WHY WON'T YOU FIT INSIDE ME?!
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Your first step will be to increase your calorie goal to a gain. You need to adjust your macros as well, with the highest macro focus being protein. Protein is where it's at when you're trying to build muscle, but when it comes to gaining weight overall, your body won't be able to do it without a surplus of calories, and you're not going to be able to just eat it all in protein.
There is no 'dirty' eating, so try to stop thinking that way. Eating at a surplus is hard work, and if you look back at some of my posts, I did give you some really good ideas at ways to add calories without just eating cookies and pizza. There are a lot of calorie-dense foods that aren't just sugar and fat. Needing to avoid dairy protein will give you a challenge, but today's food market does give you some variety that will help, with soy and nut products like almond and other nut milks and dairy-free ice creams and other cream products. I use a great dairy-free sour cream product in the chicken recipe I gave you earlier.0 -
NekoneMeowMixx wrote: »Clearly I'm just horribly ill-informed about what bulking truly is. I apologize for that, and hence, for my ignorance. @mccindy72 , I'm not trying to ignore anything that you're saying. I just don't understand why calories are more important than macros. (I mean, if eating high calorie, nutritionally-void foods will help me get to my goal, then sure, I've got a ton of food I'd love to shovel down. And I'm sure I could meet my calorie goals easier!
I'm not looking to do a "dirty" bulk, is what I'm getting at.... I'm trying to correct what I've obviously been incorrectly taught, not attack anyone/get attacked. I just don't see how ho-hos and cupcakes will fuel a workout better than a protein shake, or something complex-carb heavy. (Thus my confusion as to why "macros don't matter"
I apologize for being defensive, but understand I'm embarassingly new to this, and it's overwhelming/frustrating so hence my hesitation... v.v
If you prefer placing more importance on macros, then go ahead.
Still means you can enjoy ho hos and cupcakes, because both contain fat and carbohydrate macronutrients.
There is no such thing as a "dirty" bulk or a "clean" bulk. There is just bulking. THe amount of excess calories you consume will determine how much weight you put on, and higher calorie bulks will lead to a greater chance of increased fat gain even if all you ate was 3000 calories worth of broccoli, rice, and chicken.
ETA: Donuts aren't evil. You'll probably have an easier time bulking and managing your weight if you stop arbitrarily labeling food and stop demonizing food.0 -
@TR0berts That makes better sense. Thank you for explaining the "science" behind it. I appreciate everyone's efforts on this thread, but I'm going to take some time and read the sticky you posted. Because it's pretty obvious that I know absolutely nothing about how bulking works (which has been so delicately pointed out to me)
So rather than continue to make an *kitten* out of myself, I'll go educate myself in silence. I'm just embarassed and feeling really frustrated with how much I'm not "getting" this, and just pissing everyone else off for my ignorance instead...![:\](https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/resources/emoji/confused.png ":\")
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At the risk of speaking for everyone, I don't think you're pissing anyone off. It's great that you're open to learning and further educating yourself on the subject.
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NekoneMeowMixx wrote: »NekoneMeowMixx wrote: »ceoverturf wrote: »
Unfortunately I'm not able to really enjoy ice cream as much as I would like (my body and milkfats do not get along); I could eat maybe a cup's worth of ice cream before feeling sick to my stomach :c
I don't really see how ice cream is nutritionally dense, though? I mean, is it better to just eat "whatever" so long as it fills up my calorie meter? I'm trying to find foods that are preferably really heavy on protein, as I know that's the biggest macro that plays into muscle growth.
Protein bars/shakes.
ETA- I do think they have powder not made with Whey if that bothers your stomach.
Also meats are high in protein. A big fat juicy steak does it for me.
Yeah, I need to find some more recipes involving meat. I love myself a good burger and chicken just as much as the next gal, but I get really bored, and I don't want to eat the same thing all the time (I mean, who does though?) I think expanding my recipe book is a great first step.
Surprisingly whey doesn't bother me... I'm definitely not a fan of the taste (I do Body Fortress: tried their chocolate and vanilla, and both are... bleh at best)
Definitely check out Trutein. It's life changing. It also bakes well. Their website offers samples. I also like Muscle Pharm Combat, they sell it at Costco for cheap.
