Should You Eat More or Less When Building Muscle? The Definitive Nutrition Guide

October 13, 2025 •

5 min read

According to research, consuming more calories than you expend, a state known as a caloric surplus, is generally required for muscle growth. For those trying to figure out if they should eat more or less when building muscle, the answer depends largely on their starting point and goals.

Quick Summary

To build muscle, a caloric surplus is necessary to fuel growth, although beginners and those with excess fat can see gains at maintenance or a slight deficit. A lean bulk with a modest calorie increase is recommended for minimizing fat gain, while prioritizing protein intake is crucial for muscle repair and synthesis.

Key Points

Embrace a Caloric Surplus: To build muscle, you must consume more calories than you burn, as this provides the energy needed to fuel muscle protein synthesis.
Opt for a Lean Bulk: Choose a moderate, controlled caloric surplus (200-500 kcal) using high-quality, nutrient-dense foods to build muscle while minimizing fat gain.
Prioritize Protein Intake: Consume 1.6–2.2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight daily to provide the essential building blocks for muscle repair and growth.
Focus on Macros and Tracking: Balance your diet with adequate protein, carbs for energy, and healthy fats for hormone function, and track your intake for precision.
Monitor Progress and Be Patient: Consistency is key; track your weight and adjust your calorie intake slowly, as building muscle is a long-term process, not an overnight fix.
Strategic Timing is Secondary: While post-workout nutrition is beneficial, focusing on meeting your total daily macronutrient and calorie needs is more important for most individuals.

The Fundamental Rule: The Caloric Surplus

To build new muscle tissue, your body requires energy beyond what it needs for daily maintenance and exercise. This energy difference, or caloric surplus, provides the fuel necessary to synthesize new muscle protein and drive hypertrophy. Without this excess energy, your body lacks the resources to repair and build muscle fibers effectively, and efforts in the gym may yield limited results.

For most individuals, a moderate surplus is the most effective approach. A surplus that is too large can lead to excessive fat gain, while a surplus that is too small may not be enough to stimulate noticeable muscle growth. Experts often recommend a starting point of 200–500 additional calories per day above your maintenance level, adjusting based on progress. For example, if your daily maintenance calories are 2,500, a starting point for a muscle-building phase might be between 2,700 and 3,000 calories.

Lean Bulk vs. Dirty Bulk: A Comparison

When it comes to eating more to build muscle, there are two primary strategies: the 'lean bulk' and the 'dirty bulk'. The choice between these methods depends on your goals, preferences, and tolerance for potential fat gain. Most serious lifters favor the more controlled approach of a lean bulk to manage body composition more effectively.


Feature	Lean Bulk	Dirty Bulk
Caloric Surplus	Moderate (e.g., 200–300 kcal above maintenance)	Large (e.g., 500+ kcal above maintenance)
Food Quality	Focus on nutrient-dense, unprocessed whole foods.	Less concern for food quality; often includes high-calorie junk food.
Rate of Muscle Gain	Slower and more controlled.	Potentially faster initially, but much of the weight is fat.
Fat Gain	Minimal and easily managed.	Significant and uncontrolled.
Post-Bulk Phase	Shorter and less aggressive fat-loss phase needed.	A longer and more intense 'cutting' phase is required.
Health Impact	Supports overall health and insulin sensitivity.	Can increase risk factors like high cholesterol and hormonal fluctuations.

For those seeking to maximize muscle gain while keeping fat accumulation to a minimum, the lean bulk is the superior strategy. It prioritizes the quality of nutrients to fuel workouts and provides the body with the building blocks it needs without overshooting calorie targets.

The Critical Role of Macronutrients

Simply eating more calories is not enough; the quality and ratio of your macronutrients (protein, carbohydrates, and fats) are paramount for muscle synthesis.

Protein: Often called the building blocks of muscle, protein is crucial for repairing and rebuilding muscle tissue damaged during resistance training. Recommendations for muscle growth typically fall within the range of 1.6 to 2.2 grams per kilogram (or roughly 0.7 to 1.0 grams per pound) of body weight daily. High-quality protein sources include lean meats, fish, eggs, dairy, and various plant-based options. Consuming protein throughout the day, particularly around workouts, helps maintain a positive nitrogen balance.
Carbohydrates: As your body's primary fuel source, carbohydrates are essential for powering high-intensity workouts and replenishing muscle glycogen stores. Without adequate carbs, energy levels and training performance can suffer. Good sources include whole grains, sweet potatoes, fruits, and vegetables. Timing your carbohydrate intake around your workouts can optimize energy availability and recovery.
Healthy Fats: Healthy fats play a vital role in hormone production, including testosterone, which is essential for muscle growth. They also aid in vitamin absorption and provide a dense source of energy. Healthy fat sources include avocados, nuts, seeds, and fatty fish.

