BULKING 101

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micah5587
micah5587 Posts: 10 Member
in Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
For help with bulking

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  • micah5587
    micah5587 Posts: 10 Member
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    Questions?
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,509 Member
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    It's not magic formula. Eat more needed calories than you burn, you'll gain weight. Just need to make sure your protein intake is high enough encourage muscle hypertrophy if that's the goal. And one doesn't have to eat "clean" to keep bodyfat minimal. That's more about what your surplus is. The lower the surplus, the less fat you gain.



    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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  • nossmf
    nossmf Posts: 9,008 Member
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    In other words, eating 250 calories over maintenance will take longer to bulk up than eating 500 over, but the 250 is less likely to include a bunch of excess body fat which will later need to be removed in order to see all the new muscle you've built.

    Also realize there's two ways of "bulking" if you simply mean to appear more muscular: add muscle is one, the other is lose the fat covering the muscle that's already there. In both cases it's best to take a longer-term approach by making slow changes: add muscle with 250 calories over maintenance and high protein, reveal muscle (lose fat) with 250 calories below maintenance and high protein.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,085 Member
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    Did you read this thread yet?

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10226536/bulking-for-beginners

    Someone(s) thought it was useful enough to nominate for inclusion in MFP's "Most Helpful Posts" in this section.
  • micah5587
    micah5587 Posts: 10 Member
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    What should I do if bulking is making me feel sick at times?
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,085 Member
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    micah5587 wrote: »
    What should I do if bulking is making me feel sick at times?

    Have you noticed any pattern of particular foods that make you feel sick? Or is it a matter of feeling too full, and sick because of that?

    If it's the latter, spreading out meals and snacks more (time-wise), maybe drinking some calories rather than eating foods you chew (some people find that less filling), eating some calorie-dense foods rather than high-volume low calorie ones, and that sort of thing.

    I think you can figure this out, maybe reach a solution, by looking for patterns in how feeling sick associates with eating certain foods or at certain times, and trying experiments with alternate routines.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,509 Member
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    micah5587 wrote: »
    What should I do if bulking is making me feel sick at times?

    How many calories are you taking in?

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 35+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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  • micah5587
    micah5587 Posts: 10 Member
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    ninerbuff wrote: »
    micah5587 wrote: »
    What should I do if bulking is making me feel sick at times?

    How many calories are you taking in?

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 35+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png

    3800
  • nossmf
    nossmf Posts: 9,008 Member
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    Without knowing how much you weigh along with your bodyfat percentage, it's hard to judge whether this is an appropriate amount for you. Other factors such as how much exercise you do, especially cardio, also weigh in.

    All that said, 3800 is a high number for most people. I can get away with eating that much at BW 192, but only on special occasions (holidays, anniversary, etc), certainly not every day. If I tried, I would likely start to feel nauseous trying to eat that much all the time.
  • micah5587
    micah5587 Posts: 10 Member
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    Does dirty bulking have any bad side effects?
  • nossmf
    nossmf Posts: 9,008 Member
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    Beyond gaining body fat which subsequently has to be removed? Depending on what you indulge in, the usual health markers for modern diets can be magnified since you're consuming so much in such a short period of time...raised blood pressure, cholesterol, other blood chemistry markers out of whack; problems with insulin sensitivity, which impacts the cells' ability to bring in nutrients, including muscle cells; and the worst side effect of them all, getting used to eating so much then suddenly shifting to loss mode and feeling utterly betrayed by how little food you now get in comparison, lol.

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