Thread: Want to bulk

I am no diet expert, but i suggest study the sticky 'guide to...' in the meantime, as your diet could use a lot of fixing.

Your right, this is not enough food...

There are lots of foods that are convenient. You don't need to be in the kitchen every few hours - you just have to pre-prepare them.

Boil up a whole heap of rice/barley or cook up a whole heap of legumes and use these as carbs. Legumes also come in pre-cooked cans, which makes them twice as easy to prepare - just open and drain/rinse. Oats (rolled) can be eaten without cooking (they are already steamed when they are rolled) and are therefore perfect. Sweet potato can be baked/steamed or pre-prepared and stored in the fridge as well. If you want bread then stick to sprouted or pumpernickel.

Eggs are easy too - boil up one or two dozen at a time and keep them in the fridge. Then just grab a couple and peel. You can get rid of the yolks easily that way as well. Pre-steamed/grilled chicken breast and cooked lean turkey are also things that store in the fridge for a few days and can easily be used a few times a day. Cottage cheese is also easy to use.

Vegetables can be eaten raw (eg: mushroom, babay spinach, celery, lettuce, cucumber) and don't require a lot of preperation. Or else, steam some up and leave it in the fridge as well.

Milk is great, it is one of the most anabolic substances around (excellent proteins, growth factors, good carbohydrate source, vitamins, minerals etc etc) so some milk in your diet, especially when you are trying to add mass, would be benificial. I would stick to skim milk, the fats you get from milk products are better off coming from healthier sources. Number of yolks/day - well, I would not have more than a couple - you are, once again, better off getting those fats from sources higher in omega-3s.

Lastly, stay away from KFC. Unless you want to add lard and love handles.

Originally Posted by swick

Meal 1
5 eggs/w yolks
2 wheet toast w/butter
Orange juice w/multi vitamin

Drop the yolks down to 2 yolks at a maximum and add whites instead.
Drop the toast, go for oats OR swap to a sprouted or pumpernickel bread.
Ditch the butter - you are getting fats from your egg yolks. You could also drop it down to 1 yolk and add some flaxmeal to your oats as well.
Drop the orange juice and change it to a real peice of fruit - An apple, some berries etc.

Meal 2
2.5 (1 can) Tuna and ...
1 bananna?

Is that 2.5 oz or 2.5 servings?? If it is 2.5 oz you want a lot more than that.
Drop the banana, go for a good low GI carb source such as those I have listed above eg: Rice, oats, legumes, sweet potato. Have some steamed vegetables as well.
All of this can be combined in the evening and left in a container to grab when needed.

Meal 3.
Protein Shake(2 scoops) and a turkey chicken or PB sandwich

Drop the shake and the PB... and the bread.
The chicken is good. Add oats as well and this would be fine.

Workout

Where is your post-workout shake??!! Recovery is VITAL if you are trying to add mass.

Try something like 0.75 cups thinly rolled oats, 1 banana, 1 cup skim milk and 1.5 scoops whey isolate blended into a shake.

Meal 4
Another can of tuna and ?????

Tuna (5 oz) and a good serving of carbs + some vegetables would be perfect.

Meal 5
2 Scoops Protein Shake and ????

What about salmon and vegetables. You want something with healthy fats and protein.

If you manage it, another meal before bed it is best to have some slow digesting protein (like that in cottage cheese) and some healthy fats (which slow digestion even more) which helps you stay anabolic during the evening. So, pre-bed, some cottage cheese + walnuts/linseeds/fish oils would be good.

I like your suggestions emma leigh. I will put something together and post back soon.

How does this sound?

Meal 1
5 eggs/w yolks (I heard from a body building buddy of mine to keep all the yolks in for now)
Orange juice w/multi vitamin and some strawberries (gotta have my OJ, whats wrong with it?)
Oats or pumperknickle bread (whats wrong with wheat toast?)

Meal 2
5oz (2 can) Tuna and ...
1 sweet potato
(what sort of vegatables? is asparagas ok?)

Meal 3.
Around 30g worth of protein from cottage cheese and some oats or legumes?

Workout
post workout shake (2 scoops whey) with 1 bannana and some oats

Meal 4
5 more egg whites (or more tuna) and some legunes or sweet potato

Meal 5
Precooked chicken/fish (or more cottage cheese) and veggies with 1.5 scoops of protein shake and some walnuts

What brand of legumes and oats do you suggest?
Should I add all the calories up and make sure I am getting enough?

I will drink milk with every meal and water casually thru-out the day. sound good?

dude-- up your carbs to gain the mass--very important as you post-work out shake should be at least 80 grms of carbs VERY IMPORTANT.
if you need to suppelment meals get a wieght gainer shake, just read serving amount and adjust the scoopes to your level of carbs--heck mix the whey with half of wieght gain shake.

You need to get your calories and macronutrient ratio's right!! At the moment you are just stabing in the dark.

