Newbie help with eating in surplus/bulking

angharadsian94

I started lifting/strength training in January and I’ve been doing lots of research on diet and what calorie intake I should be getting. I’ve seen lots of stuff that says you need to eat in a surplus straight away to build muscle but also lots of things that say you shouldn’t start ‘bulking’ until you have been training for a few months and your ‘newbie gains’ have tapered off and you’ve gained some strength. I’ve naturally started eating more that what I was before I started going to the gym and I’m trying to up my calories each week but I’m still struggling to eat enough to not be in a deficit and confused about what kind of calories I should be aiming for?

jdog022

No one can answer that with the information provided. Gender age weight activity level and even then it’s just going to be plugged into a calculator that isn’t perfect.

My recommendation is to ballpark it off a TDEE calculator and track weight daily with an immediate morning weigh in post bathroom then take a 7 day moving average. Libra or happy scale app. If not gaining.. well then eat more.

Also ensure your programming in the gym is a proven program and there are stickies in this section that can be used to chose one.

angharadsian94

I’m 24 5 ft 3 and 130 lbs. TDEE is calculated at 1667 I have a desk job but going to the gym 4 times a week on gym days my fitbit says I’m burning around 2300-2500 calories for the day. I was just confused as to whether I should be aiming to eat in a surplus to that straight away or not due to conflicting information that I’ve read.

jdog022

First your TDEE is your total calorie needs to stay at current weight. So it would include that Fitbit calorie burn and any exercise. MyFitnessPal uses NEAT which doesn’t include exercise and then you have to guess every day what you burnt. I don’t like that method.

Now I don’t know what your doing to get 2500 calories burnt but at your size I have to guess that’s about 3x the amount your really burning. 2500 calories in walking and working out is what a professional athlete might burn on game day or maybe a marathon runner on race day. You get the idea.

Or are you saying Fitbit estimates your TDEE at 2500? I didn’t think it included non exercise numbers but haven’t had one in years.

Personally I think Fitbit calorie estimates are nearly useless anyways. Plugged your info into a stardnard TDEE calculator should be a good starting point. Then not gaining.. eat a little more. Wait a week. If still not.. add 100 cals. Rinse and repeat. Maybe eat somewhere between 1667 and 2300 and adjust as you go

I would aim for .25ib per week or 1 pound a month for stained female lean bulk. It’s difficult to track such a small amount and that’s where weight tracking and trending is pivotal

psuLemon

Muscle gains are far superior while in a caloric surplus, but can also be achieved while eating at maintenance (recomp) and even during a deficit, especially if you haven't been following a structured lifting routine for awhile. Ultimately, your training and adequate protein will be the most important factor.

Having said that, I would question how lean you are at your current stats? Because if you aren't near or below 20% body fat, it would not be ideal to bulk. Adding muscle favors the lean. So there is still a possibility that you would benefit from a solid lifting routine (link found below), adequate protein (100-130g) and a moderate cut (~10-15% below your TDEE).

Without pictures those, it's a bit harder to make an assessment.

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10332083/which-lifting-program-is-the-best-for-you/p1

NaturalGainsRecned

As a newbie, don’t worry about counting calories and what’s your maintenance level of calories. Just go to the gym, do the key lifts (compound movements) followed by some isolation work, and eat. Eat as much as you possibly can, without vomiting of course. And after 6 or so months you should see some newbie gains and if ya wanna start tracking calories then, go head. But I wouldn’t even worry about that for the first year... Just train and eat, take advantage of those newbie gains as much as possible. By that I mean, get as big and strong as you can, then you’ll reach a point where you’re happy with the muscle you’ve gained or you’re just putting on too much fat. But newbie gains what’s great, is you put on muscle and burn fat ideally the first year, they slow up so just be careful. Good luck!

jdog022

I think a more methodical approach is practical even as a newbie

jenkae1012

NaturalGainsRecned wrote: »

As a newbie, don’t worry about counting calories and what’s your maintenance level of calories. Just go to the gym, do the key lifts (compound movements) followed by some isolation work, and eat. Eat as much as you possibly can, without vomiting of course. And after 6 or so months you should see some newbie gains and if ya wanna start tracking calories then, go head. But I wouldn’t even worry about that for the first year... Just train and eat, take advantage of those newbie gains as much as possible. By that I mean, get as big and strong as you can, then you’ll reach a point where you’re happy with the muscle you’ve gained or you’re just putting on too much fat. But newbie gains what’s great, is you put on muscle and burn fat ideally the first year, they slow up so just be careful. Good luck!

Yes! This is good advice! If your new to weightlifting, then give yourself at least 3+ months to increase your strength and endurance. Listen to your body and eat the amount that feels right. Focus on eating plenty of protein-rich and fibrous foods, and don't leave out the quality fats.

I'd say don't focus too much on bulking right now... especially if your new to strength training.

GerryM91

angharadsian94 wrote: »

I started lifting/strength training in January and I’ve been doing lots of research on diet and what calorie intake I should be getting. I’ve seen lots of stuff that says you need to eat in a surplus straight away to build muscle but also lots of things that say you shouldn’t start ‘bulking’ until you have been training for a few months and your ‘newbie gains’ have tapered off and you’ve gained some strength. I’ve naturally started eating more that what I was before I started going to the gym and I’m trying to up my calories each week but I’m still struggling to eat enough to not be in a deficit and confused about what kind of calories I should be aiming for?

Hi how many calories and grams of protein are you taking per day ? I have started out at the gym 3 weeks ago and gained 5lb taking roughly between 3200-3500 calories per day and 200-220g protein , I'm not into all the eat every 2 hours but go for each main meal breakfast lunch dinner roughly 800 calories . Add couple of protein shakes 2 scoops in unflavoured with full fat milk gives you 500 cal with 48g protein and for snacks in-between these I eat fruit .