Thread: Calories and Bulking and rest days

I understand to gain muscle you need to be in calorie surplus, and you need a lot of carbs and protein. I tracked my intake today on fitday and it turns out I consumed roughly 1700 calories (I will ballpark between 1600-1800 because fitday isn't always exact) and in my eyes, I feel like I ate a lot. I'm a little guy, 5'6 130lbs so I don't really need to eat a lot and I'm not really a heavy eater to begin with, so it's hard for me to constantly eat. I have been eating good, complex carbs and eating healthy in general- I stay away from junk food and only drink water and milk. This is my third week of lifting and today was my day of REST.

Anyway, aside from the fact that I need to eat more, do I need to eat as much on days that are my rest days? Obviously I need a lot of protein to repair and build muscle, but do I need to consume as many carbs and calories as I would if I was on a lifting day? I know that timing carbs is very important, that you need them most when you first wake up and before/after a workout, but if I'm on a rest day do I need to eat as many?

So far I've consumed:
1686 calories
54g fat (not all bad fat) @ 28%
187g carbs @ 41%
133g protein @ 31%

I'll probably have a protein shake in an hour to give me more calories for the day, and i'll track myself for the week and see how I do.

At 130 lbs, you're probably not eating enough to gain.

Ballpark maintenance has you probably around 1,950 calories to neither lose nor gain weight. (Simple formula -- 15 x bodyweight = 1,950). You'll need a surplus of a few hundred cals to gain some muscle mass. I'd shoot for 2,300 to start.

Protein looks ok at a little over 1g/lb. You could up that to 1.5g/lb and bump the carbs.

I'd also eat at maintenance on your rest days to start. If with the above surplus you still aren't gaining, then bump the other days.

If you're having trouble eating, liquid nutrients will help. Especially post workout -- think a combo of whey (protein) + dextrose (carbs).

KY