How to switch from long cut to gaining weight?

AshwinA7

This is a little pre-emptive since I've had to decrease my goal weight after seeing what I look like at my original goal, but...

... when switching from a long cut to a lean gain, how many calories would I have to consume?

My understanding is that after a long cut (mine will be 1.5 years when I'm done), your metabolism slows down. I'm not entirely sure what that entails except that that with less muscle mass to maintain, your BMR drops a little bit (or drastically?).

So if I'm eating 1600 calories/day on a cut, would you simply start eating 2300 calories/day to gain mass or would you add so many hundreds of calories over a month, maybe more?

MikeMarchetti

http://forums.sherdog.com/forums/f15/definitive-guide-how-gain-weight-2462725/

TavistockToad

start by getting to maintenance, stay there for a few months, and then start to bulk... 2300 cals to bulk is just an estimate, you need to be pretty sure of your maintenance figure first.

MityMax96

I was thinking the same....
Start eating at your maintenance calories for a few weeks.
See how your body responds.
Then begin upping your caloric intake....
Maybe +10% - 20%

ndj1979

i would say go up 100 cals a week until you hit maintenance and then stay there for about a month and then go into a surplus of 100 a week and see how you do for a few weeks and then increase as necessary….

AshwinA7

Thank you to everyone for the replies! Makes sense that it would take some experimentation to find out what works for me.

samw86 - I am very short (5' 7") so that's why my limit is much less than most guys on here.

BarbellApprentice

i would say go up 100 cals a week until you hit maintenance and then stay there for about a month and then go into a surplus of 100 a week and see how you do for a few weeks and then increase as necessary….

Don't jump your calories up after eating at a deficit for a long time. 100 cals a week might even be a bit aggressive.

SteveJWatson

i would say go up 100 cals a week until you hit maintenance and then stay there for about a month and then go into a surplus of 100 a week and see how you do for a few weeks and then increase as necessary….

Don't jump your calories up after eating at a deficit for a long time. 100 cals a week might even be a bit aggressive.

Whats the reasoning behind this? I have just finished a cut and jumped up to where I suppose maintenance should be (and it seems I'm more or less right...)

JoRocka

i would say go up 100 cals a week until you hit maintenance and then stay there for about a month and then go into a surplus of 100 a week and see how you do for a few weeks and then increase as necessary….

Don't jump your calories up after eating at a deficit for a long time. 100 cals a week might even be a bit aggressive.

Whats the reasoning behind this? I have just finished a cut and jumped up to where I suppose maintenance should be (and it seems I'm more or less right...)

I can't say what scientific reasoning but I jumped from a heavy cut to maintance (was about 600 calories plus) and had a hard time mentally with it.

Jumping from a cut directly to a bulk seems to be a little hard on the system and gives people issues/angst about eating.

SaintGiff

I can't say what scientific reasoning but I jumped from a heavy cut to maintance (was about 600 calories plus) and had a hard time mentally with it.

Jumping from a cut directly to a bulk seems to be a little hard on the system and gives people issues/angst about eating.

I think a lot of that has to do with the cut. If he is talking about a long, slow cut of maybe 1 or 2 lbs per week, then the jump to maintenance won't be that dramatic. If you're talking about a short term cut of a month or two, which is what I read when I saw "heavy cut", then yeah, it's a pretty big jump. Your body won't use all of those extra calories right away so it's best to go up slowly.

popeg666

For me, it's optimal, to add +100 calories per week/10 days. Your adding it from yours actual number of calories eaten, then you're gaining weight. But everythings goes ok, in nice pace. That's my opinion. You're staying in shape.

SteveJWatson

i would say go up 100 cals a week until you hit maintenance and then stay there for about a month and then go into a surplus of 100 a week and see how you do for a few weeks and then increase as necessary….

Don't jump your calories up after eating at a deficit for a long time. 100 cals a week might even be a bit aggressive.

Whats the reasoning behind this? I have just finished a cut and jumped up to where I suppose maintenance should be (and it seems I'm more or less right...)

I can't say what scientific reasoning but I jumped from a heavy cut to maintance (was about 600 calories plus) and had a hard time mentally with it.

Jumping from a cut directly to a bulk seems to be a little hard on the system and gives people issues/angst about eating.

Ah, ok. I had no mental problems whatsoever with going up to 2400 after a 1900 cut - possibly because 1900 was too heavy a cut for me and I'd started to feel washed out (I hadn't actually attributed it to my cut, more to it being January). A day after moving up to 2400 I felt fuller and had more energy - I instantly gained 2lbs too, so I'm assuming I had depleted glycogen stores.