To safely and effectively gain muscle, you need to increase your total calorie needs by at least 3500 calories per week, or about 500 extra calories per day, depending on your activity level. As much as you may dislike calorie counting, it is vital for your weight gain as well as for fat loss.
How many calories should I eat to build muscle mass?
This is an ideal surplus of calories, big enough to build muscle yet small enough to avoid excessive gains in unnecessary fat. Our example male above will take his daily calorie maintenance level of 2,639 calories and consume an additional 400 calories. So, he will now eat 3,040 calories per day to build muscle mass.
How many calories do I need to burn to lose fat?
A: One pound of body fat contains approximately 3,500 calories. This means that, in order to burn 1 pound of fat, you must have a calorie deficit of 3,500 calories. Therefore, to lose 1 pound of fat per week, you need to have a 500 calorie deficit each day. Q: What do we mean when we say calorie deficit?
How much protein do you need to build muscle and burn fat?
Adding muscle and burning fat both demand protein–especially when you're doing both at the same time! Aim for 1 g per lb. of bodyweight daily, and use shakes to help you get there. 1. Consume a Moderate Number of Calories
How many calories do I need to eat to gain weight?
Use this example to understand it better: Step 1: Mike weighs 180lb but wants to gain lean muscle and lose fat. Step 2: 180 x 14 = 2,520 calories per day for maintenance. Step 3: 2,520 + 200 = 2,720 calories required daily for lean gains.
Can you build muscle and lose fat at the same time?
Takeaway. If you can sustain a lifting program and eat a caloric deficit, your body will be able to pull from its fat stores to both fuel itself and potentially build muscle mass. Prioritizing foods rich in protein is a key component to both losing body fat and building muscle at the same time.
How do I calculate calories to lose weight and gain muscle?
5:578:13How to Calculate Calories To Burn Fat & Build Muscle (Deficit & Surplus)YouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipStart with a certain amount of calories. Every single day okay and that as days go by keep an eye onMoreStart with a certain amount of calories. Every single day okay and that as days go by keep an eye on your physique. And look at the scale. And your measurements. Because you should be measuring.
How many calories should I be eating to gain muscle?
A calorie surplus of 500 calories is usually a good place to start to promote muscle gains ( 2 ). The majority of the diet is made up of calorie- and nutrient-dense whole foods, such as rice, nuts, nut butters, red meats, salmon, dried fruit, avocados, healthy cereals, whole eggs, and full-fat dairy products.
How many calories should I burn to get lean muscle?
Burning Calories Muscle tissue will burn seven to 10 calories daily per pound. And since fat burns two to three calories daily per pound, replacing a pound of fat with muscle helps you burn an additional four to six more calories each day.
Should I build muscle or lose fat first?
It depends on your body fat percentage (which most gym trainers will measure for free). If you're living with obesity (over 25% body fat for a man or more than 32% body fat for a woman), aim to lose fat first. The higher your body fat percentage, the harder it is to gain muscle while minimizing fat gain.
How much protein and calories do I need to gain muscle and lose fat?
Multiple sporting bodies have said that a minimum intake for those looking to gain muscle, lose fat, and improve athletic performance is 0.54 to 0.77 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight per day.
What kills muscle gains?
Post Workout Habits That Are Killing Your GainsNot Stretching or Cooling Down. This one tops the list because the majority of us simply NEVER do it. ... You Add Peanut Butter in Your Post Workout Shake. ... You Don't Eat Carbs Post Workout. ... You Eat Like a Stray Dog After Training.
Is 2500 calories enough to build muscle?
An estimated 2,500 to 2,800 excess calories are needed to gain one pound of lean mass. Of course, this number is highly dependent on individual factors like level of training, starting body composition, genetics, and overall diet.
What is dirty bulking?
Dirty bulking takes this a step further and can be defined as a period of unrelenting weight gain by any means necessary to promote muscle and strength gains. It's usually paired with high-intensity resistance exercise to complement these adaptations.
Does lifting weights burn fat?
