Eat big to get big?

BHFF

I'd be curious to hear other peoples thoughts on this subject. do you agree or disagree?

wilmnoca

I eat in a slight surplus to gain lean mass and keep fat gain to a minimum. Ive never seen the point of eating in a giant surplus and gaining a bunch of fat just to have to turn around and shed it later.

livingleanlivingclean

Define "big".

You have to eat in a surplus to make significant gains.... The size of the surplus will determine how much muscle and fat you put on. A conservative surplus will minimise fat gains... I'd rather that than gaining excessive amounts of fat only have to lose it again!

trigden1991

Unless I'm greatly mistaken you made this exact same thread a few months back, which then got shut down.

BHFF

Lol no I did Not make this thread before.

sardelsa

I prefer to keep my surplus smaller.. as a woman that is about 125-250 cals over maintenance. This allows slow steady progress with minimal fat gain. I mean ya my bulk will be a bit longer but I will also spend way less time cutting.

PinkamenaD8

You don't need extra calories but the right amount of macros, consuming 1g to 2g protein per pound of your body weight. In fact you can gain muscle being on a calorie deficit, althought this is more difficult if you already have weight.

I know a legit natural bodybuilder who gained like 18 kg of lean mass in a year, remaining the same amount of fat percentage I think is close to the maximn natural limit of gains. He said the protein intake who worked best for him was 1g. He got big and didn't eat big. youtube.com/watch?v=RGcJyY3EMHw

kaizaku

Agree, eat big to get big ☺

sardelsa

PinkamenaD8 wrote: »

You don't need extra calories but the right amount of macros, consuming 1g to 2g protein per pound of your body weight. In fact you can gain muscle being on a calorie deficit, althought this is more difficult if you already have weight.

I know a legit natural bodybuilder who gained like 18 kg of lean mass in a year, remaining the same amount of fat percentage I think is close to the maximn natural limit of gains. He said the protein intake who worked best for him was 1g. He got big and didn't eat big. youtube.com/watch?v=RGcJyY3EMHw

While it is possible in some cases to gain muscle in a deficit, you will not gain weight. For example, I started at 121lbs.. if my goal was to get to 131lbs, how would I do that? Protein is not magic... I could eat 300g of protein everyday, but if I wasn't in a surplus, I would not get to my goal.

I couldn't understand the video but just saw the stats... the bodybuilder gained weight and went from 109 to 149lbs...so in order to put on size had to eat above maintenance.. he was not in a deficit. I mean, I would agree he probably didn't eat everything in sight but he did need extra calories to put on mass.

RoxieDawn

Eating big how? Perhaps these threads are meant to be more towards males dirty bulking.. I dunno..

ninerbuff

PinkamenaD8 wrote: »

You don't need extra calories but the right amount of macros, consuming 1g to 2g protein per pound of your body weight. In fact you can gain muscle being on a calorie deficit, althought this is more difficult if you already have weight.

I know a legit natural bodybuilder who gained like 18 kg of lean mass in a year, remaining the same amount of fat percentage I think is close to the maximn natural limit of gains. He said the protein intake who worked best for him was 1g. He got big and didn't eat big. youtube.com/watch?v=RGcJyY3EMHw

Hate to tell you that gaining that much in a year 1g per pound of bodyweight in protein, doesn't mean he's a "natural" bodybuilder. In fact most "naturals" were on gear before they quit.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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BHFF

RoxieDawn wrote: »

Eating big how? Perhaps these threads are meant to be more towards males dirty bulking.. I dunno..

You can certainly chime in

PinkamenaD8

PinkamenaD8 wrote: »

I He said the protein intake who worked best for him was 1g.

1g per kg / .5g per lb but here's a well researched article about protein intake http://bayesianbodybuilding.com/the-myth-of-1glb-optimal-protein-intake-for-bodybuilders/

While it is possible in some cases to gain muscle in a deficit, you will not gain weight.

Ah sorry I should've been more clear in some things. And to give you a direct answer there's a TL;DR at about the end.

While it may be not the optimal muscle gain, the calories to build muscle aren't that many, that you can't loss fat at same time, it's difficult because you need a strict diet but it's scientifically proven that you can be in an anabolic and catabolic state.

But yeah, if you keep a deficit higher than your muscle gain (wich isn't much) you won't gain weight.

http://scoobysworkshop.com/gain-muscle-lose-fat/

For example, I started at 121lbs.. if my goal was to get to 131lbs, how would I do that? Protein is not magic... I could eat 300g of protein everyday, but if I wasn't in a surplus, I would not get to my goal.

