Bulking Plan (seeking advice)

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Annaruthus
Annaruthus Posts: 301 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Just spent about 20 minutes trying to find the right calculations for my bulking phase, which will hopefully start about a week or so after my competition. Maybe right after, we are grocery shopping on Monday, and I am not the girl to sit around with out a plan! Anyway, I calculated my daily caloric needs to be between 2000-2200 calories per day, since I won't be doing as much cardio, and I'll be lifting more and heavier.

5-6 small meals per day=333-440 calories each
Protein & carbs per day= 200-220 grams each
fat per day= 45-49 grams
protein & carbs per small meal= 33-40 grams at each small meal
fat per small meal=7-9 grams per small meal

This is a 40/40/20 split. Please tell me what you think. This is definitely the most scientific I've gotten with my diet so far! Lol

Replies

  • Roughy92
    Roughy92 Posts: 12 Member
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    Looks solid to me! I'm bulking atm and 40% protein has been working for me. Remember to up your cals if you're not gaining, though!

    Also, unless you want to, you don't have to divide your meals up into 5-6 smaller ones. I prefer to have 3 bigger meals with a couple snacks thrown in. Totally up to you, though, so long as all the cals are going in at some point. :D
  • FireBrand80
    FireBrand80 Posts: 378 Member
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    You've got the right idea, but you're being more strict than you need too. You don't have to eat 5-6 meals, but it can help you to get all the food down if you don't like big meals. And there's no benefit to spreading your macros evenly across your meals, trying to do so will unnecessarily limit your food choices and probably drive you nuts.

    Also, be sure to monitor your weight, and be ready to increase calories if you're not gaining any weight.
  • Annaruthus
    Annaruthus Posts: 301 Member
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    I prefer the 5 to 6 smaller meals throughout the day. I like to eat, and that fulfills my desire :-)

    My macros don't usually end up spread that evenly; they usually cluster around my workout time. I usually eat the most then.

    Thanks for the tips guys. I'm hoping to gain maybe .5-1 lbs per week. Don't want too much fat!
  • FireBrand80
    FireBrand80 Posts: 378 Member
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    Thanks for the tips guys. I'm hoping to gain maybe .5-1 lbs per week. Don't want too much fat!

    I think 1 lbs per week might be a bit too aggressive for a woman.
  • waldo56
    waldo56 Posts: 1,861 Member
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    2000-2200 calories before exercise?

    Somehow I doubt you are going to gain anything.

    Heavy strength training burns A LOT of calories.
  • Sidesteal
    Sidesteal Posts: 5,510 Member
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    Thanks for the tips guys. I'm hoping to gain maybe .5-1 lbs per week. Don't want too much fat!

    I think 1 lbs per week might be a bit too aggressive for a woman.

    ^ I agree with this entirely.
  • FireBrand80
    FireBrand80 Posts: 378 Member
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    Heavy strength training burns A LOT of calories.

    No, it doesn't.
  • drmerc
    drmerc Posts: 2,603 Member
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    Heavy strength training burns A LOT of calories.

    I don't think this is true
  • waldo56
    waldo56 Posts: 1,861 Member
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    Well it appears I have a magic metabolism that runs near 4000 calories a day when I strength train (4x a week) that happens to drop under 3000 when I don't strength train.

    Y'all saying that it doesn't burn a lot of calories....you have actually have put on weight at the rate you expect while in a surplus, right?

    My rule of thumb is that heavy lifting burns at the vigorous calisthenics entry rate PLUS a 15% rise in every day non-exercise calorie burn rate for recovery, every day there is recovery going on (so pretty much every day).
  • budru21
    budru21 Posts: 127
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    Thanks for the tips guys. I'm hoping to gain maybe .5-1 lbs per week. Don't want too much fat!

    I think 1 lbs per week might be a bit too aggressive for a woman.

    Very unrealistic. A VERY lucky and genetically blessed WOMAN would be fortunate to gain 7-10 pounds in a YEAR of muscle. If you are gaining .5 to 1 pound a week, the vast majority will be fat. You will likely need to get your bf up a few percentages just to be in an ideal condition for gaining mass, but not much higher is needed. Hope that helps!
  • FireBrand80
    FireBrand80 Posts: 378 Member
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    My rule of thumb is that heavy lifting burns at the vigorous calisthenics entry rate PLUS a 15% rise in every day non-exercise calorie burn rate for recovery, every day there is recovery going on (so pretty much every day).

    Even if strength training did burn the same amount as moderate to intense cardio, the rest periods in between the actual lifting and the limited amount of sessions per week you can train with a reasonable degree of intensity makes it not even close.
  • waldo56
    waldo56 Posts: 1,861 Member
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    My rule of thumb is that heavy lifting burns at the vigorous calisthenics entry rate PLUS a 15% rise in every day non-exercise calorie burn rate for recovery, every day there is recovery going on (so pretty much every day).

    Even if strength training did burn the same amount as moderate to intense cardio, the rest periods in between the actual lifting and the limited amount of sessions per week you can train with a reasonable degree of intensity makes it not even close.

    Except that the chemical reaction that provides energy for the strength training is 19x less efficient than the chemical reaction that creates energy for cardio.

    If it burned exactly as much energy (in the form of ATP), strength training would burn through 19x as much fuel to produce that energy. And food calories are fuel, not the end product (ATP).

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cellular_respiration

    The inefficiency of the reaction make the rest periods irrelvant, actually tilting the burn in the favor of strength training.

    ...and then there is recovery. You don't seriously think that repairing all that damage is free of a calorie cost.

    Either way, you account for it up front or just keep upping your calorie intake until you reach the rate of gain that you are targeting. Most people that only know calorie counting to lose will be blown away by how much you have to eat to gain. I would hazard a guess that people actually struggle more to gain than lose, as a solid chunk of people eating to gain undershoot their calorie needs then go blaming their workout routine for a lack of gains, as most calorie advice is made for people losing and errs on the side of caution.
  • Annaruthus
    Annaruthus Posts: 301 Member
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    Well thanks a bunch for all your feedback. I will take these things into consideration. For the person who said I will be eating too little. I'm 115 pounds, no where near man sized, so my requirements will be a lot less than a man. Keep that in mind.
  • Annaruthus
    Annaruthus Posts: 301 Member
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    This is my first time trying to gain, so I already know I will have to make adjustments so it fits me. If I have to eat 2400 calories, or 2700 then so be it, but I don't want to overshoot and just get fat. Budru, would .5 a month/every two months be more realistic then? I don't want to be unclear about what I should expect for progress, since that will be discouraging.

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