How to Calculate Calories to Maximize Muscle Gain
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How to Calculate Calories for Bulking

How to Calculate Calories for Bulking
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Updated on July 31, 2025
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With so much talk about how to lose weight, it’s easy to forget that there are people who want to gain weight by building lean muscle mass, or “bulking.” To do this, you need to consume more calories than you burn.

Along with a calorie surplus, resistance training is also important for bulking. Focusing on a healthy diet containing all three macronutrients will help you with recovery and building more muscle.

How Much Do You Need to Eat to Bulk?

The formula for gaining muscle mass is the opposite of what it takes to lose weight: You need to create a positive energy balance by consuming more calories than you burn.

 This is calculated using your resting metabolic rate, which is the number of calories you need to maintain your current weight at rest.

While protein is important for gaining muscle, eating a balance of all three macronutrients will support your overall health. That includes fat and carbohydrates along with protein.

Similar to losing weight, gaining muscle mass takes time. To avoid adding excess fat, you should aim for a modest calorie increase.

Bulking Calories Formula

To maximize muscle growth and minimize extra body fat, you should aim to consume about 300 to 500 calories above your daily calorie requirements.

You can estimate your daily calorie needs using a calorie calculator or counter, which takes into account your sex, weight, age, height, and activity level.

For example, an active 35-year-old woman who is 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighs 145 pounds needs about 2,356 calories a day to maintain the same body weight.

An active 35-year-old man who is 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighs 165 pounds needs about 2,976 calories per day.

Macronutrient Ratios

When consuming a calorie surplus during bulking, it’s important to focus on nutrition in order to gain lean muscle without adding body fat.

Protein

Increasing protein is often the first strategy that comes to mind when bulking. However, consuming more than your body is able to use for muscle building may result in extra body fat.

To maximize muscle gains during strength training, aim to get about 1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight.

For example, if you weigh 145 pounds, you should aim for about 105 grams of protein per day. Protein contains 4 calories per gram, so if your target energy intake is 2,856 calories per day, about 15 percent (420 calories) should come from protein.

Here are some common foods that are high in protein:

  • 3 ounces lean ground beef: 22 grams
  • 3 ounces cooked salmon: 23 grams
  • 3 ounces roasted chicken breast: 21 grams
  • 1 cup nonfat cottage cheese: 15 grams
  • 1 cup cooked black beans: 15 grams
  • 1 large poached egg: 6 grams

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are an important energy source, containing 4 calories per gram. Your body breaks them down into glucose, which your cells and organs need to function.

Leftover glucose from carbohydrates you eat is stored in your liver and muscles as glycogen. This stored glycogen powers your muscles during strength training.

While there is no optimal amount of carbohydrates you should eat to build muscle, the current Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends that adults get 46 to 65 percent of their daily calories from carbohydrates.

When choosing carbs, opt for those that are minimally processed, like whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and beans. Refined carbohydrates are lower in nutrients, and they can contribute to high blood sugar and unwanted weight gain.

Fats

Fats provide an energy-dense fuel source for bulking, with 9 calories per gram. Your body needs them to absorb essential vitamins, and they help you feel satiated in between meals.

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends that most adults get between 20 and 35 percent of their daily calories from fat.

When adding fats to your bulking diet, focus on healthy sources containing unsaturated fats. These include foods like olive oil, nuts, avocados, and fatty fish.

Aim to keep saturated fats to no more than 10 percent of your daily calories.

Considering Supplements

In addition to increasing calorie intake through food, some people like to use supplements to help build muscle mass. These can include protein powders and other performance-enhancing supplements like creatine, glutamine, and L-arginine.

Creatine may improve performance and power during strength training exercises and help increase muscle mass. A review of randomized clinical trials found that when used along with adequate training, creatine monohydrate is effective for increasing muscle strength, mass, and athletic performance in healthy young populations.

Citrulline malate supplementation may have a small effect on improving performance during strength training, but more research is needed to confirm its benefits.

While protein supplements, like whey powder, can help increase your protein intake, most people can get all the protein they need from the foods they eat.

It is important to note that many bodybuilding supplements have not been evaluated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and there is limited research on their effectiveness. Additionally, the side effects of some supplements may outweigh their potential benefits.

The Takeaway

  • Building lean muscle involves increasing your calorie intake along with doing resistance training. To avoid gaining excess fat, you should add no more than about 300 to 500 calories per day.
  • When bulking, it’s important to consume a balance of protein, carbohydrates, and fat. To maximize muscle growth, aim for about 1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight.
  • Use caution when incorporating supplements into your bulking routine. While some supplements, like creatine, may help increase performance, many are not evaluated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and may also have side effects.
EDITORIAL SOURCES
Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy. We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.
Resources
  1. Dieter B. How to Clean Bulk – Bulking Up the Healthy Way. National Academy of Sports Medicine.
  2. BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate). Cleveland Clinic. November 20, 2024.
  3. Espinosa-Salas S et al. Nutrition: Macronutrient Intake, Imbalances, and Interventions. StatPearls. August 8, 2023.
  4. Nunes EA et al. Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis of Protein Intake to Support Muscle Mass and Function in Healthy Adults. Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle. February 20, 2022.
  5. Food and Nutrition Information Center (FNIC). U.S. Department of Agriculture.
  6. Protein. USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference Legacy. 2018.
  7. Carbohydrates. MedlinePlus. March 25, 2024.
  8. Glycogen. Cleveland Clinic. July 13, 2022.
  9. Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020–2025. U.S. Department of Agriculture. December 2020.
  10. Fats. Cleveland Clinic. December 9, 2024.
  11. Kaminski J. The 8 Best Supplements for Your Muscle Growth You Should Try Right Now. National Academy of Sports Medicine.
  12. Shih-Hao Wu et al. Creatine Supplementation for Muscle Growth: A Scoping Review of Randomized Clinical Trials from 2012 to 2021. Nutrients. March 16, 2022.
  13. Gough LA et al. A Critical Review of Citrulline Malate Supplementation and Exercise Performance. European Journal of Applied Physiology. August 21, 2021.
  14. Bodybuilding and Performance Enhancement Supplements: What You Need to Know. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. January 2021.
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Kara Andrew, RDN, LDN

Medical Reviewer
Member of American College of Lifestyle Medicine

Kara Andrew, RDN, LDN, is the director of health promotion for Memorial Hospital in Carthage, Illinois. She is also licensed as an exercise physiologist and certified in lifestyle medicine by the American College of Lifestyle Medicine. Her experience includes corporate wellness, teaching for the American College of Sports Medicine, sports nutrition, weight management, integrative medicine, oncology support, and dialysis.

She earned her master's in exercise and nutrition science at Lipscomb University.

Andrew has served as a president and board member of the Nashville Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. She was recently elected a co-chair of the fitness and medicine group in the American College of Lifestyle Medicine.

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