I have a few guidelines that I will follow next time I bulk and I thought I might as well share it here.
GI control
I feel that controlling GI at EACH AND EVERY meal is the most important part. Honestly most of us really don’t want to separate fats and carbs year round. It works very good to stay lean. But it’s a mental strain (atleast to me). What one can do instead is to keep the GI low on the meals that combine fats and carbs. If the GI is low enough it will be almost as good as separating.
1. The first thing to do is to try and replace all rice and pasta with Lentils and beans. Most beans and Lentils have a GI lower then 45. They are also cram packed with bioflavonoids, fibres, phytochemicals and minerals. Substances that all lower LDL cholesterol. Something we all would gain from when bulking and juicing. Don’t buy baked beans though they have higher GI.
Buy dried and soak and boil them at home. They also generally have a protein content between 20-30%(meat usualy contain 18-21% protein). The protein is not the best but it won’t hurt.
Brown rice is the best choice if you hate lentils and beans. Brown rice is rich in fibres and Zink.
Whenever you can buy ecologically grown beans, lentils and brown rice.
2. Add fibres to each and every meal. They lower GI.
Easiest way to do this is to add seeds to the meal or just swallow them before. One good way is to take a mouthful of flax seeds and chew it down. That will give you natural anti estrogens, good fats, some other good natural things and it will get the stomach going and release more digestion enzymes. So when you get to the real food the body will be ready to process it.
Different seeds are rich in different things. Sesame seeds are a good source of calcium for instance. Read up on them and use an appropriate mix of seeds to your meals.
3. Add alot of veggies. This will add even more fibres to the meal along with all the other benefits we know veggies have.
4. Drink something sour before the meal (be careful if you are prone to get ulcers). A low PH in the stomach lowers GI so drinking apple cider vinegar, ascorbic acid or eating a lemon before a meal will lower GI.
5. Eat things that increase insulin sensitivity. Cinnamon, R-ALA, chrome is 3 good examples.
Micronutrients
We often are way too obsessed about macro nutrients forgetting the fact that micronutrients are even of higher importance. If you are lacking in one or a few vitamins and minerals you ability to process food might be hindered, your ability to build muscle will be lowered, your health will be diminished, your metabolism will be lowered, lipolysis will be hindered, I could go on and on. The point is if the micro's aren’t in check the macro's won’t be able to help you build the lean mass you want. Fortuna it’s rather easy to make sure you get everything you need.
1. Eat super foods. Super foods are foods very rich in micronutrients. Example of super foods is sprouts (alfalfa being the king of sprouts), wheatgrass, spirulina, garlic. They all contain alot of vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals and bioflavonoid’s in a far grater extent then even veggies. Adding one or a few of those each day will do alot to keep your body in balance. It’s easy and cheap to make your own sprouts. Doesn’t taste all that good but if mixing down in food (just before eating when food is not to hot) it’s not noticeable.
2. Supplement with a good multi vitamin mineral. The best form is those rich in colloidal minerals and micellised vitamins. Micellised fat soluble vitamins can have an absorption 500% higher then non micellised.
3. Supplement extra of these vitamins and minerals.
Vitamin C (atleast 5grams/day)
Vitamin E (200-300mg)
Niacin 500mg/day
Pantothenic acid 500mg/day (important for fat metabolism)
Folic acid 400-800mcg/day
Vitamin B2 25-50mg/day
Vitamin B12 50-100mg/day
Beta-carotene 30-40mg/day
Selenium 200-300mcg/day
Magnesium 500-600mg/day
Potassium 3000-4000mg/day
Zink 30-40mg/Day
Manganese 10-20mg/day (important for protein metabolism and a part of SOD one of the main antioxidants in the body)
Chrome 300-400mcg/day
4. Super foods should take care of this but you could add an antioxidant combination pill along with a bioflavonoid combination.
5. Already mentioned veggies in the GI control but I mention them here again. They are crucial along with fruits.
Good fatty acids
This should be obvious but many only eat EFA's when cutting for some reason. They are even more important when bulking since you usually get alot of saturated fats when bulking.
Consume flax oil every day.
Eat avocadoes as often as you like (putting them into shakes make the shake very creamy and nice).
Drink some olive oil.
Don’t forget about MCT oils. Virgin coconut oil is the best natural MCT oil source.
Eat a handfull or 2 of mixed nuts every day. Preferably not roasted.
NEVER EVER EVER use hydrogenated fats when preparing food. They are found in margarine, all veggies oils that are not cold pressed, in most frozen microwave dinners.
Cardio
This is another thing that should be obvious. But many slack on the cardio. Doing a few short HIIT cardio sessions every week, 2 or so, will keep you in excellent cardiovascular shape. That will mean increased insulin sensitivity, the body being better at utilising fat, better strength gains, and better general health. Main point of the cardio when bulking to me isn’t about fat burning. It’s more about general health and as a gains booster.
I think that was about it. Following these guidelines will keep you fit, decently lean, strong and most of all healthy.
