Bulking

BonyCastro wrote: »

So I want to start bulking the clean way! Any tips or advice? I know I have to increase my calories but are there any particular foods you recommend ?

The key to figuring out the optimal range in terms of calories for muscle gain is to create a surplus that is big enough to maximize growth, but also small enough that you don't put on an excessive amount of body fat.

A reliable guideline for daily calories to build muscle is to find your calorie maintenance level and then increase it by 15-20%. This will allow you to carry out a "lean bulk" and provide you with the right calorie intake to build lean muscle with minimal gains in fat.

Most people go way overboard on their calorie intake for weight gain, and although they do put on muscle, they also gain a large amount of fat as well. When it comes to figuring out how many calories per day to build muscle, a smaller surplus and more gradual gains is almost always the best approach.

Always remember that your body only views your nutritional intake in terms of your overall diet as a whole and NOT in the context of individual food items. As long as you're getting around 80-90% of your food intake from lean proteins, minimally processed carbs and healthy fats, then having the other 10-20% come from whatever foods you'd like is NOT going to compromise your results. This concept is often referred to as "flexible dieting".

Fitness is a life long endeavor, and trying to eat nothing but "clean" foods all the time is not only unrealistic but is totally unnecessary. As long as the majority of your diet is based around typical "clean" fitness foods, you'll easily be meeting your needs in terms of quality protein, fiber, vitamins, minerals and other micronutrients. From there, including some cheat foods is not going to hurt you, and it will actually be beneficial for most people as it allows you to enjoy your diet more and increases the chances that you'll stick to it long term.