Beginner Template Nutrition Recommendations

Hey BBM,

I have been working through the beginner template (and really learning a lot btw), and I have some questions about specific nutrition recommendations. I am 20 year old male, 5’ 11" around 170 lbs with a 32.5 inch waist, maybe 18% body fat. I am in week 4.2, still making gains in phase 1. I previously did SSLP, but I stopped training for 3 months this summer. Now, having started back on the BT, I am closing in on my numbers from LP. I am probably within 30 lbs e1RM for squat and DL and within 15 lbs e1RM for the bench and press. I have gone on creatine since starting the template and have gained about 10 lbs in total since I started the template 5 weeks ago.

So, now to the question haha. I have been eating 3 hefty meals a day plus a half gallon of milk and 20 grams of whey isolate. I haven’t been calorie counting, but I would guess I’ve been eating around 3400 calories a day or so. Should I be eating a lot more for the next month or so, per the recommendations to the novice doing LP who fits my description in “to be a beast”, or should I be shooting more for the muscle gain guidelines for a male in the chart there? Also, I only got to about 170 lbs BW when I did LP last time and was eating pretty conservatively, possibly stalled early. I guess I’m wondering if the same guidelines apply since I am not adding weight to bar as quickly (5lbs a session) as I was in LP.

Thanks a bunch!

Isaac,

Thanks for the question and glad to hear you’re doing well on The Beginner Template.

I think you can safely gain weight, ~1-3lbs per month, and should manage your nutrition appropriately to achieve that. I would not gain weight if/when your waist becomes > 35".

-Jordan

Thanks Jordan!