In anabolism you gain muscle via protein syntesis, your body stores as lean tissue a part of your energy intake . Since calories remain in, CICO isn't the case here.

“Your individual daily calorie maintenance level is the EXACT amount of calories your body requires to maintain all body functions including activity and MUSCLE GROWTH.”

https://ast-ss.com/building-muscle-and-the-calorie-myth-2/

the bodybuilder gained weight and went from 109 to 149lbs...so in order to put on size had to eat above maintenance..

Letting clear that muscle growth occurs without needing a surplus. The muscle weight remains in your body and to maintain it you'll require more calories, but TL;DR eating more calories when you have gained muscle isn't a surplus is a new level of maintenance.

I couldn't understand the video but just saw the stats...

Yeah the stats say everything, he remained in 5% body fat with a margin of error of 1%. He is a well documented (in the videos has proof that he didn't used any drugs or hormones) example that you don't need to eat big to have lean gains.

SideSteel

I think it's an ambiguous phrase.

Having said that, assuming we are talking about people who are not on gear, I think "how much you eat" should be dictated by whatever you targeted rate of weight gain is, and that rate of weight gain will depend on age, gender, genetics, personal preference (how tolerant of fat gain the individual is), and a HUGE variable is how advanced of an athlete they are.

Generally though, I think MOST people (especially people bulking for the first time) put on bodyweight way too fast, which means additional body-fat, which means less time spent in a surplus and more time spent in a deficit dieting back down.

(I could see anywhere from about 1 to 4lbs/month being reasonable for the majority of people, and where you land in that range will depend on those factors mentioned above).

blackcomaro

I think this could be construed in to different ways...eat big yes. But it would depend on what your used to eating. Im still new here and eat the calories mfp gives me to maintain...and im slowly gaing both weight and strength while keepimg my gained fat percentage the same..im still not eating my calories back... so i guess you could say eat big to get big.

cityruss

"Eat appropriate amounts dependant on goals" doesn't quite have the same ring to it.

Bovus2017

I can say from personal experience and from the bulking diet my trainer designed for me that, emphatically yes, eat big to get big. My trainer broke it down for me like this:

Bodybuilding consists of 4 equally important part,

1. Training (and, yes, lifting big to get big)
2. Diet (high protein at 2 grams of protein per lb of lean body mass every day, throughout the day, spread out over 6 meals; the caloric goal he set for me was 4500 calories/day)
3. Supplements (glutamine is essential for muscle growth; protein supplements like Muscle Milk help attain the daily protein goal; and, hey, there are other bodybuilding supplements out there which, although controversial, are nonetheless effective)
4. Sleep (since muscles need rest and our bodies do the lion's share of repair and building while we sleep)

elle_bear_11

To make my lifts i had to start eating more and regular compared to my 1400 cal diet. I couldnt make the liftd without the proper amount of protein and feeling hunger in my stomach. I'm 5'9 and went from 129lbs to 139lbs in 4 months and it seems to be working..and yeah i try to eat cleaner but i do have cheats..so i say yeah..eat big!

psuLemon

I think it's a vague phrases. I would rather eat controlled than just eat big. I can't tell you how many people take that phrase wit reckless regard and just get fat.

psuLemon

Bovus2017 wrote: »

I can say from personal experience and from the bulking diet my trainer designed for me that, emphatically yes, eat big to get big. My trainer broke it down for me like this:

Bodybuilding consists of 4 equally important part,

1. Training (and, yes, lifting big to get big)
2. Diet (high protein at 2 grams of protein per lb of lean body mass every day, throughout the day, spread out over 6 meals; the caloric goal he set for me was 4500 calories/day)
3. Supplements (glutamine is essential for muscle growth; protein supplements like Muscle Milk help attain the daily protein goal; and, hey, there are other bodybuilding supplements out there which, although controversial, are nonetheless effective)
4. Sleep (since muscles need rest and our bodies do the lion's share of repair and building while we sleep)

As an FYI, Glutamine is way overhyped and hasn't even been proven to be effective in healthy individuals.

https://examine.com/supplements/glutamine/

"It is generally touted as a muscle builder, but has not been proven to enhance muscle building in healthy individuals; only those suffering from physical trauma such as burns or muscular wounds (knife wounds) or in disease states in which muscle wasting occurs, such as AIDS. In these individuals, however, glutamine is effective at building muscle and alleviating a decrease in muscle mass typical of the ailment."