Does slowly increasing calories mean lean gains?

Question

Have there ever been any academic studies on how slowly increasing calories vs quickly increasing calories effects muscle gain and body fat for people who weight train / body build? By slowly increasing calories, I mean around 25 to 50 calories every 2 weeks.

Assuming that slowly increasing calories is an effective method of putting on lean mass, where should the extra calories be coming from (protein, or fats, or carbs) and how long will it take to put on 1 lbs of weight? Should cardio be limited if you're increasing calories this slowly?

Answer 1

Lets start from the last question.

Should Cardio be limited?

No, you could always eat more to regain the once you burnt. Improving your cardiovascular system is important.

How long will it take to put on 1 lbs of weight?

Depends, and why? There are a lot of factors that can cause the 1lbs increment (such as water weight). Of course, that being said, its advisable to gain 1lbs ~ 1.5lbs per week. Though do note that this is highly debatable since everyone is not built the same.

Where should the extra calories be coming from (protein, or fats, or carbs)?

Your protein intake should be 1g per lbs of bodyweight, where as your fat intake should be around 0.5 ~ 0.6g per lbs of bodyweight and the remaining can be used to fill up your carb intake. However, this is also highly debatable since there is no right or wrong answers.

With that said, do note that my answers for your last 2 questions are not your only answers. In other words, you need to find what works for you.

Answer 2

It all depends on your goal. That phenomenon is also called reverse dieting, increasing your maintenance calorie so that it would be easier to cut it later for dieting.

If you are following a meal plan, your macros are always the same. They all increase in size, not just one.