Trutein Cinnabun! Makes amazing protein pancakes. I add pecans. Cinnamon pecan pancakes....mmmmmm. I need some breakfast now.0 -
ceoverturf wrote: »At the risk of speaking for everyone, I don't think you're pissing anyone off. It's great that you're open to learning and further educating yourself on the subject.
Thank you, I really appreciate that (and hope it's the case). I'm just getting defensive because I feel like I'm being attacked (which I understand, in a right state of mind, that this is absolutely not the case) but trying to get this all figured out is so overwhelming and I'm tired of being told one thing from one person in one thread, and then something ENTIRELY different from another thread. :c0 -
OP - this has already been addressed in the gaining section ..
You need to eat calorie dense foods if you want to add muscle. That does not mean eat "crap call day" it means combine nutritionally dense foods with calorie dense foods, and hit your macro/micro/calorie target for the day..
also, you need to pick a goal and stick to it:
burn fat
add muscle
recomp
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I'm by no means an expert here, but upon reading the thread, I think what you're really struggling with is the idea of eating "clean" vs. "unhealthy." Which, there is no such thing. Like everyone is saying, you can bulk on broccoli or you can bulk on cupcakes. Extra calories are extra calories. You're not "unhealthily" gaining weight because you ate pizza as opposed to broccoli.
And as someone mentioned above, you're not at all pissing anyone off! Honestly, I think we all appreciate when people come to forums to learn and improve, rather than just search for the answer they want to hear.
Best wishes!
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NekoneMeowMixx wrote: »@RedRockChic -- Very valid point. And I do think that perhaps I should drop it down to 1700 or so to make this all less overwhelming. I have no problem eating food- I love food, haha. I just have a hard time eating food that will get me to my goals.
@randomtai -- Will do! Thanks for the suggestion!
@SezxyStef -- I have another thread open in regards to "bulking", but tl;dr version: I'm not interested in cramming my face full of anything that packs a caloric punch, and then trying to shed off the excess of fat once I have a desireable amount of muscle. I'm going for what I can only assume is described as a "slow bulk". I don't want a ton of sugar in my diet because it's not healthy to consume a f*-ton of sugar every day. I'm sure I could EASILY pack on the pounds if I was just pounding away on Hungry Howies pizza every night, but I don't see how that's going to get me towards being stronger the *right* way. It's only going to add on a bunch of unnecessary fat (yes, I realize that SOME fat will be gained with muscle gain, of course) but I don't feel like playing the heavy bulk/super cut game. I'd rather it take longer and do it the right way...
yea, and everyone in the bulking forum told you that is NOT what bulking is.
but hey, what do the people know that have ran successful bulk/cut cycles...????????????0 -
NekoneMeowMixx wrote: »ceoverturf wrote: »At the risk of speaking for everyone, I don't think you're pissing anyone off. It's great that you're open to learning and further educating yourself on the subject.
Thank you, I really appreciate that (and hope it's the case). I'm just getting defensive because I feel like I'm being attacked (which I understand, in a right state of mind, that this is absolutely not the case) but trying to get this all figured out is so overwhelming and I'm tired of being told one thing from one person in one thread, and then something ENTIRELY different from another thread. :c
I don't know what thread you're talking about, but anyone who tells you that you gain less fat on a surplus of "clean" food doesn't know anything about how the human body works. Go forth and eat the foods, please. If I had an extra 900 calories a day... I would put more mayo on my sandwiches (using 1/2 a serving now), eat a bag of hot cheese popcorn every day (~300 calories), eat more yogurt (usually eat like 115 grams per serving), just basically be less thrifty with my calories. I wish I was bulking. *sob*
You could also add in protein shakes. I am waiting on a pea protein powder to come in the mail (just wanted to try a different brand, and it was on sale) so there are whey-less options out there if whey protein bothers your system.0 -
NekoneMeowMixx wrote: »ceoverturf wrote: »At the risk of speaking for everyone, I don't think you're pissing anyone off. It's great that you're open to learning and further educating yourself on the subject.
