How Much To Eat To Gain Muscle Without Gaining Fat? Lean = Good & Chubby = Bad
I decided to write this article outlining how much to eat to gain muscle but without gaining fat because it can be a little tricky. Right away, I’ll just say this: there is no dead-accurate, scientific formula for calculating how much you should eat to gain muscle without gaining fat.
Okay, well maybe there is, but it would require some sophisticated testing on an individual basis and I haven’t seen it. What could work for one person still might not work for another if their lifestyle is different.
Besides, where would they find volunteers for that kind of testing?
Another thing to realize is that everything you read online — mainly from supplement companies or those pushing to sell supplements — is not true. If you’ve been told that you need to eat 6 meals a day while taking a high calorie, high protein “muscle gainer” in order to gain muscle, don’t do it. In fact, I’ve tried this method a few times and the results were not pretty.
In order to gain muscle you do have to eat enough food, there’s just no getting around that. Where some say that you need to eat a lot to gain muscle, I really don’t think so. If you end up gaining a significant amount of fat along with your muscle gains, your overall results are going to be quite disappointing.
If I had the choice to gain 5 pounds of muscle with no fat vs 10 pounds of muscle along with 5 pounds of fat I would chose 5 pounds of muscle any day.
How Many Calories To Eat To Gain Muscle
First of all, we know (we need to thank the other lab rats for this one) that it takes 2,500 calories to build a pound of muscle. Taking this into account, we see that the answer to how much to eat to build muscle means that we need would need to eat around 360 calories above maintenance to gain 1.0 lb of muscle in one week.
- 360 (additional) calories x 7 days = 2,520 calories = 1 pound of muscle
So if you wanted to gain 3 pounds of muscle in one week you should eat 1,035 calories above maintenance, right?
- 1,035 (additional) calories x 7 days = 7,245 calories = 3 (2.89) pounds of muscle
Wrong. If you try this latter model you are almost guaranteed to gain quite a bit of fat in the process.
How Much Protein To Eat To Gain Muscle
Another big, as in popular, subject that relates to how much to eat to gain muscle is how much protein you should eat. I have another article on how many grams of protein per day you should eat when trying to lose weight while preserving muscle but in order to focus on gaining muscle you do need a little more.
In that article I suggested eating 0.8 grams of protein per pound of body weight. While this will certainly help you maintain muscle (assuming you are doing some type of resistance training) the number should be a bit more when trying to gain muscle.
You can gain muscle eating 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight but I like to play it safe. When I’m going for lean muscle gains I like to eat less overall calories so that I don’t gain fat, but also make sure that I’m getting enough protein to support muscle growth.
I suggest eating 1 1/2 – 2 grams of protein per pound while trying to gain muscle and that’s plenty.
How Much Muscle You Should Expect To Gain
While in theory the above formula to gain 3 pounds of muscle in a week should work but our bodies don’t work like that. A far better approach is to make lean gains in muscle and not sacrifice looking good throughout the process.
Although 1 pound of muscle doesn’t sound too impressive it really is. Checkout this video to see a visual of what a pound of muscle would actually look like on your body.
In fact, I would recommend that if you try eating for a 1 pound per week muscle gain — really watch your fat levels. For me personally, I shoot more for 1/2 pound of muscle a week when I’m trying to make gains in size.
Don’t let that number fool you. That is a realistic number. Online promises of 2-3+ pounds of muscle in a week are not true.
Although 1/2 pound of muscle in a week doesn’t sound like much, 4 pounds of muscle in one month or 12 pounds of muscle in three months is going to look amazing if it isn’t covered in fat.
Knowing how much to eat to gain muscle without fat is more important than knowing how much to eat to gain muscle with fat. Remember, the less fat you have, the stronger, more muscular, and often times, bigger you will look.