Strength training specifically leads to gain lean muscle gain. These are fat-free tissues that are highly metabolic, allowing more caloric burns than any other tissue in the body. Essentially, this is why strength training works best: it loses fat while maintaining muscles that burn calories.
What muscles burn the most fat?
The largest muscles (and therefore the largest calorie burners) are in the thighs, abdomen, chest, and arms.
How many calories should I eat to stay toned?
Body Toning Diet Active women need 2,000 to 2,400 calories daily to maintain weight, while active men need 2,400 to 3,000. Start at the bottom end of these numbers and aim to lose around 1 to 2 pounds per week.
How do I calculate my macros to lose weight and gain muscle for free?
0:3912:39HOW TO CALCULATE MACROS For Weight Loss And Muscle Gain ...YouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipAnd protein has four calories per gram carbs. Have four calories per gram and fat has nine caloriesMoreAnd protein has four calories per gram carbs. Have four calories per gram and fat has nine calories per gram.
How do I calculate my macros to lose weight and gain muscle?
A typical macro breakdown for fat loss and muscle gain is 40 percent protein, 30 percent fat, and 30 percent carbs.
How do I calculate my daily calorie intake?
Calculating Your Daily CaloriesFor women, BMR = 655.1 + (9.563 x weight in kg) + (1.850 x height in cm) - (4.676 x age in years)For men, BMR = 66.47 + (13.75 x weight in kg) + (5.003 x height in cm) - (6.755 x age in years)
How many calories should I eat to gain muscle and stay lean?
If it’s in a negative place you will lose weight, and if it’s in neutral you will stay the same.
What should make up the remainder of your calories?
Carbohydrates : These should make up the remainder of your calories.
What are the three macronutrients needed to build muscle?
Now that you know the amount of calories you need to gain lean size, your energy requirement should be divided between the three macronutrients – protein, fat and carbohydrates . You’re going to eat a certain amount of each, all of which have a caloric value that will add up to your surplus.
How many calories does a 180g protein gram have?
Well, protein has four calories per gram, so 180g x 4 calories = 720 calories. Add that to the number of calories he’s getting from fat (680) and you have a total of 1,400. Now subtract that 1,400 from 2,720 and what you’re left with is the number of daily calories Mike needs from carbs; in this case it’s 1,320.
How many carbs does Mike have?
All of this means that to gain lean muscle Mike’s daily macros should be: Calories: 2,720. Protein: 180g. Carbs: 330g. Fat: 75.5g. For the best results it’s important to eat as close to your required numbers as possible.
How much protein does Mike need?
So Mike needs 180g of protein daily.
Can you gain muscle with fat?
However, you can set out to gain the maximum amount of muscle with the minimum amount of fat gain, and we’re going to show you how – but get your calculator out.
How many calories do you need to burn to function?
That means your body needs 1800 daily calories from food to function normally. You also burn calories though daily activity; brushing your teeth, walking the dog, shopping, work, taking the trash out, cleaning… you know, the day-to-day essential activities that life demands.
How many calories did you burn in a day?
Your meals consisted of quality proteins, carbs and vegetables. You downed a couple of whey protein shakes, too. In total, you consumed 2,700 calories for the day. But here’s the thing, you burned 3,100 calories, creating a 400 calorie deficit.
Why do we need a slight surplus of calories?
I emphasis the word slight surplus because an excessive surplus will result in the rapid accumulation of body fat. The goal with a calorie surplus is to provide just enough additional energy to build muscle, while keeping lean.
How to reduce calories on days you don't train?
Reduce calories on the days you don’t train by reducing carbs from your diet. Do not lower calories by reducing protein intake. For example, 1 gram of carbohydrates contains 4 calories. So, to cut back on calories you would reduce 50 grams of carbs from your diet.
Why do people struggle to put on muscle?
Most people struggle to put on muscle because they fail to consume an adequate calorie surplus.
What is a calorie?
A calorie is a unit of energy. It is a unit of heat used to indicate the amount of energy that foods will produce in the human body.
