ideal calories per day @ 20% bf *noob

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draftsman28
draftsman28 Posts: 98 Member
edited May 2015 in Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
I want to gain muscle bulk and got started on mfp to track my food. I have no idea what to expect to gain per week so I plug in .5# per week. I'm 39 yo, 5'-11.5", 175# @ 20% bf mfp says I should have 2400 calories a day with a sedentary office job. Am I on the right track?
I have never been able to gain much muscle in the past strength training at home. I just bought weight bench and started lifting and training seriously.Thanks
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  • emezrahi
    emezrahi Posts: 12 Member
    edited May 2015
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    Mpf tells me I need 2910 a day, but from what I understand, it's the carbs and fiber you should be focusing on. Can someone else confirm this?

    Edit: had to correct auto-correct :neutral:
  • draftsman28
    draftsman28 Posts: 98 Member
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    emezrahi wrote: »
    Mpf tells me I need 2910 a day, but from what I understand, it's the carbs and fiber you should be focusing on. Can someone else confirm this?

    Edit: had to correct auto-correct :neutral:
    Are you trying to gain .5# a week as well?
  • keithcw_the_first
    keithcw_the_first Posts: 382 Member
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    It's the calories – although carbs are important and too much fiber will wreck your GI tract if you aren't used to it.

    If you aren't sure about the goal, try it for a week or two and adjust upwards if necessary.

    Also, make sure you're hitting your macros. After that, it's calories any way you can get it.

  • draftsman28
    draftsman28 Posts: 98 Member
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    Macros?
  • keithcw_the_first
    keithcw_the_first Posts: 382 Member
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    So, calories are split between carbs, protein, and fat. Broadly speaking.

    People usually recommend between .8 grams and 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight.

    Fat is like, .4 grams a pound (variable, I don't remember at the moment.)

    So if protein is 4 calories per gram and fat is 9 calories per gram, then you figure out how many carbs to get by dividing by 4 (also 4 calories per gram).

    MyFitnessPal does this all for you; tracking it at least.

    Hit your protein (140 - 175 grams) and the rest will pretty much follow. And you may even struggle getting enough calories. That's where the ice cream and peanut butter come in.
  • Sutnak
    Sutnak Posts: 227 Member
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    I'm sorry man, I was in your shoes once. Was pondering posting or not.

    Bulking at 20% sucks.

    You can end up putting on way too much fat, and you'll just look fat. BTDT, trying to atone for past sins now and it's really hard.

    Just consider getting down to 12% (while training) before bulking. You'll be glad you did.




  • keithcw_the_first
    keithcw_the_first Posts: 382 Member
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    Yeah I actually thought about this last night. 20% may be a tad high for bulking.

    If nothing else, you're definitely in for a longer cut at the end of all of this.
  • draftsman28
    draftsman28 Posts: 98 Member
    edited May 2015
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    I didn't realize what my bf was until I got out the tape measure. So would I be better off cutting or maintaining less calories per day? Will I be able to gain muscle while doing either?
    Thanks for all the help
    My ultimate goal is to gain muscle and definition and then loose the bf afterward. That's how bulking works correct?
  • keithcw_the_first
    keithcw_the_first Posts: 382 Member
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    Well, you'll gain muscle but probably lose some definition, on account of the inevitable fat gains.

    Then you take all that new lean mass and gradually cut down to reveal it.

    20% is above where most people recommend bulking. If you're looking in the mirror and saying, "I'm okay with where I am and I'm okay with being a little fatter" then you could attempt something short - maybe two months?

    I think I started my bulk a little high, but then I never had to worry about losing my six-pack. There wasn't one there to speak of. I figured if I kept cutting then there wouldn't be anything cool there to show so I wanted to put on more muscle first.

    I'm not saying that my current bulk is right, or best practices. Just saying that's what I'm doing.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,139 Member
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    OP - you should really cut down to sub 15% before running a bulk ...
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,139 Member
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    draftsman28 wrote: »
    I didn't realize what my bf was until I got out the tape measure. So would I be better off cutting or maintaining less calories per day? Will I be able to gain muscle while doing either?
    Thanks for all the help
    My ultimate goal is to gain muscle and definition and then loose the bf afterward. That's how bulking works correct?

    keep cutting.

    if you want you can go to .5 pound per week loss and then when you are about 12% run the bulk ...
  • draftsman28
    draftsman28 Posts: 98 Member
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    Thanks for all your help guys! I'm band new to weight training and muscle building. I think cutting 1/2 pound a week is the best way to go while training. I should have done more research and measured my bf before considering gaining. Honestly I'm very surprised I'm at 20% bf. I can usually drop weight pretty easily especially in the summer (lots of yard work). O'well change of plans for this old guy
    Thank again
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,139 Member
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    draftsman28 wrote: »
    Thanks for all your help guys! I'm band new to weight training and muscle building. I think cutting 1/2 pound a week is the best way to go while training. I should have done more research and measured my bf before considering gaining. Honestly I'm very surprised I'm at 20% bf. I can usually drop weight pretty easily especially in the summer (lots of yard work). O'well change of plans for this old guy
    Thank again

    what are you using to get 20% body fat?
  • draftsman28
    draftsman28 Posts: 98 Member
    edited May 2015
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    what are you using to get 20% body fat?

    ...not working out, having a sedentary job, getting old. I think my usual food intake has been 2,000 calories. I wouldn't consider myself fat at all btw. Family and friends always say I'm too skinny and need to put on weight.

  • _lyndseybrooke_
    _lyndseybrooke_ Posts: 2,561 Member
    edited May 2015
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    draftsman28 wrote: »
    what are you using to get 20% body fat?

    ...not working out, having a sedentary job, getting old. I think my usual food intake has been 2,000 calories. I wouldn't consider myself fat at all btw. Family and friends always say I'm too skinny and need to put on weight.

    No, they're asking how you got the 20% number. Did you have your body fat tested in some fashion or is that a guess?
  • draftsman28
    draftsman28 Posts: 98 Member
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    Ahh...determined by measuring height, waist, hip and neck measurements
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,139 Member
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    LyndseyLovesToLift wrote: »
    draftsman28 wrote: »
    what are you using to get 20% body fat?

    ...not working out, having a sedentary job, getting old. I think my usual food intake has been 2,000 calories. I wouldn't consider myself fat at all btw. Family and friends always say I'm too skinny and need to put on weight.

    No, they're asking how you got the 20% number. Did you have your body fat tested in some fashion or is that a guess?

    yes, this..

    how did you determine you have 20% body fat OP?
  • PwrLftr82
    PwrLftr82 Posts: 945 Member
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    draftsman28 wrote: »
    Ahh...determined by measuring height, waist, hip and neck measurements

    Gotta be carful with those measurements. My measurements come out to 24% by and by bodpod I'm at 17-18%.

    But I agree with the above. As a female, I don't even bulk until I'm at 16-17% bf. Currently running my third bulk now (5'5", 128 lbs, eating 2500 cals on week 3).

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