Well my point is I don’t even need much food compared to many to grow or maintain my size, and I am telling you I still have to put some food down. So if you are a hard gainer, you should expect to have to outwork me in the kitchen. I have it easy. Whenever you get to 250lbs, you will need to eat even more than me to maintain it.
2,500 sounds like plenty for someone 135lbs initially, until you realize you are a hardgainer type. You may need to be eating 3k, 3,500, maybe even 4k EVERY DAY. It’s individual. So you will have to measure your food and consistently put down the food daily, and keep titrating the calories up slowly. Once you begin to gain a lb or two, you know you’ve surpassed your current maintenance needs. You should then expect to need more than that when you eventually add the steroids back in. More drugs means even greater caloric needs typically.