What is excess calories?

[Slappydappy]

I am now switching over to bulking, as I have gotten very skinny at this point (but not toned at all) and I still can't see my abs very good. I want to build mass but I certainly do NOT want to raise my body fat percentage.

Right now I am 6 "2 and weigh 178 lbs.

What should be my proper calorie intake each day?

[RipStone]

Use this...

Calculate your caloric requirement with the Harris-Benedict Formula:
I use the following formula(for males):

66 + (6.3 x body weight in lbs.) + (12.9 x height in inches) - (6.8 x age in years)

This gives your your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)
Now that you know your BMR, multiply your BMR by your activity multiplier from below:

Activity Multiplier
Sedentary = BMR X 1.2 (little or no exercise, desk job)
Lightly active = BMR X 1.375 (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk)
Mod. active = BMR X 1.55 (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk)
Very active = BMR X 1.725 (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk)
Extr. active = BMR X 1.9 (hard daily exercise/sports & physical job

Your BMR X Activity Level = Calories Needed for maintenance : what you need to sustain your body at status quo. If you want to lose weight, subtract 500 calories a day to lose 1 pound per week. Subtract 1000 to lose 2 pounds per week. To gain 1 pound per wekk add 500 calories. It is not recommended to go below a 1000 calorie deficit. It is also not recommended to go below 2000 calories a day if you are trying to maintain / build muscle mass.

[CanadianClub]

Bump^^

[Webb]

Great formula

[Slappydappy]

Dang. I come to 3000 calories a day.

That seems a bit much. And if I want to gain alot of mass, I need to add 500 calories to that a day?

How do I achieve this without getting fat or increasing my fat percentage?

[Maru Saru]

RipStone has some solid feedback here and as long as you follow the formula with some added calories, get those cals by eating clean, and maintain a regular training routine, you should be able to minimize your fat gain. Good luck Slappy!

[RipStone]

Dang. I come to 3000 calories a day.

That seems a bit much. And if I want to gain alot of mass, I need to add 500 calories to that a day?

How do I achieve this without getting fat or increasing my fat percentage?

If you eat clean food and you are exercising, you will not gain much fat when you bulk up. It took me a while to understand this concept, but once I did my gains have been awsome. Lemme just say that it is very, very hard to get fat when you are lifting weights 3-5x a week, doing cardio, and eating healthy food.

[tobe]

i came up to apporximately 1900. i wanna bulk so i gotta eat about 2400. But currently, im eating at least 3000 but i ain getting bigger. any idea? but i do know im putting on some inches on my waist plus i try to eat as clean as possible.

[RipStone]

i came up to apporximately 1900. i wanna bulk so i gotta eat about 2400. But currently, im eating at least 3000 but i ain getting bigger. any idea? but i do know im putting on some inches on my waist plus i try to eat as clean as possible.

If you need to eat 2400 cals and you ARE eating 3000 cals, then those extra cals have to be going somewhere....fat.

[KingOfChaos]

The problem with the formula is it does NOT account for body type, genetics, or possible medical problems. It is much better to go to a dietician or nutritionist and get scheduled for a tank dunk where they can better help determine your true BMR.

For instance, that formula told me I needed 3,425 calories a day....and if I actually had a BMR that advanced I would NEVER have been fat..never...because I could not consume 3,425 calories a day without eating an entire weeks worth of groceries in one sitting. It is physically impossible.