diet advice

[230isthegoal]

Ive decided to run a cycle.

im 27, 6'3, 215lbs, been training for 2 years. started at 190 12%BF and now at 15%BF

Currently i train 5 days a week and eat 3500cal a day (40/40/20) I work as a chef and my diet is probably better than most.

If i eat any less i will lose weight. If i dont work out and dont eat more than 3k a day i will lose weight until im eventually 190 again.

My question is: How much more food will I likely need to eat to ensure a succesful first cycle?

I currently haven't gained any weight for 3 months at 3500 calories a day and intesnse training.

my cycle will begin after bloodwork next week.

cycle consists of test e (400mg a week) aromasin, and then nolva clomid combo

[230isthegoal]

Just to clarify, I have been spending time in the gym for longer than 2 years but the past 2 years i have been taking it very seriously. I spent months reading through this forum and others before joining today.

[230isthegoal]

and of course i post this in the wrong place. sorry guys

[Back In Black]

Well, if your weight has been staying the same, add another 500cals per day to start. As you gain weight you will need to add cals. When you finish your cycle you will need to up them again to try and maintain the new tissue.

Don't get caught up in % splits either else you'll be wasting money on proteins. I'd mostly recommend that most people follow this

Protein - 1.5g per lean lb of body weight
Fat 0.3-0.4g per lean lb body weight
Carbs to make up the remainder

On cycle you can up your protein by 10% or so.

Don't forget your Hcg on cycle.

[230isthegoal]

yea i usually just try to hit 300g protein and 100g fat and then eat carbs for the rest, and keep eating carbs until i cant eat anything else. fortunately for me the only meal i have to spend money on is breakfast. all my other meals i eat at work. (dont tell my corporate chef that because he has been wondering why food cost went up this year haha)

unfortunately for me i have not been able to find a reliable hcg yet. i do not plan on starting my cycle without it as this would be my first and it seems the consensus would be to run test e, and AI, hcg, and then nolva and clomid.\

but anyways, im thinking maybe over the next month i can slowly increase my calories to 4500 before starting my first cycle and see how my body responds. Im not in a rush.

[ScotchGuard02]

Ive decided to run a cycle.

im 27, 6'3, 215lbs, been training for 2 years. started at 190 12%BF and now at 15%BF

Currently i train 5 days a week and eat 3500cal a day (40/40/20) I work as a chef and my diet is probably better than most. Your BMR is 1979 cal/day. Your TDEE (assuming 1.6 activity) is 3166 cal/day. If you eat about 3200 cal/day you won't lose weight or gain weight. If you're eating 3500 cal/day and you are not gaining weight, your body metabolism must be pretty fast.

If i eat any less i will lose weight. If i dont work out and dont eat more than 3k a day i will lose weight until im eventually 190 again.

My question is: How much more food will I likely need to eat to ensure a succesful first cycle? If 3500 cal/day is your baseline. Let's assume that's TDEE, you should increase your total caloric intake by 10% to 15%. This would put you at about 3800 cal/day to 4000 cal/day. More than 15%, I found that I gained more fat as well as muscle. I would also shift my macros to 40% carbs, 30% fats and 30% protein.

I currently haven't gained any weight for 3 months at 3500 calories a day and intesnse training.

my cycle will begin after bloodwork next week.

cycle consists of test e (400mg a week) aromasin, and then nolva clomid combo

If your training is intense and you are including cardio, drop the cardio and stick to the weights. You want to use as much energy as possible to break down muscle tissue. Cardio is good to cut fat but not good in building muscle.

[230isthegoal]

thanks scotch guard. after lurking on this forum for months it seems you know your stuff pretty well.

i would switch my macros but for 3 months i added more fat into my diet (almonds, olive oil, peanut butter, avocados) and i started gaining body fat so i switched back to my other diet.

i think the reason i dont gain weight at 3500cal/day is because i wake up in the morning and take my dog for a run (i have to or he goes crazy 30 min max), and then i train for an hour, and then i spend 12 hours a day at work on my feet running in circles. i dont include any cardio in my day other than with my dog and half the time all we do is walk.

ill definately start by upping my cals to 4k by adding in an extra meal and see how that goes.
i just didnt want to start my first cycle and be disappointed because i wasnt eating enough.

[ScotchGuard02]

Complex carbs in conjunction with protein, builds muscles. Complex carbs like sweet potatoes and broccoli fuels the body and has the building blocks to let your body use the amino's it's getting through the protein. When I'm bulking about 50% of my diet is complex carbs.

[Batmanreturns]

What does your cycle look like?

I think 1.5 even 2g of protein per lbm is going to yield very good gains assuming the rest of your diet is in check, which it looks to be!