text: how do i find out my base level of calories? and how to increase it on a daily basis to put on muscle? below are a few articles by john berardi.  he writes articles for t-nation and is considered one of their leading experts on nutrition.  his massive eating diet is what your looking for if you intention is to properly increase calories in order to put on muscle.  i've also included a link to a calculator on his site that will help you figure out how many calories you need.  if you check my answers in this category you'll see that i often link to t-nation's website.  i don't work for them, i've just made the best gains of my life following their guidelines.  i think they have the best information out there and i'm just trying to spread the wealth.