Bulking While Eating "Clean" - Need Advice

CoachReddy
CoachReddy Posts: 3,949 Member
Alright well apparently karma decided to smack me a new one. (Magerum you're gonna love this)

Had a meeting with my agent today (I'm an actor) and he told me that even though my body looks great, all the eating well and exercising has leaned out my face, and it's confusing for casting directors when they want me to be playing young characters but my face looks so angular. He told me that it would really be in my interest to gain some weight. Ironic because over the last year I HAVE gained weight, but I've dropped body fat so... I look thinner.

Anyway, had been doing 3000 cal pretty damn clean, but the idea of eating more (aiming for 4000) clean seems daunting as hell. I don't want to make all 1000 calories processed easy calories and I'd still like to avoid gluten if at all possible, but if it ends up I have to do that... well... guess someone's gonna cave to the ice cream and pop tarts... lol

Any ideas? Anybody out there who bulks/has bulked clean?
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Replies

  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
    Um.... organic ice cream? Organic milk? Organic peanut butter? :laugh:
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
    organicpoptart.jpg

    BreyersOranic-788152.jpg
  • thesatch88
    thesatch88 Posts: 27 Member
    eat more often, I eat all day. generally there isnt an hour that goes by when I dont eat something, cramming in 5k clean calories is a pain in the *kitten*.

    get a good blender. its a hell of a lot easier to drink 1200-2000 calories than it is to physically chew and eat it.

    other than that, eat after you are full. you wont want it, but if thats your goal thats what you will need to do.
  • SanDiegoCasey
    SanDiegoCasey Posts: 130 Member
    more of the same. and throw in some cheat meals.
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
    Shakeology mixed in olive oil
  • carrieous
    carrieous Posts: 1,024 Member
    This is what i am dealing with in my running. I love running and what it does to my body but my face is getting old and tired looking. It sucks getting old LOL

    Ive started easing a little sugar back into my diet, and i am doing less running and more bike and weights. For me, running a lot is what gives me "old face"
  • carrieous
    carrieous Posts: 1,024 Member
    or i guess you could pay hundreds of dollars to get filler in your face- probably pretty common in the acting world. Im too cheap for that LOL
  • CoachReddy
    CoachReddy Posts: 3,949 Member
    or i guess you could pay hundreds of dollars to get filler in your face- probably pretty common in the acting world. Im too cheap for that LOL

    hahaha there you go - best advice yet! :laugh:
  • I would love to have to eat 4000 cals.
  • Danny_Boy13
    Danny_Boy13 Posts: 2,094 Member
    eat more often, I eat all day. generally there isnt an hour that goes by when I dont eat something, cramming in 5k clean calories is a pain in the *kitten*.

    get a good blender. its a hell of a lot easier to drink 1200-2000 calories than it is to physically chew and eat it.

    other than that, eat after you are full. you wont want it, but if thats your goal thats what you will need to do.

    ^ This... It is hard to bulk and eat a large amount of clean eating... for me it was anyhow. But like stated here...just keep eating.
  • ArroganceInStep
    ArroganceInStep Posts: 6,239 Member
    Eat more
  • raiderzara
    raiderzara Posts: 55 Member
    More calorically dense "clean" foods? Nuts, avocados, coconut oil (makes your skin look great, too), fruit, sweet potatoes, starchy squashes (acorn squash baked with butter, mmm), sunflower seeds, BACON!! Just put bacon on everything. Aim for a pound a day. :) Of course, I mean the uncured, no nitrate kind!
  • CoachReddy
    CoachReddy Posts: 3,949 Member
    I would love to have to eat 4000 cals.

    it's really not as fun as it sounds. :tongue:
  • Energizer06
    Energizer06 Posts: 311 Member
    Couple of questions: What's your TDEE? because (in my opinion) you should only eat about 200-300 cals over TDEE for a couple of weeks then back it off to 100 - 150 cals over. If your maintaining at 3000 a day I personally wouldn't bump it up more than 3500. All depends on you TDEE. Just as in losing weight, put it on fast and your BF% will increase at a faster pace with less muscle build. And by looking at your photo...I don't think you would want to kill all the hard work and dedication thus far. The hard part is done...Now bulk to 15-16% BF and the cut back to 11-12%....Then cycle again if you need more mass. You should be able to put on about 5-6 lbs of muscle per 1 lb of fat. You know enough to play this BF% game.

