Caloric Needs

Diet and Nutrition
1

I’m a 6’4 182 lb. male, currently trying to “bulk”. Anyways, i’ve used those calorie calculators and shit, and generally I find on them that I need 3,000 calories to maintain weight. So, for my bulk, I put it up to 3,500 calories a day.

When I did some research on here, I see a lot of people are going anywhere from 4,000-5,000 calories daily. Do you think these calculators are shit, and I need to up my food intake, or what? I know the only real way to tell is by looking at the scale, but I just wanted some advice.

I lift pretty intensely 6x per week, and I do cardio (usually runs around 2.5 miles) about three times a week.

2

My opinion: start with the 500 above maintenance. those calorie calculators aren’t exact, but are a good estimate. give it some time. if you aren’t progressing, you can bump it up gradually.

i believe that some people overestimate their caloric intake and/or are simply going overkill. also, the caloric needs of a 250 lb guy will be different from yours at 182.

on a personal note (and i realize everybody is different), i aim for 3500/day, but i think i’m getting closer to about 3700 or so. anyway, i’m at about 192 and am gaining weight steadily.

3

Also, with lifting 6x/week with 3x cardio, you may be underestimating your caloric needs… but again pick a number to start with and work from there. i’d suggest 3500.

4

[quote]ktennies wrote:
also, with lifting 6x/week with 3x cardio, you may be underestimating your caloric needs… but again pick a number to start with and work from there. i’d suggest 3500.[/quote]

Yup.

5

Great. I ate about 4,000 today, but I am going to try to keep it at the steady 3,500 as I have been for past couple of weeks. I THINK I am gaining a bit of weight. The scale I use is shady.

6

The caloric needs depend on your bodyfat, activity level, and ton of other shit

Use Berardi calculator.

It says 4600 for me ! huhu

7

http://www.T-Nation.com/readArticle.do?id=459429

now go and grow.

8

those calculators confuse the shit out of me. I just used the Berardi one from the link and it says I should be eating 4900. I ate about 2600 today. I think its time to start increasing. But Im a FFB I dont want to go to high.

9

[quote]slash4221 wrote:
those calculators confuse the shit out of me. I just used the Berardi one from the link and it says I should be eating 4900. I ate about 2600 today. I think its time to start increasing. But Im a FFB I dont want to go to high.[/quote]

FFB? or do you mean, you weren’t really exercising and you ate like shit.

10

At 6’4 182 lb and with all that cardio, the time it takes to count calories could be better spent eating–you’re going to have to literally gorge yourself.

11

[quote]jehovasfitness wrote:
slash4221 wrote:
those calculators confuse the shit out of me. I just used the Berardi one from the link and it says I should be eating 4900. I ate about 2600 today. I think its time to start increasing. But Im a FFB I dont want to go to high.

FFB? or do you mean, you weren’t really exercising and you ate like shit. [/quote]

No I was exercising. I played football, wrestling, and lacrosse all throughout my life. I did eat like complete shit though.

12

On his calc, What does “session 1” “session 2” “Session 3” mean? Per week? Per day?

I train about 3x/week + running once or twice a week + walking 30-60min/day (15min to the station one way, plus around town) where does that put me?

On my inital try with the calc, (weight training 60 min + walking 45) it estimated I need 3783…this seems about what I eat actually!).

13

usually i walk for 10 minutes to get a stretch so i put that as session 1, than i would lift so that was 2, than occasionally I will do some cardio after so i put that at 3. Idk if that was right though it gave me 4900 I eat no where near that

14

I just did the Berardi calc and it said with 3 sessions of 55min weight training at 185lbs and about 12% i need 4895kcal.

bullshit.

i’m at 4k right now and i’m gaining. if i jumped to 5k, i’d balloon up.

i started with the BW151.2 and that’s worked for me to find out my caloric needs.

but there is a certain amount of guess work.

15

This whole 1000000 calories thing is really new to me. I’ve been doing 3,500 and have been going up significantly in weight and strength. Why have I never heard of this Berardi thing before? Sorry, just skeptical, that’s all.

16

Well you haven’t been on T-Nation long hence why you don’t know Berardi. Berardi is one helluva nutritionist and knows what he is talking about. That being said if you are gaining at 3500 and not putting on much fat then keep doing what your doing. A calculator can only be tailored so much to fit most people.

I personally have to take in 4500-5000 calories a day to really be gaining weight, others don’t need as much. My younger brother needs closer to 6000 as his metabolism is through the roof. It’s different for everyone including you.

17

I believe the massive eating plan that comes with the calculator is either intended for people who have trouble gaining weight, or for people following a protocol similar to the G-flux concept. So there’s no wonder that these numbers look high.

18

No affence, but with your proportions of 6’4 and 182, and you want to gain muscle, I wouldn’t worry about getting the minimum requirements of 3,500, but going for a far greater surplus than that.

Also, you might want to reconsider your weightlifting schedule, if you’re lifting 6x a week… you don’t want to overtrain, and unless you really know your weightlifting facts, chances are you only hurting your gains by doing this.

Good luck brother!