maintence and calories...

[Gettingthere]

Hello all
So Im trying to bulk up...with out getting fat..impossible?

My question is how many calories over maintence ( mine being around 2500) should I go to stimulate growth while avoiding a flabby tummy?

Oh and I just started to add fat to my diet. I was avoiding fat for so long but I think it really stunted my growth.

I know the bottom line is really how many calories you eat in a day and the makeup of those calories (protein, carb, fat)

I understand that there is a theory about 40, 30, 30 ratio. So how many grams of each (protein, carb, fat) is that for my particular calorie intake; 2500

Last week I cut down on calories a bit to get a little more trim...it worked but man did my bench go down :( it was really frustrating.

I think I almost have all the peices of getting big together...but I still have a little way to go... help!!!!!!!!!!!! :cry:

[Holto]

Originally posted by Gettingthere
My question is how many calories over maintence ( mine being around 2500) should I go to stimulate growth while avoiding a flabby tummy?>

500 over


Originally posted by Gettingthere
Last week I cut down on calories a bit to get a little more trim...it worked but man did my bench go down :( it was really
frustrating

I don't see how your bench could go down in one week on a proper diet

this could be you were taking far too few cals

[AllUp]

Yep, about +500cals a day should lead to roughly a 1lb/wk gain, Vice-versa for losses, -500cals = -1lb weekly.

[bradley]

Originally posted by Gettingthere
Hello all
So Im trying to bulk up...with out getting fat..impossible?

You should expect an increase in bf while trying to gain weight, but if you concentrate on gaining weight at a slow pace you should be able to minimize the amount of fat that you gain.



My question is how many calories over maintence ( mine being around 2500) should I go to stimulate growth while avoiding a flabby tummy?

I would just slowly increase cals by ~300 or so each week, until you are gaining a small amount of weight each week (~.5-1lb. per week).



Oh and I just started to add fat to my diet. I was avoiding fat for so long but I think it really stunted my growth.


Essential fatty acids are an important part of any diet, so making sure that you are taking in enough EFAs is a good idea.



I know the bottom line is really how many calories you eat in a day and the makeup of those calories (protein, carb, fat)

I understand that there is a theory about 40, 30, 30 ratio. So how many grams of each (protein, carb, fat) is that for my particular calorie intake; 2500


The ratios are really not that important, and the main thing is to make sure that you are taking in adequate amounts of protein and EFAs. Make sure and get ~1g of protein per lb. of bodyweight and ~25% of your daily cals from fat. You can then fill in the rest with low glycemic index carbs.



Last week I cut down on calories a bit to get a little more trim...it worked but man did my bench go down :( it was really frustrating.

If you were eating below maintenance last week, then I would not recommend increasing cals dramatically over the span of a couple of days. Increase your cals to the desired level of the next couple of weeks.