How Many Calories You Should Eat To Build Muscle?

To add muscle mass you must eat more calories than you burn every day. Start by adding 500-1000 calories a day. However, adding muscle to your body is not simply a matter of adding calories. You want the calories to be a good nutritional balance and that requires a bit more math.

Foods fall into three basic categories. They are proteins, carbohydrates or fats and dietary ratios are indicated in that sequence. One of the most common ratios for muscle building is 40/30/30 which means your diet should consist of 40% protein, 30% carb, 30% fats.

Proteins and carbs contain 4 calories per gram while fats contain 9 calories per gram.

To determine how many calories of each food type you need to consume, take your total calories, multiply it by the appropriate percentage and divide that by the calories per gram.

For example, if you have determined you should eat 2,725 calories a day to gain 1 pound of muscle a week and you are following the 40/30/30 guide you calculate:

40% from protein = 1090 calories (2725 x.4) = 272 grams of lean protein (1090 / 4)

30% from carbs = 817 calories (2725 x.3) = 204 grams of carbohydrates (817/ 4)

30% from fats = 817 calories (2725 x.3) = 91 grams of fats (817 / 9)

The exact protein/carb/fat ratio that works best for you may vary from the 40/30/30 model depending on your fitness and activity level as well as your current weight and age. If you don't get the results you want, can start adjusting the numbers, but don't have your fats level drop below 20%, and remember the numbers must total 100%.



 Source: