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Lean bulk diet caloric intake

Having trouble calculating my daily caloric intake due to different calculations.

RubenKuilder
RubenKuilder g Ruben Kuilder
7 Post(s)
7 Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Gain Muscle Date Joined: June 6, 2018
Posted

I've got a couple of questions regarding a proper clean bulk diet.
Weight : 165 Pounds
Height : 1 Meter 79 Cm
Age : 21
Exercises : Moderate exercise or sports 3-5 days a week (I am a web developer, so I sit in front of a pc all day but will follow your 12 week, 5 day body building split program)
Sex : Male
BMR at Rest : 1840.15
BMR in Motion : 2852.23
Bodyfat % : 18
Body: Skinny-fat

 

Fat weight: 165 lbs x 0.18 = 29.7 lbs
Lean weight = 165 lbs – 29.7 lbs = 135.3 lbs
Average BMR: (2852.23 calories + 1840.15 calories) / 2 = 2346.19 calories


So, I've seen multiple macro calculations on your website so far. Using the calculator I get a maintanance caloric result of 2800 calories / day. When I calculate everything myself using your article (https://muscularstrength.com/article/building-your-meal-plan-calculate-protein-carbohydrates-fat), I end up with 2300 calories / day. Seeing these complete different results I started to wonder what was going on so I tried some other calculators and written articles to calculate my maintanance caloric intake, and all end up around 2800 calories. After that I went on these forums and saw that you told someone with the same BMR and goal as me (lean gains) to take 3000 calories (as I expected). If he'd have gone through your written article he'd have ended up with 2500 calories / day instead of 3000. Since the first time I calculated via your article, I've thought that 2500 calories / day were very little for a clean bulk. It looks more like a cut caloric amount to me.

 

My question is, am I missing something in the article or did you perhaps make a mistake on that one?

 

Summary:
Goal: lean gains
Program: 12 week, 5 day bodybuilding split
BMR rest: 1840.15
BMR in motion: 2852.23
BMR avarage: 2346.19

 

Info I got from calculating via your article:
Protein: 202.95 grams (811.8 calories)
Carbs: 293.885 grams (1175.54 calories)
Fat: 67.65 grams (608.85 calories)
Total Calories: (2596.19 calories)

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: RubenKuilder

I've got a couple of questions regarding a proper clean bulk diet.
Weight : 165 Pounds
Height : 1 Meter 79 Cm
Age : 21
Exercises : Moderate exercise or sports 3-5 days a week (I am a web developer, so I sit in front of a pc all day but will follow your 12 week, 5 day body building split program)
Sex : Male
BMR at Rest : 1840.15
BMR in Motion : 2852.23
Bodyfat % : 18
Body: Skinny-fat

 

Fat weight: 165 lbs x 0.18 = 29.7 lbs
Lean weight = 165 lbs – 29.7 lbs = 135.3 lbs
Average BMR: (2852.23 calories + 1840.15 calories) / 2 = 2346.19 calories


So, I've seen multiple macro calculations on your website so far. Using the calculator I get a maintanance caloric result of 2800 calories / day. When I calculate everything myself using your article (https://muscularstrength.com/article/building-your-meal-plan-calculate-protein-carbohydrates-fat), I end up with 2300 calories / day. Seeing these complete different results I started to wonder what was going on so I tried some other calculators and written articles to calculate my maintanance caloric intake, and all end up around 2800 calories. After that I went on these forums and saw that you told someone with the same BMR and goal as me (lean gains) to take 3000 calories (as I expected). If he'd have gone through your written article he'd have ended up with 2500 calories / day instead of 3000. Since the first time I calculated via your article, I've thought that 2500 calories / day were very little for a clean bulk. It looks more like a cut caloric amount to me.

 

My question is, am I missing something in the article or did you perhaps make a mistake on that one?

 

Summary:
Goal: lean gains
Program: 12 week, 5 day bodybuilding split
BMR rest: 1840.15
BMR in motion: 2852.23
BMR avarage: 2346.19

 

Info I got from calculating via your article:
Protein: 202.95 grams (811.8 calories)
Carbs: 293.885 grams (1175.54 calories)
Fat: 67.65 grams (608.85 calories)
Total Calories: (2596.19 calories)

Hey Ruben.

 

That article still stands true with all of the macro calculations you can use. However, it's a more conservative estimate. Those numbers may work for some people depending on metabolism levels, because some people will also find that if they use the calculator on the @mealplan page and base their maintenance number off the BMR in motion, that they will gain too much fat.. in which case the calculations from the article might work better for them.

 

The thing with diet is it's all very individualistic, and what works for one won't always work for another. So it can be good to have a couple of ideas of where to start from - and that's all both of them are - starting points.

 

Anyway, I suggest that you use the numbers from the calculator on the @mealplan page as your starting point, and then make any adjustments up or down from there as needed.

Which would mean you're right, you'll probably want about 3100-3300 calories to start your lean bulk. So you can input everything there again to get your macros and then post them here if you want some more help 😊 

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RubenKuilder
RubenKuilder g Ruben Kuilder
7 Post(s)
7 Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Gain Muscle Date Joined: June 6, 2018
Posted

Thanks a lot Scott, really appriciate it!

 

It actually makes a lot of sense now. I'll start with 3102 calories / day and keep track of my fat levels.

 

The macros I got from the @mealplan page are:

Calories: 3102 calories / day

Protein: 203 grams / day

Fat: 74 grams / day

Carbs: 406 grams / day

 

My carbs are pretty high, arent they? Should I increase fat and protein to get my carbs around 300 grams / day?

Calories: 3102

Carbs: 310g (40%)

Protein: 194g (25%)

Fat: 121g (35%)

 

Ps.

