How Many Calories A Day To Eat To Build Muscle?

           It’s great you are looking for the number of calories to eat daily for packing on muscle mass. This is because by setting a proper diet routine you are a step ahead of most of your peers in the gym. Your training is nothing without a good diet. The many of those who claim to build muscle without paying too much attention to what they eat and how much are just: 1. generously gifted by Mother Nature with enviable genetics or 2. are just bluffing. If you are not lucky enough to be in the first category, then times is to get numbers sorted and stop complaining about not gaining muscle mass.

           To build muscle you have to eat more. A higher food intake increases the chances of fat gaining regardless of your big efforts in the gym. That’s why is vitally important to calculate your own calorie needs for maintaining the weight you have and then set up the amount you need for bulking.

              Entering your training routine without a diet plan is not rewarding. That’s why today we gonna show you how to calculate your calorie needs daily and based on this establish how calories you need for maximum muscle gains.

In order to so, two components have to be found out:

  • Your basal metabolic rate (BMR);
  • Daily calories burned through exercises.

            BMR is the number of calories your body burns doing nothing, lying all day. Simple functioning like breathing, heart beating, nerve system, maintaining temperature requires energy and body use up to 75 % calories for this. Every individual has a different BMR being directly influenced by such factors as weight, height, age and is a he or a she. Therefore a friend’s muscle building diet which works so great that you are tempted to follow up might hardly disappoint you. You need your own based on your individual calorie burning rates and characteristics.

           It’s not complicated at all to count up your daily BMR. A number of application are available online which greatly help with this task. All you have to do is just fill up the lines with your own data and press “calculate” and get your results. Such a good tool is BMR calculator designed by Harris-Benedict.

Here is the BMR calculator looks like for 29 years old men whose weighing 165 lbs:

           As you see such men burn almost 2000 calories daily for maintenance without any exercises at all. Just for resting. To determine your calorie needs multiply your BMR indicator to the appropriate activity coefficients quite accurately established by Harris-Benedict.

If you are sedentary (little or no exercise) : = BMR x 1.2

  • Lightly active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week) : = BMR x 1.375
  • Moderately active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week) : = BMR x 1.55
  • If you are very active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week) : = BMR x 1.725
  • If you are extra active (very hard exercise/sports & physical job or 2x training) : = BMR x 1.9

           Supposing our men are planning to hit the gym 3 times a week performing moderate training and being quite active during the day than his daily calorie intake would be 1963 x1.55= 3042. So, 3042 daily calories this man needs to maintain the weight he has already, hence this is his calorie maintenance level.

Adding More Calories For Building Muscle:

          Once you know your BMR and calorie maintenance level it’s time to add some extra calories for building muscle mass. At least 300 up to 500 calories normal men need, while a hard gainer has definitely to reach a 500 level or even higher.

Must Read: How To Build Muscle Mass For Hardgainers

           A higher calorie intake may cause gain fat as well. And this is the last thing you want to happen. That’s why sticking to such a level would ensure you noticeable muscle gains with minimal or no fat padding at all. So, to pack on muscle mass our men will have to eat 3042 +300 =3342 or 3042 +500=3542 in case of hard gainers. You are free to add on some extra calorie, but make sure you do not exceed the maximum recommended. Because burning fat after a bulking period is quite frustrating and too few are those who manage to melt away keep on the entire muscle mass. Go slowly and gain steady muscle mass.

Must Read: How To Bulk While Staying Lean

Type Food Counters a Lot:

          Since you are limited in the numbers of calories look for healthy foods rich in nutrients and vitamins. You don’t need empty calories at all. Proteins, carbs and healthy fats are what your diet has to include. No alcohol, fast-food, soda drinks or other bad foods.

         Protein is needed to build muscle, carbs for energy and fats for macronutrients as important as proteins and carbs together. Best sources of protein are eggs, chicken, fish, nuts, cottage cheese, whey protein, low fat and chocolate milk and other.

Must Read: How Much Protein To Eat To Gain Muscle Mass

            Best carbs for building muscle are breakfast cereals, bagels, rice, and pasta. Worst carbs and protein source as those coming from processed foods, so stay away from them.

            Health fats that will help you boost your muscles are fish oil, seeds, healthy oil like olive and coconut and others. You are what you eat and how much you eat. Sticking to the right amount of food your body needs to build muscle will help you get bigger and stronger, but not fatter.

Zizou

Building muscle mass is what I like to talk about. If your aim is to build a solid body, then my posts would be very beneficial to you. I always want to know your opinion, so don't hesitate to drop a line below or contact me.

View Comments

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    protein drink. Research confirms that your particular body will release more growth hormone during deep
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