Thank you, I really appreciate that (and hope it's the case). I'm just getting defensive because I feel like I'm being attacked (which I understand, in a right state of mind, that this is absolutely not the case) but trying to get this all figured out is so overwhelming and I'm tired of being told one thing from one person in one thread, and then something ENTIRELY different from another thread. :c
if you only want to take advice from the "clean eating crew" then just do a bulk and try to eat 100% clean and report back in a month as to how you are doing getting into a surplus...
I will guarantee this...
whichever method you choose eating dirty vs clean (which is total rubbish in my opinion) I guarantee that if you are in calorie surplus you will gain fat. I say that with 100% certainty.
It is impossible to in a caloric surplus and not gain some fat....
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ceoverturf wrote: »
Hahah yes, it was hyperbole, and I seriously hope no one would attempt it!0 -
NekoneMeowMixx wrote: »ceoverturf wrote: »I guess I just don't understand, then. I mean, calories = energy. Energy is required to build muscle. That makes sense. But protein is needed to build muscle as well. So that's pretty important. I mean, when you say "If you're bulking, nutritionally dense is of less importance than getting calories in." to me (and I could be misinterpreting, so please, correct me if I'm wrong) that says "Go eat a Big Mac and a couple large fries. Better than making a real burger at home, cause mmm, those calories" (now I feel like an *kitten*... v.v)
Maybe I shouldn't be bulking?? I mean, my goal is to gain muscle, burn fat. To me, that's recomp. But I was told that recomp is basically bullsh*t, and that it's a waste of time, and that I need to shove my face full of food and then practically starve myself to cut out the fat...
If that's the case, I'll sign up for the recomp... v.v
I might not be understanding, myself, but I think part of the message of "If you're bulking, nutritionally dense is of less importance than getting calories in" is that, at some point, once you've met your nutritional goals, then the priority is more calories than nutrients.
I don't remember where it was, but I recall reading that some of the body's processes that contribute to muscle growth are triggered by the caloric surplus rather than nutrient levels.
So you may have all the "building blocks" that you can use present, but still need more caloric energy to reach that trigger point. Theoretically, this is a point where you can look to empty calories because now what you really need is the fuel to assemble those blocks. There's no harm in wanting the calories to continue coming from nutritionally dense sources, it's just not necessary at that point and it can be a challenge because those tend (for me, at least) to be more filling foods.
Something else that might help is looking to see if there's a way to adjust your eating schedule (I can't tell if you've addressed this, already). Over the past few years, I've eaten as much as 4,000 calories for maintenance because my job has occasional bouts of high physical activity that gets lumped on top of the dedicated exercise already required. For me, the only way to do that comfortably has been to spread my eating out through the day. People have often given me flak about how I'm "always eating", but that's because spreading it out is how I most comfortably meet my calorie goals without feeling overstuffed or as though I'm forcing it down.0 -
I'm by no means an expert here, but upon reading the thread, I think what you're really struggling with is the idea of eating "clean" vs. "unhealthy." Which, there is no such thing. Like everyone is saying, you can bulk on broccoli or you can bulk on cupcakes. Extra calories are extra calories. You're not "unhealthily" gaining weight because you ate pizza as opposed to broccoli.
And as someone mentioned above, you're not at all pissing anyone off! Honestly, I think we all appreciate when people come to forums to learn and improve, rather than just search for the answer they want to hear.
Best wishes!
Makes sense... I mean, if I'm lifting heavy, I'm at least putting that food/calories to use in the form of energy. And energy is needed to create well, more energy, which will help me build muscle, which will then aid in losing the fat that comes along with the muscle (like *kitten* ex-boyfriends; you have to accept them and that they get you to where you want to be, then you get strong and drop their *kitten* like bad habits-- or something like that.)
I guess I'm so confused because up until now, I've been focusing on losing, or "slimming down". I know that women can't get "bulky" from lifting weights (the level of testosterone in our bodies just isn't enough to do it on accident) so I'm not worried about that. I guess it all just feels like a trap. I've heard of all the fancy "magic cures" to weight loss, but you're telling me I can get strong AND eat whatever I want (within reason of course) Holy wow, what?
