How Many Calories??

Alright, for probably close to a year i was eating about 1300-1500 calories a day which i already know wasn't healthy because I'm a 15 year old male who constantly exercises. I was doing cardio for many months but now I have started weight training and doing cardio three days a week, doing straight cardio for three days of the week, and having one day of rest. I have been looking at many calorie need calculators and have talked to a dietician and I got numbers anywhere between 2200 calories a day and 3500 calories a day. I have started to gradually increase my calories, theyre probably around 1800-1900 a day, I know it's still not enough. So, what would be a good number of calories to have a day to gain a lot of muscle mass, gain an acceptable amount of fat, and become more healthy? And should I jump straight to that number from where I am at now or gradually increase? Also, my habits from my old diet have me constantly counting calories in my head when i eat which I think keeps me from wanting to consume more calories. Any suggestions to get over this? Because I really want to gain some weight. Example of my thinking about calories when i shouldnt-At dinner I try to eat some turkey or chicken with a calorie dense vegetable like a potato but I'll end up convincing myself I've had enough calories for the day and instead have a salad.-It's really pretty annoying.

Men should typically aim for 3000 cals a day to start gaining weight.  As a teenager you're likely to need more than 3000.  You'd have to completely rein back on the exercise, however, if you went for that.  If you carried on exercising vigorously you'd be looking at 4000-4500 cals quite easily. 

You should try to get to 3000 in as short a time-frame as possible, ideally.   Talk to your parents about what you want to achieve because support is vital.   If you choose energy-dense, low bulk foods and if you aim to eat 'little and often' then it's more achieveable than you might think.   Foods like oily fish, red meats, full-fat dairy products, whole eggs, olive oils, chocolate, grains, avocados, bananas, starchy vegetables, potatoes, pasta......   Plan your meals and snacks ahead of time so that you can fit it all in.   Try to eat a little quicker than normal and always clear your plate.  Give mealtimes top priority over everything else you do.  If you don't gain weight steadily at 3000, up it in 500 cal stages until you're doing so.

NB.  If you have a history of starving yourself and if your anxiety about calories holds you back from eating more this time around then you could easily be displaying disordered eating behaviour.... and for that you'd need some specific help via your doctor.

Thanks for the information. I've been trying to up my calories the past few days. About the last part of my original post gi-jane, it's not that i starve myself because the salad i eat is very large and fills me up. It just doesn't give me the calories i need to gain weight. I was wondering if you knew how I could get over the fear of eating the calories I need.

Filling yourself up with no-cal foods like salad is a recognised behaviour of people in your situation, I'm afraid.  It's the equivalent of eating tissue paper.     Fears are overcome by facing them and by repetition.  The first time you dive into a swimming pool off a high board is a daunting moment.  If you stand there prevaricating and do nothing you'll never jump.  If you jump and then go back up and jump again... each time the fear subsides.

What else in life scares you?..... A good technique for facing one fear is to juxtapose it against facing other fears.  If you tackle one successfully, you gain confidence that you could tackle another.  "Hell, if I can do that, I can do anything!..." if you like.

So you have to get hold of some of the foods I mentioned earlier and put those on the plate instead of the salad...  You'll feel anxious at first (rate it out of 10) but if you wait a second the anxiety will drop a little (down to 9, 8, 7, 6...)  and then you just have to dive in and eat the whole thing.  Clear the plate... no half measures.  Next time you do it, you'll feel a lot less anxious.

Family/medical support is vital.  If people know what you're trying to achieve and they can encourage you either morally or professionally you'll stand a much better chance of succeeding.  So talk to your doctor and your family.

Three, two, one.... jump!  And enjoy...