Permabulking Memoirs

Training
81

[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:

[quote]wannabebig250 wrote:
i myself am coming off the permabulk train, only 2 weeks into it, and strength and size dropping.[/quote]

Are you losing ‘size’ that was fat? And are you still eating enough to meet your actual nutrient needs?

S[/quote]

losing fat yes, but also water weight from lowering my carbs a good amount. getting rid of the shitty carbs (breads, pasta, pizza) im losing alot of water weight. definitely eating enough protein and fat to meet my nutrient needs and throwing in fruits and veggies for those micronutrients. i like to have some rice and sweet potatoes when i feel really depleted though.

i just assume its that awkward part of the dieting phase where you dont fill out your XL shirts anymore or look “jacked” in a hoodie, but dont look lean enough to see a difference without your shirt. this is the part where i usually turn around and go back to permabulking :slight_smile: but not this time!

82

[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
Of course, I’ve no doubt that your medical situation factored in quite a bit, at least in terms of the physical change. In hindsight, how badly were you overeating vs how much of a factor do you believe your endocrine situation was?

How’d you get yourself back on track?
S[/quote]

I don’t know how many kcals my permabulking diet was but I estimate it to be at least 1000 over what I truly needed at the time. I now know that I gain comfortably with limited fat at about 2300-2500 kcals. I believe my endocrine system to be the cause of my rapid weight gain and the doctors agree. Pituitary tumor, hypothyroid and a testosterone level of 113 was really working against me.

I got back on track by being admitted to the hospital. The stay in the hospital taught me to eat smarter and to not get caught up in delusions. When I found out about my medical conditions I was convinced I had zero muscle mass and was going to call it quits for good with the iron. Even though I was carrying lots of fat, the medical staff all agreed I was at least a somewhat muscular guy with strong looking arms. With them telling me that, I was ready to pick up the weights again, but do it smarter and slower.

83

[quote]wannabebig250 wrote:

[quote]pwolves17 wrote:

[quote]wannabebig250 wrote:
it would be interesting if you guys put a permabulking vs your current diet for comparison. i.e. same foods, different portions, or entirely different foods…IIFYM vs clean bro foods.

i myself am coming off the permabulk train, only 2 weeks into it, and strength and size dropping.[/quote]

Are you hitting certain macros, or just eating “less” and “cleaner?” I would try to calculate what your average numbers would have roughly been the way you were previously eating, and make smart adjustments from there. Because if you were eating, let’s say, 4500 cals per day and now you decided to eat less or cut out certain foods, you might’ve dropped your daily intake to 3000 cals or even lower. I would guess you made too big of an initial drop if you’re already noticing strength loss after only a few weeks[/quote]

when i tracked a normal day of eating it ended up around 2800-3500 cals if i ate at home. if i ate out for one meal it couldve gotten up to maybe 4500 cals.

my diet now im getting enough calories, but getting them from cleaner foods. all my carbs are from fruits and veggies with maybe some rice or sweet potatoes thrown in, instead of breads, pastas, pizza and subs.

its just going to be an adjustment in the strength department. plus the strength loss in squats is from not having a belly full of food to bounce off of in the hole :)[/quote]

You don’t lose strength in 2 weeks of a calorie deficit. Any strength you have lost is entirely mental.

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[quote]BrickHead wrote:
When I look back on my obese permabulking days, I look back with both regret and nostalgia. Permabulking gave me some problems, but I also liked some aspects of it.

Perhaps we can share our permabulking stories. Here is a serious of questions.

  1. What did your permabulking diet look like?
  2. What was one of your permabulking regular meals?
  3. What did you like about permabulking?
  4. What didn’t you like?
  5. Why did you permabulk?[/quote]

My permabulking diet really didn’t consists of a lot of bad foods per say. I just ate an enormous amount. And I usually ate whatever I wanted on weekends. Otherwise I was eating just a bunch of all kinds of meats, veggies, and carbs. I have never been a huge sweets fan, but I do enjoy some icecream lol.

A regular permabulking meal I ate a lot usually 1-2 times a week was the largest fried chicken platter at Abners X 2.

