Last time I posted here, I got some great advice. I had been working out for several months at went from 18% body fat to 12%, but I was having a hard time breaking the 12% mark. I got great advice here about clarifying goals and adding more cardio to my workouts. I also was inspired to start really learning about proper nutrition. As a result, I have gone from weighing 180 lbs at 18% body fat to 159 lbs at 6.6% body fat! I am very proud that the hard work paid off and I have reached my goal!

But now that I have reached my goal of cutting my body fat, I now wish to start bulking up. My new goal is to weigh between 175 and 180 lbs at about 8% body fat. I know it's ambitious, but I think I can do it. The thing is, I want to learn how to gain muscle while minimizing fat gain. Here's what my workout and nutrition program looks like now:

Weight training:
I'm on a 5-day split routine. I lift weights 3 days, take one day off, lift for 2 more days, and then take the 7th day off. I've been good about mixing up the workouts so that my muscles don't get used to any one routine.

Cardio:
I do cardio 4 days a week for 30 minutes. I also make sure to switch this up a lot.

Nutrition:
I plan all my meals a day in advance based on what I have calculated as my maintenance calorie level. To get to where I am now, I have eaten six meals a day at a calorie level 20% bellow my maintenance level (TDEE). I have also made sure to eat at a 50-30-20 ratio (carbs/pro/fat) for each given day. I try to eat half my total carbs for the day between my first meal (breakfast) and my post-workout meal. I have made a spreadsheet that helps me keep track of this.

So my real question is . . . When gaining muscle should I always be eating at say a 15% caloric surplus? On days when I'm just doing cardio, should I cut calories to maintenance or even bellow or should I always remain at 15% over my TDEE? For example, I now weigh 159 at 6.6% body fat. I calculate my TDEE at 3153 calories, a 15% increase in that is 3626 calories. Should I always eat at a caloric surplus? Again, I really want to minimize fat gain as much as possible. How often should I have my body fat measured? Is once every two weeks sufficient since my entire meal plan is structured around it? Also, any good advice for meals loaded with calories. It's been really tough, not mention expensive, for me to eat as much as I have to without scarifying calorie quality. I eat a lot of tuna, salmon, chicken, and egg whites.

This has been a lot of work, but really has been paying off for me. I appreciate any help.

Thanks in advance!
Sean