Bulking Up Diet

dpr73 · June 2015

After (inexplicably) losing 10lbs unknowingly since coming home from college, I have decided to put myself on a program to build muscle and gain quality weight.

I work out 5 days a week and have a pretty well designed workout (it's actually borrowed from my brothers who have a lot of muscle and play college lacrosse). So, although I am sure my workouts are on point. I want to make sure my nutrition is on point as well...some people say you must eat constantly at my age (20 years) to get good muscle, while some say too much food leads to fat gain.

Anyway, could someone tell me if my diet plan/what I have been eating this week is sufficient to build muscle? I am decently active, as I commute to school by metro everyday about 30-40 mins plus my workouts and walking up and down hills on campus.

Here is an example of my day:
2 eggs fried
Jalapeño Cheddar Bagel (250 cal)
About 2 cups grapes

Chobani Flip Yogurt (200)

Chicken Salad Sandwich on a roll
2 cups grapes

PB&J/Protein Shake (1.5 cups milk scoop whey)

Normal Dinner (for example, tonight is about a half cup mac and cheese, half a rack of spare ribs {like 5 ribs} and kale most likely with a little EVOO on it)

I am going to be out drinking tonight with friends, but on a normal night I would have a protein shake with a scoop whey and about 1 1/2 cups 1%milk.

Is this too much? I can scale things back but I definitely don't want to underdo it either. I honestly never feel too full and feel like I could always eat more. But I don't count calories because I don't have the means (scale) and such to do so.

My info is:
20 years old
Male
130lbs
5'7-5'8
Moderately active

DironBates · June 2015

I haven't logged everything in that you eat but considering that you are moderately active and probably a ridiculous metabolism you might need to eat more in order to gain quality muscle. I think that paying more attention to your macronutrient split along with your calories might help a bit more with gaining lean mass without an excessive amount of fat gain. Other factors that are unknown that might help someone better answer your question is your body fat percentage...if it is relatively low you can actually gain muscle along with fat and still keep your percentage from rising...you would obviously be gaining muscle at a higher ratio then fat though. Also, your program for strength training and cardio is also a factor in how many calories you should probably be consuming...there are so many unknown factors to give you a more specific answer but to some it up I think you would probably want to not only increase your calories but rearrange the sources that you are getting them from.

Unknown · June 2015

This content has been removed.

usmcmp · June 2015

The only way to know if the amount of calories is going to be enough or even too much is to log your food and your weight as accurately as you can. If you start slowly gaining weight (about half a pound per week) you are on the right track. If you aren't gaining it means you aren't eating enough.

AvsFreak · June 2015

Well, one calorie calculator said your maintenance was about 2,450 calories. Myfitnesspal should give you something similar. For a slow steady bulk, try and eat 300 calories or so over your maintenance (2750 ish) and see how your strength improves over a few weeks. If you are gaining too much fat lower it a little, not enough strength, raise it a little. These online calculators are only a guess, you need to find your maintenance on your own.

Read this thread to make sure you are getting enough calories (protein, fats and carbs) It is an extremely useful tool.

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=156380183

Stephcrane14 · June 2015

I would eat more if I were you and trying to gain.

Here are some of my suggestions:
-skip the protein shake right before bed-When you sleep, proteins are broken down into their original amino acids and used to fuel the body's vital processes. Fueling up on proteins before bed can help delay and even prevent catabolism—the breakdown of muscle tissue that occurs while you sleep. Aim to consume some form of slow-digesting casein protein before bed, either in shake form or as a cottage cheese snack.

-switch what types of carbs you're eating-Think complex. Oatmeal, quinoa, and yams digest slowly, provide sustained energy, and stabilize blood sugar levels as opposed to simple carbs like the mac n cheese your currently eating

-protein- I would add more. instead of carb loading for a bulking diet, which is a good thing to do but can get dicey if you aren't careful, incorporate more fish, eggs and nuts to boost your protein intake. Doing this will help keep you full longer.

I plan my days out to the macro nutrient however sometimes I just get hungry. My fix? I carry around some extra hard boiled egg whites, about 2-3 egg white will fill me up and get me through until my next meal.

Remember that gaining well earned muscle is done over time!

I hope this was helpful.

giantrobot_powerlifting · June 2015

Eat over your TDEE, and with 5 days of training, that could require a much higher surplus than just 250-500 calories depending on whatever your starting height/weight is. I assume you want to build as much LBM over BF, so in addition to a scale reading, invest in at least skin fold calipers to track what is happening to your body composition.

Eat. Lift. Almonds. Patience.

Lady_jane_ · June 2015

Without knowing portion sizes, it seems like this is not enough.

You don't need a scale to count calories, of course it is more accurate but totally not necessary. I estimate. You also don't need to count calories forever but you might want to try for a few weeks at least, to get an idea of how much you are actually consuming vs. how much you should be.

dpr73 · June 2015

So for the time being do you all think I should eat how ever much I can? I don't really go in for sweets or anything but I can eat a lot if it meets my goals. Also. I think my protein is decently high. The protein shake alone is about 40 grams

auddii · June 2015

Stephcrane14 wrote: »

I would eat more if I were you and trying to gain.

Here are some of my suggestions:
-skip the protein shake right before bed-When you sleep, proteins are broken down into their original amino acids and used to fuel the body's vital processes. Fueling up on proteins before bed can help delay and even prevent catabolism—the breakdown of muscle tissue that occurs while you sleep. Aim to consume some form of slow-digesting casein protein before bed, either in shake form or as a cottage cheese snack.

