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Confusion on caloric intake

Not sure how much to eat on rest days

jarodm226
jarodm226 g Jarod Mowers
8 Post(s)
8 Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Gain Muscle Date Joined: September 9, 2018
Posted
Hi Scott,
 
I was going through some of your YouTube videos and Im a little confused about setting my macros and caloric intake. Im going into my first bulk with your 12 week 5 day bodybuilding split and I just want to make sure I’m doing everything I can to ensure my success. In one video you were showing the calories you should eat on rest days vs workout days using BMR at rest or in motion respectively. You explained that if you eat the same amount every day you could end up putting on excess fat in a bulk of getting slower results in a cut because of an excessively high surplus. But on the meal plan page and video it shows that you should set your calories and macros for the day based on your average BMR. Which method works better for a lean bulk? I just want to make sure I’m not over eating on my rest days and under eating on my workout days. I’m 19 years old, 117 lbs, and around 11% body fat according to the calipers I’m using. According to the calculator it said my BMR at rest is 1392. I set my activity level to moderate (3-5 day’s of exercise) due to the 5 day split and it says my daily energy needs are 2158 calories. I’m planning on setting workout day calories to 2408 but I’m unsure where to set my caloric goal on my rest days so I can avoid putting on excess body fat. Sorry for the confusion and all the questions.
Scott_Herman
Scott_Herman a Scott Herman
7.1K Post(s)
7.1K Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Bodybuilding Date Joined: August 8, 2008
Posted
Posted By: jarodm226
Hi Scott,
 
I was going through some of your YouTube videos and Im a little confused about setting my macros and caloric intake. Im going into my first bulk with your 12 week 5 day bodybuilding split and I just want to make sure I’m doing everything I can to ensure my success. In one video you were showing the calories you should eat on rest days vs workout days using BMR at rest or in motion respectively. You explained that if you eat the same amount every day you could end up putting on excess fat in a bulk of getting slower results in a cut because of an excessively high surplus. But on the meal plan page and video it shows that you should set your calories and macros for the day based on your average BMR. Which method works better for a lean bulk? I just want to make sure I’m not over eating on my rest days and under eating on my workout days. I’m 19 years old, 117 lbs, and around 11% body fat according to the calipers I’m using. According to the calculator it said my BMR at rest is 1392. I set my activity level to moderate (3-5 day’s of exercise) due to the 5 day split and it says my daily energy needs are 2158 calories. I’m planning on setting workout day calories to 2408 but I’m unsure where to set my caloric goal on my rest days so I can avoid putting on excess body fat. Sorry for the confusion and all the questions.

@jarodm226 Go by the calculator on the @mealplan page, or the video from last year (about eating more than your total BMR in motion).

 

So your plan to eat 2400 calories is spot on. On your rest days, probably cut it back by 200 or 300 calories. For bulking, you ALWAYS want to be in a surplus. So while you might not burn as many calories on your rest days, you still need to make sure you're eating MORE than what you are burning. Basically if you eat around the same number of calories as your BMR in motion is (on rest days), that will be a good start.

 

After a couple of weeks, if you notice you aren't gaining at all, then maybe boost your calories on off days to match what you're getting on workout days. After that, overtime, increase your total calorie intake daily on workout days as you plateau and stop gaining weight/muscle.

 

Hope that makes sense and helps!

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Neutralino
Neutralino p Abdul Mirza
7 Post(s)
7 Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Gain Muscle Date Joined: October 10, 2017
Posted

Hey Scott and everyone, i need some advice on my calorie intake. I am 20 years old at the moment, 5ft 11" tall and am looking to build lean muscle and have been working out for 2 years, I weigh 154lbs and workout 5 times a week. I used the BMR calculator on this website (since it's the most trusted one online) and got the following results; 1791kcal at rest, 2776kcal in motion. I watched Scott's video on bulking and done what it said in the video. Ok my question is how many calories should i have on workout days and on the rest days. Currently i am consuming around 3300kcal; 380g carbs, 107g fats and 225g protein on workout days since i need to be in a 500kcal surplus to compensate for the calories lost during the workout, and on the rest days (since i was extremely unsure how much i should be having i thought it was 2776kcal) 312g carbs, 77g fats and 228g protein. Hope you guys can help and i hope there's sufficient information in the description.