    As for the extra cals, eat more often and larger portions. Add in a protein shake with two scoops and you can up you daily intake quickly.

    This is my current approach right now, except I'm still in my initial cut with about 3% BF to lose, then I can start my bulk phase.

    You know there's a ton of ways to do this, just get on it!
  • CoachReddy
    CoachReddy Posts: 3,949 Member
    More calorically dense "clean" foods? Nuts, avocados, coconut oil (makes your skin look great, too), fruit, sweet potatoes, starchy squashes (acorn squash baked with butter, mmm), sunflower seeds, BACON!! Just put bacon on everything. Aim for a pound a day. :) Of course, I mean the uncured, no nitrate kind!

    totally. i think i'm just going to start doing more starchy carbs like potatoes and add rice etc back in. and maybe an extra shake daily... but those are all great options - i just have most of them in my diet already!
  • CoachReddy
    CoachReddy Posts: 3,949 Member
    Couple of questions: What's your TDEE? because (in my opinion) you should only eat about 200-300 cals over TDEE for a couple of weeks then back it off to 100 - 150 cals over. If your maintaining at 3000 a day I personally wouldn't bump it up more than 3500. All depends on you TDEE. Just as in losing weight, put it on fast and your BF% will increase at a faster pace with less muscle build. And by looking at your photo...I don't think you would want to kill all the hard work and dedication thus far. The hard part is done...Now bulk to 15-16% BF and the cut back to 11-12%....Then cycle again if you need more mass. You should be able to put on about 5-6 lbs of muscle per 1 lb of fat. You know enough to play this BF% game.

    As for the extra cals, eat more often and larger portions. Add in a protein shake with two scoops and you can up you daily intake quickly.

    This is my current approach right now, except I'm still in my initial cut with about 3% BF to lose, then I can start my bulk phase.

    You know there's a ton of ways to do this, just get on it!

    I really have no idea what my TDEE is because most online calculators set it somewhere around 2200 and... well... I've been eating at LEAST 3000 for over a year, sometimes 3500+ when my exercise is particularly intense. I'd have to get it professionally tested to be sure, and I ain't got the $$ for that currently.
  • Energizer06
    Energizer06 Posts: 311 Member
    Couple of questions: What's your TDEE? because (in my opinion) you should only eat about 200-300 cals over TDEE for a couple of weeks then back it off to 100 - 150 cals over. If your maintaining at 3000 a day I personally wouldn't bump it up more than 3500. All depends on you TDEE. Just as in losing weight, put it on fast and your BF% will increase at a faster pace with less muscle build. And by looking at your photo...I don't think you would want to kill all the hard work and dedication thus far. The hard part is done...Now bulk to 15-16% BF and the cut back to 11-12%....Then cycle again if you need more mass. You should be able to put on about 5-6 lbs of muscle per 1 lb of fat. You know enough to play this BF% game.

    As for the extra cals, eat more often and larger portions. Add in a protein shake with two scoops and you can up you daily intake quickly.

    This is my current approach right now, except I'm still in my initial cut with about 3% BF to lose, then I can start my bulk phase.

    You know there's a ton of ways to do this, just get on it!

    I really have no idea what my TDEE is because most online calculators set it somewhere around 2200 and... well... I've been eating at LEAST 3000 for over a year, sometimes 3500+ when my exercise is particularly intense. I'd have to get it professionally tested to be sure, and I ain't got the $$ for that currently.

