The No BS guide to caloric intake, dieting, and bulking (yes long)

[Joeflex73]

Many people come here and ask if there bulk is done correctly (or their cut as well). Its not difficult with a little bit of time and research to find out what your macros should come up to be. From there, its easy. Plug in food to fit your macros and with smart timing, you should put on muscle or lose weight in no time.

To start...youll need a calculator or pen and paper.

Figuring out your basal metabolic rate:

Its a simple formula that brings everything into play:activity level, height, current weight and age.

Ill give you the clinical values for each of those and use myself as an example. We'll start with weight. Where I am getting these values for these numbers are the values given to me while taking courses for Dietetics at Youngstown State University.
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Weight in KG:
Men
Take your weight in kg's and multiply it by 13.75 and then add 66 to that total.

Im roughly 109 kg's x 13.75 which comes to about 1499...add in 66 calories and Im now at 1565 calories for just my bodyweight.

Women:
Take your weight in kg's and multiply it by 9.56 and then add 655 to that total. A 50kg woman (110lbs) would have a value of (50 x 9.56) 478 calories. Shed then add 655 to that number to give her a start of 1133 calories.

From here we need to figure our needs taking into effect our height.
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Men take your height in INCHES and multiply it by 12.7.

Im just under 6'4, or 76". 76 x 12.7= 965. I then add that value to my weight giving me my current basal expenditure at 2530 calories.

Women

Take your height and multiply it by 4.67 and add 2 to that total.

Our example woman at 50 kg's is also 5'4" tall, or 64". Her needs taking into effect her height add 301 (64x4.67(+2)) to the total. Her base need is now at 1434 calories.
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We need to now factor in age, which works against us. The older we get, the slower our metabolism...at least at rest, but more on activity later!

Men
Take your age and multiply it by 6.76. Im 28 years old, so my age factor would be 189 calories. Im going to SUBTRACT it from my current total.
2530-189=2341, giving me a new total.

Women
Take your age and multiply it by 4.68. Our example is 25 years old. Her total comes to 117 calories (4.68x25). We're going to subtract that from her last value giving us age factored in, shes now at 1317 calories.

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But we havent factored in our activity! Here ladies and gentlemen is the fun part! We have to be honest with ourselves when we factor in our activity level, because we also need to factor in genetics as best we can. By nature do you feel youre a hardgainer? Or do you gain easily? This will make your numbers range. Me personally....I gain crazy!

Activity levels
Take your total that factors in Height, Age and Weight and multiply it by the factors below.

Low activity, low/medium metabolism:1.2
Low activity, high metabolism:1.3
Medium activity, low/medium metabolism:1.3
Medium activity, high metabolism:1.5
High activity, low metabolism:1.4
High activity, medium metabolism:1.5
High activity, high metabolism:1.7

I have high activity (10 gym sessions counting cardio and weight sessions seperately and a job where Im on my feet for 40 hours a week) but a low metabolism. Id give my activity factor a 1.4.

Id then multiply my activity times my resting Basal Metabolic Rate.
2341 x 1.4 = 3277 calories

Our female example also hits 9 sessions and works a busy job, but her metabolism is naturally high.
1317x1.7=2222 calories

Currently, to maintain my bodyweight, I need roughly 3277 calories. Our example female needs 2222. From there, its all on what you want to do.
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Bulking
To bulk correctly Id add 700 calories for men, and 500 calories for women.
On a bulk, Id take in roughly 3977 calories a day. Our example, would be at 2722. Given these rates, the men would gain a lb every 5 days, with women gaining one every 7 days.

Macro break down:
Bulking for both men and women it is imperative to take in plenty of good carbohydrates and protein. But fats are not to be neglected either. To that end, I like either 40% Protein, 30% Carbohydrates, 30% Fats or 40% Protein, 40% Carbohydrates, 20% Fats breakdowns. Some people also like 40% carbohydrates, 30% protein, 30% fats.

At 3977 calories a day, saying I wanted to go 40/40/20, Id want to take in 1591 calories a day from protein (40% of 3977), 1591 of carbohydrates (40%) and 795 calories from fat. Giving me a macro breakdown of 398g of protein and carbohydrates and 88g of fat. Will this be easily attainable? 4,000 calories is a challenge, but to bulk correctly, you need to know what your up against. You MUST eat to put weight on. These macros are not an end all, maybe 40/30/30 would be more attainable. You must make your diet work for you.
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Cutting is the opposite.