-switch what types of carbs you're eating-Think complex. Oatmeal, quinoa, and yams digest slowly, provide sustained energy, and stabilize blood sugar levels as opposed to simple carbs like the mac n cheese your currently eating

-protein- I would add more. instead of carb loading for a bulking diet, which is a good thing to do but can get dicey if you aren't careful, incorporate more fish, eggs and nuts to boost your protein intake. Doing this will help keep you full longer.

I plan my days out to the macro nutrient however sometimes I just get hungry. My fix? I carry around some extra hard boiled egg whites, about 2-3 egg white will fill me up and get me through until my next meal.

Remember that gaining well earned muscle is done over time!

I hope this was helpful.

What?

dpr73 · June 2015

auddii wrote: »

Stephcrane14 wrote: »

I would eat more if I were you and trying to gain.

Here are some of my suggestions:
-skip the protein shake right before bed-When you sleep, proteins are broken down into their original amino acids and used to fuel the body's vital processes. Fueling up on proteins before bed can help delay and even prevent catabolism—the breakdown of muscle tissue that occurs while you sleep. Aim to consume some form of slow-digesting casein protein before bed, either in shake form or as a cottage cheese snack.

-switch what types of carbs you're eating-Think complex. Oatmeal, quinoa, and yams digest slowly, provide sustained energy, and stabilize blood sugar levels as opposed to simple carbs like the mac n cheese your currently eating

-protein- I would add more. instead of carb loading for a bulking diet, which is a good thing to do but can get dicey if you aren't careful, incorporate more fish, eggs and nuts to boost your protein intake. Doing this will help keep you full longer.

I plan my days out to the macro nutrient however sometimes I just get hungry. My fix? I carry around some extra hard boiled egg whites, about 2-3 egg white will fill me up and get me through until my next meal.

Remember that gaining well earned muscle is done over time!

I hope this was helpful.

What?

I didn't get it either

ndj1979 · June 2015

Stephcrane14 wrote: »

I would eat more if I were you and trying to gain.

Here are some of my suggestions:
-skip the protein shake right before bed-When you sleep, proteins are broken down into their original amino acids and used to fuel the body's vital processes. Fueling up on proteins before bed can help delay and even prevent catabolism—the breakdown of muscle tissue that occurs while you sleep. Aim to consume some form of slow-digesting casein protein before bed, either in shake form or as a cottage cheese snack.

-switch what types of carbs you're eating-Think complex. Oatmeal, quinoa, and yams digest slowly, provide sustained energy, and stabilize blood sugar levels as opposed to simple carbs like the mac n cheese your currently eating

-protein- I would add more. instead of carb loading for a bulking diet, which is a good thing to do but can get dicey if you aren't careful, incorporate more fish, eggs and nuts to boost your protein intake. Doing this will help keep you full longer.

I plan my days out to the macro nutrient however sometimes I just get hungry. My fix? I carry around some extra hard boiled egg whites, about 2-3 egg white will fill me up and get me through until my next meal.

Remember that gaining well earned muscle is done over time!

I hope this was helpful.

so much bro science….

OP ignore this

ndj1979 · June 2015

OP - I would suggest that you figure out your maintnece calories and add 250 calories to that and eat to that number. If you don't have a food scale then I would suggest getting one of those too. I would also suggest a structured lifting program like strong lifts, new rules of lifting, wendler 5/3/1 etc….

You need to get about .85 grams of protein per pound of lean mass; .45 gram of fat per pound of body weight; and fill in the rest with carbs.

at your age you should be primed to have some nice mass gains…

dpr73 · June 2015

ndj1979 wrote: »

OP - I would suggest that you figure out your maintnece calories and add 250 calories to that and eat to that number. If you don't have a food scale then I would suggest getting one of those too. I would also suggest a structured lifting program like strong lifts, new rules of lifting, wendler 5/3/1 etc….

You need to get about .85 grams of protein per pound of lean mass; .45 gram of fat per pound of body weight; and fill in the rest with carbs.

at your age you should be primed to have some nice mass gains…

I don't think my issue is with the routine. My brothers (who both have a lot of muscle) have me following an effective lifting program, I also am not new to lifting...just to bulking.

The trouble with Calorie counting and weighing everything is that I don't want to do that my whole life and my family honestly doesn't support it very easily. I am essentially going against the grain there and since my family cooks the dinners and everything, I can't exactly measure every last thing that goes into my body.

auddii · June 2015

dpr73 wrote: »

ndj1979 wrote: »

OP - I would suggest that you figure out your maintnece calories and add 250 calories to that and eat to that number. If you don't have a food scale then I would suggest getting one of those too. I would also suggest a structured lifting program like strong lifts, new rules of lifting, wendler 5/3/1 etc….

You need to get about .85 grams of protein per pound of lean mass; .45 gram of fat per pound of body weight; and fill in the rest with carbs.

at your age you should be primed to have some nice mass gains…

I don't think my issue is with the routine. My brothers (who both have a lot of muscle) have me following an effective lifting program, I also am not new to lifting...just to bulking.

The trouble with Calorie counting and weighing everything is that I don't want to do that my whole life and my family honestly doesn't support it very easily. I am essentially going against the grain there and since my family cooks the dinners and everything, I can't exactly measure every last thing that goes into my body.

So, if you're new to bulking and not new to lifting, my assumption is that you've been doing pretty well at maintaining your weight. Add in a serving of ice cream, or a candy bar, or 1.5 servings of peanut butter to what you normally eat. That will get you about in the surplus range that was recommended.

Bulking Up Diet

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