    Cut back on the cardio. Don't need to cut it out completely, just back off it a little for a while. Good luck
  • Griffin220x
    Griffin220x Posts: 399
    Alright well apparently karma decided to smack me a new one. (Magerum you're gonna love this)

    Had a meeting with my agent today (I'm an actor) and he told me that even though my body looks great, all the eating well and exercising has leaned out my face, and it's confusing for casting directors when they want me to be playing young characters but my face looks so angular. He told me that it would really be in my interest to gain some weight. Ironic because over the last year I HAVE gained weight, but I've dropped body fat so... I look thinner.

    Anyway, had been doing 3000 cal pretty damn clean, but the idea of eating more (aiming for 4000) clean seems daunting as hell. I don't want to make all 1000 calories processed easy calories and I'd still like to avoid gluten if at all possible, but if it ends up I have to do that... well... guess someone's gonna cave to the ice cream and pop tarts... lol

    Any ideas? Anybody out there who bulks/has bulked clean?

    What is this "clean" eating you speak of?
  • CoachReddy
    CoachReddy Posts: 3,949 Member
    Alright well apparently karma decided to smack me a new one. (Magerum you're gonna love this)

    Had a meeting with my agent today (I'm an actor) and he told me that even though my body looks great, all the eating well and exercising has leaned out my face, and it's confusing for casting directors when they want me to be playing young characters but my face looks so angular. He told me that it would really be in my interest to gain some weight. Ironic because over the last year I HAVE gained weight, but I've dropped body fat so... I look thinner.

    Anyway, had been doing 3000 cal pretty damn clean, but the idea of eating more (aiming for 4000) clean seems daunting as hell. I don't want to make all 1000 calories processed easy calories and I'd still like to avoid gluten if at all possible, but if it ends up I have to do that... well... guess someone's gonna cave to the ice cream and pop tarts... lol

    Any ideas? Anybody out there who bulks/has bulked clean?

    What is this "clean" eating you speak of?

    there's a reason i put quotes around it. everyone's got a different interpretation, but we all generally know what i mean.
  • CoachReddy
    CoachReddy Posts: 3,949 Member
    Couple of questions: What's your TDEE? because (in my opinion) you should only eat about 200-300 cals over TDEE for a couple of weeks then back it off to 100 - 150 cals over. If your maintaining at 3000 a day I personally wouldn't bump it up more than 3500. All depends on you TDEE. Just as in losing weight, put it on fast and your BF% will increase at a faster pace with less muscle build. And by looking at your photo...I don't think you would want to kill all the hard work and dedication thus far. The hard part is done...Now bulk to 15-16% BF and the cut back to 11-12%....Then cycle again if you need more mass. You should be able to put on about 5-6 lbs of muscle per 1 lb of fat. You know enough to play this BF% game.

    As for the extra cals, eat more often and larger portions. Add in a protein shake with two scoops and you can up you daily intake quickly.

    This is my current approach right now, except I'm still in my initial cut with about 3% BF to lose, then I can start my bulk phase.

    You know there's a ton of ways to do this, just get on it!

    I really have no idea what my TDEE is because most online calculators set it somewhere around 2200 and... well... I've been eating at LEAST 3000 for over a year, sometimes 3500+ when my exercise is particularly intense. I'd have to get it professionally tested to be sure, and I ain't got the $$ for that currently.

    Cut back on the cardio. Don't need to cut it out completely, just back off it a little for a while. Good luck

    yeah i think that's part of what happened - first couple months of this year i focused almost solely on cardio/martial arts style workouts and it may have worked too well. lol thanks - good call.
  • my sentiments exactly! ha
  • Griffin220x
    Griffin220x Posts: 399
    Alright well apparently karma decided to smack me a new one. (Magerum you're gonna love this)

    Had a meeting with my agent today (I'm an actor) and he told me that even though my body looks great, all the eating well and exercising has leaned out my face, and it's confusing for casting directors when they want me to be playing young characters but my face looks so angular. He told me that it would really be in my interest to gain some weight. Ironic because over the last year I HAVE gained weight, but I've dropped body fat so... I look thinner.