Mitchell - Home Fitness Manual
October 21, 2011 @ 8:48 pm
Kevin,
Which of the formulas do you use to find your BMR? I’ve found the Harris-Benedict formula to offer up greater success for targeting my weight gains, or weight loss.
-Mitchell
Kevin
November 11, 2011 @ 12:10 pm
Hey Mitchell, I hadn’t used this before … I like it. Thanks for the heads-up.
Jennifer
March 2, 2016 @ 11:52 am
This is where I get a little confused. I know my bmr is 1589. If I burn 800-1000 calories a day working out, should I always make sure my base calories are BMR+burned calories+360?
Dave - Not Your Average Fitness Tips
October 25, 2011 @ 8:35 am
I think the other thing to consider is whether you’re gaining skeletal muscle vs. everything else. There’s an upper limit on how much skeletal muscle you can have. All these claims about adding 20-30lbs of muscle seem exaggerated for all but beginners.
Troy - Cube.Dweller.Fitness
October 27, 2011 @ 12:18 pm
Dave,
Your are right about limits (especially if you want to stay “natural”) to the amount of muscle we can gain. I just recently finished my body composition tool that includes a measure of Genetic Muscular Potential based on research from Casey Butt. Good stuff and a way to see if your goals are inline with your genetics.
http://cubedwellerfitness.com/body-composition
For me … well I am not at my genetic limit, yet.
-Troy
Kevin
October 27, 2011 @ 1:03 pm
Dave – You’re right on man. Even though some go on bulking up workout plan and gain a good amount of weight … it’s not ALL muscle.
Troy – Looking forward to putting myself through your body composition tool.
Troy - Cube.Dweller.Fitness
October 27, 2011 @ 12:21 pm
Kevin,
Great post. It is another reminder that a calorie is not a calorie when going for lean gains.
What have you found for good sources of protein?
I know when I was trying to watch my protein intake and crank up the numbers I had a hard time doing so (especially on a “two-kids-in-college” budget).
I started making my own Greek yogurt to toss in my work lunch each day. That I can afford and it tastes good.
Here’s the post on it http://cubedwellerfitness.com/2011/10/whey-simple-delicious-greek-yogurt-recipe/
Let me know if you give it a try.
-Troy
Kevin
October 27, 2011 @ 1:01 pm
Hey Troy, I like using egg whites mixed with a few whole eggs (for taste and nutrients) as well as chicken. Lucky me, I LOVE chicken!
I’ll checkout you’re Greek Yogurt recipe too, I’ve had the Zoi Greek Yogurt in the past and really liked it.
Troy - Cube.Dweller.Fitness
October 27, 2011 @ 1:25 pm
I can hear it now …. eggs, eggs, eggs
Okay my mind is a bit twisted to imagine that I hear a group of men chanting “eggs”. Whatever! But I’m with you, only I’ve pushed my eggs back to lunch since I’m intermittent fasting. I have 2 eggs with ground turkey (and often bell pepper). Yeah, for poultry in all forms. 😉
Tim @ Behind The Workout
October 28, 2011 @ 11:36 am
Great post Kevin. Glad you pointed out how there is no one-rule-that-fits-all when it comes to nutrition. Our body types dictate the amount of calories and macronutrients we need and at some point we need to make our own judgment when it comes to piecing together our diet plans.
One question: what is your take on carbs when it comes to making lean gains? I personally like to throw in a carb cycling element to my diet.
Joe
June 15, 2012 @ 10:44 pm
So if your trying to gain a half pound of muscle a week you would add 180 cal to your bmr or do you account for exercise. For instance my bmr is 1450 (yeah it sucks being short) should I eat 1630 a day or do I account for all the cl that will be burned throuout the day with work and the gym? If I use the Harris Benedict formula I would be more at 2146 plus 180 so I would eat 2326. The later sounds nicer than the former.
Nimbette2
May 24, 2013 @ 9:21 am
So, what about for women? If we want to gain some muscle while not gaining fat…would we also add about 200 extra calories a day? Or less?