12 Comments

  1. 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

    Reply

    • Kevin
      November 11, 2011 @ 12:10 pm

      Hey Mitchell, I hadn’t used this before … I like it. Thanks for the heads-up.

      Reply

    • 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?

      Reply

  2. 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.

    Reply

    • 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

      Reply

      • 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.

        Reply

  3. 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

    Reply

    • 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.

      Reply

      • 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. 😉

        Reply

  4. 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.

    Reply

  5. 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.

    Reply

  6. 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?

    Reply

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