Bulking diet, what ya think?

[ascendant]

Alright, here goes... Just finished cutting up and have now started my bulking up routine. My profile gives most my stats, i'm going all natural right now (at least till i catch up to where i should be at), and i am just coming back from about a 2 year layoff. Here's the basics of what i'm taking in:

Calories: 3300-3600
Fat: 65-75g
Carb: 410-430g
Protein: 260-280g

I eat 7 times a day, the fats are low saturated, and it's pretty clean low-processed foods for the most part. Not really concerned with what i'm eating, just about if you guys think this is good on those stats as far as looking for size.

i know the protein might be considered low for some, but i am taking in above 1 1/2g protein per lb bodyweight. i basically want to put on muscle while staying as lean as possible. let me know what you guys think. thanks.

[l2elapse]

what exactly is your diet, sometimes you can thinky ou are doing it right but actually might not be

[ascendant]

ok, here's the diet:

1) 2 cups skim milk, 2 organic granola bars, multi-vitamin (vitamin world brand), flaxseed oil pill

2) shake (1 1/2 cups skim milk, 1/4 scoop weight gainer 1850, 1 scoop whey protein)

3) *(pre-workout)* 1/2 lb cold cuts (ham, roast beef, turkey), (low saturated fat) chips, orange or apple

4) *(post-workout)* shake (2 1/2 cups skim milk, 1/2 scoop weight gainer 1850, 2 scoops whey protein), 1 tbs amino acids, 8oz carbonated soda (for quick absorbing sugar to replenish lost muscle glycogen and blood glucose), multi vitamin

5) dinner - usually 1/2lb beef or chicken with some pasta or rice or something comparable

6) 1 whole egg and 3 egg whites scrambled, about 6-10oz of juiced veggies (carrot, celery, lime, ginger, etc.), and a mixed greens and spinach salad with low-fat or no-fat dressing

7) 2 cups skim milk

[1buffsob]

ok, here's the diet:

1) 2 cups skim milk, 2 organic granola bars, multi-vitamin (vitamin world brand), flaxseed oil pill (Protein source???)

2) shake (1 1/2 cups skim milk, 1/4 scoop weight gainer 1850, 1 scoop whey protein) (Don't know the macros on the weight gainer, but whole foods would come to better benifit here.)

3) *(pre-workout)* 1/2 lb cold cuts (ham, roast beef, turkey), (low saturated fat) chips, orange or apple (IMHO, I'd try to get something a little more nutritious than low fat chips, but this is a bulk....)

4) *(post-workout)* shake (2 1/2 cups skim milk, 1/2 scoop weight gainer 1850, 2 scoops whey protein), 1 tbs amino acids, 8oz carbonated soda (for quick absorbing sugar to replenish lost muscle glycogen and blood glucose), multi vitamin (Might want to go with dextrose and/or low GI carb source instead of soda, but everyone's PWO is different.)

5) dinner - usually 1/2lb beef or chicken with some pasta or rice or something comparable (Looks good )

6) 1 whole egg and 3 egg whites scrambled, about 6-10oz of juiced veggies (carrot, celery, lime, ginger, etc.), and a mixed greens and spinach salad with low-fat or no-fat dressing (You have barely any calories in this meal.)

7) 2 cups skim milk (Whole foods come to better benefit as they will provide slower absorption to feed your muscles throughout the night. Cottage cheese is a favorite here for the slow absorbing casien protein)

Just a few suggestions in bold. Milk is fine while bulking, but don't rely on it too much. Also, daily macros are important, but I find what you eat along with when you eat them, are just as important if not more. My 2 cents

1buffsob

[IBdmfkr]

From the numbers, too much protein, not enough complex carbs.

[ascendant]

Just a few suggestions in bold. Milk is fine while bulking, but don't rely on it too much. Also, daily macros are important, but I find what you eat along with when you eat them, are just as important if not more. My 2 cents

1buffsob

great man, thanks for the critique, i appreciate it. exactly what i was looking for. just in response to some of what you posted, let me get into further detail so things make some more sense on those meals:

1) the protein from the milk may only be 16g, but the bars also have 5g each in them, bringing it to 26g. i am thinking about adding some whey to my breakfast milk though soon.

2) i agree completely with your statement. the only reason i do this one is because it's when i'm at work, and i need something i can take down quick at intervals when i have a chance, hence a shake. maybe instead of the weight gainer in the shake though, a banana and some peanut butter might be better? i just like weight gainer cause i measure it out and it's very accurate in comparison to using a half of a misc-sized banana and about 1tbs or whatever have you of peanut butter. if that would make a difference though, i'm willing to try.

