Need calorie/macro advice for bulk

ddzubow

I'm on my first bulk and having trouble gaining. I am doing Beachbody's Body Beast program and using it's formulas, which put me at a recommended 3000 calories/day with a macro split of 50c/25p/25f (375, 188, 83). My stats are 5'-9", 171lbs, approx. 15% BF (this is a guess - I haven't measured - which I'm sure could be part of the issue). I've been doing the program for nearly 3 weeks now, and although I don't always hit my macros right on, I'm always within 5-10% of my calories and hit my minimum protein & fats.

The main problem that I think I'm having is that the Body Beast calorie calculations don't take into account any exercise outside of the program, and I walk a minimum of 5 miles every day & bike a few miles each day for my commute to work. I'm looking for any recommendations on how I should adjust my calories/macros because of this extra activity.

Thanks!

NRBreit

Your cardio/activitiy level might require some additional cals. I am 6'1" 177 lbs. right now gaining at approx. 1lb. per week on 3,000 cals with similar macros to yours. Our BF% is in the same range too. I do 3-4 workouts per week averaging 45 mins. each. I will occasionally run 3.5 miles (25-30 mins), but no more than once per week when bulking. You can try bumping up the cals by 250-500 and see if that gets the scale moving. Once you see the scale moving, you can fine tune cals up or down.

ddzubow

Thanks, I kind of knew in the back of my head that I needed to up my calories, but after spending months losing weight, it's definitely a mental hurdle to eat so much. I think I'll jump up 300 calories for a couple of weeks and see where that gets me.

nonrg

I'm also doing a tight bulk right now, using a 40c/30p/30f approach, eating 2800 calories a day and it seems to be working pretty well. I weight 199lbs at 6'1". I always lean towards getting more protein to support weight lifting. I'd also do as stated above and add calories slowly to off-set the cardio until you see the results you want not just on the scale but in the mirror as well.

ohh_danielson

Yeah with the calculations not taking into account any extra exercise you do, its not going to be accurate.

There are some calculators/macros that let you put in daily activity levels such as walking, jogging,weight lifting etc. Maybe google some TDEE/BMR calculators and do a few to get a rough idea, and go from there.
Like you probably know, you probs just need to up the calories a little.

Live4theLift

Calculate your TDEE and go from there, all the extra exercise may just have you at maintenance

ddzubow

After calculating my TDEE on several websites, it does seem like my maintenance is right around 3,000 calories - which obviously makes sense with the results I've had over the last few weeks. Thanks for the input!

DEUS

Ramp it up 250 for a few weeks and you should see a change, everyone is different it's all about finding what works best for your body. Let us know how you get on, good luck!