Hello. I did the calorie equation that Hoss posted up and It says I require about 2800 calories a day (with my activity level and such factored in). I am 5'11 weight 148 and a body fat around 10%. My question is do I eat 500 MORE calories to increase muscle gain (which is what I am trying to do AND STAY LEAN at the same time). Or since I'm trying to stay lean do I merely just eat my daily 2800 calories and continue to lift ??


Sorry if this is a stupid question.

i've actually got a question like this asked to me on my blog:

MaximizeYourPhysiology.blogspot.com

search for "losing body fat while gaining muscle" and you can even check out my actual diet in the "What I Eat - Edwin Ng" blog. This is my experience and plan of action to reach that same goal, and it has worked for me. I will be putting up my training routine soon on there as well. Hope it helps

Or I could just answer his question here rather than leading him off onto a wild blog chase...

eating at maintenance can produce muscle gains, but its slow. this is often called a 'recomposition' where you slowly trade fat for muscle instead of focusing on one or the other.

to make faster muscle gains, eat 5-15% over your maintenance, mostly in protein with some carbs (kinda depends on what your current diet looks like). watch your gains...its possible to add decent muscle and not too much fat, especially if you keep eating clean.

some choose to bulk on pizza and KFC, which works, but your calories really shoot up and so do the fat stores in the body.

Spot on here. Don't do that stupid crap and just decide that you're bulking so you can eat whatever you want. I never understood that. Most people's bodies cannot handle that without gaining a decent amount of fat. IMO, choosing clean foods is more important on a bulk than a cut. If you're not going to recomp, and you're worried about fat gain, don't start with a 500 calorie surplus. Start with 200-300 and watch your results carefully. Adjust as necessary.

Thank you guys for your enlightening responses. I'll try 3k a day and see where that takes me. It's very hard (for me) to get 3,000 CLEAN calories, as I get full very fast. It's just hard because veggies and fruits (which is a large part of my diet) don't carry lots of calories but still have a decent mass, so it basically makes me dependent to get my calories through lean meats and peanut butter.

protein shakes are a good way to get calories without feeling so full you could puke.