Confused noob - Calorie and macro help

Hi,

I need some advice on my calculations to see whether they would be ideal for a bulk:

My profile:
Current weight: 110lb (7st 12) (skinny I know)
Height: 5' 11
Age: 20
Gender: Male

I plugged this into myfitnesspal, selected to gain 1lb a week and Sedentary activity level (desk job/doing IT course at university) - I am going starting strength 3 times per week though.

Also calculated my TDEE to be 2100 using various other calculators - please correct me though if I'm calculating this wrong.

It gave out:
2400 kcals
241g carbs
181g protein
80g Fat

Using 40c/30p/30f split

I was reading that you should aim for around 1g to 1.5g protein ber lb body weight - so would something like this be better?

50c/20p/30f:
2400kcals
300g carbs
120g protein
80g fat

OR

45c/25p/30f:
2400kcals
270g carbs
150g protein
80g fat

So in summary - Am i calculating my TDEE and surplus kcals correctly? And which macro split would a good starting point? (I know its trail and error so I may need to adjust if I'm not gaining or gaining too much fat etc)

Thank you

Replies

  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    edited November 2014
    what kind of work out plan do you plan to follow..??

    2100 for a 5-11 20 year old male seems low..

    as a reference point I am a 35 year old male 5-11 as well, and I am bulking on about 2850 a week now, and that is a half pound per week gain for me. However, I work out about five days a week, but my job is sedentary = desk job..

    My macro split is 35C/35P/30F….
  • Unknown
    edited November 2014
    This content has been removed.
  • ndj1979 wrote: »
    what kind of work out plan do you plan to follow..??

    2100 for a 5-11 20 year old male seems low..

    as a reference point I am a 35 year old male 5-11 as well, and I am bulking on about 2850 a week now, and that is a half pound per week gain for me. However, I work out about five days a week, but my job is sedentary = desk job..

    My macro split is 35C/35P/30F….

    I'm doing starting strength a simple 3x5 compound strength building program 3 times a week. It consists of squats, bench press, overhead press, deadlifts and power cleans.

    And ok thanks

  • MrM27 wrote: »
    Good decision like starting a bulk now. First thing just keep in mind you have got a very long road ahead of you. Be patient and stay the course.

    As far as macros goes, protein at 1.5g isn't necessary. If you wanted to do 1g there is nothing wrong with it but it's also not necessary. Either one of those 2 option are doable if you please but again not needed. Neither one will cause any health issues but the 1.5g could possibly be taking away from your carbs and fats. Anything between .6-.87g per lb of body weight will suffice. On a bulk you can easily get away with less protein than on a cut.

    Fat - Anywhere from .4-.45g per lb of body weight is good.

    Fill the rest with carbs or whatever additional towards the other 2 you wanted but don't forget how important carbs are during a bulk and you want to get those in.

    Calories are going to be trail and error but I would not aim for 1 lb per week, it might be a little much, might. As an absolute beginner you might be able to push adding 4 lbs of muscle per month but it would take precise nutrition, training and genetics. You might want to start out at .5-.75 lbs per week and see what happens after monitoring for weeks.

    Training - Great choice of programming. Do it as it is. Do not go trying to add or swap stuff out. Learn the proper for and gain some strength. To many times people want to change things up thinking they know what to do when they really don't. Don't be that guy.


    ETA: If you want advice asking questions is great but if you are really serious and want a great reference to read then I suggest you visit this.....

    http://strengthunbound.com/bulking-complete-guide-for-beginners

    Great advice, thank you!
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    Looprs wrote: »
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    what kind of work out plan do you plan to follow..??

    2100 for a 5-11 20 year old male seems low..

    as a reference point I am a 35 year old male 5-11 as well, and I am bulking on about 2850 a week now, and that is a half pound per week gain for me. However, I work out about five days a week, but my job is sedentary = desk job..

    My macro split is 35C/35P/30F….