How long can you stay in bed without moving a muscle?
Imagine if you were to stay in bed for 24 hours without moving a single muscle. All of your organs – lungs, heart, liver, kidneys, brain, nervous system and digestive system all require energy to function. Most of the calories your body burns are used to keep you alive.
Balance Your Body's Bank Account to Lose Weight or Gain Weight
How many calories should I eat to build muscle or burn fat? This is one of the questions that we receive often here at Build Muscle and Burn Fat with Middle Management.
How Many Calories Should I Eat to Burn Fat?
New: Middle Management Simple Calorie Calculator to estimate how many calories you should eat per day to lose 1 pound of fat per week.
How Do You Stay on Track when Cutting Calories?
Everyone knows that starting a diet is hard. The first week or two is especially hard when the hunger sets in. What do you do to battle the hunger and keep your fat burning efforts on track?
How Many Calories Do I Burn In a Day?
So how can you take your BMR and use this information to know how many calories you should eat to lose weight?
How Many Calories Should I Eat to Lose Weight?
This is a question about your calorie deficit: once you know the calories you burn in a day, how many should you eat to lose weight?
What does a basal metabolic rate mean?
This stands for Basal Metabolic Rate, and it’s the number of calories you burn at rest — without taking into account the extra calories you burn as you move throughout the day.
How to figure out how many calories are in a piece of meat?
Some prefer simpler ways of working out their calories, like “the hand technique”: figure out how many calories are in a piece of meat about the size of your palm and have one or two of those per meal with four “fingers” of carbs , etc.
How to track calories?
The best way to get a really good idea of how many calories you should eat to lose weight is to monitor your food intake and your weight every day for about a month. Keep track of when you’re gaining weight and when you’re losing it.
What is the best formula for body fat?
Katch-McArdle is likely the best formula, but only if you’re being accurate with your numbers — and that means making an appointment to get a DEXA scan to truly measure your body fat. Don’t want to? Stick to Mifflin St Jeor.
Does fidgeting burn calories?
Even fidgeting seems able to burn hundreds of extra calories per day from that. ( 2) If that looks like a lot to keep in mind, consider picking up an activity tracker you can wear on your wrist, like a WHOOP strap, which will do a good job of estimating your TDEE. Alexander Kozlachkov/Shutterstock.
What are some exercises that help you build muscle?
Instead, focus on integrating compound movements, such as squats, deadlifts, presses, and rows . These moves allow you to lift the most weight and stimulate the most total muscle mass possible, which is why they should be the foundation of each workout.
How to walk the fine line between fat loss and muscle building?
Here are my most effective techniques to help you walk the fine line between muscle building and fat loss. 1. Consume a Moderate Number of Calories. To walk the fine line of building muscle while burning fat, it's imperative you find your caloric "sweet spot.". You need to eat enough calories to fuel muscle building while encouraging release ...
What is the best cardio workout for leanness?
Instead, when aiming for the combo of leanness and muscle, I recommend high-intensity interval training (HI IT) as your primary form of cardio. Why? HIIT has been shown to preserve muscle mass, and even enhance fat use as fuel. That's a winning combination!
How long does a follow-along workout last?
If you're looking to build muscle and lose fat at the same time, this is the plan for you! Each follow-along workout only lasts about 30 minutes and has just the right amount of intensity, sweat, and struggle to help you reach a new level of fitness.
Why do people cut their fat intake?
Too many people outrageously slash their fat intake in an attempt to reduce body fat . Fats play an integral role in maintaining optimal cell structure and hormone levels, each of which are crucial for supporting a muscle-building environment. They also play a role in keeping you feeling full.
Why is protein important for muscle?
Getting in plenty of protein, spread fairly evenly throughout the day, helps protect your muscle tissue from breakdown. When amino acids are floating around in your system, your body senses that it doesn't need to break down muscle tissue to harvest them.
Does a high protein diet increase calories burned?