Scott_Herman
Scott_Herman a Scott Herman
7.1K Post(s)
7.1K Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Bodybuilding Date Joined: August 8, 2008
Posted
Posted By: Neutralino

Hey Scott and everyone, i need some advice on my calorie intake. I am 20 years old at the moment, 5ft 11" tall and am looking to build lean muscle and have been working out for 2 years, I weigh 154lbs and workout 5 times a week. I used the BMR calculator on this website (since it's the most trusted one online) and got the following results; 1791kcal at rest, 2776kcal in motion. I watched Scott's video on bulking and done what it said in the video. Ok my question is how many calories should i have on workout days and on the rest days. Currently i am consuming around 3300kcal; 380g carbs, 107g fats and 225g protein on workout days since i need to be in a 500kcal surplus to compensate for the calories lost during the workout, and on the rest days (since i was extremely unsure how much i should be having i thought it was 2776kcal) 312g carbs, 77g fats and 228g protein. Hope you guys can help and i hope there's sufficient information in the description.

Glad you made it to the @forums @Neutralino!

 

Good job so far with your macros and calories! I don't see too much wrong there.. the questions is how long have you been following your current macros and calories, and what results have you seen so far? The only thing might be to cut back the surplus a little bit to more like 300 calories to ensure the gains are nice and lean - if you're already a lean guy with a fast metabolism though, that 500 calorie surplus is probably fine, so it all depends on your individual results.

 

Rest days sound OK.. personally I'd suggest cutting back the carbs a little bit on days you're not training. So instead of dropping fat, I would drop carbs to drop calories and keep protein and fats relatively stable. The key is to make sure you're still in a surplus even on those rest days, because those are the days you're recovering, so if over time you notice you're not gaining much, then try eating the same on your rest days as you do on your workout days (or at most, cut total calories by 2050.. so on rest days you might aim for 3150 calories).


Hope that makes sense!

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Neutralino
Neutralino p Abdul Mirza
7 Post(s)
7 Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Gain Muscle Date Joined: October 10, 2017
Posted

Thanks a lot for your help Scott! Ok i have been on this diet for around 3-4 weeks since i have been doing a lot of research and refining my diet. I haven't really seen an increase in my weight (it has stayed around 154lbs) but i have noticed an increase in my strength at the gym - not massive amounts but good for me. Ok Scott i'd like to know how much muscle i would put on if i keep up my macros or your suggested macros since it will be 3 years July 2019? I understand it takes time to build lean muscle and i wanna maximise everyday as much as possible and waste as less time as possible. One last question Scott, how long do you honestly think a workout should be including a day with cardio? I do 5 sets on my exercises and 3 exercises per body part. Thank you again and hope you can help.

Scott_Herman
Scott_Herman a Scott Herman
7.1K Post(s)
7.1K Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Bodybuilding Date Joined: August 8, 2008
Posted
Posted By: Neutralino

Thanks a lot for your help Scott! Ok i have been on this diet for around 3-4 weeks since i have been doing a lot of research and refining my diet. I haven't really seen an increase in my weight (it has stayed around 154lbs) but i have noticed an increase in my strength at the gym - not massive amounts but good for me. Ok Scott i'd like to know how much muscle i would put on if i keep up my macros or your suggested macros since it will be 3 years July 2019? I understand it takes time to build lean muscle and i wanna maximise everyday as much as possible and waste as less time as possible. One last question Scott, how long do you honestly think a workout should be including a day with cardio? I do 5 sets on my exercises and 3 exercises per body part. Thank you again and hope you can help.

@Neutralino It's hard to say how much muscle you might put on man. By the time you get to your 3rd year, you can probably still look at 10 - 12lbs of muscle if you are doing everything right! That would be a solid amount of GAINS in one year!

 

But, if you want to build muscle, you NEED to be in that surplus.. if you're getting stronger, that's great! But if you're not gaining weight, and your body fat % isn't going down (and it's just staying the same), then you need to be eating more if you want to add mass.

 

If your workout is between 1 - 2 hours, that's about average in my books. Depends how many muscle groups you're training, how long your rest periods are, and how long your cardio is. But it wouldn't need to be longer than that to be effective.

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