Bulk, Cut, Recomp: Nutrition Setup For Different Goals
- francescosidoti491
- 22 gen 2022
- Tempo di lettura: 8 min
Aggiornamento: 5 ott 2024
Table of Content:
One of the first thing to do, before implementing any nutritional or training program, is choosing a goal.
Without a goal in mind, we have no direction.
You want to build muscle mass?
You want to lose fat?
You want to maintain your current bodyweight but improving your muscle/fat ratio, aka body composition?
Let's dig in into detail how to implement nutritional plans for different goals.
CALCULATING
BASAL METABOLIC RATE (BMR)
When setting up a nutritional goal—whether it’s losing fat, gaining lean mass, or achieving body recomposition—the first step is to understand how many calories your body burns each day.
Your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) indicates how many calories your body burns at rest to sustain basic physiological functions, such as breathing, circulation, and cell production.
To estimate BMR, we use the Harris-Benedict formula, which takes into account factors like gender, age, height, and weight.
(You can download a free version of the Calculator here below)
For example, my BMR is approximately 1,897 kcal, meaning that my body requires this amount of energy daily just to maintain vital functions when at complete rest.
CALCULATING
TOTAL DAILY ENERGY EXPENDITURE (TDEE)
However, we don’t spend our entire day at rest. Activities such as exercising, walking, and even household chores increase our energy requirements.
Therefore, the second step is calculating your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE), which accounts for your daily activity level.
TDEE is determined by multiplying your BMR by an activity factor that reflects your level of physical activity:
1.2 — Sedentary (little to no exercise)
1.35 — Lightly active (office work + 3-6 exercise sessions per week)
1.55 — Moderately active (active lifestyle + 3-6 exercise sessions per week)
1.75 — Highly active (intense physical activity + 3-6 exercise sessions per week)
Taking myself as an example again, I work a desk job and train around five times per week. Using an activity multiplier of 1.35, my TDEE calculation is as follows:
BMR (1897) × 1.35 = ~2561 kcal
This is the number of calories I need to consume daily to maintain my current body weight.
Now that we’ve established the calories required to maintain weight, the next step is to determine how much to increase or decrease this number based on your personal goals (e.g., fat loss, muscle gain) and how to distribute your macronutrients (carbohydrates, proteins, and fats) to support these objectives.
CALCULATING
KCAL
and
MACRONUTRIENTS NEED
FOR
MUSCLE MASS DEVELOPMENT
If our goal is to increase lean muscle mass, we need to follow a hypercaloric diet (commonly known as “bulking” in the fitness world). This means consuming more calories than our body requires to maintain its current weight (TDEE) in order to facilitate weight gain.
However, it’s important to understand that not all of this weight gain will come from muscle. For instance, if you gain 3 kg over three months, it’s unrealistic to assume that all 3 kg is lean muscle. Inevitably, some of the weight gained will also be fat. Therefore, the goal is to maximize muscle gain while minimizing fat accumulation by implementing an efficient training and nutrition strategy.
To achieve weight gain, we need to be in a calorie surplus.
But how much of a surplus should we aim for?
Generally, we should target a monthly body weight increase of 0.5% to 2%, depending on our training experience and fitness status:
Beginner: Aim for a 2% increase in body weight per month
Novice: Aim for a 1.5% increase in body weight per month
Intermediate: Aim for a 1% increase in body weight per month
Advanced: Aim for a 0.5% increase in body weight per month
For example, if you weigh 80 kg and are in the beginner stage, you would target an increase of:
80 kg + 2% (1.6 kg) = 81.6 kg by the end of the month.
If you are an intermediate lifter, your goal should be:
80 kg + 1% (0.8 kg) = 80.8 kg by the end of the month.
Suppose we calculate that a 15% increase in calories is needed to achieve the desired rate of weight gain. Using our previously calculated TDEE of 2561 kcal:
2561 kcal + 15% = 2944 kcal/day
This means adding 384 kcal to your TDEE to be in a caloric surplus, supporting gradual and sustainable weight gain.
When muscle growth is the primary goal, it’s essential not only to focus on total calorie intake but also on the correct macronutrient breakdown. Here’s a guideline for macronutrient targets during a bulking phase:
Protein: 1.6 – 2.0 grams of protein x Kg.
So, if an individual is weighing 80 Kg, requirement is around 128-144 grams of protein per day. If we opt for the lower end of that range, it will account for 128grams of protein * 4calories/gram = 512 Kcal coming from protein
Fat: between 20-30% of total Kcal intake.
So, based on our target of 2944 kcal, we can opt for a range between 65-81 grams of fats per day. If we opt for the lower end of that range, it will account for 65grams of fats * 9 calories/gram = 589 Kcal coming from fats
Carbs: the remaining Kcal left after subtracting Proteins and Fats.
So, by subtracting 512 Kcal from protein and 585 Kcal from fat, we have still (2944-512-589) 1843 Kcal coming from Carbs, which are 1847/4calories per gram = 462 grams of Carbs
As we opted for the lower end of fat intake and protein intake, carbs intake is pretty high, and it could be a valid option for people enjoying a low fat-high carb diet.
However, another alternative can be to increase the fat intake to 30% (therefore having around 2944*30%= 883 Kcal coming from Fat) so that the Carbs intake will drop to 387 grams per day or, alternatively, to bump up Protein intake to 1.8 grams per Kg.
As you can see, the alternatives are almost endless, as long as we stick to those ranges.
