Weekly Calorie Perspective for Bulking

[viper318]

Well I know that with cutting some people do weekly calorie averages/totals instead of daily so that they can compensate for days with higher calories with lower calories days. My question is, will this work with a bulk?

For example, I need to eat 3k calories a day but let's say 1 day I eat 4k; theoretically could I eat 2.5k calories the following 2 days to give myself the 3k daily average and not cause any detriment to my muscle gains? So basically I guess I am wondering if I can take my total calories for the week, divide that number by 7 and if the average is at my recommended daily calorie goal, am I effectively gaining?

I know the body doesn't run on a 24 hour clock but part of me wonders if the excess calories have already been stored as fat from the high calorie day before I compensate with the lower calorie day and therefore are not used to aid muscle growth. I am just not sure this balances out because I know logically it makes sense but I worry this is a simplistic approach.

Any feedback is greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

[NDeeps27]

from what ive gathered, you're right: the weekly total is more important than a single day.
personally i go by day to day, but ALWAYS monitor progress by weekly averages of body weight and calories consumed

however, i think its wise to be careful not to take it to the extremes, i.e. eating multiple days worth of calories and compensating with extreme deficits the following days
the weight gain/loss may be the same in this extreme in the long run but its probably not an ideal way to live life..

my 2c

[viper318]

from what ive gathered, you're right: the weekly total is more important than a single day.
personally i go by day to day, but ALWAYS monitor progress by weekly averages of body weight and calories consumed

however, i think its wise to be careful not to take it to the extremes, i.e. eating multiple days worth of calories and compensating with extreme deficits the following days
the weight gain/loss may be the same in this extreme in the long run but its probably not an ideal way to live life..

my 2c

This is basically my line of thinking as well with it being a "once in a while" type thing that should not be done to an extreme such as binging/fasting. I do weekly weigh-ins and normally just focus on meeting my daily calorie goals however the other day I went a little crazy and want to attempt to minimize fat gain on this bulk, so it would be nice to know if I could compensate for these high calorie days with succeeding lower calorie ones.

[NDeeps27]

This is basically my line of thinking as well with it being a "once in a while" type thing that should not be done to an extreme such as binging/fasting. I do weekly weigh-ins and normally just focus on meeting my daily calorie goals however the other day I went a little crazy and want to attempt to minimize fat gain on this bulk, so it would be nice to know if I could compensate for these high calorie days with succeeding lower calorie ones.

since the body isnt a 24 hour clock and doesnt magically "restart" at 12 midnight, you can make such compensations in succeeding days. i was just saying i dont think it should be taken too far

p.s. i calorie cycle (personal preference) and find it easier, for me, to keep myself on track in the long run
hope this helped

[FitnessCPA]

As long as it's not taken to extremes, it should be fine.

I eat around 2,900-3,000 calories per weekday and sometimes around 8,000 on Saturday and Sunday combined. It allows me to enjoy going out for some beer and chicken wings or pizza or a giant burrito with chips and salsa at a Mexican place and not screw up calories or have to starve all day beforehand.

[hcoyle545]

I'm planning to go out for dinner with my gf on Tuesday and don't want to eat food I won't enjoy that much so i'm going to cut cals by 400 Sunday and Monday then only eat lean proteins all day on Tuesday.

It'll balance out, more or less, so don't sweat it.

[viper318]

Very reassuring guys, thanks. I normally eat a bunch of cheese while on a bulk (on my veggies/in my eggs) so knowing I can make minor changes like cutting out the cheese for a couple days pre or post-high calorie day to help compensate and not damage my gains is great to hear!