You guys are going to LOVE me for this one!
This question plagues many bodybuilding circles and forums. From bulking to cutting to maintaining, far too many people are misinformed as to how many calories they should consume. Many people believe in magical numbers and calculators to help them find their caloric intake. Others rely on being spoon-fed by "elite" bodybuilders as to how many calories they should consume. There is a dense fog in this area of bodybuilding, but it can easily be cleared. Let's take this step-by-step.
Simply put, it doesn't matter as long as it...
Here is where the numbers play a big role in confusing bodybuilders. I hear things like, "Multiply your bodyweight by 15," or, "Multiply your lean body mass by 20 if you're an ectomorph." I don't buy any of this and neither should you. It doesn't matter what body type you have, your job, your height, or your weight, calculators and numbers cannot simply yield a four digit number that you will follow devotedly as your maintenance caloric intake.
To find your maintenance calories, you must monitor your bodyweight over a period of time, perhaps 2 to 3 weeks. You should weigh yourself in the morning after you pee for 3 days and take the average. During this 2 or 3 week period, you must make sure to take in the same amount of a reasonable number of calories.
If your body mass increases you are eating above your maintenance calories. Your next step is to decrease the calories by a small increment by 100 or so a day (or 700 a week if dieting cyclically). You don't have to use 100 calories; it was arbitrarily picked, as it is reasonable. So you watch your weight for another 2 to 3 weeks. You may then be the exact same in your measurements as you were the last time you checked. If so, you have found your maintenance calories for your current physiological self. If you still gained weight, reduce the calories again and continue as previously stated.
If your body mass decreased you are eating below maintenance calories. This time, you get to increase your caloric intake. 100 calories is reasonable here as well, depending on the physical status of the individual. You will track your measurements as mentioned above and add more calories if needed until the scale stops moving (or stays within a relatively stable, small range).
Here is where you are horded with, "You must eat 500 calories above maintenance," and, "You only need to eat 100 above maintenance to gain muscle without fat." Again, you must try not to drown in this pool of ignorance constantly growing in the bodybuilding environment. Just like finding your maintenance calories, your bulking calories are very individual.
First of all, you need to determine how much weight you would like to gain per week. This depends on how much fat compared to how much muscle you are willing to gain. If you want to gain a half a pound per week, which is a safe-haven for most but not a necessary number, you will want to eat 250 calories above maintenance every day (or 1750 above maintenance every week).
Is this article getting repetitive to you yet? If not, let me help sink in the main point: listen to your body. You can't just whip out cutting calories the same as you can't whip out bulking calories. You must find the calories that are right for you.
Similar to the bulking example, you must find how much weight you want to lose each week. If you want to lose half a pound per you should eat 250 calories below your maintenance. The same equation applies:
As you diet, your maintenance calories are subject to change. This is because your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) is changing with your body composition. While gaining weight, your body mass will increase. This will result in a demand for greater calories to maintain this greater mass. You must feed the bigger machine more fuel. This phenomenon explains why many start gaining weight very well but level off after a couple of weeks. Thus, throughout a "bulking" cycle, one must eventually increase calories when the weight stops going up. The opposite is true for one who is "cutting;" calories must be reduced when weight change stops.
As much as many people would like to think, you cannot gain weight while eating below maintenance and you cannot lose weight while eating above maintenance. The energy of a system will not spontaneously increase. You must put in more energy than you burn to result in a net energy surplus, which is the only way to gain weight. On the flip side, you must be in an energy deficit to lose weight. This means you must burn more calories than you consume. The laws of thermodynamics cannot be ignored; my perpetual motion device exempt.
This question plagues many bodybuilding circles and forums. From bulking to cutting to maintaining, far too many people are misinformed as to how many calories they should consume. Many people believe in magical numbers and calculators to help them find their caloric intake. Others rely on being spoon-fed by "elite" bodybuilders as to how many calories they should consume. There is a dense fog in this area of bodybuilding, but it can easily be cleared. Let's take this step-by-step.
Simply put, it doesn't matter as long as it...
- is isocaloric (you know and control the calories) over a periodic cycle
- contains at least 1g of protein per pound of lean body mass each day
- contains carbohydrates, to which a number can't and shouldn't be assigned because of variations and goals; there should be some carbohydrates in every diet, however.
- contains at least .33g per pound of lean body mass of fat, 25% of which being saturated would be optimal for males.
Here is where the numbers play a big role in confusing bodybuilders. I hear things like, "Multiply your bodyweight by 15," or, "Multiply your lean body mass by 20 if you're an ectomorph." I don't buy any of this and neither should you. It doesn't matter what body type you have, your job, your height, or your weight, calculators and numbers cannot simply yield a four digit number that you will follow devotedly as your maintenance caloric intake.