    I'm doing starting strength a simple 3x5 compound strength building program 3 times a week. It consists of squats, bench press, overhead press, deadlifts and power cleans.

    And ok thanks

    sounds good ..

    when you calculated TDEE did you do it for three days a week work out, or just for "sedentary" ….?
  • ndj1979 wrote: »
    Looprs wrote: »
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    what kind of work out plan do you plan to follow..??

    2100 for a 5-11 20 year old male seems low..

    as a reference point I am a 35 year old male 5-11 as well, and I am bulking on about 2850 a week now, and that is a half pound per week gain for me. However, I work out about five days a week, but my job is sedentary = desk job..

    My macro split is 35C/35P/30F….

    I'm doing starting strength a simple 3x5 compound strength building program 3 times a week. It consists of squats, bench press, overhead press, deadlifts and power cleans.

    And ok thanks

    sounds good ...

    when you calculated TDEE did you do it for three days a week work out, or just for "sedentary" ….?

    3 days a week, I think it's fairly low due to the fact that I only weigh 110lb - I used this calculator btw http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/
  • This content has been removed.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    MrM27 wrote: »
    Looprs wrote: »
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    Looprs wrote: »
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    what kind of work out plan do you plan to follow..??

    2100 for a 5-11 20 year old male seems low..

    as a reference point I am a 35 year old male 5-11 as well, and I am bulking on about 2850 a week now, and that is a half pound per week gain for me. However, I work out about five days a week, but my job is sedentary = desk job..

    My macro split is 35C/35P/30F….

    I'm doing starting strength a simple 3x5 compound strength building program 3 times a week. It consists of squats, bench press, overhead press, deadlifts and power cleans.

    And ok thanks

    sounds good ...

    when you calculated TDEE did you do it for three days a week work out, or just for "sedentary" ….?

    3 days a week, I think it's fairly low due to the fact that I only weigh 110lb - I used this calculator btw http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

    Keep in mind that those are just estimates and it's up to you to find your true TDEE through trail and error like you mentioned before.

    that is true ..

    OP - go ahead and eat 2100 and see what happens..if you do not gain then bump up by 250 calories and wait a week or two and if no gain go up another 100 and so on ...
  • ndj1979 wrote: »
    MrM27 wrote: »
    Looprs wrote: »
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    Looprs wrote: »
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    what kind of work out plan do you plan to follow..??

    2100 for a 5-11 20 year old male seems low..

    as a reference point I am a 35 year old male 5-11 as well, and I am bulking on about 2850 a week now, and that is a half pound per week gain for me. However, I work out about five days a week, but my job is sedentary = desk job..

    My macro split is 35C/35P/30F….

    I'm doing starting strength a simple 3x5 compound strength building program 3 times a week. It consists of squats, bench press, overhead press, deadlifts and power cleans.

    And ok thanks

    sounds good ...

    when you calculated TDEE did you do it for three days a week work out, or just for "sedentary" ….?

    3 days a week, I think it's fairly low due to the fact that I only weigh 110lb - I used this calculator btw http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

    Keep in mind that those are just estimates and it's up to you to find your true TDEE through trail and error like you mentioned before.

    that is true ..

    OP - go ahead and eat 2100 and see what happens..if you do not gain then bump up by 250 calories and wait a week or two and if no gain go up another 100 and so on ...

    Sounds like a plan, thanks for the help
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    Looprs wrote: »
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    MrM27 wrote: »
    Looprs wrote: »
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    Looprs wrote: »
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    what kind of work out plan do you plan to follow..??

    2100 for a 5-11 20 year old male seems low..

    as a reference point I am a 35 year old male 5-11 as well, and I am bulking on about 2850 a week now, and that is a half pound per week gain for me. However, I work out about five days a week, but my job is sedentary = desk job..

    My macro split is 35C/35P/30F….

