Thread: How would this affect my body fat while trying to bulk?

Here are the carb sources that I choose from regularly:

Brown Rice
Pearled/Hulled Barley
Oatmeal
Sweet Potatoes/Yams
Whole Wheat Pita
100% Whole Wheat Bread
Cereal

I make sure the cereal is oats-based. Check out these cereals from Nature's Path. I eat them regularly because they are low in sugar, primarily consist of rolled oats, and contain some healthy fats. They are also very tastey.

i eat a cup of breadshop's granola every morning, with milk of course. great stuff.

if your looking for cereal go with Fiber1, 15G of fiber and 0G of sugar for 1/2 a cup and it's 110 calories. Best cereal out there that i can find, and it tastes great

Originally Posted by BerryBlis

Hello,

I'm trying to put on some lean muscle and am looking to put some additional calories in my diet (in the form of carbs - i'm already eating enough protein and healthy fats). I'm thinking adding about 100-200 calories worth of either:
-mini wheats cereal, or
-these things called corn bran squares made by quaker (ingredients are corn flour, corn bran flour, sugar, oat flower - and have 120 cals/cup, 1.5 gram fat, 5 gram fibre, 6 gram sugar, 2 gram protein), or
-an equivalent amount (in terms of carbs and calories) of quaker rice chips or soy crips (not sure what the ingredients are in these as I don't have a package right now, but i'm sure it's comparable to rice cakes).
Anyway, I was just wondering how bad these are (or which would be the best choice OUT OF THE 3 LISTED)? And also, would this make me add significantly more body fat than say if I just ate another bowl of oatmeal? (I'm already eating oatmeal 3-4 times a day so I wanted to find something a little different that I can also easily transport) (assuming of course that I was eating equal amounts of carbs and calories with either the oatmeal or choices listed).
...hopefully that made sense..... sorta a weird confusing post but any advice you could offer would be great!
Thanks so much!
BerryBlis

Lets see . . . lets remember my math . . . searching data banks . . .
Oh yeah, here we go. 1 lb of fat is 3,500 calories. So assuming you were eating at equalibrium, no weight gain or loss, then 200 extra calories a day would add one pound to your body in 17 days. So 100 to 200 additional calories per day is not going to make you fat (quickly) no matter what it is.

AS far as which one is better, the more processed it is, the worse it is.
It will have a higher glycemic index and this is what you are trying to control.
So oatmeal would be better than a processed cereal or rice cakes.

Originally Posted by BerryBlis

I'm thinking adding about 100-200 calories worth of either:
-mini wheats cereal
-corn bran squares made by quaker (ingredients are corn flour, corn bran flour, sugar, oat flower - and have 120 cals/cup, 1.5 gram fat, 5 gram fibre, 6 gram sugar, 2 gram protein)
-an equivalent amount (in terms of carbs and calories) of quaker rice chips or soy crips (not sure what the ingredients are in these as I don't have a package right now, but i'm sure it's comparable to rice cakes).

Anyway, I was just wondering how bad these are (or which would be the best choice OUT OF THE 3 LISTED)?

Arggg... None?!! Mini wheats and those corn-bran things are both horribly processed and mini wheats are high gi (it also sounds like those corn things would be too). I do not know what the rice chips or soy chips are like, but they probably would not be good either!

Infact, they are all such poor option I can not even give you a 'best option' from them!

And also, would this make me add significantly more body fat than say if I just ate another bowl of oatmeal?

This is a really hard question. Those options would certainly result in higher and more unstable blood glucose/insulin levels (higher GI) and would also probably have a lower thermogenic potential than oats, although at the end of the day calories are what count in terms of fat gain, if you are eating the same amount of calories from those two options, due to the alterations in your bodies hormonal/thermogenic responses and the healthy partitioning effect the more nutritious oats would have, I would say that it could be slightly more advantageous to have the oats.

... Another bowl of oatmeal would definately be HEALTHIER for you anyway - much more nutritionally dense and lower GI (and, for me at least, much tastier as well).

I'm already eating oatmeal 3-4 times a day so I wanted to find something a little different that I can also easily transport) (assuming of course that I was eating equal amounts of carbs and calories with either the oatmeal or choices listed).

Why not take a little container of legumes or pre-cooked whole grain/rice/sweet potato? That is just as easily transported! Fruit, cottage cheese and some powdered skim milk in a shaker bottle would also be another perfectly acceptable alternative.

Hello,

Wow, and I thought mini wheats were all healthy and stuff...besides the frosting of course but that's just one side...haha.

So would I be better off having a banana? I know it sounds stupid but I just don't want to cook any more food...it already feels like I spend half my day preparing my meals so I want something grab and go. I could do oatmeal (i agree it's just as tasty) but it just means transporting yet another container....

Thanks!
BerryBlis

Originally Posted by BerryBlis

So would I be better off having a banana?

Yes. Much better off.

I know it sounds stupid but I just don't want to cook any more food...it already feels like I spend half my day preparing my meals so I want something grab and go. I could do oatmeal (i agree it's just as tasty) but it just means transporting yet another container....

What about pre-cooked cans of legumes like chick-peas? They are very easy to transport.

Hey,

Yah, those would be good, but I seem to have a huge taste aversion to them...haha (along with any types of beans) Any other suggestions that would be good? Is any type of fruit alright?

Thanks again!!

BerryBlis