How to gain weight without losing the Pack

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  • ForecasterJason
    ForecasterJason Posts: 2,577 Member
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    LolBroScience wrote: »
    ForecasterJason wrote: »
    sarahstrezo wrote: »
    I'm in the middle of my second bulk. What you think your maintenance is will likely be different than what it is in another 8-10 weeks of eating at a surplus. Last fall, I started with a maintenance calorie amount of about 2100. After 20 weeks, I put on 11 lbs and had to continue to up my calorie amount to continue to gain 1/2 lb per week. At the end of 20 weeks, I was eating around 2900 cals a day to keep the scale moving up. When all was said and done, I put on about 5-6 lbs of new lean mass. All my big lifts went up and cutting afterward wasn't crazy hard.
    I'm about 10 weeks into my second bulk and hoping for similar results this time.
    Decide what you think you maintenance is and eat about 200-300 over that and monitor your weight and strength. When the scale stops moving up after a week or two....add more food. Rinse and repeat until you reach your goal weight.
    You mentioned that you were eating 2900 calories at the end of your bulk, but do you know what your maintenance actually was? I've heard supposedly a pound of muscle only burns an extra 6 calories, but it seems like your new maintenance was a lot higher than just 36 more calories.

    2900 would be the presumed new level of maintenance if she was holding weight at that level.
    Right, but she said that's what she was eating "to keep the scale moving up".

  • LolBroScience
    LolBroScience Posts: 4,537 Member
    edited December 2014
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    So when that stops you'd be at the new maintenance level (if it held consistent for a few weeks)
  • LolBroScience
    LolBroScience Posts: 4,537 Member
    edited December 2014
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    I started at 2650 calories and I'm up now to a little over 3500 calories, maintaining weight at 194-195 lbs. I'm still slowly increasing calories by my last 3 week weigh-in's were:

    194.6
    194.8
    194.8

    Thus, I consider the fact that if I hold my activity level consistent (which I will) my maintenance calories are currently at roughly 3500 calories.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
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    ForecasterJason wrote: »
    sarahstrezo wrote: »
    I'm in the middle of my second bulk. What you think your maintenance is will likely be different than what it is in another 8-10 weeks of eating at a surplus. Last fall, I started with a maintenance calorie amount of about 2100. After 20 weeks, I put on 11 lbs and had to continue to up my calorie amount to continue to gain 1/2 lb per week. At the end of 20 weeks, I was eating around 2900 cals a day to keep the scale moving up. When all was said and done, I put on about 5-6 lbs of new lean mass. All my big lifts went up and cutting afterward wasn't crazy hard.
    I'm about 10 weeks into my second bulk and hoping for similar results this time.
    Decide what you think you maintenance is and eat about 200-300 over that and monitor your weight and strength. When the scale stops moving up after a week or two....add more food. Rinse and repeat until you reach your goal weight.
    You mentioned that you were eating 2900 calories at the end of your bulk, but do you know what your maintenance actually was? I've heard supposedly a pound of muscle only burns an extra 6 calories, but it seems like your new maintenance was a lot higher than just 36 more calories.

    that number is a range- i'ts not a fixed number- and as you get bigger- it goes up.

    As you get smaller- it goes down.

    so i'ts a moving target and you have to readjust ever couple of pounds or so.
  • sarahstrezo
    sarahstrezo Posts: 568 Member
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    ForecasterJason wrote: »
    sarahstrezo wrote: »
    I'm in the middle of my second bulk. What you think your maintenance is will likely be different than what it is in another 8-10 weeks of eating at a surplus. Last fall, I started with a maintenance calorie amount of about 2100. After 20 weeks, I put on 11 lbs and had to continue to up my calorie amount to continue to gain 1/2 lb per week. At the end of 20 weeks, I was eating around 2900 cals a day to keep the scale moving up. When all was said and done, I put on about 5-6 lbs of new lean mass. All my big lifts went up and cutting afterward wasn't crazy hard.
    I'm about 10 weeks into my second bulk and hoping for similar results this time.
    Decide what you think you maintenance is and eat about 200-300 over that and monitor your weight and strength. When the scale stops moving up after a week or two....add more food. Rinse and repeat until you reach your goal weight.
    You mentioned that you were eating 2900 calories at the end of your bulk, but do you know what your maintenance actually was? I've heard supposedly a pound of muscle only burns an extra 6 calories, but it seems like your new maintenance was a lot higher than just 36 more calories.

    I don't really KNOW what my new maintenance was. I just know, by tracking my intake, what I had to eat to continue to gain. You also have to remember, with extra food, comes extra energy. So, while I did zero cardio, I had extra energy to hit a few more exercises at the gym or maybe up my activity level throughout the day. Instead of hitting legs/squats hard and be useless the rest of the afternoon, I'd get home and feel fantastic and be a lot more active than I normally would in a cut or even just at maintenance.

    You can try to find the perfect number all you want via calculators and online tools. The only thing that really works is good ole' fashion trial and error and seeing how YOU respond.
  • JeffseekingV
    JeffseekingV Posts: 3,165 Member
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    LolBroScience wrote: »
    I started at 2650 calories and I'm up now to a little over 3500 calories, maintaining weight at 194-195 lbs. I'm still slowly increasing calories by my last 3 week weigh-in's were:

    194.6
    194.8
    194.8

    Thus, I consider the fact that if I hold my activity level consistent (which I will) my maintenance calories are currently at roughly 3500 calories.

