Hey guys, Im new here and have been recently studying some of Scott's stuff and so far I really like it, but I have one question. I'm starting a program thats focused on muscle gains and strength soon and will also be adding cardio into the mix, the only problem is I want to add some muscle size and strength but I still have a little bit of fat I'd like to lose. Should I continue to eat a calorie deficit? or would it be best to go into a small surplus to maximize my muscle growth and then worry about cutting afterward. Im currently about 170lbs 5'11 21 years old and Im assuming around 15% bf (not really sure). My current macros are 2,000 calories with 217g protien 72g fat and 125g carbs. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Tim,

Questions like these all come down to nutrition. You need to have a 250-500 calorie surplus to do lean gains (gain muscle not fat). More than that and you get into "dirty bulk" territory which adds both fat and muscle but not in equal proportions - sometimes it is more fat than muscle.

If you eat nutritious foods, as you gain more muscle your RMR will increase thus causing more calorie burn. If you keep your daily calorie intake the same, eventually your body will need to tap into its fat stores for energy. This is not as fast or effective as running a 250-500 calorie deficit which immediately forces the body to use fat stores to make up for energy deficits.

John

John has some good info.

From my point of view, it looks as though your calories are too low if you want to gain muscle. Also I would bump up your carbs a bit - you can probably afford 150g-170g at least and still maintain lean gains.

How much cardio are you going to do?

Also, what is your current BMR? Have you seen the video on the @mealplan page?

Jordan

my BMR at rest is 1884 and BMR in motion is 2920. and thanks I'll probably bump my carbs up a bit then , I have trouble staying below 125 anyways lol. I'll probably be doing 2 days of cardio/circut and agility type training for the extra calorie burn and also conditioning. The muscle split I was wanting to do was 4 days a week so 6 days with the 2 cardio days added in and then a rest day. Is it possible to run a small caloric deficit and drop body fat while still making the gains im after? or would it be best to run a small caloric surplus to make lean gain and then worry about cutting the fat afterward? I try to eat as clean as possible when I'm able so I do fill my macros with nutrient dense foods, although I do think I rely on my protien poweder a bit too much for my protien goals haha. Thanks again guys!!

It is possible to make gains on a deficit, but you want to be on a really small deficit I think. Only around 100-250 calories below maintenance.

Your option of running a small surplus is better. A surplus of 250-500 means you will put on little fat and shouldn't have much at all to cut off.

Jordan

Okay so Im thinking about running about 2650 calories that should be a small surplus and my macros about 230G Protien, 85g Fat, and 240g Carbs.