carb question

[Dom78]

im 5'11 190lbs and probably around 16-18% ive been training for about 6 years and only recently begun to reall do the diet thing seriously right now im trying to bulk i usually take in about 260 grams of protien my fat is always under 55grams my main concern is the carbs its ususlly slightly above 400 mostly from oatmeal and pasta and to be honest with you i really dont know if this is a lot or a little,and as for the pasta i know i should be using whole weat but im not sure if what im using is my pasta of choice is barilla bowtie the ingrediants are


semolina , niacin , iron , thiamine , mononitrate , riboflavin , folic acid


any help or suggestions is appreciated

dom78

[cb25]

Look for something labeled "whole wheat pasta" it's a better quality carb than regular pasta, which is digested pretty quickly.

Oatmeal is a great source that you have listed. Also some brown rice is a good option. My favorite meal has become chicken breast on a bed of brown rice topped with salsa...mmm mmm good.

[rambo]

Wow! 400 grams. No wonder you are 16 or 17 percent. To cut try and get that number down to 100, mostly in the form of breakfast and postworkout carbs. Cut out the pasta alltogether and rely on oatmeal and brown rice for carb sources. The protein and fat sounds great, but 400g carbs is ridiculous.

[Dom78]

I'm still trying to gain size so is 400 still alot??

[rambo]

Yes, it is very much alot. You can gain on anywhere from 200 or even less.

[cb25]

Yes, it is very much alot. You can gain on anywhere from 200 or even less.

I know there's a lot of different opinions about this out there, so I'll add mine. I think you can gain on 200g, but you'd be much better off around 400g/day.

If you're tring to consume 3500 calories, and you consume 400g CHO/day. that means 1600 cals from CHO, which is less than 50% of your intake. Personally, i don't think that's too much at all - especially for bulking. I try to aim for around 50-60% CHO and around 30% protein.

This isn't meant to confuse you...i just want to add a dissenting opinion (even tho i usually am in complete agreement w/ Rambo...)

[rambo]

In a sense I do agree, if he was a hardgainer at 7%, but remember that he is currently at 16-18 % bodyfat now...