I loved how strong I got and the size I put on. My strength made some serious gains for me anyways.

  1. How much fat I put on. As others have stated, at times I was miserable. My heaviest ever was 328 lbs. I was strong as an ox, but felt like a fat wheezing obese kid when walking up stairs. Well not really breathing wise - I just sweat A LOT.

I permabulked to stack on some serious strength and muscle, which I did… But also far too much fat.

This was me before the permabulk. I was sitting at around 265ish. Wish I had not jumped up weight so quickly.

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And front.

86

[quote]HeavyTriple wrote:

[quote]wannabebig250 wrote:

[quote]pwolves17 wrote:

[quote]wannabebig250 wrote:
it would be interesting if you guys put a permabulking vs your current diet for comparison. i.e. same foods, different portions, or entirely different foods…IIFYM vs clean bro foods.

i myself am coming off the permabulk train, only 2 weeks into it, and strength and size dropping.[/quote]

Are you hitting certain macros, or just eating “less” and “cleaner?” I would try to calculate what your average numbers would have roughly been the way you were previously eating, and make smart adjustments from there. Because if you were eating, let’s say, 4500 cals per day and now you decided to eat less or cut out certain foods, you might’ve dropped your daily intake to 3000 cals or even lower. I would guess you made too big of an initial drop if you’re already noticing strength loss after only a few weeks[/quote]

when i tracked a normal day of eating it ended up around 2800-3500 cals if i ate at home. if i ate out for one meal it couldve gotten up to maybe 4500 cals.

my diet now im getting enough calories, but getting them from cleaner foods. all my carbs are from fruits and veggies with maybe some rice or sweet potatoes thrown in, instead of breads, pastas, pizza and subs.

its just going to be an adjustment in the strength department. plus the strength loss in squats is from not having a belly full of food to bounce off of in the hole :)[/quote]

You don’t lose strength in 2 weeks of a calorie deficit. Any strength you have lost is entirely mental.
[/quote]

youre probably right that it is all mental. theres a difference knowing you just ate a 1000 calorie plate of bacon and eggs with 4 pieces of toast… vs a couple cans of tuna with veggies and an apple before getting under a 300lbs+ squat. i’ll be experimenting with oats + banana + whey pre workout next couple weeks.

87

[quote]wannabebig250 wrote:

[quote]HeavyTriple wrote:

[quote]wannabebig250 wrote:

[quote]pwolves17 wrote:

[quote]wannabebig250 wrote:
it would be interesting if you guys put a permabulking vs your current diet for comparison. i.e. same foods, different portions, or entirely different foods…IIFYM vs clean bro foods.

i myself am coming off the permabulk train, only 2 weeks into it, and strength and size dropping.[/quote]

Are you hitting certain macros, or just eating “less” and “cleaner?” I would try to calculate what your average numbers would have roughly been the way you were previously eating, and make smart adjustments from there. Because if you were eating, let’s say, 4500 cals per day and now you decided to eat less or cut out certain foods, you might’ve dropped your daily intake to 3000 cals or even lower. I would guess you made too big of an initial drop if you’re already noticing strength loss after only a few weeks[/quote]

when i tracked a normal day of eating it ended up around 2800-3500 cals if i ate at home. if i ate out for one meal it couldve gotten up to maybe 4500 cals.

my diet now im getting enough calories, but getting them from cleaner foods. all my carbs are from fruits and veggies with maybe some rice or sweet potatoes thrown in, instead of breads, pastas, pizza and subs.

its just going to be an adjustment in the strength department. plus the strength loss in squats is from not having a belly full of food to bounce off of in the hole :)[/quote]

You don’t lose strength in 2 weeks of a calorie deficit. Any strength you have lost is entirely mental.
[/quote]

youre probably right that it is all mental. theres a difference knowing you just ate a 1000 calorie plate of bacon and eggs with 4 pieces of toast… vs a couple cans of tuna with veggies and an apple before getting under a 300lbs+ squat. i’ll be experimenting with oats + banana + whey pre workout next couple weeks.[/quote]

Part of strength is mental though so I think you still technically lose strength.

