Diet is different for people, for me personally I would eat ~2000-2500 and then increased to 4000 with pjs and loads of chicken, and with increased calories my strength has increased as well as my weight. Its not a problem for me since I can gain/loose weight easily. But when you go back to your 'normal' eating habits its harder to lift as much but you get better definition. Eating big is good as long as you workout and dont gain excessive weight. How do you know if youve gained excessive weight? Well if you go to the gym and people tell you, 'why havent you been going to the gym' instead of 'you got bigger.' Hope this helped.