Calorie Surplus for Lean Bulking

burtnyks

Hello,

Relatively new on this board and am currently in my first bulk. I've been reverse dieting after weight loss, slowly increasing calories over the last month and a half or so. I'm currently sitting at 132 lbs and think I have finally found my maintenance to be 2200 cals. I lift 4 days per week and do 1 20-min interval session and 1 hour long spin class per week. What have you ladies found to be the best method for a "lean" bulk? I have heard to simply add 150 cals per day or to increase by 10-20%. My plan is to bulk through 2014 so I want to minimize my fat gains since I'm doing a long bulk, but I'd also like to make the most of it!

I do like to have one cheat meal per week that I don't track. So I was thinking of trying out 2300 cals + cheat meal as a start. Would that be enough excess calories or should I go higher?

pandorakick

For a lean bulk for women it is usally advised to have an average daily intake of about 300 kcal above maintenance. I don't know how much kcals your cheat meals usually are, but they do have to be taken into account to avoid over- or under shooting your calorie target. Personally I calculate my intake on weekly basis. During the week I'm usually a bit under my average goal, meaning that in the weekend I can overshoot a bit.

Doesn't sound to much different from your plan, does it?

89nunu

If your maintanance is really 2200, 2300 + cheat meal might be a bit on the low side...
But just keep going like you did with your reverse dieting, adding 100-150 calories each week and see how it goes. You might be surprised and get to eat a whole lot more than you initially think.

I thought I would gain on on 2750 (I'm tall) but in reality I just started gaining now that I'm up to 3100...

burtnyks

Thanks ladies. I'm not 100% certain 2200 is maintenance, but its the first time so far that I weighed in the same amount 2 weeks in a row. So I upped it to 2300 this week and will see how that goes and if I gain. Maybe I'll still have my cheat meal but try tracking the calories to see where I fall. Its usually nothing crazy, maybe an extra 400 on a weekly basis??

I too was surprised that I was still losing weight on 2000 cals. Can't complain too much though. More room for peanut butter and Quest Bars with higher calories! :-)

sarahstrezo

You might be surprised to find your maintenance changes as you continue to bulk. I was certain that my maintenance was 2300. I maintained at that for a long time. Then, I decided to bulk and I've been eating at a surplus for almost 5 months now and just last week I saw a 1/2 loss when I've been averaging 2700-2800 cals a day.

So…increase cals 100 per day each week until you see steady gains of 1/2 lb per week. When the weight stalls for more than a week, add more cals. If it jumps too fast for more than 2 weeks, slow it down.

burtnyks

Oh wow sarahstrezo! I would be ecstatic if I could have 2800 cals/day. More PB! :-D

This bulking business is difficult. Part of me doesn't want to waste my gym effort if I'm not eating enough to build muscle, but on the other hand I don't want to just go all out and consume excess calories and put on a ton of fat either. Even trying to gain 0.5 lb a week is going to be hard to monitor due to regular fluctuations in weight. I feel like losing is easier, unless of course you go the dirty bulk option. I weigh myself on Monday morning and have been trying to keep an average of the previous 4 weeks weight to see if I'm at least trending upwards.

HMVOL7409

I agree with Sarah and currently her and I are going through the same frustrations. Cals are up to 3000 and one may call that dirty bulking but I could care less. Either way, cutting is far more easy than bulking it seems!

sarahstrezo

I'm going dirty for these last 3 weeks I have. I soooo wanted to hit 140 at the end of this and since that's obviously NOT going to happen, I'll be ecstatic with a solid 136 on the scale (10 lb increase in 20 weeks).

Fat gain is inevitable. Accept it and forget about it. The good news about the fat gain is that it should't increase your overall body fat % all that much because you are gaining lean mass at the same time.

burtnyks

Good point! I never thought about it that way.....that I will be increasing both muscle and fat so bodyfat should stay relatively the same. Makes me feel a little better.

I dread going back to cutting and being hungry. Part of the reason I'm doing an extended bulk, I like the food and might as well lift heavy to make it all worth it.

pandorakick

The good news about the fat gain is that it should't increase your overall body fat % all that much because you are gaining lean mass at the same time.

Totally this. I made pictures from before my bulk and at the midway point at about 3 months and despite a 4.3 kg difference, it is hard to tell the difference between the two pictures.

burtnyks

Wow! Good for you pandorakick. I love seeing transformations. I follow a girl on Instagram who posted 2 pics of herself at the same weight and the comparison was amazing. She was so much smaller and compact in the "after" photo.