Digestive issues while bulking?

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Has anyone else had severe cramps or other digestive issues while bulking? I doubled my calories a little over a week ago and my body has been rebelling ever since. Is it something I'm eating? Or is this normal? Will my body get adjusted as I continue eating this much?

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  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,752 Member
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    What types of foods are you eating? If you're attempting to bulk on "clean" foods, you'll likely be consuming a lot of fibre, and a lot of volume to get your calories up.
  • mperrott2205
    mperrott2205 Posts: 737 Member
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  • jimmmer
    jimmmer Posts: 3,515 Member
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    Has anyone else had severe cramps or other digestive issues while bulking? I doubled my calories a little over a week ago and my body has been rebelling ever since. Is it something I'm eating? Or is this normal? Will my body get adjusted as I continue eating this much?

    Best to just add a few hundred to your day once a week until you hit that gaining sweet spot.

    Any massive swing overnight is not going to be tolerated as well.

    Be kind to yourself, your body can adapt to most changes if you give it the time it needs.
  • kiyapiya
    kiyapiya Posts: 25 Member
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    Yeah I made that mistake as well. But it happened for me because I am lactose intolerant and I was drinking shakes , Icecream , ensure and supligen. It made me cramp and it made me gassy (tmi).
  • _pragma_
    _pragma_ Posts: 51 Member
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    Your bulking calories should be about 10% to 15% more than your TDEE, unless you're the mountain.
  • Chieflrg
    Chieflrg Posts: 9,097 Member
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    Its not normal to double your calories.

    I can only speak from my experience, perhaps someone with better knowledge will chime in.

    For me have a lot of milk and/or protein I usually get tremendous gas pains and or constipated.

    How much water are you drinking on average daily?
  • breezybree511
    breezybree511 Posts: 20 Member
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    Let me clarify. I started tracking my calories and found I was only eating about 1500. I increased that to 2000-2500 per day, so it's not quite double. But it's pretty hard for me to stick to an exact total, so like I said I might vary a little bit. I'm eating a variety of foods, usually cereal and eggs for breakfast, sandwiches or frozen meals for lunch, meat with vegetables and rice for dinner, and a huge variety of snacks. I've actually already started to feel a little better already since I posted this, as I think my body is adjusting.
  • breezybree511
    breezybree511 Posts: 20 Member
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    Chieflrg wrote: »
    Its not normal to double your calories.

    I can only speak from my experience, perhaps someone with better knowledge will chime in.

    For me have a lot of milk and/or protein I usually get tremendous gas pains and or constipated.

    How much water are you drinking on average daily?

    I keep plastic water bottles in my fridge and usually drink anywhere from 3-5 of them per day
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,139 Member
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    Pu_239 wrote: »
    look go here, http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

    pick "mifflin" enter your data, whatever your TDEE is multiply it by 1.20 and eat that many calories for bulking

    or just figure out maintenance and add 250 to it….
  • Hoshiko76
    Hoshiko76 Posts: 22 Member
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    Has anyone else had severe cramps or other digestive issues while bulking? I doubled my calories a little over a week ago and my body has been rebelling ever since. Is it something I'm eating? Or is this normal? Will my body get adjusted as I continue eating this much?

    Eat Salmon twice a week to reduce cramps.

  • Hoshiko76
    Hoshiko76 Posts: 22 Member
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    Dr
    Hoshiko76 wrote: »
    Has anyone else had severe cramps or other digestive issues while bulking? I doubled my calories a little over a week ago and my body has been rebelling ever since. Is it something I'm eating? Or is this normal? Will my body get adjusted as I continue eating this much?

    Eat Salmon twice a week to reduce cramps.
    Drink Camomile herbal tea to reduce cramps.
  • Chieflrg
    Chieflrg Posts: 9,097 Member
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    Chieflrg wrote: »
    Its not normal to double your calories.

    I can only speak from my experience, perhaps someone with better knowledge will chime in.

    For me have a lot of milk and/or protein I usually get tremendous gas pains and or constipated.

    How much water are you drinking on average daily?

    I keep plastic water bottles in my fridge and usually drink anywhere from 3-5 of them per day
    Have you added any supplements or started to take any medications fairly recently?

    Your diet looks pretty good, though things such as milk, eggs, & broccoli can definitely cause gas issues with some people. Are any these fairly new to your diet?
  • breezybree511
    breezybree511 Posts: 20 Member
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    Chieflrg wrote: »
    Your diet looks pretty good, though things such as milk, eggs, & broccoli can definitely cause gas issues with some people. Are any these fairly new to your diet?

    No, I love broccoli and I've always eaten a lot of it. I definitely started eating more eggs and milk lately. I've never had a problem with them before, but eating an egg or two a day is a lot for me. And I don't think the problem is gas necessarily because I don't have any actual gas. Just some cramps, that are progressively getting better over the last few days
  • breezybree511
    breezybree511 Posts: 20 Member
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    Chieflrg wrote: »
    Your diet looks pretty good, though things such as milk, eggs, & broccoli can definitely cause gas issues with some people. Are any these fairly new to your diet?

