New here

Fitnessjd9

Hi all, I’m new to community discussion boards. I’m trying to stay motivated. I’ve used my fitness pal to stay slim but now I’m focused on building muscle particularly, leg and glutes. I’ve been doing google searches and using muscle gain calculators to try to figure how many calories/protein I need to consume. It’s kind of scary because I’ve never consumed anywhere close to the amount of calories I’ve seen that I should be eating for muscle gain. Honestly my stomach feels really full trying to eat more than I usually do but it’s only been a week. Worried I’m going to gain weight instead of muscle. I am working out and just trying to trust the process (gulp).

nossmf

I would be very hesitant relying on online muscle gain calculators, IME (in my experience) they give drastically inflated numbers to encourage people to gain weight fast, with the theory that training will ensure it's all muscle. Reality is a fast gain will result in mostly fat gain. If you want to build muscle, take it slow and steady. First find the calories you need to maintain your current weight, then add 100-250 per day above that number. Meanwhile, keep protein relatively high, at least 0.7g/lb of BW, and engage in a strength training program to encourage the body that it needs these bonus calories to create muscle instead of fat.

Doing this will result in a slow build, but a much higher percentage of the gain will be muscle. Losing weight can be done in weeks, building muscle is done in months. Slow and steady.