Dieting properly is a very difficult thing to do because first of all, you need a good grasp on nutrition but you also need to find what system works best for you. I’m sure at some point or another you’ve heard somebody complaining that they can’t eat McDonald’s because they’re on a “cut” and in the same breath they claim they miss their “bulk”. Does that mean you have to go through phases of bulking and cutting in order to grow muscle? Nope.
You have options in order to reach your dieting goals and changing your diet every 7-8 months isn’t necessary to build the muscle you want unless you’re looking to compete in bodybuilding, then, god bless your soul. The cut and bulk game is obviously one of your best options but again not for everybody, “maingaining” is another great option. Maingaining is where you eat slightly more calories than what you would need to maintain your current body weight on a daily basis. Find out how many calories you should be eating a day here. Intermittent fasting is an interesting approach but definitely popular, the only thing about this option is it takes a lot of willpower.
Maingaining
Maingaining gets its name from the idea that with this strategy, you eat just slightly more than the amount you would need to eat in order to maintain your body weight. By doing this you maintain the muscle that you already have while slowly packing on more and with the right diet, it’s possible to shed body fat while utilizing this method.
To find how many calories you should be eating daily you’ll need a “Basil Metabolic Rate Calculator” (call it BMR for short). It’ll just take your height, weight, and age and combine it with your level of exercise weekly to give you a close estimate of how much you need to eat, click here for a link to a BMR calculator.
This is a nice method to use because it doesn’t require you to go through “phases” of what your diet looks like, it pretty much remains the same except for the fact that as you gain muscle you’ll need to eat more.
| Pros: | Cons: |
| Consistent diet | Slower progress |
| Always look great | No inflated lifts from bulk |
| Solid energy levels |
Bulk and Cut
Bulking and cutting is a 2 phase system where you jump back and forth between the 2 phases to gain muscle. The bulking stage is where you eat at a caloric surplus meaning you’re eating more calories than your body needs to maintain weight resulting in adding weight including muscle and fat. If done properly you will gain minimal fat and you’ll be able to shed it fairly quickly (2-4 months). Some people do a “dirty bulk” where they basically eat whatever they want and they usually gain more fat than muscle and it becomes a big regret.
The cut is where you shed the fat that you gained during your bulk to obtain the toned physique you’re looking for. You will be eating at a caloric deficit which means you’re not eating enough calories to maintain your body weight, during this stage, it’s crucial that you focus on eating more protein than you did during your bulk so you maintain as much of the muscle you built as possible.
During the bulk, you ideally want to eat 1 gram of protein per pound of your body weight so if you weigh 150lbs you want to eat 150 grams of protein a day. During the cut, you would eat around 200-220 grams of protein at the same body weight.
| Pros: | Cons: |
| Eat more and care less about it | Inconsistent energy levels |
| Inflated lifts during bulk | Hunger during cut |
| Quicker progress | Fat during bulk |
For more on Macronutrients Click Here!
There are other diet plans such as intermittent fasting and many more focused on other goals but just like anything else related to the gym, it’s important that everything is aligned with your personal goals. These are going to be your top 2 options when it comes to building muscle in the most optimal way so you start to get the results of work as soon as possible. Experiment with both and see which one works better for you!
Intermittent Fasting
This approach has you either eating your food during a certain time window every day or alternating your diet every other day. The idea behind intermittent fasting is that you have more structure for your nutrition. It also curves your hunger that you would normally get when you eat regularly throughout the day which makes it difficult to maintain a calorie deficit. There are plenty more benefits found in intermittent fasting such as enhanced blood cell repair, a boost in human growth hormone (important for muscle growth as well as libido), and cardiovascular health.
Some folks opt for the alternating where you completely fast or eat very minimally (sub-1000 calories) one day and then eat around 20-25% above your maintenance calorie intake, find your recommended daily calorie intake here! There are many other options when it comes to intermittent fasting but the most popular one is the 16/8 method so this is the example we’ll use.
The 16/8 method has you fasting for 16 hours each day and consuming your calories in an 8-hour window. This is a realistic approach because when you take out the 7-8 hours of sleep you get daily you’re left with half a day of fasting and the other half eating which isn’t so bad. You can easily make the 8 hours you fast the same 8 hours that you work so you won’t even realize but you’ll be receiving all the same benefits.
| Pros: | Cons: |
| Daily diet structure | Not ideal for bulking |
| Ideal for a cut/Weight loss | Hard to start if you eat a lot |
| Appetite control | Lots of ways to customize the plan |
Conclusion
These are the 3 most popular ways that most people choose when they’re looking for dieting options on their health and fitness journey, you don’t have to pick one and follow it perfectly but it definitely provides structure. You can decide which one suits you best by checking out the pros and cons lists and start using it to keep seeing those gains coming. Remember, it never hurts to add some more structure to achieve your goals, especially considering how important nutrition is when it comes to building strength and muscle.
