Should you eat above maintenance on rest days?

I know we are all different, but when it comes to bulking, the only thing that works for me is not counting calories every day. I monitor my protein intake, check my calories once a week or so, up the intensity on my lifts, and if the scale seems to be moving up too quickly, I cut back a little.

For your goals, it doesn't matter how you get your calories in over the course of a week. You can divide by 7 and eat at the same level daily, or you can divide by 3 and only eat more on workout days.

The end result will be about the same. Meal timing and calorie timing doesn't matter nearly as much as people think.

I can't imagine that you're going to have nearly the gains you are hoping for on under 1800 calories a day, but give it a couple months. If you don't see gains, up your calories. I'm 5'7, started my bulk at right around 119 pounds, and I'm needing way over 2000 calories to add weight. Usually over 2200. I'm sitting at a whopping 122 pounds this morning, probably mostly water weight.

I eat the same calories day in and day out. I estimate my needs and go from there. The problem with eating your calories back is how do you know how many you burned. Everything I have read suggests we over estimate the calories we burn and the machines are flat out wrong. Once you have an estimate work with that to determine what you need. Up or down you'll figure it out in about month and thats what you eat to maintain. if you are looking to gain or lose add or subtract. If you stop working out and you start to gain reduce your calories. Good luck

You don't know exact burns. It takes trial and error over time to get a feel for it after doing the same activities many times, which is why most people (especially those using this method) conservatively increase their caloric surplus over time.

The problem is, I might expend 500 calories on some activity, and then not do the same activity again for 3 weeks. How can I account for such a variable activity schedule using a flat-line calculation like TDEE? I don't think it's possible.

if I started over with TDEE now, I would lose more weight until finding the right balance again. I can't afford that.

No, IMO keep your diet consistent, allow yourself one cheat meal per week to keep your sanity (included in your calorie allotment) and do one or two active rest days per week.

No, IMO keep your diet consistent, allow yourself one cheat meal per week to keep your sanity (included in your calorie allotment) and do one or two active rest days per week.

Why?

as long as your weekly deficit/surplus is the same the weight gain/loss should be almost identical. OP, eating on maintenance days is a good idea, that is when your muscles grow and repair, and it will provide energy to fuel the next day's workout.

Having used both methods, I find using TDEE and keeping cals constant every day to be MUCH easier. Once you establish your true maintenance cals or TDEE value, you'll get the same results either way. It just boils down to what is easier for you.

Finding maintenance is tricky when you up your calories. I would suggest reversing up from your current intake (I am assuming here that you are logging accurately) - add say 100 calories and sit there for 2 weeks, add another 100, sit there...rinse, repeat until it looks as though you are slowly gaining. You may find however that you will end up leveling out after a while and may need to up calories periodically.

You can cycle calories, but I prefer just to eat to a static number throughout the week. On a bulk you really do not need the extra calories for energy for training.