Should I eat as much as possible or bulk slowly?

[jora95]

this is going to be a long post, bear with me please.

I started lifting 1 1/2 years ago at 125lb at around 12% body fat (skinny fat no abs). I got to 150lb from noob gains and then plateaud. I was eating 2500 calories at the time. I stayed ta that weight for a looong time and wasted like 6 months.

I recently upped calories to 3500 with my split as:
Protein: 200g
Carbs: 475g
Fat: 85g

I have gained 7 pounds in 4 weeks and my lifts have improved as has my vascularity but my body fat has gone up a bit.

My question is,

1) should I just keep eating at 3500 to put on as much as I can till summer and then cup up a bit?
or
2) Should I lower carbs to 410g and calories to about 3200 so I gain .75-1lb a week?

Would changing my calories to gain less weight have any result on the rate of muscle growth or does it influence just fat growth?

[musclestack]

this is going to be a long post, bear with me please.

I started lifting 1 1/2 years ago at 125lb at around 12% body fat (skinny fat no abs). I got to 150lb from noob gains Congratulations on the progress! and then plateaud. I was eating 2500 calories at the time. I stayed ta that weight for a looong time and wasted like 6 months.

I recently upped calories to 3500 with my split as:
Protein: 200g
Carbs: 475g
Fat: 85g

I have gained 7 pounds in 4 weeks and my lifts have improved as has my vascularity but my body fat has gone up a bit.

My question is,

1) should I just keep eating at 3500 to put on as much as I can till summer and then cup up a bit?

It depends on how much time/energy you wan to put into your cut later on. Your body can only put on so much muscle at a time, so more is not always better. If you're putting on some unwanted fat, then slightly reduce the calories to the point where you're still making lean gains but not putting on (much) fat. This is a trial and error until you find your sweet spot.

or
2) Should I lower carbs to 410g and calories to about 3200 so I gain .75-1lb a week?

This would be easier to answer if you posted up your complete diet so we could see which, if any, macros/food choices need to be changed.

Would changing my calories to gain less weight have any result on the rate of muscle growth or does it influence just fat growth?

In short, no, it would not have an effect on your net gain of LBM. As mentioned above, you can only put on so much lean tissue in an allotted amount of time. The rate at which this occurs varies per individual. You just need to experiment with your diet until you find the most efficient way of adding LBM and keeping fat gains to a minimum.

IMO, since you're a fairly small guy, I wouldn't worry too much about gaining a little bit of fat as long as it's not excessive (below ~15%). Another way to approach this is to keep calories on the high side, and use cardio a few times a week for about 30 minutes to combat any unwanted fat gains.

[Buster Brown]

You don't grow in a linear fashion at a set amount week after week. Stay where you are and put on some size ...then maintain and later drop the unwanted bf.....then start all over again.

[jora95]

IMO, since you're a fairly small guy, I wouldn't worry too much about gaining a little bit of fat as long as it's not excessive (below ~15%). Another way to approach this is to keep calories on the high side, and use cardio a few times a week for about 30 minutes to combat any unwanted fat gains.

But wouldn't doing cardio just burn the calories which would be the same as eating a couple hundred less?

I'm not sure what my bodyfat is right now but if I flex I still have a 4 pack and with a pump a 6 pack. I think I'm at 14 or 15% right now

[jora95]

IMO, since you're a fairly small guy, I wouldn't worry too much about gaining a little bit of fat as long as it's not excessive (below ~15%). Another way to approach this is to keep calories on the high side, and use cardio a few times a week for about 30 minutes to combat any unwanted fat gains.

Diet is the following:

1)Protein shake (banana, 1 cup milk, 15 almonds, 1 tbsp peanut butter, 1 tbsp olive oil, 5g creatine, 2 scoops protein powder) and a bowl of oatmeal in morning
2) Bowl of brown rice and peanut butter sandwich (2 slices whole wheat 2tbsp peanut butter) THEN I LIFT
3) Protein shake (banana, 1 cup milk, 15 almonds, 1 tbsp peanut butter, 1 scoops protein powder)
4) Sweet potato and a soy patty with 15g protein and 20g carbs on 2 slices whole wheat with tomatos lettuce and cheese
5) Bowl of brown rice and peanut butter sandwich (2 slices whole wheat 2tbsp peanut butter) and 5 egg whites
6) Cup cottage cheese and a bar with 10g protein 10g carbs

Total comes out to like 200g protein 475g carbs and 85g fat or so. I was thinking about dropping one of the two bowls of brown rice only on the days I don't lift so I would lose 700 calories a week. I'm not sure. Any suggestions?

Vegetarian (no fish or meat)

[--->>405<<---]

From my experience a small surplus works better. Gaining muscle is slow and because of this, does not require a ton of extra cals to accomplish. Just a lot,of patience..

For me, the extra cals just make me fatter, quicker..

[uhit]

Best to do something you can maintain, so a smaller surplus would be preferred.

No point getting sick of eating after a month and then saying fk it and going on a cut.