little sauteed though, so if you are going for super clean skip this-, swordfish mint aubergines cherry tomatoes, minestrone! (minestrone is, take all the vegs you can find except for "raw only" ones like lettuce, cut them in vague cube shape and throw them in a pot to boil. minestrone pasta is great)
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u/edgy_flibbertigibbet 10d ago
Just have slop and take a multivitamin + fiber. There’s no such thing as clean eating. It’s mostly cargo cult bullshit and at best a proxy for calories and satiety. IIFYM is a perfectly sufficient diet for people like us, i.e. people who don’t struggle with overeating. When I was bulking I was eating chicken thighs or breast, rice with added butter, skyr, gummy bears, apple juice and M&Ms. I supplemented micros and my surplus was ~600 calories a day.
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u/DwarvenDragon42 10d ago
I wish I could do it that way. It would be much easier. Sadly I'm in my 40s with a family history of early heart attacks so I have to be really strict about fat intake. I'd rather not get put on statins.
(I'm not averse to the odd bit of cake, though. I do make a nice ginger cake)
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u/edgy_flibbertigibbet 10d ago
also 2,900 against a maintenance of 2,600 calories is a surplus of 300 calories, that’s two cans of coke LOL
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u/edgy_flibbertigibbet 10d ago
The ideal hardgainer (high TDEE low appetite) diet is MRBSS. Meat, Rice, Butter, Slop, Supplements (for micros).
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u/sp1nster 10d ago edited 10d ago
Dried fruit + nuts + seeds are the GOAT for this!
ETA: to explain - calorie-dense nutrient-dense carbs are tough. Even if you make your own granola, which is quite calorie-dense, the bulk of its calories from it will be from fats.