Furthermore, a high-protein diet has been shown to positively impact the number of calories you burn throughout the day. This manifests as an increase in the number of calories burned through the process of digestion, absorption, and distribution of nutrients, referred to as the thermic effect of food (TEF).
What is carb cycling?
Carb cycling is the practice of eating more carbohydrates and calories on days you exercise and fewer on rest days. It may help to increase muscle gain and fat loss to a small degree.
What is more important than macronutrient ratios?
But what might be more important than macronutrient ratios is making sure you hit minimum thresholds of each macronutrient. Once you know you’re getting enough protein, carbs, and fat to retain muscle, maintain activity levels, and manage your hormones, then you have more freedom to add to your macros as you see fit.
Why is timing your carbs important?
This depends on how often you’re working out and how much of a headache you want dieting to be, but man find it effective and there is evidence that timing your carbohydrate and calorie intake around workouts is useful for optimizing performance and recovery, managing appetite, helping insulin sensitivity.
Can low carbs cause muscle retention?
Plus insulin is anabolic, so getting enough carbs can indeed help with muscle gain and retention. ( 2)
Can you gain muscle if you're thin?
Now, again, this depends a little on your training experience. I you’re really thin and you’ve never worked out before, you can probably gain muscle more quickly than that.
Is it better to fill carbs or protein?
Again, you’re meeting those baselines described above, so the main difference is you have more flexibility. Since your calorie intake is higher, that calorie gap between protein and fat that you’re filing with carbs is going to be bigger and it’s generally recommended to keep filling that gap with carbs. But you have an allowance for more fat if you so prefer.
WHAT SHOULD I EAT TO LOSE FAT AND GAIN MUSCLE?
Remember, your eating strategy needs to include two points to lose fat while gaining muscle:
Why do we store calories as fat?
This means your body can pull from “Store as Fat” to make sure all the work still gets done, including your daily functions as a human and rebuilding the muscle you tore apart.
How to lose body fat?
The only way to shed body fat is during a caloric deficit.
How to maintain a caloric deficit?
1 zero calorie or low calorie beverage ( water, diet soda, tea) By sticking to our Healthy Plate strategy above, you’ll focus on “REAL food,” which will help you maintain a caloric deficit over time. Let’s hone in on protein for a moment, because it’s the critical piece for “building muscle.”.
Why is tracking body fat important?
The goal instead is to reduce body fat while also keeping the muscle you have (or even building more muscle). That leads to a better physique and a healthier body. This is the reason why there is a large industry around “ tracking body fat percentage .”.
Why do we need caloric surplus?
To gain muscle, your body needs to be in a caloric surplus. This surplus provides the energy your body requires to repair and build bigger muscles .
What happens when your body needs more calories than you eat?
When your body needs more calories than the amount you are eating, you are in a “caloric deficit.”. Your body doesn’t have enough calories to go around, so it’ll start breaking down parts of itself for energy requirements. (If you’re curious, you can calculate your daily caloric needs here ).
Why do people cut calories?
With traditional weight loss methods, people may drastically cut calories and increase cardiovascular exercise in order to expend more energy.
How does excess body fat affect health?
From increasing your risk of many chronic diseases to damaging your emotional wellbeing and body image, excess body fat can negatively impact health in many ways ( 8, 9 ).
Why is strength training important?
While cardiovascular exercise is important for weight loss and overall health, strength training is necessary to alter body composition. In addition, a diet high in protein facilitates fat loss while supporting muscle growth ( 7. Trusted Source.
What causes muscle loss?
Focusing only on diet and neglecting exercise habits may result in a loss of muscle mass.
What is the focus of weight loss?
Oftentimes, traditional weight loss programs focus on cutting body fat and hitting lower numbers on the scale rather than gaining muscle.
Which protein is most effective at promoting muscle growth?
Protein sources that contain high amounts of essential amino acids (EAAs), especially the branched chain amino acid leucine, are most effective at promoting muscle growth.
Why is body composition important?
Analyzing body composition gives a better understanding of health than other screening methods that only factor in weight and height, such as body mass index (BMI).