How much should I eat for a clean bulk? (20yo 5'7)

So I'm just finishing up with a year-long cut (from 215lbs to 145) and woud like to start bulking (to around 160 by the end of the year), clean bulking, but not really sure how many calories I should really start eating.
According to the TDEE calculator my basal metabolic rate is 1,500 calories BUT considering that I work out 5 times a week when I type that in it jumps all the way to 2,500 calories a day, and that's before the 500 calorie surplus for the bulk.
So do I really need to eat 3,000 calories a day to bulk? It seems a little overestimated, compared to the fact that I've been eating 1,200 calories for the past two months to speed up my cut that would be more than double.
I also work from home so I'm not terrebly active for most of the day aside from my workout

Thanks

If you've been cutting then presumably you were counting calories? So you should be able to deduce your current maintenance level based on your cutting intake and rate of weight loss.

3500 calorie deficit = 1lb of loss.

Use real data rather than calculators where possible - since they are just glorified guesswork.

[QUOTE=SuffolkPunch;1544446151]If you've been cutting then presumably you were counting calories? So you should be able to deduce your current maintenance level based on your cutting intake and rate of weight loss.

3500 calorie deficit = 1lb of loss.

Use real data rather than calculators where possible - since they are just glorified guesswork.[/QUOTE]

I didn't lose weight gradually, most of my weight loss happened in the last 4 months and it wasn't terribly consistent I've lost 5 pounds in the last two weeks alone so it would be kinda hard to estimate. I'm gonna go through a maintenance phase before I start bulking to avoid the yo-yo effect, I guess if find a good calorie balance where I can maintain my weight that would be a good start but it would take some trial and error

2500 would probably be a sensible starting point. Don't be in a hurry to gain weight - it's not actually essential for muscle gain.

[QUOTE=SuffolkPunch;1544446151]If you've been cutting then presumably you were counting calories? So you should be able to deduce your current maintenance level based on your cutting intake and rate of weight loss.

3500 calorie deficit = 1lb of loss.

Use real data rather than calculators where possible - since they are just glorified guesswork.[/QUOTE]

OP if you want to keep track of your rolling average weight and how that changes with caloric intake, use a tracker like this one:

[url]https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8EbfzFB0mBrMGJ6V2N5QWNfeTg/view[/url]

[QUOTE=SuffolkPunch;1544446801]2500 would probably be a sensible starting point. Don't be in a hurry to gain weight - it's not actually essential for muscle gain.[/QUOTE]

Thanks! I'm actually not really looking forward to gaining weight and would like to take it pretty slow, even though I've come a long way and I'm definitely not fat anymore I still have some fat around my abdominal area and thighs and would prefer to keep cutting but I was told by a few bodybuilders that if I start bulking now but take it slow that excess fat will go away while I grow muscle, which is why I really don't want to overeat and gain MORE fat than what I already have...

[QUOTE=squesto;1544458891]OP if you want to keep track of your rolling average weight and how that changes with caloric intake, use a tracker like this one:


Thanks that's really helpful! I'll start using this