Thread: Bulking questions.. Newbie

Go find your BMR and post that

I calculated 2170 as my BMR

Don't use internet formulae to determine your calorie needs. Here's what you do:

(1.) Track your diet into fitday. Track EVERYTHING, including portion size. It's a pain in the ass initially to figure all this out, but it's worth it. Once your diet is entered, weigh yourself, eat that exact diet for a week or so, and weigh yourself at the end of the week. Using this information, try as best you can to deduce your maintenance calories.

(2.) Once you have your maintenance calories, add 500 to that number. This is how many calories will make your base bulking diet.

(3.) Calculate your macros: Protein: 1 - 1.5g per pound of lean body mass; fat: minimum 0.5g per pound LBM; carbs: fill in the rest as you see fit.

(4.) Food selection: eat primarily or exclusively whole foods. Avoiod processed foods like bars and cereals. Eat plenty of meat (both lean (e.g. skinless chicken breast) and "fatty" (e.g. fish, beef), eggs (***dietary cholesterol will NOT increase your blood cholesterol, so if people tell you to limit egg intake to a few a week tell them to go fuck themselves or read on the topic), whole grains, veges (greens especially), and fat sources for monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, and even saturated -- though to a lesser degree. Say you consume 150g fat a day, here's a good breakdown of each type: Mono -- 70g; Poly -- 50-55g; Sat -- 25-30g (good sources of various fats are eggs, avocado, fish oil, olive oil (best!), flax oil, seeds, nuts, natural peanut butter, mayo, some fish, beef (to a degree)).

(5.) If you find you're having trouble gaining weight -- which, with proper diet, should NEVER be an issue, an easy solution is increase fat intake. Assuming you have enough carbs to fuel your training and assist in muscle gylcogen recovery and your protein is sufficient, fat is the most efficient way to simply add more calories. Not only are fats beneficial for testosterone production and general hormonal health, they're the most calorie-dense nutrient: 1 gram of fat has 9 calories, as opposed to protein and carbs, which are both 4 calories per gram. This means fat sources provide more calories by volume. For instance, you could eat 170g spaghetti, which is a pretty big plate, and get 600 calories, or you can sip 5 tablespoons of olive oil, and get the same number of calories with significantly less room taken in your stomach.

(6.) Drink anywhere from 5-10 L water a day. This depends how much of a trooper you are. Your muscles are composed primarily of water, so it only makes sense to provide them a great deal of it considering you're attempting to "unnaturally" increase their size. Water also provides the means for nutrients to transfer into the muscles and organs. Carry a water bottle with you throughout the day.

(7.) Note that supplements are, as the name implies, "supplements" -- that is they (ideally) SUPPLEMENT an already-structured diet. Use multi-vitamins as vitamin/mineral insurance. Protein powders serve their own purpose, but keep this in mind before you consume several shakes a day. Your body prefers real food. Use the supplements strategically, but don't rely on them as crutches.

Originally Posted by NewfieBB

I calculated 2170 as my BMR

At your weight and supposed BF there's no way your maintenance is that low. I'm 5'9, about 198 lbs @ 12 % and my maintenance is 3,100 - 3,200.

i agree with what phin posted. im 5'8 220 and yo bulk i eat 5000 cals a day 90% clean. when the gains slow im am not to fat ill add 500 cals a day