Having a solid training program to follow and execute is important, but without a diet appropriate for your goals, progress will be more difficult and slower than it could be. Diet is a key component in making progress in the gym. You may have heard the phrase, “eat big to get big.” Yes this is true however, there are a few caveats to that. While not completely necessary for the average lifter, calorie counting is an extremely useful tool to utilize. Tracking calories and macronutrients as well allows for you to fine tune these quantities and make adjustments based on how things are going so that you can continue to optimize your progression. Using an app such as MyFitnessPal makes things much more convenient.
Calorie counting is the basic foundation of nutritional tracking. Everyone has a caloric maintenance number, meaning if you ate that number of calories everyday then you would not gain or lose weight. This number is not always static and can vary based on factors such as activity level, age, weight, and body composition. In order to gain weight, you must eat in a caloric surplus, meaning an amount above your maintenance number. Calorie surplus numbers for a gaining phase depends on how quickly one wants to gain weight. The larger the surplus, the higher the rate of weight gain. However, higher surpluses will lead to more fat gain than lower surpluses. In order to mitigate fat gain during a gaining phase, stick with a more moderate surplus like 10-15% of your total calories. So, if 3500 was your maintenance calories then you would add roughly an additional 300-500 calories when trying to put on muscle.
Graph showing components of energy expenditure
There are a few equations out there that can give you an estimate of your maintenance calories, however it is important to remember that these are only generalize estimates based on your body statistics. They may not be completely accurate, but I do believe that they are a good place to start when attempting to figure out your maintenance calories. The only real way to figure out your maintenance calories is through trial and error. Start with a number and eat that everyday for 1-2 weeks and weigh yourself every day monitoring changes throughout. From there you can make calorie adjustments based on what you see happening on the scale. Once you reach a point where your weight is maintained throughout that time period, you’ve successfully found your maintenance. When gaining weight, it also key to remember that your maintenance calories will slowly increase as you get heavier. Monitor this carefully and if you reach a point where your old surplus no longer puts on weight, up the calories by a small margin.
Sample of Rough Estimates from a Calorie Calculator
Figuring out calories is the first step in creating a nutrition plan for building muscle. The next thing you have to think about it your macros. Fats, Protein, and Carbohydrates are macronutrients. Understanding how your macros effect your training and physique is an important step in progressing your physique development. As you probably know, protein builds muscle. Whether you’re gaining or losing weight, high protein intake is important as someone who cares about building and maintaining muscle. For building muscle 1 g/lb of bodyweight of protein is the best go to number. A little more won’t hurt such as 1-1.5g/lb, however going towards the high end of that spectrum is not necessary for most people.
Carbs are up next. Carbs are great, they don’t make you fat contrary to any bullshit you may have heard online. Carbs cause the body to secrete insulin which helps muscle tissue to recover and heal. Insulin is also pretty anabolic, meaning it promotes muscle growth. Carbs are fuel. When carbs are consumed you keep your glycogen stores fuller throughout the day. Glycogen is stored carbohydrate and is key to high performance during intense exercise. Carbs should usually be scaled based of activity levels. Lower activity level individuals may find that 1.5 g/lb of bodyweight works well. Higher activity level individuals may find that 2-3g/lb of bodyweight is more effective. Test out these ranges based off your needs and see what works best for you.
Lastly, we have fat intake. Essential fats such as omega-3 fatty acids, are necessary to consume. Fats support healthy hormone levels and there is a minimum level that should be consumed. This doesn’t mean you should raise fat levels extremely high because at that point you start sacrificing calories that could be used as carbs instead. .4-.5g/lb of bodyweight is the ideal range for most individuals when selecting fat intake. Fat intakes at .3g/lb or below are not ideal as they have been observed to be associated with lower sex drive and less optimal hormone production. Test out the .4-.5g/lb range and see what feels best.
The main theme here is trial and error. These ranges are effective and adequate for gaining muscle. Not everyone is the same, so different individuals may get better results from playing around with those numbers within the suggested ranges. A lot of bodybuilding is experimentation. The key is to always be thinking critically about what you are modifying and basing your methods in what the research has shown. That is what evidence-based bodybuilding is all about.
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