Remember, these are only initial estimates. Over time, it’s crucial to monitor your progress to ensure you are gaining weight at the desired rate. If you’re gaining too quickly or too slowly, adjust your calorie intake accordingly.
CALCULATING
KCAL
and
MACRONUTRIENTS NEED
FOR
FAT LOSS
If our goal is to lose fat, we need to create a caloric deficit, which means consuming fewer calories than our body requires to maintain its weight. This approach is often referred to as a "cut" in fitness terminology
Aiming to lose 0.5% to 1% of body weight per week is a healthy and effective target. For example:
If you weigh 80 kg, a 0.5% weight loss target would be:80 kg × 0.5% = 0.4 kg (400 g) per week
On the higher end, aiming for 1% weight loss per week would be:80 kg × 1% = 0.8 kg (800 g) per week
When aiming for fat loss, it’s important to remember that weight loss often includes a combination of fat and muscle mass. Our goal is to minimize muscle loss while maximizing fat reduction by maintaining adequate protein intake and following a well-designed training plan.
For example, if we lose 1 kg over the course of a few weeks, it doesn’t necessarily mean that we lost 1 kg of fat. Muscle loss is, unfortunately, inevitable when eating in a caloric deficit, which is why preserving lean mass should be a priority.
Suppose we calculate that a 15% decrease in calories is needed to achieve the desired rate of weight loss. Using our previously calculated TDEE of 2561 kcal:
2561 kcal - 15% = 2177 kcal/day
This means removing 384 kcal to your TDEE to be in a caloric deficit, supporting gradual and sustainable weight loss.
Once we have determined our daily calorie target, the next step is to set the macronutrient distribution to maintain lean muscle mass and optimize performance.
Protein: 2 – 2.5 grams of protein x Kg.
So, if an individual is weighing 80 Kg, requirement is around 160-200 grams of protein per day. If we opt for the lower end of thar range, it will account for 160grams of protein * 4calories/gram = 640 Kcal coming from protein.
Fat: between 20-30% of total Kcal intake.
So, based on our target of 2444 kcal we can choose a range between 54 and 81 grams of fats per day. If we opt for the lower end of that range, it will account for 54grams of fats * 9calories/gram = 486 Kcal coming from fat.
Carbs: the remaining Kcal left after subtracting Proteins and Fats.
So, by subtracting 640 Kcal from protein and 486 Kcal from fat, we have still (2444-640-486) 1318 Kcal coming from Carbs, which are 1318/4calories per gram = 329 grams of Carbs
CALCULATING
KCAL
and
MACRONUTRIENTS NEED
FOR
BODY RECOMPOSITION
For many individuals, the ultimate goal isn't to strictly gain or lose weight, but rather to improve the ratio of fat mass to lean mass.
This approach is called body recomposition and involves gaining muscle mass while losing fat, often resulting in little to no change in overall body weight.
Body recomposition aims to optimize body composition by increasing muscle mass or decreasing fat mass without significantly altering total body weight. This approach is ideal for the general population who aren’t focused on drastic weight changes but want to improve overall physique, health, and performance.
For example, if an individual weighs 80 kg, achieving body recomposition would involve adding muscle and/or losing fat, which might leave the scale weight unchanged but significantly change appearance and health markers.
Because our goal is to maintain body weight, we need to set up a nutrition plan based on our Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE). This value represents the amount of calories needed to maintain current weight, including energy for daily activities and exercise.
Using the TDEE calculated earlier, let’s assume our maintenance level is 2560 kcal/day.
Regarding macronutrients composition, For the general population, maintaining a strict macronutrient ratio every day may not be necessary. Therefore, a flexible approach can be more effective and sustainable:
Protein Target: Aim for 1.6 – 2 g/kg body weight daily
Fat Intake: Ensure a minimum of 20% of total calories to support basic physiological functions
Carbohydrates: The remaining calories can be distributed according to your preference and lifestyle needs
If our target is for example 2560 kcal/day and we’re using 1.6 g/kg for protein (128 g/day) and 20% for fat (56 g/day), then the breakdown in terms of Kcal would look like this:
Protein: 480 kcal - 128g - 19%
Fat: 512 kcal - 56g - 20%
Carbohydrates: 1568 kcal - 392g - 61%
But suppose you prefer a lower carb and higher fat approach on a particular day and you aim for 30% of your caloric intake for fats.
This adjustment would result in:
Protein: 480 kcal - 128g - 19%
Fat: 768 kcal - 85g - 30%
Carbohydrates: 1312 kcal - 328g - 51%
This flexible approach allows you to vary your macronutrient intake based on personal preference, while still adhering to your overall calorie goal.
THE RELATIONSHIP
BETWEEN
NUTRITION, TRAINING
AND
BODY COMPOSITION
In closing, it's essential to highlight the critical relationship between nutrition, training, and changes in body composition.
Think of your body as a car, where nutrition serves as the fuel and training acts as the engine. No matter how high-quality the fuel you put into your car, without a functioning engine, it won't go anywhere. Similarly, even the most meticulously planned hypercaloric, hypocaloric, or maintenance diet will yield limited results if not paired with effective resistance training.
Resistance training is the driving force that influences body composition. It not only helps to build and preserve lean muscle mass but also enhances metabolic health and overall well-being. Therefore, to achieve significant and sustainable results, it is crucial to integrate a well-structured training regimen alongside a balanced nutritional plan.
In essence, while nutrition lays the groundwork for your body’s needs, training fuels the transformative process. Together, they create a powerful synergy that can help you reach your fitness goals and improve your body composition effectively.
Thank you for reading.
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