T Nation

Overeating

Supplements and Nutrition
#1

Using to Dr. Berardi’s formula from Massive Eating, I should be eating about 2900 calories a day when bulking for my current weight / bf.

I just started taking Alpha Male and I’m A LOT more hungry than I was before. To the point where I’m eating between 3800 - 4100 calories the past few days.

Even though I’m just eating more of the same fairly clean diet is this excess amount of calories more likely to turn into fat? In other words, is there a “cut off” at which the body can no longer accept food and turn it into muscle and the excess gets turned into fat?

The majority of my diet is lean beef, chicken, eggs, tuna, milk, whey protein, turkey, oatmeal, bananas, rice, pasta, and the like.

#2

[quote]jd_dd wrote:
Using to Dr. Berardi’s formula from Massive Eating, I should be eating about 2900 calories a day when bulking for my current weight / bf. [/quote]

What!?? 2900? How tall are you? I’m 5’8 and it said I should be @ 4500 or something.

#3

It’s got more to do with your weight and bf than it does your height.

I used Berardi’s massive eating calculator with my weight (161) and bf (17%) and got 2938.

http://www.johnberardi.com/updates/july262002/na_masscalculator.htm

I’m a computer programmer. So, except for my workouts, I’m not really burning a ton of calories. On the days I lift (30 min. high intensity), I eat another 500 or so calories.

#4

Anyway, here’s the deal. Don’t just look at the number it’s giving you and immediatly try to eat that number, that’s ridiculous. Just eat as much as you do until your bodyfat is somewhere around 12-14% - in other words when you don’t look like you need to loose some weight.Then as you train and get stronger slowly add calories.

I don’t remember if this was stated in Berardi’s articles but the point is not to eat a certain amount of calories, it’s to eat more then you were eating before.

It’ll get you big, no doubt, but that calculator IMO is the yellow brick road to shitting 4x/day.

#5

We’re kind of getting away from my original question. :slight_smile:

I’ve been eating big / lifting for 4 weeks now and I’ve gone from 149 lb at 16% bf to 162 lb at 17% bf - net gain of 9 lb of muscle.

I’m just worried that eating so much more like I have these past few days is going to lead to fat.

#6

If you’re getting too fat for your liking, dial back your intake. Pretty simple actually. Re-read Massive Eating Reloaded - JB discusses the Science Link Matrix in it.

#7

Sorry, :slight_smile:
Yes the “cut-off” will go into fat. However if you’re eating the same amount then eventually you’ll “grow into it” and actually get less fat. But if you feel bloated then I’d say reduce intake by a few hundred kcal to the level where you feel comfortable.

Like I said earlier it’s not about eating a certain amount but about eating more than before. Say you’ve been eating 2000 calories every day and working out like crazy - the calculator shows that you should be eating 3000 calories/day. But you will grow just as well if not better by adding a mere 300kcal to make 2300.

There is no protein scoop