88

Not so much bulikng as just fat assedness because I was a lazy POS that didn’t lift or any form of exercise…

Numbers-wise, I was about 345 at my “peak” with a 46’ waist (not at navel, where I wear my pants). I think a doc measured my navel once and it was 53’, if I remember correctly. I wore a size 56 sport-coat. The sad part was I wasn’t force feeding myself or even trying to get big… it just happened. Though beer and late-night fast food played a good role.
It was quite a roller coaster.
Moving away from the family (and home cooking) brought me down to about 310ish. Halfway decent eating and occasional light exercise down to 290. Cutting out the booze: 270. Cutting down on meat (blasphemy, I know), essentially eliminating dairy, pasta, bread, and sweets took me further. Throw in some newb lifting gains, the occasional run, physical job, and no AC brought me down to just over 200 w/ about a 35’ waist. Then I stopped lifting (no weight set), got comfortable where I was and started putting down a package of cookies a day, and I got back up to 210-215. I went back home after a few years for the holidays and got up to 240 (no lifting). Gained another 5 over the next year and a half w/ steady lifting, then I went actually bulked off clean foods for another 5, but it was too fast. So, I IF’d and still gained another 5… So I ended up at 255 before embarking on my current cut. I’m at about 235 right now… 15 more to go.

The sad part is… I really enjoyed eating when I was a fatty and now I can’t enjoy it, even with foods I like. I hate chicken breasts.

89

[quote]sufiandy wrote:

[quote]wannabebig250 wrote:

[quote]HeavyTriple wrote:

[quote]wannabebig250 wrote:

[quote]pwolves17 wrote:

[quote]wannabebig250 wrote:
it would be interesting if you guys put a permabulking vs your current diet for comparison. i.e. same foods, different portions, or entirely different foods…IIFYM vs clean bro foods.

i myself am coming off the permabulk train, only 2 weeks into it, and strength and size dropping.[/quote]

Are you hitting certain macros, or just eating “less” and “cleaner?” I would try to calculate what your average numbers would have roughly been the way you were previously eating, and make smart adjustments from there. Because if you were eating, let’s say, 4500 cals per day and now you decided to eat less or cut out certain foods, you might’ve dropped your daily intake to 3000 cals or even lower. I would guess you made too big of an initial drop if you’re already noticing strength loss after only a few weeks[/quote]

when i tracked a normal day of eating it ended up around 2800-3500 cals if i ate at home. if i ate out for one meal it couldve gotten up to maybe 4500 cals.

my diet now im getting enough calories, but getting them from cleaner foods. all my carbs are from fruits and veggies with maybe some rice or sweet potatoes thrown in, instead of breads, pastas, pizza and subs.

its just going to be an adjustment in the strength department. plus the strength loss in squats is from not having a belly full of food to bounce off of in the hole :)[/quote]

You don’t lose strength in 2 weeks of a calorie deficit. Any strength you have lost is entirely mental.
[/quote]

youre probably right that it is all mental. theres a difference knowing you just ate a 1000 calorie plate of bacon and eggs with 4 pieces of toast… vs a couple cans of tuna with veggies and an apple before getting under a 300lbs+ squat. i’ll be experimenting with oats + banana + whey pre workout next couple weeks.[/quote]

Part of strength is mental though so I think you still technically lose strength.[/quote]

I see what you’re saying, but let me elaborate a little. In 2 weeks, it’s highly unlikely he’s lost muscle, and it’s also unlikely his nervous system is now unable to fire his motor units in the sequence that maximizes force production for him.

Rather, he’s experiencing a placebo effect that just happens to be negative. So the mechanisms of strength are there, he just needs to break a mental barrier to move past this “loss of strength.”

Wannabebig, I and many others have trained completely fasted to no ill effect. It’s just something you have to get used to through exposure. But what I hope you take from this is that you aren’t any weaker.

90

[quote]browndisaster wrote:

I truly enjoyed reading this. You were such a tool lol - glad you got away from it[/quote]

I agree, and I’m glad you liked my post.

