Nutrition Information to Get Big?

Bigger Stronger Leaner Over 35 Lifter
1

Yes, I am a newbie … 50 yo and lifting for the first time in my life (well first time seriously)

I understand the sequence is lift big, eat big, sleep big to get big.

Yes, I have tried to read as much here on T-Nation and other places on nutrition.

So, here is my question …
If you are starting at about 30% BF do you use the BMR plus activity level (ala Thibaudeau) and then add 10% for calories? Or, because BF is so high already do something different? (Goal is to get big, not necessarily look good nekkid)

Any help would be appreciated.

2

Dude, look into Dr. John Berardi’s Precision Nutrition. There is actually a website of his called that dot com. I would say it was money WELL spent a few years ago, as I still adhere to (almost) all of the principles he puts forward (90% of the time, guys!). Check it out. But yeah, def make sure you are not going to kill yourself by going on a crazy ass diet, that you know won’t work. Berardi, baby.

3

Thanks for the tip.

It just seems if BMR uses body weight that the body fat is somehow being double counted …

4

I find the BMR calculation has problems, because it assumes you have a certain metabolism. If you’re not already eating 6-7 times a day, your BMR’s going to be lower than a calculator claims. Personally, I gave up on calculators and bought a GoWearFit (aka BodyBugg) along with a wireless monitor, that’ll tell me instantly how many calories I’ve burned that day. Then, I can either eat to that number, 500 below it, or 500 above it.

I can also adjust my food intake as the day goes on (like I’m doing right now, getting ready to down another 24oz of whole milks and 3 servings of nuts), to make very sure i’m on target. And I can see when my burn rate is higher or lower than normal, and eat accordingly.

I’m one of those people that, left to their own devices and gut feeling, will only eat about 1200 kcals, even when I’m putting in a lot of work.

The thing keeps me honest and serves as a constant reminder to eat (and since I have to log what I eat to know how much I’ve eaten, it lets me keep track of the macro breakdown, too).

Now, I just have to focus on: Protein+fat on off days and when far away from a training session, and protein+carbs in the hours surrounding training.