And yeah, there's no way I could bulk up on broccoli. I guess I'll start cutting myself some slack now when you put it that way.
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ceoverturf wrote: »NekoneMeowMixx wrote: »I have another thread open in regards to "bulking", but tl;dr version: I'm not interested in cramming my face full of anything that packs a caloric punch, and then trying to shed off the excess of fat once I have a desireable amount of muscle. I'm going for what I can only assume is described as a "slow bulk". I don't want a ton of sugar in my diet because it's not healthy to consume a f*-ton of sugar every day. I'm sure I could EASILY pack on the pounds if I was just pounding away on Hungry Howies pizza every night, but I don't see how that's going to get me towards being stronger the *right* way. It's only going to add on a bunch of unnecessary fat (yes, I realize that SOME fat will be gained with muscle gain, of course) but I don't feel like playing the heavy bulk/super cut game. I'd rather it take longer and do it the right way...
I'm going to be very blunt, here. Your mindset and beliefs about bulking are almost completely wrong.
The amount of fat you put on with the muscle is determined almost entirely of how big a surplus you are eating - not the types of food you're eating. 250-500 Calorie surplus is generally considered a "clean" or "slow" bulk. Since you are concerned about putting on too much fat - go with a 250-300 Calorie surplus.
Also, when bulking, carbs are your friend. You need protein, but generally not as much as you do when trying to lose weight. Provided you are getting (pretty darned close to) all of your protein, fat, and micronutrient needs otherwise, there's nothing wrong with adding the less micronutrient-dense, yet Calorie/carb-dense treats.
You don't need to be "pounding away on Hungry Howies pizza every night." You do, however, need to eat more. Where those Calories come from - as long as your macros and micros are met - is quite insignificant. Again, go 250-300 Calories over maintenance, continue to strength train, and succeed.
^^ Was just getting ready to type something similar, but I'll just +1 this.
Me three, which is pretty much exactly what I wrote in her first thread early on! @NekoneMeowMixx if you need an additional 250 or so calories per day, then just do your regular diet plus one protein powder shake with milk (try the lactose-free whole milk to get the protein you need, not almond milk which is minimal), plain yogurt, peanut butter, whatever. One shake added to your regular day could get you up to 400 calories, all good stuff (great mix of carbs, fats, and protein). You're overthinking this.0 -
NekoneMeowMixx wrote: »I'm by no means an expert here, but upon reading the thread, I think what you're really struggling with is the idea of eating "clean" vs. "unhealthy." Which, there is no such thing. Like everyone is saying, you can bulk on broccoli or you can bulk on cupcakes. Extra calories are extra calories. You're not "unhealthily" gaining weight because you ate pizza as opposed to broccoli.
And as someone mentioned above, you're not at all pissing anyone off! Honestly, I think we all appreciate when people come to forums to learn and improve, rather than just search for the answer they want to hear.
Best wishes!
Makes sense... I mean, if I'm lifting heavy, I'm at least putting that food/calories to use in the form of energy. And energy is needed to create well, more energy, which will help me build muscle, which will then aid in losing the fat that comes along with the muscle (like *kitten* ex-boyfriends; you have to accept them and that they get you to where you want to be, then you get strong and drop their *kitten* like bad habits-- or something like that.)
I guess I'm so confused because up until now, I've been focusing on losing, or "slimming down". I know that women can't get "bulky" from lifting weights (the level of testosterone in our bodies just isn't enough to do it on accident) so I'm not worried about that. I guess it all just feels like a trap. I've heard of all the fancy "magic cures" to weight loss, but you're telling me I can get strong AND eat whatever I want (within reason of course) Holy wow, what?
And yeah, there's no way I could bulk up on broccoli. I guess I'll start cutting myself some slack now when you put it that way.
Wow, some people who come in with a single track mindset actually are open to learning through other user's experiences instead of holding onto their pre-conceived notions, and broscience.
You should be commended.
goldstar.gif
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Add a tbspn of oil/fat to your veggies when you cook them (and protein for that matter).0
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