Beginner looking to bulk up. What should I eat?

[patm]

I'm 18yrs old, 5'10", 135-140 pounds and I'm looking to bulk up. I haven't set up a meal plan yet, because I'm not really sure what I should be eating. I know I need lots of calories and protein and I know I should be eating fruits, vegetables, eggs, lean meat, chicken breast, and drinking lots of water. But I really don't know what else I can eat to add some variety, and how much of everything I should be eating. It is possible for me to eat every 2-3 hours, but around luch time I can only eat stuff that can be prepared beforehand and brought to school brown paper bag style.

So I was hoping to get some guidance as to what kinds of things I should be eating at what time of the day. Also, is gatorade a bad thing to drink a lot of? I drink around 36-48 oz. of gatorade or powerade everyday, but will cut down or get rid of it if it's a problem. And lastly, when is the best time to be drinking protein shakes? In the morning, before/after workouts,before bed, or is that kind of a controvertial thing?

Thanks in advance

-Pat

 

[rockcrest]

read the stickies...then make yourself some brown rice, oatmeal, and sweet potatoes. then get some fish oil. this is in addition to your protein sources. do a search on "bulk" "bulking" etc.....read the stickies. holla

 

[Akateros]

Yep, read those stickies. (You will see one headed Guide to Cutting, Bulking and Maintenance.)

Personally, on my next bulk, I plan to follow a Berardi template.
http://johnberardi.com/articles/nutrition/masseating_1.htm
http://johnberardi.com/articles/nutrition/masseating_2.htm

since I already know that his theory of protein+carb and protein+fat agrees with my particular chemistry.

As for protein shakes, I myself use them only post-workout, when pretty much everyone agrees you need fast-acting protein (e.g. whey) to boost muscle growth. If you are bulking, you will want to add a carb to that, either something likewise fast (dextrose/maltodextrin) or oatmeal (you can whizz it up right with the rest of the shake, the raw flakes). Opinion varies on that; the dextrose again supposedly supports growth better; I use oats because I'm hypoglycemic and dextrose doesn't really agree with me.

However, shakes are also a fairly good choice if time is an issue, or storage (as in, meals at work or on the go).

As for gatorade -- useless. Dump it. It will bulk you, but in the bad way. Gatorade or similar things may have use in cases of long aerobic activity (e.g. distance running) -- or, for that matter, as the quick carb with your post-workout shake -- but other than that, they are pure sugar and a waste of calories. Drink no or low-cal beverages, and use the cals for something with nutrients.

 

[patm]

Thanks for all your help. I've been reading the stickies and all sorts of online articles and now I have another question.
Akateros, you mentioned dextros. Does this only come in supplement form, or are there foods that would be good to eat post WO to get it?

thanks again

-Pat

 

[Akateros]

Dextrose is a highly processed form of corn sugar. It is present in lots of types of cheapie nonfat candies (those powdery sugary types, like what you in the US call I believe Smarties and we call Rockets, particularly) and I'm pretty sure it's in Gatorade and those types of workout/recovery drinks as well. It is also sometimes available in drugstores and such, with the diabetic things; it's good for insulin crises.

I got my dextrose from a Bulk Barn; it was in a bin with the other sugars. What application it has in baking, I've no idea.

Maltodextrin is supposed to be even better, but I haven't been able to track that down by itself at all. It's in some brands of protein mixtures specially formulated for postworkout, though.

If you cruise back to the John Berardi site and go to the top of the nutrition articles section, you will find one entitled "Solving the Post-Workout Puzzle". He goes into some detail about dextrose, maltodextrin, and why they are the best post-workout carbs. He also pimps his own special formula, Surge, of course, but you can ignore that bit.

Me, I am not so concerned. As I said, when I played around with the dextrose, I had blood sugar issues, so I don't fret about the "spike" (which is what the dextrose/malto are supposed to encourage). I think if you do a search on this here forum, both Diet and Training, there've been a few threads about "post-workout spike". Some do, some don't.

 

[Vieope]

Akateros What happens to you when your blood sugar goes too high ?

 

[Vieope]

Originally posted by Akateros
What application it has in baking, I've no idea.

You can use dextrose to make ice cream, beer and other interesting things

 

[Akateros]

If I eat junk carbs (quick actin' white kind), especially without protein to buffer them, but sometimes even with, my blood sugar zooms, then I crash. Then I usually binge on carbs, in a bizarre helpless manner, accompanied by prickly heat.

If I go too long without eating, I get the crash without the zoom. Same effect.

It's a ton of fun. Even the Sacred Unprocessed Low GI carbs whip through my lightning-fast metabolism like greased suppositories, as I just discovered recently.

(Sadly, this lightning-fast part does not apply to chocolate, which plods slowly to my ass and nowhere else.)