Thread: bulk diet question

Carbs certainly make it easier to grow. The insulin spike we get from eating them carries nutrients into the muscles. If you are gaining more fat than you want, why not just go low carb EXCEPT for pre and post workouts?

I've had to go back to my old way of eating an ancestral anabolic diet...think DiPisquale's Anabolic diet except with "safe starches" for my loading day. No grains or anything made from grain. But a timed carb diet will work very well for most who gain fat more easily. Maybe 1 or 2 grams for each gram of protein before and after your workout would work for you? Try it and see. Adjust carbs as needed. As long as you are gaining each week and fat gains are minimal, then you are going in the right direction.

just eat food to bulk. Im not saying to get fat and eat fast food all day. but if you do cardio while bulking you will be fine youll gain some fat but not much.

Originally Posted by .V.

Carbs certainly make it easier to grow. The insulin spike we get from eating them carries nutrients into the muscles. If you are gaining more fat than you want, why not just go low carb EXCEPT for pre and post workouts?

I've had to go back to my old way of eating an ancestral anabolic diet...think DiPisquale's Anabolic diet except with "safe starches" for my loading day. No grains or anything made from grain. But a timed carb diet will work very well for most who gain fat more easily. Maybe 1 or 2 grams for each gram of protein before and after your workout would work for you? Try it and see. Adjust carbs as needed. As long as you are gaining each week and fat gains are minimal, then you are going in the right direction.

thanks for the info, im definitely going to try this. i was taking in most of my carbs with breakfast and lunch anyway as i was tryin to keep carbs out of my last meal of the night and then drink my protein shake before bed so the only carbs at night are from the few in that.
and i shouldnt say im gaining a lot of fat on cycle i just noticed i have gained some as my abs arent coming through they were. maybe on my days off from lifting i could lower calories almost like i was cutting (im only out of the gym 2days a week, 3sometimes) and then all the other days eat above maintenance. but for now i will try the low carbs except pre/post lift. thanks V

Drow, that might work. Maybe even if you drop them to maintenance instead of below on your off days. However, don't forget that on your off days is when you recover and grow.

Now how I do it works for me, and it may not work for you. It certainly will not give you the kind of gains you might get eating a more standard diet...but the gains are leaner (at least for me) so there is less cutting to do later.

Originally Posted by drow

hey i just got a question bout carbs. i'm currently bulking but i've gained a little fat already even with cardio post workouts so i was wondering, if i kept my carbs at about 100g a day, as long as im gettin more than my maintenance of cals, can i still gain?
im currently gettin plenty of carbs (whole wheat based usually) but i was thinking of lowering them but dont know how much of a difference that would make. i know during bulks you gain fat, you cant really help it and i usually dont care, its just i have to keep my weight/body fat low enough for military standards.
i was also thinkin, if i keep my cals high with the carbs as im doing so now, could i just throw in ECA (minus the A) stack to help with keepin that fat off or would that hurt the muscle gain? thanks in advance

The ECA will induce insulin resistance, which is great while cutting, but lousy on a bulk. Short answer - it won't burn off the fat, and it may make you partition a little worse than you would have. (I'll add that I still take a couple of ephedrine tabs and a caffeine preworkout, for the breathing and the amped up feeling, but it's only preworkout for me while bulking or at maintenance).

How many calories are you consuming? How many grams protein, carb and fat do you get in? What do you weigh, and how fast are you gaining?

Originally Posted by .V.

Carbs certainly make it easier to grow. The insulin spike we get from eating them carries nutrients into the muscles. If you are gaining more fat than you want, why not just go low carb EXCEPT for pre and post workouts?

I've had to go back to my old way of eating an ancestral anabolic diet...think DiPisquale's Anabolic diet except with "safe starches" for my loading day. No grains or anything made from grain. But a timed carb diet will work very well for most who gain fat more easily. Maybe 1 or 2 grams for each gram of protein before and after your workout would work for you? Try it and see. Adjust carbs as needed. As long as you are gaining each week and fat gains are minimal, then you are going in the right direction.

My approach is similar to how .V. does it. Very comfortable.

Originally Posted by drow

thanks for the info, im definitely going to try this. i was taking in most of my carbs with breakfast and lunch anyway as i was tryin to keep carbs out of my last meal of the night and then drink my protein shake before bed so the only carbs at night are from the few in that.
and i shouldnt say im gaining a lot of fat on cycle i just noticed i have gained some as my abs arent coming through they were. maybe on my days off from lifting i could lower calories almost like i was cutting (im only out of the gym 2days a week, 3sometimes) and then all the other days eat above maintenance. but for now i will try the low carbs except pre/post lift. thanks V

You might try low carbs except for pre/post. I'd keep them away from the early part of the day unless you train then. Ideally, carbs are only eaten close to bedtime - and no, I'm not joking - although this may be more applicable during a cut. Greater weight loss and hormonal cha... [Obesity (Silver Spring). 2011] - PubMed - NCBI

I would keep carbs at maintenance level on the off days and eat about 400-500 calories (100-130g of carbs) over maintenance on my workout days.I would eat the majority of carbs after my workout.

hey everyone thanks for the responses. as all of you said, i think im just going to keep 90% of my carb intake pre/post workout. V is also workin with me to get my diet where it needs to be. basically i was focused on only gettin enough carbs to grow muscle while keeping fat away.
Built-great info on the EC stack which i honestly didnt know the specifics i just know it helps me burn fat and i know how to dose it which is how i've ran it. i think i also will just cut out the EC stack except as a preworkout as i also like it for that. And what i was doing was basically 50/25/35 protein/carbs/fats as my breakdown, numbers might be a little off as its hard for me to focus on my macros and i just focus on what im eating and portioning my meals.
I also was wondering, since i recently(past few months) dropped 20lbs of fat, am i more prone to put fat on easily?
And one more question, is there a "diet memory" like muscle memory and if you keep eating the same foods all the time that your body will get use to them and stop growing or burning fat?
Thanks for all the responses ahead of time. Great to learn more in depth of how stuff works as I have just learned the basics and that's probably why I dont have the body i want yet lol