Hey, this is my first bulking cycle, beceause i couldnt get below that 10 percent bf mark I figure Ill try and put on some muscle, I am eating about 4000 cals a day while using mag-10 and although, my workouts have been awesome, I feel fat and bloated all the time, is it because of all these damn carbs or what, for the last 3 months i have been keeping them low…I am always tired and lethargic, I have to force myself into the gym, but once I am there I can lift a lot is this normal?
oh ya forgot to say, im 6 foot 180 at 10 percent fat. sorry to have forgotten that part.
the reason you are probably feeling tired is not because of the carbs, but the type of carbs. if you are eating high GI carbs they are gonna cause you to feel tired. try getting your carbs from more complex sources.
the only high-gi carb is the pizza hut pizza that I treated myself the first day, but otherwise its been peanuts, healthy choice bread, but im not sure on this one…anyone know? but ill try and get some more complex carbs thanx P
Just cuz a carb is complex does not mean it is low GI, so heads up. White bread is horrid, potatos are pretty high, but most fruit is low GI. So the old simple vs complex thing is really not good to rely on. I suggest finding a source w/ a good list of foods and their GI rating. I bet the healthy choice bread is white, or claims to be wheat, but has ‘bleached enriched flour’ as the very first ingredient. So that stuff may be higher than you think. I dont know of any sources on the web w/ a good list of foods, cuz I use a book I got a while back. But, I do concur on the fact that high GI carbs will make you feel blah. The insulin response is pretty intense w/ the high GI carbs.
uhh, pizza is actually comprised mostly of fat not carbs.
Here is a decent GI list:
Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load
Delete spaces if necessary.
And by the way, what percentage of carbs do you have on your diet?
A good book on GI Index are “The Glucose Revolution” series
I always felt like that when bulking, just look at it as motivation for your cutting phase. I think the mag 10 also gives a bloated feeling cos of some water retention.
When i’m bulking, i try to get to the gym in the morning. I’ll have a P+F meal then when i get to the gym, i’m ready to go. i feel more alert in the morning, which i feel alowws me to lift more weight. Are you ingesting carbs before you train? A P+F meal is a good idea pre-workout, so there are no crashes. When i workout in the afternoon, i feel more run down than i do in the morning. that’s my advice…or you could try power drive.
It always depends on how many calories I consume on how I feel during bulking. I have found that past a certain point of calories I feel bloated all day long. Granted, I do gain more weight but if I reduce the calories slightly, I feel a lot better in and out of the gym. I might gain a few lbs. less during my cycle but its worth it. I only eat clean healthy stuff so my energy is good all day long.
You probably just need to adjust to the high amount of calories you are ingesting. Next time ease into a hight calorie diet (if you are at say 2000 take a week or two, and gradually work up to 4000 then start bulking). Also, what protein powder are you using, the cheap stuff will mess with you also.
And another thing, pizza is mostly carbs, almost 2:1 carbs to fat. If its a leaner meat topping or has lots of veggies, it is almost 3:1.