Lifting diet for noobs

cruze1911r1

cruze1911r1

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Basic beginner stuff. Can someone point me in the direction of where I would get a basic idea for my calorie needs, what a deficit and surplus would be, things of that nature. I've never tried to fine tune my diet from a bodybuilding perspective. I've been eating relatively clean for the past 6 weeks and would like to learn more about proper dieting for muscle growth.
 
CasperKValentine

CasperKValentine

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I'd start off with an online calculator where you put in your height, body weight, amount of exercise, etc. That will give you a pretty good estimate of your maintenance calories. Muscle growth will be optimal in calorie surplus. Now keep in mind physiologically one can only grow so much muscle mass in a given time and there several factors that can effect this. If you're in too much of a caloric surplus the extra calories get stored as fat. It takes a little trial and error to dial in what work on an individual basis. I don't know where you are at as far as body comp but you might have good results with just a couple hundred calories over maintenance. If you want to lean out a bit basically just the opposite. It takes time, just remember slow and steady wins the race.

As far as macros I'd be aiming for at least a gram of protein per lb of bodyweight. You can use progression in the gym to help guide you. If you are getting stronger week by week you know your diet is working. If you are struggling in the gym or not progressing to some extent it might be time to up calories a bit. Or if you see in the mirror you're starting to get some extra padding just dial it back down a bit.
 
cruze1911r1

cruze1911r1

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I'd start off with an online calculator where you put in your height, body weight, amount of exercise, etc. That will give you a pretty good estimate of your maintenance calories. Muscle growth will be optimal in calorie surplus. Now keep in mind physiologically one can only grow so much muscle mass in a given time and there several factors that can effect this. If you're in too much of a caloric surplus the extra calories get stored as fat. It takes a little trial and error to dial in what work on an individual basis. I don't know where you are at as far as body comp but you might have good results with just a couple hundred calories over maintenance. If you want to lean out a bit basically just the opposite. It takes time, just remember slow and steady wins the race.

As far as macros I'd be aiming for at least a gram of protein per lb of bodyweight. You can use progression in the gym to help guide you. If you are getting stronger week by week you know your diet is working. If you are struggling in the gym or not progressing to some extent it might be time to up calories a bit. Or if you see in the mirror you're starting to get some extra padding just dial it back down a bit.
That's very helpful. Thank you!
 

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