    I don't know what forecaster is asking for. There is no scientific calculation to get your exact maintenance level unless you actually play around with the calorie count and see what happens. Exactly like how you are doing it.
  • sarahstrezo
    sarahstrezo Posts: 568 Member
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    LolBroScience wrote: »
    So when that stops you'd be at the new maintenance level (if it held consistent for a few weeks)

    Yes exactly this ^^^. I started out gaining at 2500 cals. Then I'd hold consistent weight there and I'd have to up again to 2700. Then, after about 16-18 weeks, I'd maintain my new current weight at 2700 and have to up again. Thus, eventually getting to 2900 to continue to gain at the end of 20 weeks. If I wanted to have continued, I bet I could have reached a point where I was maintaining at 2900 eventually. Maintenance is not a stagnant number for anyone.
  • ForecasterJason
    ForecasterJason Posts: 2,577 Member
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    Ok, all that makes sense. I seem to have a hard time gaining, despite upping my intake by an extra 100-150 calories from when I started. Seems like I need to adjust further.
  • LolBroScience
    LolBroScience Posts: 4,537 Member
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    ForecasterJason wrote: »
    Ok, all that makes sense. I seem to have a hard time gaining, despite upping my intake by an extra 100-150 calories from when I started. Seems like I need to adjust further.

    Mhm. Add another 100, see how your respond. If you stay consistent in weight for a few weeks repeat process.
  • sarahstrezo
    sarahstrezo Posts: 568 Member
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    ForecasterJason wrote: »
    Ok, all that makes sense. I seem to have a hard time gaining, despite upping my intake by an extra 100-150 calories from when I started. Seems like I need to adjust further.
    100-150 over what you think maintenance is isn't really that much. I think you'll be surprised at how much you will need to eat to consistently gain weight.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
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    sarahstrezo wrote: »
    ForecasterJason wrote: »
    Ok, all that makes sense. I seem to have a hard time gaining, despite upping my intake by an extra 100-150 calories from when I started. Seems like I need to adjust further.
    100-150 over what you think maintenance is isn't really that much. I think you'll be surprised at how much you will need to eat to consistently gain weight.

    100 calories above maintenance usually just gets massaged into "maintenance" it has to be ENOUGH of a surplus for your body to actually go- oh hey- that's more than normal- that's a surplus!!!
  • ForecasterJason
    ForecasterJason Posts: 2,577 Member
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    I have a feeling that there may be other factors like stress and sleep involved. Although I haven't increased my calories over the past week or so, it looks I may finally be getting a little bit of water or muscle weight that I never gained in the first few weeks. I know that this is probably not enough time to really tell, but now that my stress level has gone down over the past several days I seem to be getting the higher daily fluctuations that I should have a month ago. Also, I do think my appetite is negatively impacted by stress. So, perhaps my stress literally put the breaks on everything, including the usual water weight gain.
  • ryanhorn
    ryanhorn Posts: 355 Member
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    I'm bulking for the first time as well, and I had the same question. From the answers I've read here, it's much easier (and much less complicated) to just bulk and forget about the pack for a few months and then just work on it again during cutting. Is that correct?
  • PwrLftr82
    PwrLftr82 Posts: 945 Member
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    ryanhorn wrote: »
    I'm bulking for the first time as well, and I had the same question. From the answers I've read here, it's much easier (and much less complicated) to just bulk and forget about the pack for a few months and then just work on it again during cutting. Is that correct?

    Correct. Cutting fat is a heck of a lot easier than building muscle. The more you try to keep the pack during the bulk, the less muscle you'll inevitably gain.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
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    ryanhorn wrote: »
    I'm bulking for the first time as well, and I had the same question. From the answers I've read here, it's much easier (and much less complicated) to just bulk and forget about the pack for a few months and then just work on it again during cutting. Is that correct?

    yes.

    So many people hammstring themselves being concerned with appearences.
    As PwrLfter said- it's hard enough to get the muscle- so focus on that- don't worry about the fat- it sheds fairly quickly for most people on their cut.
  • NRBreit
    NRBreit Posts: 319 Member
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    It's not going to happen. If you gain weight you WILL put inches on your waist unless you are one of the very few who are genetically gifted.
  • ForecasterJason
    ForecasterJason Posts: 2,577 Member
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    What would be a good example of the volume required to gain about 40% of the maximum amount of LBM that can be gained from lifting?
  • LolBroScience
    LolBroScience Posts: 4,537 Member
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    ForecasterJason wrote: »
    What would be a good example of the volume required to gain about 40% of the maximum amount of LBM that can be gained from lifting?

    English
  • ForecasterJason
    ForecasterJason Posts: 2,577 Member
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    I realized the issue with my question after I posted it.
    Since my setup makes it very hard to follow a strength based routine with lower reps, I'm going to try increasing my strength via hypertrophy only. I would be doing most of my exercises in the 8-15 rep range. After reading some other threads, I think all along I've been seriously underestimating the amount of volume required for growth. Combined with the trouble I've had increasing my calorie intake and the limited number of compound exercises I can do on my machine, I'm now thinking of only going for a half pound of muscle per month.

    There are several other exercises (almost all isolation) I could do, but I don't want to be doing more volume than needed for what I want. The bicep curls would actually be with dumbbells. What I'm wondering is if you guys think this is enough volume for the rate I'm going for.

    Example:
    Sun - 2 sets of bench press, 2 sets of lat pulldown, 1 set bicep curls, 1 set standing rows

    Tue - 3 sets leg press, 1 set leg curl

    Thu - Upper Body repeat

    Sat - Lower body repeat

    Mon - Upper body repeat

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