fine fine. Then help me bulk. How much calories should I be eating?
Slowly begin eating more each day. Start out by increasing it by 200-250 calories per day (that’s an additional 1400-1750 per week)! If you gain too much fat, cut it back. If you aren’t gaining over time, increase it.
READ John Berardi’S ARTICLES!!!
He tells you how to eat for your body comp goals and for health reasons. You have to think long term…not just gaining or losing 10-20 pounds.
Buy SCRAWNY TO BRAWNY and follow the program and nutrition advice. It will be perfect for you. The book is cheap on Amazon.com and well worth it!
[quote]yogurt wrote:
fine fine. Then help me bulk. How much calories should I be eating?[/quote]
Oh. My. God.
Did I read that right? Did it finally happen? Someone came to T-Nation looking how to cut, was told to bulk, and appears to have listened? Good lord, I think I feel the ground getting colder. And is that pigs I see flocking to the top of that tall tree over there? Thank you yogurt, there’s nothing more refreshing than to see someone ask for advice, get told they’re looking for the wrong advice, and then ask for the right advice without arguing.
Anyway, to answer your question, I agree with Nate. Start by adding 200 or so calories per day and go with that for a couple of weeks, if it’s too much cut back, if you’re not gaining any fat try adding a few more. Just watch your P/F/C ratios and eat relatively clean and you shouldn’t have too much of a problem. Even if you’re prone to gaining/carrying fat, once you start eating more and gaining more muscle you’ll probably find your energy levels go up and your metabolism does too.
One of the best things you can do right now is go read this article/thread
http://www.T-Nation.com/readTopic.do?id=640350
it’s Vroom’s beginners thread. You may not be a beginner but there’s still a ton of good information in there and there’s a bunch of links to a lot of other great articles. Good luck on the bulk, keep us updated.
Peace,
Jay
Good deal. I just ordered Scrawny to Brawny from Amazon.com.
From calculations, my RMR is 2062cals. But my activity level as a student in college is 1.6. So now my maintainence is 3299cals. I burn 504cls by working out for 60min. So now my maintainence is around 3800cals. And my TEF comes out to 309cals. So now it is 4110cals. And if I want to bulk, adding 500cals would be 4610!!! damn I thought I was bulking at 3300cals. jesus. I can’t eat that much. But I will take your advice and add 200cals to me diet every week. I don’t want to shock my body like that.
I will try my new diet at 2500cals for a few days and see how that goes. thanks. I will give a detailed update in one month.
Try adding lots of turkey. Extremely high caloric value, plus, good for you too!
holy shit, i cant believe it!
Good Job man, I knew you had it in you!
[quote]yogurt wrote:
Good deal. I just ordered Scrawny to Brawny from Amazon.com.
From calculations, my RMR is 2062cals. But my activity level as a student in college is 1.6. So now my maintainence is 3299cals. I burn 504cls by working out for 60min. So now my maintainence is around 3800cals. And my TEF comes out to 309cals. So now it is 4110cals. And if I want to bulk, adding 500cals would be 4610!!! damn I thought I was bulking at 3300cals. jesus. I can’t eat that much. But I will take your advice and add 200cals to me diet every week. I don’t want to shock my body like that.
I will try my new diet at 2500cals for a few days and see how that goes. thanks. I will give a detailed update in one month.[/quote]
You are taking the criticism much better than most and seem to have good attitude towards training, keep it up. Your story sounds almost identical to mine from four years ago, except I am taller and was lighter at the start. I swear, start bulking now and you will not regret it. The above advice is solid. Do not worry, 4500 calories seems like a ton until you get used to it. You will not believe the energy you will have after you up the calories. Keep the crap out of your diet and body comp will not be an issue. Remember, if your not growing your not eating enough.
[quote]yogurt wrote:
Every time I see a skinny kid, I want to be him. The grass is greener on the other side. I know from the pics I look lean and scrawny, and I knew I would get these replies. But in real life I am soft and disgusted of the fat I carry. I would love the feeling of leanness. And a matter of fact I do believe being 8% will get me laid because I would have the confidence.
[/quote]
I’m glad you’ve decided to take the plunge in to bulking. I’ll be a junior in college this year so I’ve dealt with the dining hall before. My only advice to you is to get some type of meal plan that lets you eat an unlimited amount of times… and pray they actually have healthy shit to eat. My hall has an affinity for cooking everything in vegetable oil, so beware. And bro, if you are a virgin, body comp probably won’t get you laid. There will be mad bitches are your school. You just have to grow a pair and start macking that shit. Just remember, there’s nothing wrong with letting girls know that you’re money and that you want to party. Best of luck.
Thanks. I will post a pic in 30days which is about the time I leave for college. I have no problem with women, don’t get that impression. They call me the g-master for a reason :). But anyways I will increase my cals to 4500 or so, but what the hell kind of foods should I eat for that? How many carbs? Maybe you could give me a rough diet and I can work on it. Thanks, I appreciate all the help and support. Wonder if I should make a bulking thread.
[quote]yogurt wrote:
Thanks. I will post a pic in 30days which is about the time I leave for college. I have no problem with women, don’t get that impression. They call me the g-master for a reason :). But anyways I will increase my cals to 4500 or so, but what the hell kind of foods should I eat for that? How many carbs? Maybe you could give me a rough diet and I can work on it. Thanks, I appreciate all the help and support. Wonder if I should make a bulking thread.[/quote]
Don’t go from 2000-2500 calories per day to 4500 right away. That’s a sure-fire way to get fat fast and feel like shit.
As recommended earlier, add 200-250 calories per day and give your body time to adjust each week. Every week or two weeks, increase it another 50-100 calories per day. This will add up over time without putting on too much fat or giving you digestion problems and such.
If you’re eating 5-8 meals per day (every 2-3 hours), then you should be able to do it. Read JB’s articles on meal planning and the types of meals he uses. Many times it’s 8oz of chicken or beef with vegetables and other goodies. This is the kind of stuff that will keep you healthy, and help you to your goals.
As for ratios, it’s going to depend. I’d get at LEAST 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight each day. Get your carbs from any and all veggies, fruit, brown rice, whole-wheat bread and pasta, etc. Eat some hamburgers and even pizza every now and then. Most of the food recommendations/ratios you need will be covered in Scrawny to Brawny or by looking through JB’s articles on this site.
As long as you’re busting your ass during your workouts and giving it all you have, you’ll make nice gains in size and strength. Definitely use those workouts in Scrawny to Brawny. The workouts may look easy on paper because you don’t do that many exercises each workout, but if you are putting everything into them, you’ll be glad there are only a few exercises!
Good luck.