Nutrition9 min read
How Big Should Your Calorie Deficit Be If You Lift?
For a lifter the right calorie deficit is 300 to 500 calories a day, losing 0.5 to 1 percent of bodyweight a week. How to pick your number and keep your muscle.
Ultra+ training and nutrition blog
Guides on training, programming, recovery and nutrition for people who lift. Sebastian, the founder, writes every one and reads every study before it is cited.
Nutrition9 min read
How to Find Your Real Maintenance Calories in 3 Weeks
A calculator gives you a maintenance estimate. How to turn it into a real number in three weeks, using weekly bodyweight averages and an honest food log.
Nutrition10 min read
How to Lean Bulk, Cut, and Switch Between the Two Phases
Bulk at a 10 to 20 percent surplus, cut at 0.5 to 1 percent of bodyweight a week, and switch phases on numbers: waist, weekly average weight, and your lifts.
Nutrition9 min read
Lean Bulk Calories: How Big a Surplus You Actually Need
A lean bulk needs about 10 to 20 percent over maintenance, gaining 0.25 to 0.5 percent of bodyweight a week. How to set the number and check it is working.
Nutrition8 min read
TDEE vs BMR: What the Difference Is and Which to Use
BMR is what you burn at complete rest. TDEE adds steps, training and digestion, and is the number you set calories from. Formulas, multipliers and an example.
Nutrition8 min read
When to Recalculate Your Calories (and When to Wait)
Recalculate calories after a 3 to 5 percent change in bodyweight, a real change in steps or training, or three flat weeks with a clean log. Otherwise, wait.
Nutrition10 min read
Why Your Calorie Deficit Stopped Working (and the Fix)
A deficit that worked for six weeks then stalled is usually water, a lighter body, fewer steps or food creep. Check them in this order before you eat less.
Nutrition9 min read
Why Your Maintenance Calories Change Month to Month
Maintenance calories move with your steps, your training volume, your sleep and your bodyweight. How much each one shifts the number, and when to update it.