    No, I love broccoli and I've always eaten a lot of it. I definitely started eating more eggs and milk lately. I've never had a problem with them before, but eating an egg or two a day is a lot for me. And I don't think the problem is gas necessarily because I don't have any actual gas. Just some cramps
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,139 Member
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    Pu_239 wrote: »
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    Pu_239 wrote: »
    look go here, http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

    pick "mifflin" enter your data, whatever your TDEE is multiply it by 1.20 and eat that many calories for bulking

    or just figure out maintenance and add 250 to it….
    That's like saying, "to lose weight reduce calories by 500" There are other factors involved, such as weight of the person. Obviously the OP is a girl.

    My TDEE on average is 2,750
    Her TDEE: we can assume is around 1,800 calories, that's usually what women's TDEE is on average.

    For me to bulk you want me to eat 3,000 calories. This is 9% increase in calories. For her it would be 2,150. This is a 19% increase in calories.

    Big difference. It's best to go by a % of total calories.

    by figuring out her maintenance she is taking her weight into account.

    Hmmm 1800 * 1.2 is actually 2160….so your method would have her eating about ten percent more…whoops..

  • Chieflrg
    Chieflrg Posts: 9,097 Member
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    Chieflrg wrote: »
    Your diet looks pretty good, though things such as milk, eggs, & broccoli can definitely cause gas issues with some people. Are any these fairly new to your diet?

    No, I love broccoli and I've always eaten a lot of it. I definitely started eating more eggs and milk lately. I've never had a problem with them before, but eating an egg or two a day is a lot for me. And I don't think the problem is gas necessarily because I don't have any actual gas. Just some cramps

    You didn't answer about medications or supplements. Both of these can cause problems. If you have any problems with ulcers in the past or present, milk can and will give really bad cramps and burning sensation especially if the ulcer is in the small intestines or large intestines(colon).

  • kessler4130
    kessler4130 Posts: 150 Member
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    When my carbs get to high while bulking I get super gassy, so yeah that is a thing.
  • breezybree511
    breezybree511 Posts: 20 Member
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    Chieflrg wrote: »
    Chieflrg wrote: »
    Your diet looks pretty good, though things such as milk, eggs, & broccoli can definitely cause gas issues with some people. Are any these fairly new to your diet?

    No, I love broccoli and I've always eaten a lot of it. I definitely started eating more eggs and milk lately. I've never had a problem with them before, but eating an egg or two a day is a lot for me. And I don't think the problem is gas necessarily because I don't have any actual gas. Just some cramps

    You didn't answer about medications or supplements. Both of these can cause problems. If you have any problems with ulcers in the past or present, milk can and will give really bad cramps and burning sensation especially if the ulcer is in the small intestines or large intestines(colon).

    Just a kids multivitamin that I've always taken. If I had any medications I would've mentioned it lol
  • FitForL1fe
    FitForL1fe Posts: 1,872 Member
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    ndj1979 wrote: »
    Pu_239 wrote: »
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    Pu_239 wrote: »
    look go here, http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

    pick "mifflin" enter your data, whatever your TDEE is multiply it by 1.20 and eat that many calories for bulking

    or just figure out maintenance and add 250 to it….
    That's like saying, "to lose weight reduce calories by 500" There are other factors involved, such as weight of the person. Obviously the OP is a girl.

    My TDEE on average is 2,750
    Her TDEE: we can assume is around 1,800 calories, that's usually what women's TDEE is on average.

    For me to bulk you want me to eat 3,000 calories. This is 9% increase in calories. For her it would be 2,150. This is a 19% increase in calories.

    Big difference. It's best to go by a % of total calories.

    by figuring out her maintenance she is taking her weight into account.

    Hmmm 1800 * 1.2 is actually 2160….so your method would have her eating about ten percent more…whoops..

    lul oops :trollface:
  • zz0413
    zz0413 Posts: 12 Member
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    I originally had occasional digestive issues before bulking that would result in not eating for a while. Over the past year I've learned to treat my stomach like any other body part (it can get injured and it also needs time to heal). My advice is to go slow, start with a very small surplus and see what's offering types of food your body tolerates. For me I had a hard time bulking when fat was involved, so cheat meals were off the table for me. I had to start with eating more of very easy stuff from the BRAT diet. Eventually my stomach grew used to working harder to digest more and established a new normal.

    Even now if it gets messed up due to a cold or a bad meal, I scale back a day or two. Please just listen to your body and if it tells you to slow down, give it a day or two to recover. The bulk may be slower by eventually I do believe your digestive system can adapt and become stronger.

    Good luck.