i used to follow the lean gains approach, and felt i was just spinning my wheels. switched to keeping ED the same macros and same cals daily, and i found my results to happen quicker, and easier to track since the massive weight fluctuations between low carb / high carb had my head going crazy if i was gaining or losing i like a small surplus so i'm gaining .5 lb a week. I believe lyle mcdonald wrote that 2-4 lbs of muscle is what one can expect in a month, assuming you've been training for awhile, as beginners will get gains much faster. for me the best surplus has been about 200-300 calories. limited fat gain, slow and steady results. although i really think an underrated part of "bulking" is the rest / recuperation factor and for training you really gotta push for pr's encourage that LBM growth. just as much as you gotta keep intensity to preserve lbm when cutting thats my .02