Calorie Intake (Bulking/Cutting)

[Zearoth]

:nod: Hi,

I was reviewing my maintenance calorie intake, and I wanted to effectively increase the amount of food I'm eating because I haven't see many improvements in terms of strength and mass. I reviewed WBB's diet article referring to maintenance calculations (http://www.wannabebig.com/article.php?articleid=19&pageid=2) and found that I was ranging at 2358 calories/day.

Now, here comes the questions, so bear with me:

I took a rough estimate at how many calories to take extra when bulking (which I am currently doing), which was 300. Is there any specific calculations that should be made to find the exact number of additional calories? Could it be based on body weight, height, etc? Is 300 a good starting point?

For cutting I took a 200 deficit (which I plan to do when I reach a reasonable bulking goal). Was this a good choice?

Once again, please bear with my "n00bness". First bulks/cuts seem to puzzle lots of newcomers, so its nothing new, just asking for some short, simple answers :newbie:

Thanks once again

[PiKappaWRX]

usually i just go by 12*bw for cutting, 15*bw for maintenance, and 18*bw for bulking.

[Zearoth]

Yes, I know that some people use those calculations, but I'm concerned that it ayy be too low since I only weigh about 110 pounds. I don't even break 2000 calories on with a x18 calculation.

Any more suggestions anyone?

[sublime99]

25*bw for bulking, and don't worry about a cut until you have gained quite a bit of weight. When you cut go to 12-15*bw adjust it to where you are loosing fat not mass and evaluate yourself weekly.

[Zearoth]

Thanks for the reply. Anyone else?

[Zearoth]

Could anyone tell me approcimately how many more/less calories should be taken above/below maintenance on a bulk/cut?

[Max-Mex]

In all honesty, you're better off just trying something for a week or 2 and watch the scale. If it goes up great, if it doesn't add more. Eventully you'll find the right amount. Calculations are great to start off with, but everyone is different (speed of metabolism, etc).