It was also embarrassing while trying to do anything physical outside of the gym involving locomoting faster than a walk. I was this “fitness guy” who got creamed in everything. At one point in life I was VERY good at swimming and handball (not a real sport I know) and when I would pick up a game here and there I would get roasted by my friend who probably weighed a buck-60. I realized I was not fit at all. Granted size hinder someone in some sports, but this was pathetic. Now I can actually run 3 to 5 miles without a problem, do plyos on the second highest plyo box at my gym, and jump rope for some time in my warmups.

91

[quote]HeavyTriple wrote:

I see what you’re saying, but let me elaborate a little. In 2 weeks, it’s highly unlikely he’s lost muscle, and it’s also unlikely his nervous system is now unable to fire his motor units in the sequence that maximizes force production for him.

Rather, he’s experiencing a placebo effect that just happens to be negative. So the mechanisms of strength are there, he just needs to break a mental barrier to move past this “loss of strength.”

Wannabebig, I and many others have trained completely fasted to no ill effect. It’s just something you have to get used to through exposure. But what I hope you take from this is that you aren’t any weaker.[/quote]

I strongly agree with this. I think most people lose strength on a cut because they heard/read somewhere that it will happen, and so they believe it. I have always gotten stronger while losing fat, to include cutting for meets. It’s just programming.

92

[quote]T3hPwnisher wrote:

[quote]HeavyTriple wrote:

I see what you’re saying, but let me elaborate a little. In 2 weeks, it’s highly unlikely he’s lost muscle, and it’s also unlikely his nervous system is now unable to fire his motor units in the sequence that maximizes force production for him.

Rather, he’s experiencing a placebo effect that just happens to be negative. So the mechanisms of strength are there, he just needs to break a mental barrier to move past this “loss of strength.”

Wannabebig, I and many others have trained completely fasted to no ill effect. It’s just something you have to get used to through exposure. But what I hope you take from this is that you aren’t any weaker.[/quote]

I strongly agree with this. I think most people lose strength on a cut because they heard/read somewhere that it will happen, and so they believe it. I have always gotten stronger while losing fat, to include cutting for meets. It’s just programming.
[/quote]
…and not dropping the weight too quickly.

93

Wonder why I like this thread so much?..

Hope I didn’t jinx it now :slight_smile:

94

[quote]gregron wrote:

…and not dropping the weight too quickly.[/quote]

Exactly. It has to be done intelligently. It’s why the programming is so important.

I generally shoot for 1lb a week when I am cutting weight.

95

I was a permabulker I went from a leanish 205 to 265 @ 5?9 in the space of 10months. I pretty much consumed between 4500 and 5550 calories everyday. Eventually I wasn?t even gaining at those calories so I stopped. I would say it improved my strength greatly and I?m glad I did it because when I dieted down to about 225-230 I could pretty much push the same amount of weight or more in some cases.

I would say bulking that way ruined my appreciation for food. Till this day ( 2yrs later) I still can?t even entertain the thought of consuming more than 1-3 solid meals a day I actually drink a lot of my calories .

I ate mostly clean food but once the calories got high I pretty much drank 70% of my calories via whey and oats.

I would say that even at my heaviest I never felt unhealthy and I could still do all the things I could do when I was lighter.

My waist obviously increased by because my ass/hips are quite big it means I just didn?t have to use a belt on the current trousers/jeans I had.

I doubt I would do it again 230- 240lbs seems to be my limit when I?m strongest and sill performance well without look like complete dog shit

96

[quote]IamMarqaos wrote:
Wonder why I like this thread so much?..

Hope I didn’t jinx it now :)[/quote]

I didn’t think this thread would take off the way it did. I think it’s golden. As I said, I love reading the stories of sweaty permabulkers, the colossal meals, the indiscriminate intake, the delusions and false beliefs, the ill health effects and difficulties in function, and so on.

97

[quote]BrickHead wrote:

[quote]IamMarqaos wrote:
Wonder why I like this thread so much?..