With our base calories of 3277 and 2222 respectively, we'll shave 500 calories off of these. That would give a rough weight loss of 1 lb per week. You can shave more if you want, but remember shaving too much can sacrifice hard earned gains made previously.

There are literally hundreds of diets out there, low fat, low carb, keto and many others. Many are fine philosophies. Taking into effect your caloric goals, you need to choose wisely. Im personally a fan of low carb/keto diets. My girlfriend is losing weight quickly on low fat. If you take your calories down, you will lose weight either way. Thats all dieting is. It is literally that simple. Once youve made a significant weight loss, (Id say 15lbs or more), reanalyze yourself, and get new caloric values to keep yourself going strong.
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Meal timing
In both cases, you want your heavier meals to be in the morning, pre workout and post workout. These are the times your body needs calories the most. In both cases, these times will be when you want to take in the bulk of your carbohydrates. Protein should be a bit heavier post workout, lighter pre workout, and even throughout other meals. Fats are best spread throughout the day, but lesser so in meals that are high in carbohydrates.
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Meal planning

I have found over time, that its simpler to work within your macros, and make the meals work for you. What this requires is some label reading on your part, but thats good. You should know what your putting into your body. My philosophy allows you latitude within the parameters of your macros. There is no reason that even on keto you cant have 1 cookie if you wanted. Youd have to sacrifice for the rest of the day, but if that cookie satiates your cravings, its worth it. As long as at the end of the day, if you tallied in what you ate, that your where your supposed to be, youll continue losing. Keep track of your diet, youll be amazed how much it helps to actually see raw numbers that say what you did. Keep a diet journal with you if it helps. Dont let the difficulty of losing or gaining defeat you. Do whatever it takes to meet your goal.

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This is my guide. I have wrote this all with no help, just research throughout the years. If this helps even 1 person, it was worth the time to type it out. Any questions of PMs, Im always down to help.


Joeflex73
4/27/2008

[wala]

I'll read this when I have proper time to read it! lol

Looks good from just browsing through it tho!

[Big Guns]

I have wrote this all with no help,

It shows...the proper word is written. LOL

Very well done. Problem is no one want to try to learn this for themselves. I liked it and as you stated there are many diets, but it all boils down to proper nutrition and timing.

[Joeflex73]

Originally Posted by Big Guns

It shows...the proper word is written. LOL

Very well done. Problem is no one want to try to learn this for themselves. I liked it and as you stated there are many diets, but it all boils down to proper nutrition and timing.

Grammar Nazi! jk

Its a shame they dont want to know...especially when its their bodies.

Wanted to touch some more on dieting.

I like keto or low carb diets moreso than low fat diets. While both are effective, low fat diets (under 20% of calories) can have a negative impact on sex hormones which are vital to help us maintain/build muscle and perform a whole slew of other bodily functions.

Both diets will work because all they are is philosophies of keeping you under your maintenance calories.

The only thing you do not want to cut is protein. Protein intake is the only shot you have at keeping muscle mass on you. You cant synthesize protein from fat and carbs (but you can the other way around). This is why I dont suggest cuts under 35% of calories coming from protein.

Macro philosophy
These will only define how your eating, not the grand total of calories or the effect. You can, in theory, have a bulk and a cut with the same macro philosophy. While I dont suggest it, it is theoretically feasible.

An example on a 3500 calorie bulk at 40P/40C/20F would give 350g Protein and Carbs and 78g of fat. I could run those same on a 2500 calorie cut which would give 250g of protein, 250g of carbs and 56g of fat. If I were someone who wasnt carbohydrate reactive (tend to hold onto weight when I eat carbs) I may debate going this route.

Choosing a macro philosophy really depends on the individual. Some people burn through carbs without a problem. Some people when they eat carbs have a tendency to hold onto them (like me~). While a person who is carb reactive may be able to lose weight on a low fat diet, a low carb diet would more than likely be more beneficial.

Low carb diets require a bit more discipline in this carb driven world. But they (usually) are not so strict that you cant have a little bit. Low fat diets would be more beneficial to individuals who dont have a problem with burning through carbs. Most of these individuals were leaner at one time or another and put on the "freshman fifteen" or the like.

