Lean bulk please critique!

[PrairieDawg]

Stats
5'11 190lbs
10-12% bf
27 yrs

I'm going to attempt a lean bulk and see how it goes. I'm trying to do it as clean as I can without sacrificing potential muscle mass. I'm also doing a test/deca cycle with it, my second cycle. I'd like some opinions on what I'm planning. I've cut wheat completely out of my diet as a bit of an experiment from an article I read.

9:30am (upon waking) - 1 scoop whey isolate, 1 banana (25 pro, 32 carb, 3 fat, 252 cals)

10:00am - 8 egg whites, 1 whole egg, 1/2 scoop whey isolate, 2/3 cup uncooked blended oatmeal (46 pro, 41 carb, 11 fat, 537 cals)

12:30pm -1 Top Sirloin Steak, 2 cups mixed veggies, 1 tble spoon flax seed oil (34 pro, 20 carb, 19 fat, 378 cals)

2:30pm - 1 chicken breast, 1 cup sweet potatos, 1 cup mixed veggies (38 pro, 38 carb, 6 fat, 408 cals)

3:30pm - Pre-workout shake - 1 1/2 scoops whey, 2/3 cup oats (42 pro, 43 carb, 3 fat, 420 cals)

4pm - Workout

5:30 - PWO shake - 2 scoops whey, 3 scoops dextrose (50 pro, 100 carb, 3 fat, 694 cals)

6:30pm - PWO meal - 1 chicken breast, 1/2 cup brown rice, 1 cup mixed veggies (43 pro, 44 carb, 6 fat, 400 cals)

9:00pm - 170 grams smoked salmon, 2 tablespoons almond butter or walnuts (48 pro, 6 carb, 20 fat, 370 cals)

10:30pm - 2 scoops casein protein, 1 tablespoon flaxseed oil (48 pro, 14 carb, 16 fat, 380 cals).

TOTAL
374 PRO
318 CARBS
87 FAT
3839 CALS


My main question is, am I taking in enough carbs on cycle to grow? I know 3800 cals isn't alot for bulking especially on cycle. I'm going to be gradually increasing my cals week by week but when I do where should I be increasing them? What should I have my cals up to ideally when I'm done my gradual increase? 4500?

[Buddhabody]

My thoughts are you have too many shakes in your diet. Upon waking up get some protein and some slow digesting carbs in you (ie oats/oatmeal). At 12:30, I would say get some carbs in you 50-100g. For pre-workout, I would suggest you eat real food. PWO meals should be 1 1/2 to 2 cups of rice. My opinion is you should be getting 400-600g of carbs. Other than that diet is decent. Wait for others opinions as well and evaluate the info before making huge changes. Good luck to you.

[PrairieDawg]

My thoughts are you have too many shakes in your diet. Upon waking up get some protein and some slow digesting carbs in you (ie oats/oatmeal). At 12:30, I would say get some carbs in you 50-100g. For pre-workout, I would suggest you eat real food. PWO meals should be 1 1/2 to 2 cups of rice. My opinion is you should be getting 400-600g of carbs. Other than that diet is decent. Wait for others opinions as well and evaluate the info before making huge changes. Good luck to you.

Ok so at 12:30 should I keep the steak, remove the flax and add say a cup of yams? I'm alittle weary of mixing carbs with steak.

And the 1 1/2 to 2 cups rice PWO, is that cooked or uncooked? Because my 1/2 cup is an uncooked measurement, which I'm guessing is around 1 cup when cooked?

[Buddhabody]

Steak and carbs wouldnt be bad, but everyone is different. And yes it would be 1 1/2- 2 cups cooked.

[Blaz Kavlic]

Looks like alot of planning has gone into your diet PD. I've run a similar diet and gained around 6lbs in 3 months. Post your results and good luck with it.

[SlimmerMe]

Do you want to get lean or bulk more for now? sometimes it is better to chose one over the other and then go from there....

[PrairieDawg]

I've done dirty bulks, sorta clean bulks but never one where I sat down and counted cals for a clean bulk. I will be bulking no question but I want to see if my body type can do it without putting on excess fat. Last winter I put on about 12-14 lbs naturally ( at least half was fat) doing a bulk that was halfway between dirty and clean. It seems when I cut down for the summer I lose a good portion of that muscle I gained so what's the point. Granted I will be on cycle for this one so it wont be much of an experiment for me. Keeping cardio to 3 x's/week in the evenings. I've been doing this diet (for the most part) for a couple weeks now and I already notice a slight reduction in bf and I gained a couple of pounds plus I haven't even started my cycle yet. I wont be getting my gear for a few weeks yet but if this keeps up I might just save the gear for next winter!