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Caloric Intake Questions

Macro goals on and off rest days

Dragonflag
Dragonflag g Zachary Coffin
1 Post(s)
1 Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Gain Muscle Date Joined: December 12, 2018
Posted

Hi everyone,

 

I recently joined the community here, and I was hoping someone would be able to answer some of the questions I have (I apologize in advance, I have a lot of them). I did the BMR calculator on the site and got BMR at rest of 1721 and in motion at 2668. My current goal is to put on some muscle mass, so that puts my calorie goal at 2918 (186g Protein, 56g Fat, 418g Carb). Since it's plus 250-500 calories for bulking, on my rest days do I add 250-500 to my BMR at rest and consume roughly 2221 calories on those days? If that is the case, do I adjust my carb intake and keep my proteins and fats the same to meet the lowered calorie goal?

 

Additionally, I tracked my macros for a few months before joining here, and I have noticed that I can consistently get around 60-70g of fat per day, but it's harder for me to lower it, and I can get roughly between 250-350 carbs per day, and I can't really seem to up them too much. I'm progressively improving my protein intake to where I can get around 160g per day. Can I adjust my plan to include slightly more fats and less carbs and still gain lean mass, or will I start packing on unneccesarry fat? I'm doing a primarily calisthenics-based exercise program as well, so I don't know if that will influence my bulk or not.

 

Thank you for your help, and happy lifting!

Scott_Herman
Scott_Herman a Scott Herman
7.1K Post(s)
7.1K Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Bodybuilding Date Joined: August 8, 2008
Posted
Posted By: Dragonflag

Hi everyone,

 

I recently joined the community here, and I was hoping someone would be able to answer some of the questions I have (I apologize in advance, I have a lot of them). I did the BMR calculator on the site and got BMR at rest of 1721 and in motion at 2668. My current goal is to put on some muscle mass, so that puts my calorie goal at 2918 (186g Protein, 56g Fat, 418g Carb). Since it's plus 250-500 calories for bulking, on my rest days do I add 250-500 to my BMR at rest and consume roughly 2221 calories on those days? If that is the case, do I adjust my carb intake and keep my proteins and fats the same to meet the lowered calorie goal?

 

Additionally, I tracked my macros for a few months before joining here, and I have noticed that I can consistently get around 60-70g of fat per day, but it's harder for me to lower it, and I can get roughly between 250-350 carbs per day, and I can't really seem to up them too much. I'm progressively improving my protein intake to where I can get around 160g per day. Can I adjust my plan to include slightly more fats and less carbs and still gain lean mass, or will I start packing on unneccesarry fat? I'm doing a primarily calisthenics-based exercise program as well, so I don't know if that will influence my bulk or not.

 

Thank you for your help, and happy lifting!

@Dragonflag Welcome to the site man! You're spot on with your calorie intake - what you have as your goal on workout days is a good starting point and yes, you then want to be eating a little over your BMR at rest to still be in a surplus even on your non-training days. Personally I would like to see a little more fat in your diet, even on your training days. Something more like 70g or 80g would be good. Fat is essential for having healthy testosterone levels! And on your off days, yes it's a good idea to reduce carbs and keep protein and fat fairly steady. Basically you could cut out about 150g of carbs to still be in a surplus on your rest days.

 

Just reading your second paragraph now and that actually works well with what I just said about your fat levels! So you can definitely keep the fat levels there (or slightly higher) and reduce the carbs by 50g or so to make up for the extra fat. Remember fat doesn't make you fat - too many excess calories makes you fat and if anything carbs are more likely to lead you to storing more fat.

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Panosft
Panosft g Panos Skr
2 Post(s)
2 Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Bodybuilding Date Joined: March 3, 2018
Posted

So scott, im working in a restaurant about 4 days a week 8 hours at a time (we are almost standing for 8 hours too no sitting) ,and i wanna bulk up , but at those days i cant get enough food cause while im at the job , we get to eat once if not at all, so i was worried about the calorie intake i should have. In ur macro calculator should i put the hard daily exercise option or the moderate exercise option? im not sure what my job is considered, if u could tell me it would help me a lot. Thanks in advance !!

Scott_Herman
Scott_Herman a Scott Herman
7.1K Post(s)
7.1K Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Bodybuilding Date Joined: August 8, 2008
Posted
Posted By: Panosft

So scott, im working in a restaurant about 4 days a week 8 hours at a time (we are almost standing for 8 hours too no sitting) ,and i wanna bulk up , but at those days i cant get enough food cause while im at the job , we get to eat once if not at all, so i was worried about the calorie intake i should have. In ur macro calculator should i put the hard daily exercise option or the moderate exercise option? im not sure what my job is considered, if u could tell me it would help me a lot. Thanks in advance !!

@Panosft I would put the moderate option. The hard option is more for if you're training pretty much every single day and / or your a professional athlete of some kind, or training for a big event etc.

 

It's only a starting point anyway so if you have to eventually increase your numbers from what you get by going with the moderate option then that's OK!

 

Also, if you can't really eat during work, you will just have to try and eat BIG meals either side of work (before and after). Maybe make a good shake to take to work as well that you can drink quickly, something that has maybe 500 - 1000 calories could be helpful for you!

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Panosft
Panosft g Panos Skr
2 Post(s)
2 Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Bodybuilding Date Joined: March 3, 2018
Posted

Soo scott, got 2 questions ,in the days i have training im eating 3104 calories 208 protein, 62 fat,429 carbs. In my off gym days though, i work aroung 6-7 hours as a waiter, what are the calories and the macros i shouldsho consuming the days that im working ( my bmr at rest Is around 1880 and the maintenance is 2854) aand the second one, i will probably start your new full body program, are the workouts long andd am i gonna build a lot of muscle xdd 😆💪 thanks in advance!!

Scott_Herman
Scott_Herman a Scott Herman
7.1K Post(s)
7.1K Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Bodybuilding Date Joined: August 8, 2008
Posted
Posted By: Panosft

Soo scott, got 2 questions ,in the days i have training im eating 3104 calories 208 protein, 62 fat,429 carbs. In my off gym days though, i work aroung 6-7 hours as a waiter, what are the calories and the macros i shouldsho consuming the days that im working ( my bmr at rest Is around 1880 and the maintenance is 2854) aand the second one, i will probably start your new full body program, are the workouts long andd am i gonna build a lot of muscle xdd 😆💪 thanks in advance!!

@Panosft

 

1. Try to eat around maintenance on your off days. If your goal is to build muscle, you really want to be in a surplus everyday or at least maintaining. If you take your off days and use them to eat at maintenance, that can help keep your gains nice and lean. But staying in a 250 calorie surplus on those days is good too. If your maintenance BMR is 2800 calories on workout days, then eating that number on off days when you're not working out should still have you in a slight surplus.

 

2. That's great! The workouts will take you around 90 - 105 minutes. If you're keeping yourself in a calorie surplus you will see AWESOME gains man! Especially if you have never tried full body training before!

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