Ultimately....you must know yourself a bit and what your body seems to do with what you eat. Choose the philosophy from that. Take the philosophy (keto, low carb, low fat, balanced) and apply it to your goal (bulk, cut, maintenance, recomp) and intake and you can do anything with your knowledge. Knowledge and discipline are the 2 keys to any successful diet.

[Joeflex73]

Meal planning and timing.

Once you have your macros and goals setup its easier to figure out what to eat. Its not hard, knowing what (clean, unprocessed foods as much as possible) but when is good too. I like every 2 1/2-3 1/2 hours. If you go 3 hours and 36 minutes w/o a meal your not going to shrivel and die. Theres no reason to get that paranoid about it, but make it a goal to eat somewhere in that range. That would give most people 5-7 meals a day.

I know that specifically there are some now advocating less frequent/medium-large meals. To be honest, Im not sure yet on that. Id say "conventional wisdom says..." but that changes from time to time, and a year or 2 down the line may be the new way of thinking.

The important thing is to take it 1 day at a time, and I find that somedays my macros will come up low, because maybe I ate 1 less meal than usual. Doesnt mean I dieted wrong and Ill stop retaining muscle (or I had 1 more meal for the day and Im now going to gain weight). Consistency is where its at. If you took your week's average, you should fall somewhere around your "goal" macros.

Now meal planning itself, should revolve around 3 times for concentated amounts of carbs:breakfast, pre and post workout. Id like to say if at 6 meals a day, 60% of the days total should come around those times with the other 40% spread through the other 3 meals. If your on keto, this probably wont matter to you.

Fats should be spread evenly through the day, even post workout. The jury is still out on this but there is 1 promising study that compared whole milk and skim milk to generate protein synthesis and whole milk was vastly superior. A discussion on this is in the Supplement Science forum and made for a very thought provoking read. Many of the newer, premium proteins are now including EFA's in there blends, such as the 1 I use currently, SAN Infusion.

PWO fats effect on protein synthsis - Bodybuilding.com Forums

Protein should also be even for the most part. Pre workout I cut them back slightly and post workout meal I up it a bit. But overall, keep those aminos coming.

**As Im writing this, Id like to say if someone has something to bring to refute or enlighten, bring it, it can only make this better. Im completely open to things, as we learn new things about the body every day. Im also the first to admit Im wrong, if I am. I wish I could quit my job and hit the lab or go back to school to finish up but I may not have the chance...**

Now as far as meals themselves go, youll see many people with "critique my diet" on here. Most of the time, its a perfectly mapped out day of eating. Do most people stick to it? Im going to say no. Variety will help you keep going in my opinion. If youre keeping fat low, sure you can eat tuna and chicken all day, but if you wanted some lean pork or lean beef, why not? The thing is there are substitutes out there for everything. Im always looking for a new keto friendly recipe to keep my diet from getting bland. Dont be afraid to look around, or try something as a subsitute, no matter your dieting philosophy.

If your goal is 3000 calories and its a 40P/30C/30F diet your on (300 Pro, 225 CHO, 100 Fat) instead of plotting a meal, I find it easier to set a goal macro per meal. This allows you to be creative and hit number goals rather than always eating the same foods over and over. Eating the same over and over, is easier though...but this way requires some label reading, which I advocate because you SHOULD know what youre putting in your body.

At 6 meals a day, with the above about each macro as a given, would mean 55g Protein, (Break/pwo average of 55p/45c/15f, pre 25p/45c/5f) 30g of Carbs and 21g of fat. If you aimed each of the regular 3 meals other than breakfast/pre and post workout at these macros and the other 3 crucial meals at these, youll end up where you want to be. Youd also be giving your body the nutrients it needs at the right times. Lighter on fat and protein pre w/o, heavier on carbs earlier, lighter on carbs and heavier on protein/fat throughout the others.

Everyone seems to know the right sources for carbs and fats and proteins, all are well documented here and many other places. Fill them in as it fits your plan. Your diet does not have to be bland.

[1quick1]

Looking solid man. If you want to clean this up a little we can get it as 1 post and get a copy in the articles section.

[Joeflex73]

Originally Posted by 1quick1

Looking solid man. If you want to clean this up a little we can get it as 1 post and get a copy in the articles section.

Id like that I do have some more work to do on it though, more to add.