I would consider starting a bulk at ~1.5g of protein/pound, 0.4g fat/pound and try for 1.8 to 2g carbs/pound. That means ~300-330g carbs, 250g protein and 70g fat.

See how you go and adjust accordingly...

I would then aim for 6 meals + PWO shake... Your first 4 meals should be predominately carbs and proteins as this is when you are most active and you will need the energy. A little fats (not around workouts) would be ok too - which means in your first two meals... Your last 2 meals you should limit your carbs to vegetables and add in a bit more fats - these will slow the digestion of the protein in your meals and help keep you anabolic during the evening.

So, something like:

Carbs + protein + a little fats
Carbs + protein +/- a little fats
Carbs + protein (pre workout)
Carbs + protein (post-workout shake)
Carbs + protein (post-workout meal)
Carbs + fats
Carbs + fats

That means, if you are having 4 meals + PWO shake with carbs in them you should aim for ~50-60g of carbs in the meals and ~80g carbs PWO.

Protein should be in each meal. Aim for 50g PWO and then split the other 200g ~ evenly across your meals.

Fats I would keep predominately in your last two meals with a small amount in your first meal as well... ~15-20g in your last two meals with 10g in your first meal and then a little fats from your other meals and you will easily hit your fat target.

Lastly, eat as many vegetables as you want and add lots of water as well.

Originally Posted by swick

Meal 1
5 eggs/w yolks (I heard from a body building buddy of mine to keep all the yolks in for now)
Orange juice w/multi vitamin and some strawberries (gotta have my OJ, whats wrong with it?)
Oats or pumperknickle bread (whats wrong with wheat toast?)

Well... That sounds.... exactly like the last one!!
Firstly, you DO NOT need 5 yolks in one sitting!! That is 30g of fats right there - fats you are much better off getting from other sources. As I said before drop it to one or two and add in whites instead! Even better, drop it to 1 yolk and then add flax or fish-oil capsules.

Juice is a highly concentrated form of sugars, although whole fruit is great, by juicing it you for-go some of the benefits (phytochemicals, fibre etc) and instead just get the concentrated calories. What is wrong with having real fruit instead?

Wheat bread is going to give you nothing as well - most of it is nutrient void, processed garbage with high fructose corn syrup, salt and other nasty stuff added to it. Whole grains are your best bet they have more fibre, more protein, are lower GI, are usually lower II, have more vitamins/minerals and phytochemicals and are usually more filling.

Meal 2
5oz (2 can) Tuna and ...
1 sweet potato
(what sort of vegatables? is asparagas ok?)

Sounds much better (although '1 sweet potato' is somewhat vague). To get 50g carbs you are going to need around
All green vege type stuff is good - typical vegetables could be broccoli, spinach, cauliflower, cabbage, celery, brussel sprouts, zucchini etc etc... You could also have salad with lettuce, mushroom, tomato, cucumber. Asparagus is ok.

You could have some fats (fish oil capsules??) if you wanted.

Meal 3.
Around 30g worth of protein from cottage cheese and some oats or legumes?

Sounds fine. Although, as I said before, 30g of protein might be a bit small for your size. Also, you might want to consider having the CC in the meal previous to this one, and have the tuna here. The CC is a very slow digesting protein, and, as this is pre-workout, the tuna might be a little more appropriate to deliver amino-acids to your muscles with better timing.

Either oats or legumes (chick-peas, red kidney beans, black beans etc) would be great. As for size, ~50g carbs would mean ~1 cup oats.

Workout
post workout shake (2 scoops whey) with 1 bannana and some oats

Looks good. For ~80g of carbs you would need 1 cup rolled oats and 1 med-large banana. If the scoops of whey give you ~25g each then that is perfect as well.

You could also consider skim milk in place of some of the oats... but it is up to you.

Meal 4
5 more egg whites (or more tuna) and some legunes or sweet potato

5 whites = 17-18g of protein. You need twice that amount.
Sweet potato would be a great choice here too.

Meal 5
Precooked chicken/fish (or more cottage cheese) and veggies with 1.5 scoops of protein shake and some walnuts

Drop the protein. Go for fish (salmon would be excellent) + walnuts + vegetables.


Add in a meal after this one with cottage cheese + more walnuts and you are set.

What brand of legumes and oats do you suggest?

Brand?? Well I have no idea, I am in Australia.

For oats, for breakfast scotch oats/steel cut oats are the best. If you can not find these then thick whole-grain rolled oats are the next best thing.

For legumes - any brand will do... Most legumes (chick-peas, lentils, beans etc) are available in a variety of different brands.

Should I add all the calories up and make sure I am getting enough?

I think start at 2800 to 3000 cals/day and increase from there if appropiate.

I will drink milk with every meal and water casually thru-out the day. sound good?

Factor milk into your diet - don't just 'drink it'.. It is EXCELLENT for anabolism (one of the best substances out) but you have to count it.

Water - drink it in the gallons.