Tracking and Consistency: Keys to Success

Building muscle is a slow and consistent process that requires diligent tracking to ensure you are meeting your nutritional needs without overshooting your caloric target.

To optimize your approach:

Calculate Your Needs: Use a reliable online calculator (like the Mifflin-St. Jeor equation) to estimate your baseline maintenance calories based on your age, weight, and activity level.
Add a Moderate Surplus: Based on your goals, add a moderate, controlled caloric surplus (e.g., 200–300 calories) to your maintenance calories to establish your bulking target.
Monitor Your Progress: Weigh yourself consistently (at the same time each day) to track your weight gain. A healthy target is an increase of about 0.25–0.5% of your body weight per week.
Adjust as Needed: If your weight is not increasing, you may need to increase your calories slightly. If you are gaining too quickly or seeing a significant increase in body fat, reduce your calorie intake.

Tracking your food intake with a mobile app and a food scale can provide the accuracy needed to manage your macros and calories effectively, especially for a lean bulk. Many people are inaccurate when estimating their intake, making objective measurements a valuable tool.

The Exception: Body Recomposition

While a caloric surplus is the standard approach, a few exceptions exist. Body recomposition, or the simultaneous gain of muscle and loss of fat, can occur under specific circumstances.

Training Beginners: Novice lifters often experience rapid initial gains (known as 'newbie gains') and can build muscle even in a caloric deficit, provided their protein intake is adequate.
Excess Body Fat: Individuals with a higher percentage of body fat have more energy stored to fuel muscle repair and growth, making it possible to recomposition.
Returning to Training: Those returning to training after a layoff can often rebuild lost muscle mass quickly, sometimes even in a deficit.

For experienced, lean athletes, body recomposition is generally very difficult and not an efficient long-term strategy. For this population, alternating between bulking and cutting phases is typically the most effective method for long-term progress.

Conclusion

In short, the definitive answer to whether you should eat more or less when building muscle is that you should eat more—but strategically. For most people, a modest caloric surplus is essential to fuel muscle growth. The key to building lean muscle, rather than excess fat, lies in executing a lean bulk with a controlled surplus and a strong focus on nutrient-dense foods. By prioritizing sufficient protein intake, fueling your workouts with quality carbohydrates, and incorporating healthy fats, you provide your body with the necessary tools for growth. Tracking your progress, remaining consistent, and having patience are the final pieces of the puzzle for achieving your physique goals effectively and sustainably.

For more in-depth nutritional recommendations and calculations, the resource found at Examine.com's Optimal Protein Intake Guide offers valuable, evidence-based insights into protein needs for different goals.

Frequently Asked Questions

For a lean bulk that minimizes fat gain, a modest caloric surplus of 200 to 500 calories above your daily maintenance level is recommended. This allows for steady muscle growth without excessive fat accumulation.

Yes. Training beginners, individuals with higher body fat, or those returning to training after a long break may be able to gain muscle while in a maintenance phase or even a slight caloric deficit. This is known as body recomposition.

Protein is the most important macronutrient for muscle building, as it provides the amino acids needed for muscle repair and synthesis. Aim for a daily intake of 1.6 to 2.2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight.

A lean bulk involves a moderate caloric surplus with high-quality foods to build muscle with minimal fat gain, whereas a dirty bulk uses a larger surplus and often includes processed foods, leading to more fat gain.

The importance of the post-workout 'anabolic window' for protein and carbs is less critical than once believed for most people. Focusing on your total daily calorie and macro intake is more important, though consuming nutrients within a couple of hours of training is still beneficial.

Carbohydrates are your body's preferred energy source. They are essential for fueling intense workouts and replenishing muscle glycogen stores, which directly impacts your training performance and recovery.

To minimize fat gain, stick to a moderate caloric surplus, track your intake accurately, prioritize lean protein and whole foods, and perform consistent resistance training. Avoid excessive junk food and be patient with your progress.