Body fat percentage during HYP

eric_maryland · 09-21-2009, 09:29 AM

I'm about to start HYP I (I'm following the Eternal Beginner routine) and have seen great improvements to now---down 16 lbs, and down about 5% body fat (to around 17% or so). My only problem is spending money on new pants.

I'm currently eating on a small deficit (target loss about 1lb / week) and track it daily as accurately as I can. I also maintain a 40/40/30 carb/protein/fat ratio every day and have been since about half way through FL I. When I start HYP I I'm planning on shifting to a slight caloric surplus (maybe an extra 250-500 per day). I've got a couple of questions:

1. How many extra calories per day is a good target? Obviously I know I'll have to tune this, but I figured I'd ask someone who has done it to see if they had a ballpark figure that worked for them. Should I alter my carb/protein/fat ratio slightly away from fat and split it between the other two?

2. In order for me to track my progress I need to understand when I'm not eating enough, or am eating too much. Along those lines, what should I expect my body fat percentage to do during hypertrophy? In an ideal world all the calories would go toward muscle, but of course that's not what happens. I know I'm going to gain fat as well, but the goal would be to gain more muscle than fat as a ratio, i.e. my body fat percentage continues to go down as I gain weight. I'm curious what others experienced.

Thanks!

NACHO · 09-21-2009, 12:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eric_maryland

I'm about to start HYP I (I'm following the Eternal Beginner routine) and have seen great improvements to now---down 16 lbs, and down about 5% body fat (to around 17% or so). My only problem is spending money on new pants.

I'm currently eating on a small deficit (target loss about 1lb / week) and track it daily as accurately as I can. I also maintain a 40/40/30 carb/protein/fat ratio every day and have been since about half way through FL I. When I start HYP I I'm planning on shifting to a slight caloric surplus (maybe an extra 250-500 per day). I've got a couple of questions:

1. How many extra calories per day is a good target? Obviously I know I'll have to tune this, but I figured I'd ask someone who has done it to see if they had a ballpark figure that worked for them. Should I alter my carb/protein/fat ratio slightly away from fat and split it between the other two?

2. In order for me to track my progress I need to understand when I'm not eating enough, or am eating too much. Along those lines, what should I expect my body fat percentage to do during hypertrophy? In an ideal world all the calories would go toward muscle, but of course that's not what happens. I know I'm going to gain fat as well, but the goal would be to gain more muscle than fat as a ratio, i.e. my body fat percentage continues to go down as I gain weight. I'm curious what others experienced.

Thanks!

300-500 caloric surplus daily should be adequate. How much fat compared to muscle is impossible to say because a lot depends on your genetics and how your body partitions calories. (How much to storage how much to muscle)

Since you're a noob your body should naturally partition well but the only thing you can do is track the intake, aproximate the burn, and keep notes along the way to see what happens.

LiFeIsGoOd · 09-21-2009, 06:42 PM

I wouldn't go 500 over, but that's just me. I think if you're gaining 1lb/week (which is likely on 500 over), you're likely gaining more than half in fat. It will depend on a lot, I realize, but for most people, that would be true.

eric_maryland · 09-21-2009, 07:42 PM

So is something like 200 over a better ball park to start out at? Thanks for the replies.

LiFeIsGoOd · 09-21-2009, 09:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eric_maryland

So is something like 200 over a better ball park to start out at? Thanks for the replies.

There are ups and downs to either method. I would say 300 is a good ballpark. At 500, like I said, a lot of that will probably be fat, and I wouldn't want that. However, your gains will be faster and if you have no problem adding some fat and then cutting, go for it. The downside to lowering calories is that gains will be slower and harder to detect, and some people just can't handle that. I would start at 300 and adjust as you see fit.