You probably already know that if you want to bulk, you must eat more, specifically consume more calories than you burn. This is known as a “calorie surplus”, and this concept is known as “calorie in, calories out”.
But now you know that there’s another question you must ask yourself. How many more calories should I consume to gain weight effectively?
More is better, but you want to eat as little as possible but still gain weight.
The calorie surplus number
Most people say you should have a “500-calorie surplus” because research has found that 3500 calories equal 1 pound of fat. Therefore if you theoretically maintained this daily surplus for 1 week, you would gain 1 pound of fat which would be one pound of mass in total, hence you gaining weight. This is a sustainable surplus for gaining weight steadily and not too fast.
But now you know how much of a surplus you’ll have, you need to calculate the number of calories you burn so you know how many calories you’ll need to eat.
But the problem is, no one knows how many calories they burn. We all have different weights, BMIs, activity levels and metabolisms, and all these factors vastly contrast the number of calories we burn.
Some calculators on the internet have taken this into account and allow you to select your activity level. These are what the options look like:
- Sedentary (little or no exercise)
- Light (1-3 times weekly)
- Moderate (4-5 times weekly)
- Active (intense exercise 3-4 times weekly)
- Very active (intense exercise 6 -7 times weekly)
- Extra active (Intense daily activity)
Even though we could use our initiative and correspond our weekly activity to a realistic option, activity levels are subjective.
Activity levels are subjective
Some may think that doing 15 minutes of HIIT cardio daily is an intense daily activity when in reality, it doesn’t burn as many calories as you think, and it’s only taxing because there’s little rest between sets but more activity.
Likewise, some people can tolerate high activity better than others, so the options many pick likely vary from the weekly activity they actually have.
Real-life example
For example, a person doing 15 minutes of HIIT cardio daily may pick the extra-active option. This would sabotage their results because the calculator would give them a higher calorie number than they realistically burn, and they may get demotivated by such a high calorie surplus number.
But another person may go to the gym to do a 2-hour session 3 times a week, play a full basketball game on one of the same days he goes to the gym, and play 30 minutes in a football match on another of the days he goes to the gym, and go on a 5-mile bike ride on another day he goes to the gym. But because he doesn’t do comparatively any activity on the other 4 days, he would think his activity category is “intense exercise 3-4 times weekly”, when in reality it may be close to the calorie number of the category in “very active 6-7 times weekly”.
And when he uses that calorie number from the calculator and doesn’t see slow results from the surplus, it will demotivate him.
I believe there’s a better way of calculating your optimal calorie surplus without using a calculator that can be unreliable.
Take this approach
Here’s an approach I’ve come up with that only requires common sense and nothing too complicated.
Step #1: Calculate the number of calories you currently eat.
This should give you the number of calories that you eat naturally without trying to gain weight, and it could be seen as your maintenance calories, but this is not always the case. If your weight recently dropped to a minimum because you were eating less, you’ll need to be in a greater surplus.
Calculate the number of calories you eat daily for a week (which would be best), but if you know you can’t, do it across 3 days. Then find the average (so with 7 days: x number of calories/7), and this should give you a base calorie number you’ll be working with.
However, if you’re already on a bulk, skip this step, and use the calorie number you’re trying to target on your bulk as the “base calorie number”.
Step #2: Decide your calorie surplus
To decide this, you’ll need to observe how your weight has been over recent weeks or months. If your weight has recently dropped (for example a month ago), you’ll be on a greater calorie surplus from your base calorie number, and a good first step would be 800 calories.
Eat 500 more calories from your base calorie number if your weight has stayed the same for a couple of months.
If you don’t have a weighing scale or haven’t been tracking your weight for several months, eat 500 calories more than your base.
Step #3: Maintain your new calorie number for 2 weeks
After 2 weeks, check the scale, and if you’ve maintained your weight, consume 200 more calories from your new calorie number.
If you’ve gained weight after 2 weeks, maintain the new calorie number, and if you want to gain weight faster, increase your new calorie number by 100 calories.
When checking the scale (ensuring there was no fault in your scale), if you lost weight, increase the calorie number by 200 calories.
Step #4: Optimise your diet based on your progress
If you’re always eating to uncomfortable fullness that’s unsustainable and not gaining weight, substitute one meal for a calorie-dense fast food meal (one that you like) every other day, and ensure it adds at least 300 more calories to your calorie number.
And if you’ve been maintaining your site for 2 weeks and haven’t made reasonable results, substitute one meal into a fast daily instead of every other day.
*Always check yourself in the mirror; even if the scale doesn’t say anything, your body composition could be changing!
Nutrient Ratios for Bulking
It’s not just about calorie count when trying to gain weight; macronutrient distribution plays a crucial role in achieving optimal results. You don’t have to strictly follow this, but a common macronutrient ratio for bulking might be:
- Protein: 2/5 of your meal (~32% of your calories)
- Carbohydrates: 2/5 of your meal (~32% of your calories)
- Fats: 1/5 of your meal (~36% of your calories)
Protein
Protein is essential for muscle repair and growth. Aim for at least 1.5 g per kg of body weight. Always prioritise animal protein, like chicken, eggs and fish.
Carbohydrates
Carbs are crucial for quick energy, and they help with bulking as they’re generally less filling. Carbs like bread and rice should be a staple in your diet (you’re not limited to these though!)
Fats
Fats have more calories per gram than protein and carbohydrates (9kcal per gram). Therefore you can now see why healthy fats should always be in your meals. Fats that come from avocados, nuts and fish are potent for bulking.
Workouts
Working out and stimulating muscle growth is just as important as the diet factor to bulking, so solidify your work by ensuring you’re going close to failure every set, and doing at least 15 sets per muscle group per week. Also, prioritise rest between sessions so your muscles can rebuild, ready for your next session. Working out also aids in controlling your body fat, and the bulk you’re going on doesn’t affect you too much.
Here’s a workout plan to get you started >>
Takeaway
So when bulking, calculate the calories you currently eat naturally (without trying to bulk), which will be known as your “base” calorie number. Then work from there and decide how many calories you want to go on a surplus above your base calorie number. If you haven’t seen progress, adjust it to your needs, but always ensure consistency long-term over short-term results.
If you’re a teenager reading this, you haven’t fully developed yet, so weight gain may be harder and you must be patient. Even if you’re not gaining much or any weight and you’re sure your calorie surplus is reasonable, stay consistent and the older you get, the more the results will show.