I got a notification that you've replied to my message on 'My Board', yet I can't seem to find your reply (neither can I find my sent message from yesterday). Any idea what's going on?

When I click on 'post' in the notification it links me to a page with a PHP error:

SELECT * FROM `BOARD` WHERE id = '1246702' 
Table 'shf_main.BOARD' doesn't exist

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: RubenKuilder

Thanks a lot Scott, really appriciate it!

 

It actually makes a lot of sense now. I'll start with 3102 calories / day and keep track of my fat levels.

 

The macros I got from the @mealplan page are:

Calories: 3102 calories / day

Protein: 203 grams / day

Fat: 74 grams / day

Carbs: 406 grams / day

 

My carbs are pretty high, arent they? Should I increase fat and protein to get my carbs around 300 grams / day?

Calories: 3102

Carbs: 310g (40%)

Protein: 194g (25%)

Fat: 121g (35%)

 

Ps.

I got a notification that you've replied to my message on 'My Board', yet I can't seem to find your reply (neither can I find my sent message from yesterday). Any idea what's going on?

When I click on 'post' in the notification it links me to a page with a PHP error:

SELECT * FROM `BOARD` WHERE id = '1246702' 
Table 'shf_main.BOARD' doesn't exist

Yeah man the way you have re-aranged your macros looks perfect! Definitely looks like a good starting point. Around 300g of carbs should be OK, and that 250 surplus should be ideal for lean gains. But remember to track your progress and make any changes as needed.

 

That's odd about your board.. I can see your post AND my reply to your post if I go to your profile here: https://muscularstrength.com/RubenKuilder

 

We have been having some issues with the boards though.. when the app comes out a lot of this stuff will be cleaned up too. But thanks for letting me know!

Need 1 on 1 coaching? Send me a direct message to learn more!
RubenKuilder
RubenKuilder g Ruben Kuilder
7 Post(s)
7 Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Gain Muscle Date Joined: June 6, 2018
Posted

Thanks Scott!

 

Ye the board thing is pretty odd. The link you posted works, but only when I'm not logged in. Once I log in the only post I see is your first one.

 

Once again, appreciate the 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: RubenKuilder

Thanks Scott!

 

Ye the board thing is pretty odd. The link you posted works, but only when I'm not logged in. Once I log in the only post I see is your first one.

 

Once again, appreciate the help!

My pleasure @RubenKuilder, happy to help! Will work on getting that board fixed!

Need 1 on 1 coaching? Send me a direct message to learn more!
RubenKuilder
RubenKuilder g Ruben Kuilder
7 Post(s)
7 Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Gain Muscle Date Joined: June 6, 2018
Posted

Either my scale is lying, or I'm bulking a bit too hard. Looks like I've gained around 3 pounds in one week. Should I try it for another week and be sure I did gain weight, or lower my caloric intake now? By how much do you think I'll have to lower it?

AlphaDestiny
AlphaDestiny p Alexander Leonidas
101 Post(s)
101 Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Gain Muscle Date Joined: February 2, 2017
Posted

3lbs in one week? Very likely that your scale is off or you are experiencing fluctuations in water weight. You would need to be in a very high calorie surplus for that to occur, and I'd say that is highly unlikely since you're tracking. Worst case you can lower the calories a little bit (maybe 2900) but I wouldn't worry too much. Maybe the best thing you can do is get a new scale or pay attention to foods that bloat you. Probably not fat brother.

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: RubenKuilder

Either my scale is lying, or I'm bulking a bit too hard. Looks like I've gained around 3 pounds in one week. Should I try it for another week and be sure I did gain weight, or lower my caloric intake now? By how much do you think I'll have to lower it?

Wait another week. It's only the first week of your new bulk right? Chances are you just retained a bit more water, the weight will tend to come back on quickly, just like it drops off quickly as well. If it doesn't even out this next week, then yes reduce the surplus a little bit.

 

Also, make sure you're weighing yourself under the same circumstances - e.g. always in the morning, or always in the evening on whatever day of the week you choose. If you weighed yourself in the morning to begin with for example, and then weighed yourself at the end of the day with a day's worth of food and water in you the second time, you will definitely see differences in the number on the scale.

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RubenKuilder
RubenKuilder g Ruben Kuilder
7 Post(s)
7 Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Gain Muscle Date Joined: June 6, 2018
Posted

Aight thanks guys. Lots of things to figure since my new diet and routine.

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: RubenKuilder

Aight thanks guys. Lots of things to figure since my new diet and routine.

Happy to help @RubenKuilder! It takes time but you'll get there! 🏋 

Need 1 on 1 coaching? Send me a direct message to learn more!
Zeke_BE
Zeke_BE g Brandon Ellsworth
55 Post(s)
55 Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Gain Muscle Date Joined: December 12, 2017
Posted

Ive done the exact same thing. First week of offical bulk I gained 3lbs (water) and the second week and on it was a quarter to half pound a week after that. Same thing for when you offically start your cut. You will drop 3lbs the first week. Once your do it a few times you will expect everything right on que

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: Zeke_BE

Ive done the exact same thing. First week of offical bulk I gained 3lbs (water) and the second week and on it was a quarter to half pound a week after that. Same thing for when you offically start your cut. You will drop 3lbs the first week. Once your do it a few times you will expect everything right on que

Right on @Zeke_BE! Weight comes on and drops off quick once you change to bulking and cutting, and then typically averages out 💪 That's where a lot of people can go wrong. They see a scary number after one week and make massive changes, instead of sticking with the plan and being a bit more patient. I'd always suggest waiting at least 2 weeks to see if you're off track before changing macros/calories etc.

Need 1 on 1 coaching? Send me a direct message to learn more!
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