I'm starting to sound like a broken record but a DEXA scan will tell you exactly what cals you should be consuming.
I'll answer in a bit more depth tomorrowSo if I'm still losing weight on 2700 calories, than 3000 wouldn't be quite enough. Maybe 3200?
The problem is that trial and error doesn't really work so well when bulking.
I mean, best case scenario, I gain say 6kgs LBM next year. Which is 0.5kgs per month. Which is say 130g per week if you include a little bit of fat gain. Which is virtually impossible to measure, as your weight can fluctuate nearly a kilo on a daily basis.
So its not like you can slowly creep the calories up and try to see if it makes a difference, as any difference made by the increase in calories will be overshadowed by the daily (and weekly) variations.
So maybe I'll just start at 3200 or something? I would think that 3200 calories would result in me getting fat.
Really? How on earth do they do that?
I will be getting a DEXA scan before I commence my next bulk, I think there is a place in Perth that does it now. But I forgot where it is. I think you told me actually? I remember it was more expensive here than in Sydney or Melbourne, but I think it'll be worth it to monitor my progress next year.
Joondalup health campus if I remember it correctly
Listen to Max.
Joondalup health campus if I remember it correctly
FixedMAX - You had me at chocolate
Do what Max said.
Assess results every 2 weeks or so. (pics, measurements, calipers) If you didn't gain as much as you wanted then up the cals a bit more. If you put on more than you wanted, then cut them a bit.
Remember you can do a mini cut for a few weeks if you aren't happy with the amount of fat gain also.
Pistachio, sorry I couldn't answer in full yesterday
As I previously mentioned, going on a 'clean' bulk is (IMO) being in a 10-15% calorie surplus. The food type (with common sense in place and essential's being met) does not make it a clean or dirty bulk.
Once you have finished your cut, just simply go to consuming 15% more calories than your current cut caloric intake. Like I outlined before, consume that calorie intake for 2-3 weeks and see what your progress is and adjust it as necessary (either up 10% if weight was maintained or as is if weight increased).
Now you must remember that you will get some extra water retention weight which can come on quite quickly. That is not to be confused with lean muscle mass.
This is the part that gets me tho, how can you tell? My weight can fluctuate by a kilo or so on a day by day basis, despite the fact I am eating the exact same stuff each day. So I guess how do I tell the difference between water retention or fat gain and muscle gain? I'm thinking photos, but even those can be misleading (see comment to JZ above). I was taking regular photos last year, but still somehow missed the signs that I was gaining far too much fat, putting it down to muscle gain.
True LBM for nOObs can be in the region of 200grms a week and for more seasoned trainers and people of higher levels will be pushing 100grms a week. So it is slow and just because you are not putting on kilos a month does not mean you are not re-compositioning your physiqueA good indication is the progression of your training performance. If it is going forward, chances are so is LBM gains.
So essentially if you are gaining at more than 0.5g a month, chances of the gains being fat related will be much higher. So being in an excessive calorie surplus is not necessary and will only make you next cutting phase so much more hard work (much more restrictive calorie wise and therefor poorer training performance etc).
Increasing your calorie intake does not need to happen regularly. If you are gaining in that 300-400grm per month range stick with the current calorie intake. Once it levels out (both weight gain and training progression) then look at increasing your calories by another 10% and go from there.
I hope that helps you a little mate
All good mate.Thanks for the detailed response MB, a few questions as above
I'm pretty much going to aim for 0.5kgs per month I'd say. Which is going to be incredibly hard to monitor, given my daily fluctuations, so will have to take regular measurements and pics as well.
Regarding how often you should weigh yourself to track progress.
Wouldn't it be most accurate to weigh yourself daily and chart a linear progression, and simply ignore any days with higher than normal deviation from the mean?
If you weigh yourself 3 weeks apart and the first day you were well hydrated and the 2nd time you were quite dehydrated from hot weather or being overworked, you may come in lighter weight, but quite possibly have gained muscle mass.
The you would mistakenly up your calories because you thought you weren't gaining?
Personally, I like to weigh myself daily first thing in the morning.
90% of the time my weight is within 100-200g of what I was expecting.
I've learned alot about counting calories this year and been very consistent with daily count.
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