How many calories should I eat to build muscle?

Reviewed 2 November 2026 · How these numbers are calculated

To build muscle with as little fat as possible (a "lean bulk"), eat a small surplus: enough to gain about 0.25–0.5% of your body weight a week, usually 150–400 calories above your maintenance, with 1.6–2.2 g of protein per kg and regular strength training. For a 40-year-old man of 85 kg (187 lb) at 8,000 steps a day, that's about 2,670–2,910 calories a day against a maintenance of 2,440.

Lean bulk calories by body size

Calories a day for a lean bulk (age 40, 8,000 steps)
Person	Maint.	Lean+0.25%/wk	Faster+0.5%/wk
Woman, 60 kg 132 lb	1,730	1,900	2,060
Woman, 70 kg 154 lb	1,890	2,080	2,270
Man, 75 kg 165 lb	2,280	2,490	2,700
Man, 85 kg 187 lb	2,440	2,670	2,910
Man, 95 kg 209 lb	2,590	2,860	3,120

Maint. = maintenance. Women 165 cm (5′5″), men 178 cm (5′10″). Workouts add to maintenance: add yours in the box above or in the maintenance calculator.

Start from your maintenance, with your workouts included, in the maintenance calorie calculator.

How fast can you build muscle?

Slower than most people hope. Beginners who train well often gain around 0.5–1 kg (1–2 lb) of muscle a month in their first year; experienced lifters gain far less, and women typically about half as much as men. Eating much more than that doesn't build muscle faster, it just adds fat. That's why the surplus stays small: aim for 0.25% of your weight a week if you've trained for years, up to 0.5% if you're new.

Macros for building muscle

Daily macros at a +0.25%/week surplus (age 40, 8,000 steps)
Person	Calories	Protein	Carbs	Fat
Woman, 60 kg 132 lb	1,900	110 g	225 g	65 g
Woman, 70 kg 154 lb	2,080	125 g	240 g	70 g
Man, 75 kg 165 lb	2,490	135 g	330 g	70 g
Man, 85 kg 187 lb	2,670	145 g	360 g	75 g
Man, 95 kg 209 lb	2,860	145 g	395 g	80 g

Protein builds the muscle; carbs fuel the training that tells your body to build it. Extra calories in a bulk go mostly to carbs. Work out your own in the macro calculator; men, see how many calories a man should eat.

Why not a "dirty bulk"?

Eating everything in sight gains weight fast, but most of it is fat, which you'll later have to diet off. A modest surplus gets nearly the same muscle with much less fat. If you're carrying a fair amount of fat already, body recomposition (eating around maintenance) may suit you better.

How to tell if it's working

Scale: weekly averages rising by about 0.25–0.5% of your weight a week.
Strength: lifts going up over weeks.
Waist: rising only slowly; if it climbs fast, trim the surplus by 100–200 calories.

Daily weight jumps around with water and food: see why your weight fluctuates. And keep training: see calories burned lifting weights.