Hope I didn’t jinx it now :)[/quote]

I didn’t think this thread would take off the way it did. I think it’s golden. As I said, I love reading the stories of sweaty permabulkers, the colossal meals, the indiscriminate intake, the delusions and false beliefs, the ill health effects and difficulties in function, and so on. [/quote]

Fucking fun, though :slight_smile:

I’m dieting now :frowning:

98

[quote]Quick Ben wrote:

Fucking fun, though :slight_smile:

I’m dieting now :([/quote]

lol

S

99

Second semester of my freshman year of college was definitely my craziest bulking phase. Went from 190 to 230 in about 3 months. About 75-90% of that was fat and bloat. I did it because I was playing college football and I thought I needed to be that big to play.

Typical day:
8am breakfast at cafeteria - full plate of scrambled eggs, half plate of sausage and bacon, half plate of home fries, 2 glasses of skim milk, piece of fruit

11am, lunch at cafeteria - two double burgers, half plate of pasta, 2 glasses of skim milk, piece of fruit

3pm, PWO meal - Chipotle burrito with double meat or Subway footlong with double meat (cafeteria was closed til 5)

6pm, dinner #1 at cafeteria - whatever meat was being served on one plate, pasta/rice/potatoes on second plate, 2 glasses of skim milk, salad

9pm, dinner #2 at cafeteria - cold cut sandwich, 2 bowls of cereal, 2 glasses skim milk, fruit

11pm, late night snack - large Domino’s thin crust pie with pepperoni and bacon, 1L of Sprite

I liked getting bigger and stronger all the time. This was also the first time people started referring to me as “that big dude.” There was nothing I disliked in the early stages. In later years, as the bulking continued (up to 255/5’9" at one point) I started to hate how I looked. My face was fat, my love handles bulged over my pants (I could feel them rubbing against my shirt all the time when I walked), and my delts were completely hidden. I wanted to look like a bodybuilder and I was far from it. I was strong-ish, but also felt like a slug. I felt self-conscious when I would watch movies with my wife and some Hollywood pretty boy would take his shirt off to reveal a chiseled physique.

I finally started leaning out every summer, but then would balloon right back up to 240-245 during the winter. The last few years I’ve been able to keep my “bulked” and “cut” weights a lot closer together. Now I don’t get above 230 in the winter, and I lean out to around 220 in the summer. I can see my abs all year. My wife is a big fan of those, so I get laid a lot more too.

I can’t say I really regret anything about the whole process. I think it was something I had to experience and learn from in order for me to be comfortable with my current approach to training and dieting. If I hadn’t done it, I’d probably have some nagging thought that I could have done it better. Now I know I could have done it better, and that’s what’s guiding me forward.

EDIT: Didn’t realize this thread was so old…Colucci posted the link in another thread so I’ll blame him LOL.

1 Like
100

[quote]Bauber wrote:

[quote]BrickHead wrote:
When I look back on my obese permabulking days, I look back with both regret and nostalgia. Permabulking gave me some problems, but I also liked some aspects of it.

Perhaps we can share our permabulking stories. Here is a serious of questions.

  1. What did your permabulking diet look like?
  2. What was one of your permabulking regular meals?
  3. What did you like about permabulking?
  4. What didn’t you like?
  5. Why did you permabulk?[/quote]

My permabulking diet really didn’t consists of a lot of bad foods per say. I just ate an enormous amount. And I usually ate whatever I wanted on weekends. Otherwise I was eating just a bunch of all kinds of meats, veggies, and carbs. I have never been a huge sweets fan, but I do enjoy some icecream lol.

A regular permabulking meal I ate a lot usually 1-2 times a week was the largest fried chicken platter at Abners X 2.

I loved how strong I got and the size I put on. My strength made some serious gains for me anyways.

  1. How much fat I put on. As others have stated, at times I was miserable. My heaviest ever was 328 lbs. I was strong as an ox, but felt like a fat wheezing obese kid when walking up stairs. Well not really breathing wise - I just sweat A LOT.

I permabulked to stack on some serious strength and muscle, which I did… But also far too much fat.

This was me before the permabulk. I was sitting at around 265ish. Wish I had not jumped up weight so quickly.[/quote]

Jesus. If this is you BEFORE your bulk, do you have any pictures of you after? You look absolutely massive here. Id definitely like to see what you look like 60 lbs heavier.

1 Like