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My first bulk :) confused how many calories??
skyedaisy535
Posts: 2
Hey ladies, I'm bulking too 
MFP originally gave me a calorie per day of 2588 (not yet taking into account my exercise- as some days I do cardio+weights).
but then an IIFYM website gave me a 'bulking' figure of 2100 (based on my total daily energy expenditure).
I did the MFP calorie guideline for a week and gained a kilo but now I'm stressing about which one to aim for?? IIFYM or MFP recommendation?
Any advice would be much appreciated
Sorry, im such a rookie at this haha.
Also, any advice on coping with eating more and not feeling guilty ?
Thankyou, Skye.
MFP originally gave me a calorie per day of 2588 (not yet taking into account my exercise- as some days I do cardio+weights).
but then an IIFYM website gave me a 'bulking' figure of 2100 (based on my total daily energy expenditure).
I did the MFP calorie guideline for a week and gained a kilo
but now I'm stressing about which one to aim for?? IIFYM or MFP recommendation?Any advice would be much appreciated
Sorry, im such a rookie at this haha.
Also, any advice on coping with eating more and not feeling guilty ?
Thankyou, Skye.
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Replies
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I'm not very familiar with the iifym calculator. I use scoobysworkshop.com (the one that uses bf%) and find it incredibly accurate.
But generally, all calculators are just guessing numbers. You should shoot for about 250 over tdee or rather gaining .5 lbs a week. 1kg more in one week is quite a lot, but quite possible that most of it is water. Are you coming out of a cut? If yes your body would have replenished his glycogen stores wich comes with added water.
Did you do 2588 or 2588+burned calories?
How tall are you? How much do you weigh? How long to you spend in the gym, running?
Hard to say use the one or the other without these information.0 -
1kg a week is a LOT but was that your first week at surplus? If so, probably just glycogen stores replenishing. Personally I'd stick with what you're doing for another week or so and see if it settles a bit. If you end up gaining 1 kg a week, I'd say, that's too quick. 1kg a month would probably give you the best muscle:fat gain.
Have fun bulking 0 -
Hey
Thanks for the reply. I weigh 51.8kgs and im 168cms tall. I lift weights around 5x a week for 45 mins and do 2-3 30 minute walks per week. I wasn't coming out of a cut (this is my first attempt at bulking)
It was my first week at surplus and it did seem like a lot to me. IIFYM gives you specific carbohydrate, protein and fat grams to reach each day.
Do you follow specific Protein, Fat and Carb counts? or just go off overall calories? its so overwhelming at times haha.
Cheers, Skye.0 -
I did 2588 plus burned calories but could barely ever reach the daily reccomendations haha.0
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Did you add your workouts into the calculator? If so, IIFYM calculator assumes you are going to use TDEE so you wouldn't eat back exercise calories - if you were definitely at maintenance beforehand, then that probably explains the big gain.
You can still log your workouts - just enter your own custom 1 cal burn exercises.
ETA: yes, I have a specific number for protein and fat - carbs go up and down depending if I'm cutting or bulking.0 -
thanks 0
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Important question: do you know your TDEE? And I don't mean from a calculator, I mean have you actually tested it? If so, just add 125-250 calories to that per day and you should be good.
As far as macros go - they are very important so pay attention to them. You need to make sure you get enough protein and fats. There are a lot of opinions out there on the amounts, but generally your minimum protein goal should be between 0.8 - 1.0 grams per pound of body weight and fats should be 0.35 - 0.45 grams per pound of body weight. Both should be treated as minimums. If you go over, great. But make sure you get to the minimums each day.
Good luck! :flowerforyou:0 -
Hey
I've worked out my TDEE on a calculator but that was only yesterday- then I added a 5% surplus in order to gain.
To test it out does this mean just seeing how this works for me for a few weeks? then alter it when needed.
I've worked out my protein, fats and carbs (and have used the formula you suggested). So these are a minimum requirement?? Im glad you said its okay to go a little bit over the P's and F's cause I was stressing about that (and being exact) but I definitely will aim to reach those minimums.
Thanks for the advice. 0 -
Yes, a calculator will only be able to give you a starting point. The only way you're going to know for sure is to try it out through trial and error.
Sounds like you're well on your way.
As far as you OP and advice on not feeling guilty about eating so much, just remember you are doing all of this to build muscle. You are not gaining all fat, so will look very different than if you were just eating a bunch and not working out. You'll hear it a lot around here: bulking is a mind *kitten* and the mental aspect is harder than the physical part a lot of the time. But having this group really helps when you're feeling fat and squishy or just having a bad day. Everyone here has either been there or is going through there first bulk, so we can all relate. If you need to complain, do it here. We'll be able to support you and lift you back up!0 -
Hey
I've worked out my TDEE on a calculator but that was only yesterday- then I added a 5% surplus in order to gain.
To test it out does this mean just seeing how this works for me for a few weeks? then alter it when needed.
Personally, the calculators aren't really a good estimate for me, so don't be surprised if you have to adjust accordingly. Basically just stick with what you've got figured out, weigh yourself over the course of a month, and see what happens. For bulking, you should be gaining roughly 1-2 lbs a month. But keep in mind there will be fluctuations- weight loss/gain is not directly linear- it's a trend, so in this case your weight should be trending up. Good luck!0 -
Thanks so much!! I'm really looking forward to doing this the right way and at the same time developing a good r'ship with food I've added some oreos into my food intake today! (yayy!!) haha.
today ill be around 10g over fat and 20 over protein but I don't mind)
AND thought id share, I hit a pb of 130kg leg press today I don't really have anyone else to share my accomplishments with so im happy that we can share and talk about our journeys
I'm Skye by the way 0 -
actually *230 leg press (typo) 0
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Thanks so much for the advice! I've gained weight before (from 48kgs to around 51kgs) but that was just eating 'more' and thinking I was getting enough protein and fats. So all of these numbers are new to me haha.0
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Thanks so much for the advice! I've gained weight before (from 48kgs to around 51kgs) but that was just eating 'more' and thinking I was getting enough protein and fats. So all of these numbers are new to me haha.
Why did OP deactivate?!0 -
What is OP???0
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What is OP???
Original poster. When I clicked your profile this morning it said you'd deactivated! Glad to see that isn't the case :laugh:
I did my first bulk last year and it was definitely a learning experience. Gained a lot of water weight the first week or so, but then didn't gain as much as I should have (didn't eat enough). It's tough and can be scary. Best of luck to you! :drinker:0 -
oh I created a different account 0
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ill weigh myself on Friday, don't wanna stress too much atm 0
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Hey guys, I weighed myself this morning and have lost half a kilo in the last 5 days. Should I take this as my cals being too low atm (add immediately add cals?) ? or just see how I go for another week?
Sorry for posting so much!0 -
Skyepie535 wrote: »Hey guys, I weighed myself this morning and have lost half a kilo in the last 5 days. Should I take this as my cals being too low atm (add immediately add cals?) ? or just see how I go for another week?
Sorry for posting so much!
I would wait a couple weeks at your current intake. Your weight can fluctuate a few pounds either way each day. It's the general trend you are looking for.0
This discussion has been closed.