About how many calories a day do you eat when bulking?

[shortz]

You are not alone. I hear all the time, guys posting outrageous statements about the amount of calories they claim to eat.

Even guys who say they eat 5000 cal per day probably dont even come close in real life to that every day.(unless they just get very fat along the way).

To illustrate, take a guy with an elite physique....say 230@ under 10% bf. Using a TDEE calculator (which I know is just an estimate), puts him about 3300 cal a day. (if you assume 4 weight training sessions per week, and a non-physical job.

Eating 5000 cal per day, would have him gaining 3 1/2 lbs per week (every week). Or translated.....just getting fat as hell. For a guy that size to need that many cals as a reasonable surplus, on top of his weight training, he would have to be performing a TON of cardio. Briefly figured....it would involve about 3 hours of intense cardio 7 days a week.

So unless you are a mail-man.....or maybe a heavy labor worker, you are probably not really eating 5000 either.

For those that have never taken the time to accurately track, it is an eye opener. The old "bro-lore" you need to eat 5000 calories a day is just plain silly. (and if really carried out, will mostly just leave you fat)

Yep. The most ridiculous claim I heard once was a lifter that weighed 165lbs saying he eats 8,000 calories and doesn't gain weight. I almost spit out my diet coke when he said it. I think most people that claim high numbers might get a little close to their claim once a week, but the rest of the week they are WAY off.

I am in the neighborhood of 2800-3000 calories when I bulk. My bulks are slow and steady. I only put on about 1.5lbs every other week with that. That gives me more time to eat at a surplus without ending up being a fatty in 16 weeks

 

[gunslinger]

Yep. The most ridiculous claim I heard once was a lifter that weighed 165lbs saying he eats 8,000 calories and doesn't gain weight. I almost spit out my diet coke when he said it. I think most people that claim high numbers might get a little close to their claim once a week, but the rest of the week they are WAY off.

I am in the neighborhood of 2800-3000 calories when I bulk. My bulks are slow and steady. I only put on about 1.5lbs every other week with that. That gives me more time to eat at a surplus without ending up being a fatty in 16 weeks

But it works the other way too. I have seen charts that said at 210 at the time I had to be taking in at least 3,200 calories per day. At the time I was doing 1,500-1,800. I know what you are saying though. I seriously doubt a handful of ppl on the forums actually eat 5,000+ clean calories per day. Me personally: I'm 40 years old and don't give a fuck about abs. I'm in the gym 4-5 days per week and doing jiu-Jitsu all the time. I'll eat what I like. But even with the junk it's rare I hit 5,000 calories.

 

[OldManStrength]

AT 2750 calories a day, thats eating 4 to 5 times a day, and its good healthy food, when you do it that way, its so much food, im forcing it down some days.. Im never hungry, and I have plenty of energy, for everything. We all know Im running at about 278 lbs right now. I just make sure Im hitting my macros too.

 

[HGH]

AT 2750 calories a day, thats eating 4 to 5 times a day, and its good healthy food, when you do it that way, its so much food, im forcing it down some days.. Im never hungry, and I have plenty of energy, for everything. We all know Im running at about 278 lbs right now. I just make sure Im hitting my macros too.

i'm surprised you can stay at 278 while eating under 3000 calories.

 

[HGH]

btw when i eat high calories i eat a lot of rice. it's my carb of choice bc i don't mind hoovering it, and i even sometimes put cooked rice in the blender with milk. it's basically horchata at that point, but without the sugar or cinnamon. it's decent and easy to get down.

 

[OldManStrength]

Everything I eat has rice in it too, and at the end of the day if I dont have enough carbs, a can of soda or a beer usually fixes that.

 

[prime]

I will not gain unless I'm in the 4300+ calorie range. 4300 seems to maintain what i have. Anything under 4 and I will wake up lighter. I hate this because 1) It costs a ton to eat 4300 calories a day, 2) My appetite cannot maintain this volume for very long. I'm around 220 right now.

 

[5.0]

By "a" can if beer I hope you mean a 6pk

 

[HGH]

I will not gain unless I'm in the 4300+ calorie range. 4300 seems to maintain what i have. Anything under 4 and I will wake up lighter. I hate this because 1) It costs a ton to eat 4300 calories a day, 2) My appetite cannot maintain this volume for very long. I'm around 220 right now.

i'm close to that weight. i havent been able to cross 220 since after i got hit by a car last year. being a little older and having my body thrashed has made everything a little harder.

i dont think i had to eat this much to gain before. in fact i never kept track before. i only started keeping track bc the scale wasnt moving this time.

 

[C T J]

@HGH Did you lose a bunch of weight after you accident? Is that why you're bulking again? How's everything with that (the aftermath)?

 

[monsoon]

Everything I eat has rice in it too, and at the end of the day if I dont have enough carbs, a can of soda or a beer usually fixes that.

If it's bud light, that has rice in it too

 

[HGH]

@HGH Did you lose a bunch of weight after you accident? Is that why you're bulking again? How's everything with that (the aftermath)?

I did. I wasn't really supposed to work out for a long time and then i was also on anti-seizure meds that were debilitating for like ~3 months. I was sleeping 14 hours a day and just exhausted all the time. So I lost a bunch of weight. Then getting back into hard workouts took a lot of time. But I'm feeling good now. I just kind of want to be gigantic.

Oh and the aftermath... it's alright. i have a big ass scar on my face now, starts at my hairline above my right eye and goes down to the left and dives into my sideburn area. it's some Dr. Evil supervillain shit. c'est la vie