    Anyway, had been doing 3000 cal pretty damn clean, but the idea of eating more (aiming for 4000) clean seems daunting as hell. I don't want to make all 1000 calories processed easy calories and I'd still like to avoid gluten if at all possible, but if it ends up I have to do that... well... guess someone's gonna cave to the ice cream and pop tarts... lol

    Any ideas? Anybody out there who bulks/has bulked clean?

    What is this "clean" eating you speak of?

    there's a reason i put quotes around it. everyone's got a different interpretation, but we all generally know what i mean.

    I don't know what that means, that's why I asked So do you wash your foods to get rid of germs and muck? Are there dirty foods? I'm sorry, I have never heard that foods were described this way. Is whey a dirty food because it is processed, how about beef since it is not as lean as turkey does that make it filthy? I suppose bread is dirt as well:( If so does that make my diet unclean? I must be doing something wrong.
  • FredDoyle
    FredDoyle Posts: 2,272 Member
    BEER
  • CoachReddy
    CoachReddy Posts: 3,949 Member
    Alright well apparently karma decided to smack me a new one. (Magerum you're gonna love this)

    Had a meeting with my agent today (I'm an actor) and he told me that even though my body looks great, all the eating well and exercising has leaned out my face, and it's confusing for casting directors when they want me to be playing young characters but my face looks so angular. He told me that it would really be in my interest to gain some weight. Ironic because over the last year I HAVE gained weight, but I've dropped body fat so... I look thinner.

    Anyway, had been doing 3000 cal pretty damn clean, but the idea of eating more (aiming for 4000) clean seems daunting as hell. I don't want to make all 1000 calories processed easy calories and I'd still like to avoid gluten if at all possible, but if it ends up I have to do that... well... guess someone's gonna cave to the ice cream and pop tarts... lol

    Any ideas? Anybody out there who bulks/has bulked clean?

    What is this "clean" eating you speak of?

    there's a reason i put quotes around it. everyone's got a different interpretation, but we all generally know what i mean.

    I don't know what that means, that's why I asked So do you wash your foods to get rid of germs and muck? Are there dirty foods? I'm sorry, I have never heard that foods were described this way. Is whey a dirty food because it is processed, how about beef since it is not as lean as turkey does that make it filthy? I suppose bread is dirt as well:( If so does that make my diet unclean? I must be doing something wrong.

    you're cool.
  • EvanKeel
    EvanKeel Posts: 1,903 Member
    Apart from just saying "eat what you're eating now, just more of it" it sounds like you want calorie-dense foods. Those would be fats.

    Others have suggested sources of fat that you'll likely not object to (avocados etc). If it seems daunting, I don't know that starchy foods are going to do it for you. They might. See how it goes, but I think it'll still seem a little daunting and overly filling

    For the least amount of food you need to consume for greatest amount of calories, stick with fats.
  • ldrosophila
    ldrosophila Posts: 7,512 Member
    Have real fun and become a dirty boy again
  • mikegl1
    mikegl1 Posts: 238 Member
    Protein powder maybe?
  • leighann881
    leighann881 Posts: 371


    I don't know what that means, that's why I asked So do you wash your foods to get rid of germs and muck? Are there dirty foods? I'm sorry, I have never heard that foods were described this way. Is whey a dirty food because it is processed, how about beef since it is not as lean as turkey does that make it filthy? I suppose bread is dirt as well:( If so does that make my diet unclean? I must be doing something wrong.

    oh.... you're so cute. Unhelpful but cute.
  • FlaxMilk
    FlaxMilk Posts: 3,452 Member
    Do you drink coffee or tea? Some people make that bullet proof coffee or something. What about adding coconut oil to your shakes and smoothies? Are you cooking all of your veggies in oil? Do you eat gluten free pasta? It has as many calories as regular pasta.
  • Guillotined
    Guillotined Posts: 115
    Fat dense foods are going to have a lot of calories. Olive oil or grape seed oil add alot.of easy cals. As someone else said, blenders are your friend. Chicken and beef go a long way. You're not very big so I can't imagine your caloric needs being much more than 2500-2800.