Lean gains; trying to avoid bulking and cutting

[Owens14]

I've got the foods neccessary now for building lean muscle and my training is going great, but I'm having problems finding out the best way to gain lean muscle without packing on the fat. Id really like to avoid the vicious "cutting and bulking" cycle and just slowly add muscle and limit fat gain. I've read its best to eat carbs early in the day to limit fat gain and avoid eating anything within 2 hours of your bedtime. Any tips or rules to follow to limit fat gain and promote lean muscle? Thanks again for the help guys.

[Captain Awesome]

Having some fat gain during a bulking cycle is inevitable. However, how much fat you gain and how rapidly is up to you. If you use a smaller caloric surplus, that is closer to your maintenance calorie intake, you're going to put on less fat. Calorie increases at 300-500 are relatively ideal. But, that means you'll be counting calories.

Obviously low sugar high protein food choices are going to be better choices, so avoid consuming junk and make your surplus nutritionally based. Smarter food choices + extra calories.

[Sean S]

Like was said previously, just try to shoot for a slow, steady weight gain. Some fat gain is inevitable, but you can keep it to a minimum. It's possible to "bulk" without going crazy. If you try and have absolutely zero fat gain, most of the time you end up not really gaining anything at all. Don't worry too much about carb timing right now. Besides, there is no concensus about when to eat carbs other than around the time you train. Some says it's better to eat them early in the day. Others say it's better to have them later in the day. I've tried both and found ~0% difference with either approach.

[Behemoth]

No carbs late in the day is really silly IMO. It makes some sense to eat them in concentrated blocks and less spread out, but avoiding them late in the day IMO is nothing but a diet adherence protocol.