posted Tue, 11/19/2013 - 00:47
2755
Gross or Net Calories
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When aiming for my daily caloric intake should I be going by gross or net calories? In other words if I consume 4000 calories for the day and burn 1000 calories through exercise my net caloric intake will be 3000 calories. Should I be consuming the extra 1000 to make up for what I burned off during exercise? I've been aiming for net calories but I'm finding it hard to consume 5000 calories per day. I just feel too full.
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if your maintenance cal is (for example) 3000 cal per day, for bulking you would prob aim for 3500-4000 per day NET. soooo, if you consume 3500 in a day then burn 1000 during workout, you have only left yourself with 2500 net cal. you are now in a caloric deficit and won't gain weight. bulking should not include intense cardio/calorie burning exercise. if your bulking intake goal is 3500 cal/day, that needs to take into consideration the calories you burn during workout. so if you burn 1000 cal during workout, that means you actually want to eat 4500 cal on workout days. also, as a side note, if you find it difficult to consume that many calories, use olive oil in your shakes, lots of nuts, healthy fats. there are more calories per gram of fat than there are per gram of protein or carbs. i almost put oilive oil and vinegar in every meal/shake. high protein, high clean fats, moderate carbs = plenty of clean calories. don't let the word fat scare you, there is good and bad fats, you need to recognize the difference between the 2 and the effects they will have on your body
always go for gross calories, there is no such things as net calories.... whatever you consume is what it is.. if you eat 5K calories and you are not gaining weight add 500 calories.. after a week see if there is improvement keep upping the calories until you are gaining.. of course, if you work a demanding job and its 100 degrees out, drink Gatorade and a protein shake it should be enough to recover what you burned extra that specific day.. i hope this clarifies things for you
Your question doesn't really make sense.
Your daily caloric balance depends on your TDEE, and that includes your BMR + any additional calories burned during exercise.
For instance, my BMR is roughly 2500 calories per day. If I do nothing else but sit on my ass, I would only need to eat 3500 to have a 1000 calorie surplus.
On days I work out, I'll burn up to 3000, so I need to eat 4000 calories for a 1000 surplus.
Do you have a good grasp on your BMR?
3000 cal workout?? dude thats intense!!!! but what you are saying doesn't really make sense.....if you eat 4000 cal, then burn 3000, you do not have a 1000 cal surplus. not sure if you just worded that wrong or what, i get what your trying to say, but that is very misleading. the way you explained it means you would only have 1000 net cal after workout, which would leave you in a huge deficit. if you are aiming for 3500 cal to be in a surplus, and you burn 3000 cal during workout, that means your TOTAL caloric intake on workout days would have to be 6500 cal so that after you burn the 3000 calories you are still left with 3500 for your body to process. to me, if your trying to bulk, there is no need for a 3000 cal burning workout. you are just working a lot harder and eating alot more than you need to.
I do know my BMR. How does it not make sense?
Either bulking or cutting, only net caloric deficit / surplus matters. That is why I was confused.
So if you are bulking, you'll want to maintain a net caloric surplus.
The amount of the surplus is specific to you and your goals, but the ideal is that you run a consistent surplus, so your body is always in a positive calorie / nitrogen balance. Hence the frequent meals and balancing out your net caloric surplus, regardless of activity.
Thanks potty. I'm trying to bulk right now and is the reason I'm trying to pack in the calories. I assumed that net calories is what mattered but got into a conversation with a dude at the gym and he swore that I needed to go by gross calories. I just wanted to confirm that I was on the right track. My biggest struggle is getting enough calories. I'm doing okay but I feel like I'm forcing myself to eat even though I don't feel hungry. I end up feeling like a stuffed pig. Now if I didn't eat clean I could pack in a bunch of empty calories or fat calories but I'm trying not to do that very often (once every couple of weeks).
Take it slow, up you kcals 1-200 a week. Your body will adjust eventually.
You remind me of something I hear repeated over and over here:
This is a marathon, not a race.
I'm assuming your trying to bulk right? What routine has got you burning 1000 kcals? What are you trying to eat 4000 or 5000? at your height and weight i would think 5000 if your trying to bulk but your bf is listed at 17% so I'm not sure of your goal here
I'm burning about 600 calories during my workout and about another 600 during my cardio. I'm trying to bulk before a cutting phase. I'm trying to hit about 5000 calories. Thanks.
That's some intense cardio for a bulk. So that's 600 calories more you have to eat. If you dropped the cardio you may be able to gain on 4400 calories. Are you gaining weight at all? You could be spinning your wheels here.
I'm in week eight of my cycle and have gained about 18lbs. I'm sure some percentage of this is water. My estro is in the normal range according to labs two weeks ago. On a 12 week Test-C only cycle with Aromasin as AI. On weekends (non workout days) my cardio is about 1500 calories (mountain biking).
Anyone?