Ideal caloric surplus for adding lean mass

[GearHeaded]

Ive been fine tuning my meals since the original post a few weeks ago, mainly the carbs pre and post workout. Havent even added the eq or npp into the mix yet because im still waiting on it, just upped my test to 100mg e2d... so far so good. my macros are currently at 243p/519c/27f

Will probably drop the protein down to 220 once I get the eq and npp going and up the carbs to compensate for the lost calories from protein.

the protein to fat calculations seem a little off to me (at least on the surface) .. if every one of your 243 grams of protein from even the leanest protein sources, like chicken breast ,, that by itself would put your fat at over 30g . let alone any other trace fats you may be getting from other sources and carb sources.

BUT . this depends heavily on how you personally are counting your macros . I only count direct sources of macros, not indirect. so 25g of fat can definitely be a thing for me (I'm only counting added fats , like avocado , oils, etc.. but not the fats found in the meats themselves)..
but if your actually calculating all fats your consuming in total (not just direct sources) , getting down to 27g while eating that many carbs and protein would be very difficult . unless your eating egg whites and rice cakes for every meal

[JohnnyV85]

If you had that little fat at the end of the first cycle that explains why you couldn't even complete PCT because your body is deprived of essential nutrients.

No 1st cycle was different, I was sharing a kitchen and it was almost impossible to meal prep. My diet was leaning toward the sloppy side. Less control over what I was able to consume

the protein to fat calculations seem a little off to me (at least on the surface) .. if every one of your 243 grams of protein from even the leanest protein sources, like chicken breast ,, that by itself would put your fat at over 30g . let alone any other trace fats you may be getting from other sources and carb sources.

BUT . this depends heavily on how you personally are counting your macros . I only count direct sources of macros, not indirect. so 25g of fat can definitely be a thing for me (I'm only counting added fats , like avocado , oils, etc.. but not the fats found in the meats themselves)..
but if your actually calculating all fats your consuming in total (not just direct sources) , getting down to 27g while eating that many carbs and protein would be very difficult . unless your eating egg whites and rice cakes for every meal

I do oatmeal, protein powder and almond milk for breakfast, 12g fat
meal 1 and 2 are exactly the same, 4oz chicken breast/10 oz brown rice.... 4g fat according to nutritionix.com (I usually google "chicken breast macros" or "brown rice macros" and get my information from there. I realize theres conflicting info so if you guys have a suggestion where to get the most accurate numbers Id appreciate it)
preworkout meal i have 3 bagels and 8oz 0% fat yogurt 3g fat
post workout 1 bagel, 20oz gatorade and protein powder 4g fat

yes its the same stuff every day and my gf gives me hell for my pre/post meals lol, but its just easy and the numbers are there. By all means Im open to any feedback.

[Windex]

No 1st cycle was different, I was sharing a kitchen and it was almost impossible to meal prep. My diet was leaning toward the sloppy side. Less control over what I was able to consume



I do oatmeal, protein powder and almond milk for breakfast, 12g fat
meal 1 and 2 are exactly the same, 4oz chicken breast/10 oz brown rice.... 4g fat according to nutritionix.com (I usually google "chicken breast macros" or "brown rice macros" and get my information from there. I realize theres conflicting info so if you guys have a suggestion where to get the most accurate numbers Id appreciate it)
preworkout meal i have 3 bagels and 8oz 0% fat yogurt 3g fat
post workout 1 bagel, 20oz gatorade and protein powder 4g fat

yes its the same stuff every day and my gf gives me hell for my pre/post meals lol, but its just easy and the numbers are there. By all means Im open to any feedback.

Sharing a kitchen isn't an excuse and that diet is awful. It has no essential healthy fats or healthy saturated fats.

There are members of the board that have one wife, two jobs, three kids, and four dogs yet still have time to eat properly.

Use the back of the label and NutritonData website.

If you don't learn to feed yourself properly then yoh may as well put your wallet on fire it's going to give the same results as using gear.

[JaneDoe]

the protein to fat calculations seem a little off to me (at least on the surface) .. if every one of your 243 grams of protein from even the leanest protein sources, like chicken breast ,, that by itself would put your fat at over 30g . let alone any other trace fats you may be getting from other sources and carb sources.

BUT . this depends heavily on how you personally are counting your macros . I only count direct sources of macros, not indirect. so 25g of fat can definitely be a thing for me (I'm only counting added fats , like avocado , oils, etc.. but not the fats found in the meats themselves)..
but if your actually calculating all fats your consuming in total (not just direct sources) , getting down to 27g while eating that many carbs and protein would be very difficult . unless your eating egg whites and rice cakes for every meal

Do you only account for dietary fats from external sources such as cashews, almond nuts, flax seeds, canola oils, olive oil, avocado?

One question: Not counting fats from animal sources (beef, poultry, pork, etc.) would you not put one's diet on too much fat and calories?

[GearHeaded]

Do you only account for dietary fats from external sources such as cashews, almond nuts, flax seeds, canola oils, olive oil, avocado?

One question: Not counting fats from animal sources (beef, poultry, pork, etc.) would you not put one's diet on too much fat and calories?

well for contest prep clients, we are weighing food and counting every single macro from every source..

but for the general population I find it much more sustainable to only count direct sources of macros. especially for meal planning. now in the overall diet plan I am however accounting for indirect sources, but only in the background. I know if the client is having 6 meat meals per day at 7oz each he is getting likely 50g of fats just from that. but I don't want the client to have to worry about those small details. if I put his fats for the day at say 30g, thats going to be from direct sources only. thats all he has to worry about.

so if I say meal 2 needs to be ,, 50g protein, 50g carbs, 15g fats . thats simply 7oz of chicken , 1 cup of rice, and 1/2 an avocado. he does't have to worry about weighing out his avocado just to account for the fat in the chicken (I've already accounted for animal source in the back ground foundation when designing the actual diet itself) .

the easier you make it on the client to follow, the more he is able to sustain it and stick to the plan and thus the more long term results he will get.. thats why I only use direct source macro calculations in most my diet plans