To find your maintenance calories, you must monitor your bodyweight over a period of time, perhaps 2 to 3 weeks. You should weigh yourself in the morning after you pee for 3 days and take the average. During this 2 or 3 week period, you must make sure to take in the same amount of a reasonable number of calories.
If your body mass increases you are eating above your maintenance calories. Your next step is to decrease the calories by a small increment by 100 or so a day (or 700 a week if dieting cyclically). You don't have to use 100 calories; it was arbitrarily picked, as it is reasonable. So you watch your weight for another 2 to 3 weeks. You may then be the exact same in your measurements as you were the last time you checked. If so, you have found your maintenance calories for your current physiological self. If you still gained weight, reduce the calories again and continue as previously stated.
If your body mass decreased you are eating below maintenance calories. This time, you get to increase your caloric intake. 100 calories is reasonable here as well, depending on the physical status of the individual. You will track your measurements as mentioned above and add more calories if needed until the scale stops moving (or stays within a relatively stable, small range).
Here is where you are horded with, "You must eat 500 calories above maintenance," and, "You only need to eat 100 above maintenance to gain muscle without fat." Again, you must try not to drown in this pool of ignorance constantly growing in the bodybuilding environment. Just like finding your maintenance calories, your bulking calories are very individual.
First of all, you need to determine how much weight you would like to gain per week. This depends on how much fat compared to how much muscle you are willing to gain. If you want to gain a half a pound per week, which is a safe-haven for most but not a necessary number, you will want to eat 250 calories above maintenance every day (or 1750 above maintenance every week).
(3500 calories per pound)<SUP>1</SUP> x (.5 pounds per week) = 1750 calories per week
(1750 calories per week) x (1 week per 7 days)= 250 calories per day
These numbers are not set in stone. You should slowly increase your calories each week. It is up to you how many to add each week. If you believe you are gaining too much fat after 2 to 3 weeks, you may certainly reduce your caloric intake, as long as you are above maintenance. If you are gaining weight more slowly than you like, go ahead and increase your calories. Nobody knows at which caloric excess you will start gaining too much fat. You must experiment with this and find the right amount of calories to fuel muscle growth and limit fat formation. (1750 calories per week) x (1 week per 7 days)= 250 calories per day
Is this article getting repetitive to you yet? If not, let me help sink in the main point: listen to your body. You can't just whip out cutting calories the same as you can't whip out bulking calories. You must find the calories that are right for you.
Similar to the bulking example, you must find how much weight you want to lose each week. If you want to lose half a pound per you should eat 250 calories below your maintenance. The same equation applies:
(3500 calories per pound)<SUP>1</SUP> x (.5 pounds per week) = 1750 calories per week
(1750 calories per week) x (1 week per 7 days)= 250 calories per day
As mentioned above, if you aren't happy with your weight change, adjust your calories to how you see fit, making sure to keep them below maintenance. The problem with cutting is that you may lose muscle along with fat. It is your decision as to how much muscle you are willing to lose. Cutting faster will result in more muscle loss. (1750 calories per week) x (1 week per 7 days)= 250 calories per day
As you diet, your maintenance calories are subject to change. This is because your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) is changing with your body composition. While gaining weight, your body mass will increase. This will result in a demand for greater calories to maintain this greater mass. You must feed the bigger machine more fuel. This phenomenon explains why many start gaining weight very well but level off after a couple of weeks. Thus, throughout a "bulking" cycle, one must eventually increase calories when the weight stops going up. The opposite is true for one who is "cutting;" calories must be reduced when weight change stops.
As much as many people would like to think, you cannot gain weight while eating below maintenance and you cannot lose weight while eating above maintenance. The energy of a system will not spontaneously increase. You must put in more energy than you burn to result in a net energy surplus, which is the only way to gain weight. On the flip side, you must be in an energy deficit to lose weight. This means you must burn more calories than you consume. The laws of thermodynamics cannot be ignored; my perpetual motion device exempt.
- have an isocaloric diet
- have a reasonable amount of protein and fats, with at least some carbs
- you may diet cyclically or by any other reasonable diet, as long as the calories meet your caloric goal over a weekly or 2 week cycle
- add or reduce calories until the scale stops moving (within a reasonable range, maybe 1-2 pounds) to find your maintenance calories
- add calories slowly to your maintenance calories to gain weight, and slowly
- reduce calories below maintenance to lose weight; keep adding or subtracting calories in order to increase or decrease the rate of weight loss/gain
- the faster you bulk or cut, the greater risk you have of gaining fat or losing muscle mass; yet you receive more instant gratification of achieving a certain weight
- calories are subject to change when weight plateaus due to changes in body composition, resulting in a different BMR
