About 6 months ago I went away for a weekend and my weight jumped up from 169-172 to about 177-178. Dont know how or why but since then I am now up to 196 in the morning but an average of 194. A lot of the weight I noticed is going to my legs, (since I used to be a loser and not work legs…) I can tell by the fact that my jeans I bought 7months ago now are like skinny jeans.
The other thing I have noticed is that my arms have grown to 14 3/8 relaxed from around 13 point something, 16 flexed but also my abs which I have had my whole life are now starting to fade and become jiggly. Should I be concerned, I know a lot of guys both lose their abs and a lot of them keep them while bulking. Im trying to get up to 215 considering im 6’1 almost. A
t the moment I am not on a fixed diet Im really just eating spuds, chicken, chicken patties, steak, pasta, tortellini, and other random things. Realistically, how long would you guys think gaining from 194-215 would take for an ecto. Im eating typically around 3400-3700 cals daily.
3400-3700 and trying to bulk? Those numbers are your DEE recommendations i would assume. if you’re really trying to gain 20 pounds, you’re going to need to up the Calories substantially. If you want to avoid being jiggly, you’re going to have to bust your ass in the gym, 4-6 days a week, depending on intensity. Going to need to dial in a diet instead of “just eating whatever”. Unplanned/uncalculated dieting rarely delivers good results. I’d look into Carb cycling
Okay. I am busting my ass in the gym, but I am doing zero cardio and I dont really do abs, I leave squats and other exercises to work my abs. Ive tried planned diets…But when I get to day 3-4 of the same exact foods I start to get sick of it. I dont know how some of you guys do it! Lol. But Ive been trying to find a diet I think I could manage but its taking some time. I tried using swole.me (someone on tnation made this right?) but I got some answers like 17 pieces of bacon for breakfast which is ridiculous lol. Should I post up a meal plan and let you guys critique?
no no no no no, do not use that crap. Unfortunately, creating a diet tailored to your specific needs and metabolism will require some research. As for day-in and day-out foods… doesn’t have to be that way. However, interesting/different meals will mean more work for you. Fortunately, because you are “bulking”, your food choices are not as limited as say someone who is cutting. I’d highly suggest using the search bar at the top right search: “bulking” then click the “articles”. There are MANY pieces of solid information from knowledgeable people.
As for cardio… I’d not worry about it at first. keep intensity high in the gym, rest period short, and you should be alright. Granted, you ARE going to put on some fluff, pretty hard to avoid if you’re looking to put pounds on quickly.
DIAL IN your diet. Figure out your Macros, also pay attention to the Micronutrients (although with increased food intake, you should be ok)
a DECENT guideline, even though it is geared towards intermittent fasting… give it a looksy
Pre Workout:
45 to hour before workout
Chicken Breast (22 grams protein, 1 gram fat, 110 calories)
Spuds (8 grams protein, 10 grams fat, 720 calories)
TOTAL: 830 calories
Post Workout:
Plain gold standard whey shake (22 grams protein,120 calories)
Same as pre workout 20 mins later:
Chicken Breast (22 grams protein, 1 gram fat, 110 calories)
Spuds (8 grams protein, 10 grams fat, 720 calories)
TOTAL: 950 calories
Pre Dinner:
2 ground sirloin pattie burgers (60 grams protein, 46 grams fat, 660 calories in the meat alone. Another 200 in mayo and buns)
TOTAL: 850 calories
Dinner:
I will eat with family. Whatever they make or I make. It always consists of a meat, carb, and veggie source. Here I will get in atleast 600 calories.
TOTAL: 600 calories
This is around 4100 calories. 220 grams protein. 110 grams fat. Around 200 carbs
Depending on your body’s response, drop the fats to <70g and increase the carbs.
proteins could hover ~250g
I would swap spuds for sweet potatoes on occasion for a different taste
Add in some healthy fats like avocados, coconut oil, nuts, fish
rolled oats, brown rice, and whole grain breads (not the processed crap) are solid carbohydrate sources
Thanks. I do typically eat half an avocado a day and all meals i cook on the stove top will be cooked with olive oil. I havent tried coconut oil… And for me, spuds are really easy to put down, sweet potatoes on the otherhand…
I think my carb calculation is not correct. I am sure that it all adds up to 4100 cals. According to the backs of the food lol
ALSO this is without dinner calculations
Your calculations on that proposed meal plan are way off. For example, an egg white has 3-4 grams protein and zero fat, not 6g pro and 5g fat. You added close to 1,000 cals that aren’t really there.
Flash. My egg whites are whole eggs. Sorry I did write that wrong. But the nutrition information on the back of my egg carton says in each egg 6 grams protein, 5 g fat. I just read the label… And they’re the eggs from costco if that matters lol. And the calories should be accurate with the dinner and 600 calories. I looked at all nutritional info very clearly.
So Im currently eating my ass off… I have a new question but I dont think it needs a whole thread.
While bulking do you guys have days where you just wake up and have no appetite? Ill wake up maybe once every week or two and have no appetite all day. How do you get passed this?
Also. Im very stressed the last few days, and unlike most people when stressed, I have NO appetite. How can I get around stressful times? Other than not be stressed. I wish I was the person who when stressed binge ate, it would be much easier.
[quote]BallinBoss wrote:
So Im currently eating my ass off… I have a new question but I dont think it needs a whole thread.
While bulking do you guys have days where you just wake up and have no appetite? Ill wake up maybe once every week or two and have no appetite all day. How do you get passed this?
Also. Im very stressed the last few days, and unlike most people when stressed, I have NO appetite. How can I get around stressful times? Other than not be stressed. I wish I was the person who when stressed binge ate, it would be much easier.[/quote]
I get like that too. I’ve found the best thing for days/weeks like that, are just replace solid foods with some liquid calories. Instead of 200g of Carbs coming from rice, I’ll just drink 200g of Carbs worth of Gatorade. Drink some protein shakes instead of meats, take shots of VCO or EVOO when I need the calories higher but can’t seem to get down some whole eggs.
I wouldn’t suggest a diet consisting of all that, but I’d just try some less filling substitutions if you need a break from eating for a bit, but still need to hit your macros.
Im confused. You’ve been gaining weight, and you are noticing you are losing some definition (gaining some fat) which isn’t uncommon when trying to gain at the best rate possible. But why is everyone saying to increase your calories, and why did you? Seems if you are gaining some fat adding more calories isn’t going to speed up the muscle gaining process.
Just because someone thinks 3500 calories looks too little on paper doesn’t mean anything. I don’t take more then that to gain weight right now. It’s not like your 230+ lbs already, you may or may not need more then that. Point is, if your gaining on your 3500 or 4100 then keep it that way, don’t increase it just because people think it’s too little.
I have had days with no appetite. I just forced myself to eat. Or you can try eating a SMALL amount of food and wait a little bit, kind of like teasing your body. It seems to work sometimes, where after I start eating all the sudden my body wants to eat everything around.
Thanks for the info. But yeah I will keep monitoring my progress seeing if Im gaining too much fat or whatever. But on those days I will throw some protein shakes together more so than I normally do. Thanks