Keep increasing calories?

NaomiSarahChan
NaomiSarahChan Posts: 17 Member
edited November 14 in Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
Hello hello! So I've been trying to bulk now, and am having a bit of trouble with how many calories I should eat. I get about 5000-7500 steps per day (I imagine I am lightly active), sit most of the time because.. studying :( and I lift weights for about an hour 4x a week. I don't run very much to be honest.
Anyways, I started eating at 2280 - didn't gain anything. Raised to 2440 - still didn't gain anything as of this morning.
I don't want to keep raising and suddenly find that it all catches up to me in a big weight gain, but I also don't want to be missing out on muscular gains I could be making. Should I keep increasing by 100-200 per week until I see some weight gain?

Replies

  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    Yep, try 2540 for a couple of weeks.
  • galgenstrick
    galgenstrick Posts: 2,086 Member
    Are you getting stronger? If you're not, then that's usually a good indicator that you're not eating enough.
  • NaomiSarahChan
    NaomiSarahChan Posts: 17 Member
    My strength hasn't been getting better or worse now that I look at my notes (I track my workouts). I didn't really think that would be a contributing factor. It's just considering my activity level, I never thought I would possibly be needing these many calories!
  • galgenstrick
    galgenstrick Posts: 2,086 Member
    NaomiSarahChan wrote: »
    My strength hasn't been getting better or worse now that I look at my notes (I track my workouts). I didn't really think that would be a contributing factor. It's just considering my activity level, I never thought I would possibly be needing these many calories!

    You should be focused on increasing the weight on your primary lifts every week. Every workout even if you're still getting newbie gains. If you are stalling then you need to be eating more and making sure to get adequate rest. What program are you doing?
  • NaomiSarahChan
    NaomiSarahChan Posts: 17 Member
    galgenstrick wrote: »
    NaomiSarahChan wrote: »
    My strength hasn't been getting better or worse now that I look at my notes (I track my workouts). I didn't really think that would be a contributing factor. It's just considering my activity level, I never thought I would possibly be needing these many calories!

    You should be focused on increasing the weight on your primary lifts every week. Every workout even if you're still getting newbie gains. If you are stalling then you need to be eating more and making sure to get adequate rest. What program are you doing?

    I've been doing PHUL for 3 weeks now
    I've been lifting for 2 years now, but never really stuck to a solid program (program jumping) or stayed consistent with my eating. Decided it was time to get solid on building muscle, so I've been increasing calories but still no change in scale weight.. So I asked :)
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    galgenstrick wrote: »
    NaomiSarahChan wrote: »
    My strength hasn't been getting better or worse now that I look at my notes (I track my workouts). I didn't really think that would be a contributing factor. It's just considering my activity level, I never thought I would possibly be needing these many calories!

    You should be focused on increasing the weight on your primary lifts every week. Every workout even if you're still getting newbie gains. If you are stalling then you need to be eating more and making sure to get adequate rest. What program are you doing?

    Every week? Really?
  • dantew04
    dantew04 Posts: 73 Member
    NaomiSarahChan wrote: »
    Hello hello! So I've been trying to bulk now, and am having a bit of trouble with how many calories I should eat. I get about 5000-7500 steps per day (I imagine I am lightly active), sit most of the time because.. studying :( and I lift weights for about an hour 4x a week. I don't run very much to be honest.
    Anyways, I started eating at 2280 - didn't gain anything. Raised to 2440 - still didn't gain anything as of this morning.
    I don't want to keep raising and suddenly find that it all catches up to me in a big weight gain, but I also don't want to be missing out on muscular gains I could be making. Should I keep increasing by 100-200 per week until I see some weight gain?

    How long have you been trying to gain weight if you don't mind me asking?

    And also, are you taking into consideration the calories you are burning during training versus the calories you are consuming? On days I train, I try to overeat somewhat. Doesn't always work, but I do try to keep a calorie surplus.

    Also, have you found it easy to put on weight in the past? I have always struggled but I find consistency - and I DO MEAN CONSISTENCY - with eating, training, rest and maintaining emotional well-being help. It's slow... but I find weight gain tends to be in comparison to weight loss. I know that realistically, I won't be gaining about 2 stone in 2 months. But one thing to also focus on is measurements on your body and not just relying heavily on scales (as tempting as it may be!).

    I feel thicker and stronger but in terms of scale weight, I'm only about 2 pounds heavier than when I consistently started eating like crazy a good few weeks ago.

    Be patient and consistent with eating. But also be honest with yourself. Are you really eating the calories you need? Are you really training to suit your needs? Etc. I ask myself this regularly because, being human, it is easy to fluctuate! The last few days I was a bit moody and bored of food so probably under ate a little. It's things like that which are key to think about and definitely not underestimate.

    That being said, wishing you the best in your goals and feel free to ask more
  • richardgavel
    richardgavel Posts: 1,001 Member
    How long did you try the 2440. It's only a 160 calorie increase so it's going to take a while to recognize whether that had an impact in the midst of regular daily fluctuations in weight.
  • comptonelizabeth
    comptonelizabeth Posts: 1,701 Member
    richardgavel wrote: »
    How long did you try the 2440. It's only a 160 calorie increase so it's going to take a while to recognize whether that had an impact in the midst of regular daily fluctuations in weight.

    I agree. You need to stay at each level for a little while to see if it's working the way you want it to.
    You won't suddenly put on lots of weight so don't worry about that!
  • galgenstrick
    galgenstrick Posts: 2,086 Member
    TavistockToad wrote: »
    galgenstrick wrote: »
    NaomiSarahChan wrote: »
    My strength hasn't been getting better or worse now that I look at my notes (I track my workouts). I didn't really think that would be a contributing factor. It's just considering my activity level, I never thought I would possibly be needing these many calories!

    You should be focused on increasing the weight on your primary lifts every week. Every workout even if you're still getting newbie gains. If you are stalling then you need to be eating more and making sure to get adequate rest. What program are you doing?

    Every week? Really?

    Unless you are an advanced lifter or well into intermediate, which OP isn't, then yes, every week.
  • NaomiSarahChan
    NaomiSarahChan Posts: 17 Member
    Thank you guys for your input! I'll wait a bit longer before making any changes, as a few of you have stated that it may be too soon to make changes
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