3) the chips are minimally processed and usually i get the ones cooked in peanut oil so there's practically no saturated fat. basically the kind you'd find in a health food store. i need that extra fat cause this meal and my dinner are my main meals that i get my dietary fat from.

4) the high glycemic index of the soda is intentional. the carbonation makes it even higher. the reason i do this is because the faster you replenish those sugars in your body, the faster your body gets out of the catabolic state from a workout. this advice i got directly from jay cutler, so i'm not gonna argue it.

6) the reason this meal has very little calories is because this one i eat about an hour or so before bed, so i want to keep the calories low at that point. thinking of adding more protein here though, but not sure i need the protein yet?

7) i really like the cottage cheese idea. gave me something to think about that i hadn't before. thanks. not a big fan of cottage cheese though. anything i can add to it for flavor that doesn't have sugar in it?

anyway, just figured i'd help make a little more sense of why i do some of the things i do in my meals. i'm thinking of trying to increase my breakfast with an extra granola bar, maybe even 2 more, and decrease the amount of carbs in my dinner. so basically same calories, etc, but more carbs in morning and less at night. still needs some tweaking, but i just started it. thanks for the help though and any further help would be appreciated as well.

[ascendant]

alright, yet another update. here's some more changes i'm looking to make to those meals:

1) adding some whey to the breakfast and another granola bar for extra carbs.

4) thinking of possibly getting rid of the skim milk and using water instead in the pwo shake and just adding more gainer and whey to make up for it. read a few posts that say milk causes bloating, and i've been having serious issues with that overfull feeling all the time which might be contributed to by that. if it doesn't help with the bloating, i'll be switching back to the skim milk.

6) adding regular dressing with some fat to my salad for extra calories in this meal.

7) switching to the cottage cheese instead of milk. thanks "1buffsob"

that's about all i can change up for now, but it's still being worked on. also, "ibdmfkr", you really think at my current weight 410-430g of carbs isn't enough? i thought if anything, people would be encouraging me to up my fats or protein??? anyones elses thoughts on any of this? thanks.

[novastepp]

avoid combining fats and carbs as much as possible...a good principle to any diet (cutting or bulking) utilize carb sources such as oats, yams, brown rice, ect. as much as possible. your choices arent bad by any means but there are better options IMO. try to avoid cold cuts and go for fresh, if you want to use a deli get turkey breast or bake some chicken breast in advance, you could also try and use a lowGi carb source for sustained energy throughout your workout instead of the apple or orange. just a few opinions. good luck on the bulk bro

[novastepp]

i just noticed your stats, you need to eat more bro. shoot for just under the 4000 mark. seriously.

[Superballer]

definately eat more. More carbs and more EFA's.

5'11'' 195 lbs at 8%.... your maintainence level is around 3000 cal, so I would shoot for 4000-4200 personally, depending on if you're a hardgainer or not.

[ascendant]

yea, i'm in the process of increasing my calories. just hard to stomach all i gotta take in at this point saying as i haven't bulked up like this in a couple years. stomach feels like it's gonna burst half the day. very very slowly getting used to it and am upping my calories at least another 500-1000 over the next couple days. another reason i was gradually increasing them was i'm trying to keep from putting on bodyfat.

i know fats and carbs should be seperated, but the only time i take in high amounts of both in a meal is right before working out and my ppwo meal. i figure i'll be using a lot of it as energy during my workout, so it shouldn't be a problem for the pre-workout meal, and with the ppwo meal, my body will soak a lot of the carbs up into my muscles. do you think either of these are a bad idea?

i know your suggestions would be better replacements for a few of my choices "novastepp", but many of mine i choose for quick on the go meals. i'm at work most of the day, so i have to take things i don't have to heat up and can eat in my car or on the job.

i am thinking of doing the chicken breast idea you mentioned and just pre-cooking it to bring with me. i know the cold cuts are a lesser alternative, but i do live here in florida and this time of year you sweat like a lunatic, so i figured the sodium from the cold cuts might actually be a good thing for me right now. is there any issues with having a very low sodium diet while in a hot climate and trying to bulk? if not, i might drop the cold cuts and go with your suggestion.

anyway, i'll have those calories up over 4000 by the end of this weekend without question. thanks for all the advice guys and i'll be tweaking this diet as the next couple weeks go on to continuously improve it.