Hi,

Assuming that you are round about on point percentage wise when it comes to the split between carbs, proteins and good fats - What happens if you need 3000 calories for growth (based on calculations) but only get in 2600? If my recommeded, maintenance intake is 2500 calories and the recommended growth amount is 3000 then 500 calories is 100% muslce growth (assuming you are staying on point). I dont have an idea what 100% musle growth is supposed to be but lets just stick to it for calculation sake.

What happens to your body if you only get in 2600 calories? Those 100 calories above your maintenance amount are 20% of your max growth range. Does your body actually build lean mass at 20% of its maximum? Does it work like that? Seems very theoretical to me.

Please let me know you scientists out there.

Thanks

Sven

Sven,

Most of these formulas and calculations are just guidelines not hard fact. Age, genetics, length of training, type of training, and diet all play more significant roles in how much muscle growth you will experience than just pure calorie intake. The basic "science" is the body needs a surplus of calories above maintenance to use for growth. The amount of surplus calories and the amount of growth is purely subjective.

The most important factor when natural is time lifting. You grow the most and fastest within the first 2 years of a proper training program and proper diet. After that, the growth is much slower and takes longer. The other consideration is lean mass growth versus body mass growth. When you do "lean gains" as Scott has advocated for years, you grow slower but you gain a larger portion of size as muscle versus traditional "bulking" which adds muscle but quite a bit of body fat. The difference between the two is calorie manipulation and monitoring. Lean gains is about getting your bulk of calories from protein and fats and maintaining moderate carb intakes to minimize fat gain whereas traditional buliking is all about extra calorie intake regardless of macro source or percentages (for the most part).

Now to answer your question, your body will experience growth because you are supplying additional calories above maintenance. 3000 calories will not make you grow lean mass any faster than 2600 calories. The bottom line is you want to be about 20-25% over your maintenance for lean gains and achieve this by manipulating your carbs. You can even achieve 3000 calories by watching your carb intake and adjusting your macros accordingly but I would say that is at the upper limit of the 250-500 extra calories you want for lean gains. The amount of pure lean mass growth will be about the same the only difference is how your body processes excess calories (which is unique to everyone). Some people take 500 extra calories and build lean mass. Some take 500 calories and build both lean mass and body fat. Some people convert most of the excess calories to body fat. As long as you keep your activity level and training intensity consistent, additional calories above maintenance will be applied to growth.

John

As always - thanks John.

What calculator do you use to calculate your calorie needs? The differences I have gotten till now are amazing.

There is no way to calculate your macros for lean gains that way.

Anyway: lets say your protein needs for the day are 170g. Is that 170g. for max growth? What happens if you only eat 120 g (but hit the total calorie need of 2500 through carbs and fats)? Is that a waste of effort or will you grow but much slower (and not as lean)? So in the end what I mean is: if you have days on which you do not hit your macros (not even close) - what happens? Say 3 out of 7 weekdays?

thanks

Sven,

You are not going to dramatically affect anything if 3 out of 7 days you don't hit your macros. You have to consistently not hit your macros everyday for 3 weeks or more before most growth will be unable to proceed. On the days you are a bit light, your body will more than likely burn more body fat since your daily calorie requirements from staying active will keep the need for calories high. Your daily calorie needs are what your body needs to run and grow. Any calories above that regardless of source will lead to fat gain. If your 2500 calories are made up of mostly carbs and fat, it is not a waste of time and you will experience some growth just not as much as if you made sure to meet your protein needs since protein builds muscle while carbs and fat provide the energy and hormone support for that growth.

As for protein, a couple of days here and there where you are not getting the maximum amount is not dentrimental long term. You can also make up the deficit on the days you can meet your macros and therefore take in a bit more protein. I used the calculator here on SHF.com and I am also doing intermittent fasting. I am keeping my protein high, my fats moderately high, and I am keeping my carbs at no more than 1g/Lb of body weight. I therefore try to stay in the 150g range but can go as high as 175g. The beauty of intermittent fasting is the eating window leverages insulin to feed your cells and promote growth and your fasting window leverages growth hormone to burn body fat and stimulate muscle repair.

John