    I'm doing starting strength a simple 3x5 compound strength building program 3 times a week. It consists of squats, bench press, overhead press, deadlifts and power cleans.

    And ok thanks

    sounds good ...

    when you calculated TDEE did you do it for three days a week work out, or just for "sedentary" ….?

    3 days a week, I think it's fairly low due to the fact that I only weigh 110lb - I used this calculator btw http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

    Keep in mind that those are just estimates and it's up to you to find your true TDEE through trail and error like you mentioned before.

    that is true ..

    OP - go ahead and eat 2100 and see what happens..if you do not gain then bump up by 250 calories and wait a week or two and if no gain go up another 100 and so on ...

    Sounds like a plan, thanks for the help

    do you know how much you're currently eating, if presumably you're maintaining?
  • PwrLftr82
    PwrLftr82 Posts: 945 Member
    Looprs wrote: »
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    MrM27 wrote: »
    Looprs wrote: »
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    Looprs wrote: »
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    what kind of work out plan do you plan to follow..??

    2100 for a 5-11 20 year old male seems low..

    as a reference point I am a 35 year old male 5-11 as well, and I am bulking on about 2850 a week now, and that is a half pound per week gain for me. However, I work out about five days a week, but my job is sedentary = desk job..

    My macro split is 35C/35P/30F….

    I'm doing starting strength a simple 3x5 compound strength building program 3 times a week. It consists of squats, bench press, overhead press, deadlifts and power cleans.

    And ok thanks

    sounds good ...

    when you calculated TDEE did you do it for three days a week work out, or just for "sedentary" ….?

    3 days a week, I think it's fairly low due to the fact that I only weigh 110lb - I used this calculator btw http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

    Keep in mind that those are just estimates and it's up to you to find your true TDEE through trail and error like you mentioned before.

    that is true ..

    OP - go ahead and eat 2100 and see what happens..if you do not gain then bump up by 250 calories and wait a week or two and if no gain go up another 100 and so on ...

    Sounds like a plan, thanks for the help

    do you know how much you're currently eating, if presumably you're maintaining?

    This was my question. I think it would be good to just log a "normal" day for you and see where you're at. You might already be eating more than that. For reference, I'm a 5'6" 130 lb female, work a desk job, lift 4x/week and am currently bulking on 2700 cals.
  • PwrLftr82 wrote: »
    Looprs wrote: »
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    MrM27 wrote: »
    Looprs wrote: »
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    Looprs wrote: »
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    what kind of work out plan do you plan to follow..??

    2100 for a 5-11 20 year old male seems low..

    as a reference point I am a 35 year old male 5-11 as well, and I am bulking on about 2850 a week now, and that is a half pound per week gain for me. However, I work out about five days a week, but my job is sedentary = desk job..

    My macro split is 35C/35P/30F….

    I'm doing starting strength a simple 3x5 compound strength building program 3 times a week. It consists of squats, bench press, overhead press, deadlifts and power cleans.

    And ok thanks

    sounds good ...

    when you calculated TDEE did you do it for three days a week work out, or just for "sedentary" ….?

    3 days a week, I think it's fairly low due to the fact that I only weigh 110lb - I used this calculator btw http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

    Keep in mind that those are just estimates and it's up to you to find your true TDEE through trail and error like you mentioned before.

    that is true ..

    OP - go ahead and eat 2100 and see what happens..if you do not gain then bump up by 250 calories and wait a week or two and if no gain go up another 100 and so on ...

    Sounds like a plan, thanks for the help

    do you know how much you're currently eating, if presumably you're maintaining?

    This was my question. I think it would be good to just log a "normal" day for you and see where you're at. You might already be eating more than that. For reference, I'm a 5'6" 130 lb female, work a desk job, lift 4x/week and am currently bulking on 2700 cals.

    Yeah good idea, I'll log a normal day tomorrow.
  • fabidevo wrote: »

    Thanks, I'll check them out
This discussion has been closed.