Knowing your maintenance?

EatMoar

EatMoar

Well-known member
Whats going on guys so currently im trying to do a lean bulk. Im 5 foot 8 inches, 180 pounds ( weighed 2 weeks ago). I used several calculators that say my maintenance is 2800 kCals abouts. But honestly I weigh everything and count all my cals/macros but i hit a block at around 2400-2500 kCals. Im trying to eat around 3000 kCals but im having such trouble doing it. Currently my lifts are going up just eating around 2600+ kCals , does that mean I shouldnt bother aiming for 3,000 anymore? The point of this lean bulk was to gain a bit of mass without gaining that much fat, though I have gained a little. But im really unsure of my maintenance now because this is throwing me for a loop
 
Hi mate.

Calculators are all well and good for getting a handle or an approximation, but because everybody is different metabolically, calculators only serve as a basic rule of thumb in my humble opinion.

Your maintenance calorie intake is what you normally consume on a "normal" day when you don't have any particular goals. If you generally consume around 2000kcals, give or take -/+10% and you donnot notice any real significant increase or decrease in bodyweight, this is your maintenance weight and intake. If someone is healthy and wishes to gain weight I usually advise them to increase their daily meal intake first. So if you your normal diet is three square meals per day, I tell them to eat four square meals a day. This would usually mean an increase of about 3000-4000kcals per week, enough to increase bodyweight by around 1lb per week with exercise output and sleep/wake cycle all unchanged.

What do you mean by, you get to a block? Are you having difficulty consuming more kcals, like you get too full quickly. Or...are you having problems with sources or proportions etc?

Most bodybuilders hate eating carbs after 6.00pm because it is more likely to be undigested and metabolised fully, and hence stored as fat. However, if you're not vulnerable to indigestion, you might want to consider eating a 600kcal to 1000kcal meal after 6.00pm, lets, say, 8.00pm if all the other options fall by the way-side.
 
Ashto70 said:
Hi mate.

Calculators are all well and good for getting a handle or an approximation, but because everybody is different metabolically, calculators only serve as a basic rule of thumb in my humble opinion.

Your maintenance calorie intake is what you normally consume on a "normal" day when you don't have any particular goals. If you generally consume around 2000kcals, give or take -/+10% and you donnot notice any real significant increase or decrease in bodyweight, this is your maintenance weight and intake. If someone is healthy and wishes to gain weight I usually advise them to increase their daily meal intake first. So if you your normal diet is three square meals per day, I tell them to eat four square meals a day. This would usually mean an increase of about 3000-4000kcals per week, enough to increase bodyweight by around 1lb per week with exercise output and sleep/wake cycle all unchanged.

What do you mean by, you get to a block? Are you having difficulty consuming more kcals, like you get too full quickly. Or...are you having problems with sources or proportions etc?

Most bodybuilders hate eating carbs after 6.00pm because it is more likely to be undigested and metabolised fully, and hence stored as fat. However, if you're not vulnerable to indigestion, you might want to consider eating a 600kcal to 1000kcal meal after 6.00pm, lets, say, 8.00pm if all the other options fall by the way-side.
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I have trouble fitting in anything past 2500-2700 calories. At 3,000 , which I hit sometimes, I feel bloated and sjitty. So I have to assume my matienence is pretty damn low then.
 
Weight gain shake before bed?
 
Looking into the Caloric Density of foods - if you can get more calories into the same volume of food your currently eating, that might help your goal -

I do a lot of backpacking & that makes all the difference when on the trail to keep your pack smaller & energy high
 
whats ur BF%, thats an important part ; u should do the math with lean body weight. makes it easier. example;
u weigh 185lb and 8% bf = @171 LBM. ur intake should be

171x1=171g protein x4 = 684cal
171x2=342G carb x 4 = 1368cal
171x.3=51g fat x 9 = 459cal
total cal = 2511

peep the math. nums may be a little off. correct me if im wrong
 
murk01 said:
whats ur BF%, thats an important part ; u should do the math with lean body weight. makes it easier. example;
u weigh 185lb and 8% bf = @171 LBM. ur intake should be

171x1=171g protein x4 = 684cal
171x2=342G carb x 4 = 1368cal
171x.3=51g fat x 9 = 459cal
total cal = 2511

peep the math. nums may be a little off. correct me if im wrong
Click to expand...


I have no idea what my BF % is. Ill assume its around 12-13% im pretty low. Holy sh1t 342g of carbs, thats like death for me. I dont react well to carbs. I do a 40/40/20 split so it usually ends up being 250g protein, 280g carbs, and 60-70g of fat.
 
EatMoar said:
I have no idea what my BF % is. Ill assume its around 12-13% im pretty low. Holy sh1t 342g of carbs, thats like death for me. I dont react well to carbs. I do a 40/40/20 split so it usually ends up being 250g protein, 280g carbs, and 60-70g of fat.
Click to expand...

yeh, looks high but if ur looking to add some gains , thats not to bad for a work out day
 
murk01 said:
yeh, looks high but if ur looking to add some gains , thats not to bad for a work out day
Click to expand...

I do what I'm doing now and I'm gaining mass. Everyone's different , you can only trust a calculation to a certain extent . Even stats has its limits
 
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