The traditional semi-serious gym goer tends to operate in a similar way. They “bulk” over winter, and “cut” throughout the summer. In my opinion, the concept of bulking and cutting is actually quite dated. The days of putting on huge amounts of weight in an “off season” should be over.
You are correct to assume that muscular anabolism is impaired if nutrient uptake is below par, but this isn’t to mean that the more you eat, the more your muscles will grow.
As a natural athlete, our ability to grow new muscle tissue is capped. It is also controlled by a relatively linear chain of processes.
Amount of muscle tissue built depends on your body’s ability to synthesise proteins, which is affected by natural testosterone levels, as well as long term cortisol elevation, insulin sensitivity, muscular fibre consistency and many other factors. You cannot easily alter you bodies propensity to synthesise proteins; at least not naturally. As such, in your current status quo your body’s ability to build new muscle tissue is essentially capped by factors above and more.
So, what is realistic progress? As an ABSOLUTE beginner, assuming all else is absolutely optimal (training, diet, and lifestyle), the absolute most muscle you can gain naturally is about 1kg a month. This rate halves when we are talking about anyone who is more than an amateur lifter. As such, raw muscle tissue gain, during a traditional “bulking” period between September and May, is, at the very most for an intermediate/experienced trainer, probably no more than 3kg. If you are eating beyond the optimal threshold whereby this is achieved with minimal fat gain- it won’t increase. In an analogous description, I could train September-May, eating 3000 calories a day and gain 3kg muscle mass, and 1kg fat (random numbers for arguments sake). I could also consume 5000 calories a day, and gain 3kg of muscle and 2.5kg of fat. What is the wiser option?
In this post, I am imploring you to ditch the idea of “bulk and cut”. Lean gains are absolutely possible. Just preach self-discipline. Bulking is a crap excuse for being lazy. If you want the best results, work for them.
Patrick Chapman Fitness 
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