How important is a strict diet while on the bulking phase of muscle gain?

[missionone]

Attached is what I eat everyday...

How important is a strict diet while on the bulking phase of muscle gain? or can I just eat healthy ingredients and the same amount of calories but not limit myself to such a strict diet?

[gbrice75]

It's really not a matter of importance, it has more to do with how clean you want your gains to be. If you don't care about adding more bodyfat than necessary, go all out and eat whatever you want. For most of us, the food choices wouldn't change much between a cut / maintenance / bulk diet; only the macros would.

[missionone]

basically just keep the diet clean to avoid bf % rise, but eat a lot?

[gbrice75]

basically just keep the diet clean to avoid bf % rise, but eat a lot?

'A lot' might mean something completely different to you than it does to me...

Eat clean and a little above maintenance, about 400-600 calories. Monitor closely and make minor adjustments as you go along until you really get dialed in.

[missionone]

sorry i should have asked this before...what would the macros be for the bulking phase? without adding extra bf%?

[gbrice75]

sorry i should have asked this before...what would the macros be for the bulking phase? without adding extra bf%?

There's no rule, it's very individual. For people who respond very well to carbs, I like something like a 40/45/15 (P/C/F) split. 40/40/20 will work better for others.

At the end of the day, it's more important to make sure you're eating quality food, eating often (every 2.5 - 3 hours), and above maintenance. That coupled with a solid training routine and dialed in cardio will yield results.

[Sgt. Hartman]

To me, a "strict" diet ie. counting cals/macros is imperative regardless of the goals whether bulking or cutting because if you don't know exactly what you're intake is then how are you supposed to know how to modify your diet based off of the results you're getting.

[FireGuy]

^^Yes.
What is the thought process behind the two meals containing 112-120 grams of protein each while all the others are around 50 grams?

[Gucks]

since when is 2 cans of tune 112 grams of protein..? thats 56g a can. tht a big ass can. think u have that wrong, normally around 35g. if u do eat 112g then tht is insane, i would say 50g max per meal. some guys will go more if their huge and on a cycle but 112g is unnessecary.

on being strict, when i started i wasnt strict, i basicly ate as much as i could fit in my stomach to gain as fast as possible. gained a good few ibs of fat though. i stopped it before the fat got out of hand though so if u wored about bf then do as every1 else said, keep as strict as u can.

[missionone]

^^Yes.
What is the thought process behind the two meals containing 112-120 grams of protein each while all the others are around 50 grams?

there was no great thought process for the meals with tuna, i was just looking for a high cal healthy option. I am a hard gainer (very hard) so I need the extra cals.

[missionone]

since when is 2 cans of tune 112 grams of protein..? thats 56g a can. tht a big ass can. think u have that wrong, normally around 35g. if u do eat 112g then tht is insane, i would say 50g max per meal. some guys will go more if their huge and on a cycle but 112g is unnessecary.

on being strict, when i started i wasnt strict, i basicly ate as much as i could fit in my stomach to gain as fast as possible. gained a good few ibs of fat though. i stopped it before the fat got out of hand though so if u wored about bf then do as every1 else said, keep as strict as u can.

I took those off of the can. They have all there values based on a quarter can, so since I am eating the entire can I just multiplied by 4.

[FireGuy]

there was no great thought process for the meals with tuna, i was just looking for a high cal healthy option. I am a hard gainer (very hard) so I need the extra cals.

If you are a hard gainer taking in 120 grams of protein at one sitting twice a day is not going to cause more muscle growth. If you are looking for a high calorie option as stated you would be better off going with healthy fats or even carbs as opposed to adding in gram after gram of protein. If you are truly looking to gain weight you would be better served switching your protein and carbs around. 500 grams of protein is excessive unless you are carrying upwards of 250lbs of lean mass.

[Reed]

yep, flip those around

[missionone]

Thanks guys, I am learning as I am going. I will tweak my diet