Calories for building mass... where from!

[Johnny Begood]

...to get those extra calories, where should i be getting them from... which foods? I don't want to get caught up in eating crap just make the calories up.

so can anyone suggest some good food that'll give me the quality calories i need without it being full of fat....... is that possible?

 

[kenwood]

oats, 2%milk, LF yogurt, PB, tuna..etc a shake

 

[Yanick]

its pretty simple actually, you eat the same foods as usual just more of them. Maybe a couple of iffy items can be added like pasta and such, but in general bulking and cutting only differs by the amount of food not reall the actual foods sans special circumstances.

 

[Focus]

Like mentioned before, more food. Adding in "fillers" for calories is never really a good idea. If you want more calories, eat the good stuff, just more of it.

A simple food that might interest you would be natural peanut butter. Throwing that in every shake (except PWO) could up your caloric intake towards 400 calories, easily. Each serving is somewhere around 200 calories I think, giving a huge boost, and is backed by bulk friendly nutrients. Healthy fats, and protein... it's basically all it is. Don't go too nuts, as the fats can catch up with you, but a hefty serving once or twice a day is an easy way to bump things up, nevermind the great taste and texture it can add to a protein shake.

 

[Yanick]

or a handful of nuts at 2-3 meals will bump you up quiet nicely.

 

[CowPimp]

I think intaking a larger percentage of healthy fats would be a good idea for most people. I see a lot of people focus on protein too much. It is really hard to get enough calories to bulk from protein sources, especially when you factor in their high thermogenic properties.

Most people seem to start at 10-15% fats in their diet, if that. Some people don't include any. I usually hang more around 25-35%. I see nothing wrong with including more fats in your diet, and it makes it easier to consume higher calorie diets. It also helps your body manage insulin and blood sugar levels better throughout the day.

 

[camarosuper6]

Ive noticed my gains physically are much more impressive after bumping my fats and overall calories over 1500 cals higher than maint.

 

[CowPimp]

Ive noticed my gains physically are much more impressive after bumping my fats and overall calories over 1500 cals higher than maint.

Holy crap, don't you gain a lot of fat this way? I only raise my calories up 5% at a time in the interest of maintaining a decent body fat level. Last time I tried a stunt like you mentioned I put on quite a bit of body fat and cutting was a pain in the butthole.

 

[camarosuper6]

Ya know, Im defintely more endomorphic than ecto, but I found that I had basically stagnated overall... for more than a few months. I knew my training was dead on, so it had to be diet.

I basically ran with the idea that Im going to put on some fat offseason anyways, lets not worry so much about micronutrient count and such, and just eat an appreciable higher amount of food.

Now I get 4000 cals minimum per day, usually upward between 5-6000 calories, and while I have put on a bit more bf, my gains , strength and mass has signfigantly improved, more so than ever before.

 

[michael74737]

...to get those extra calories, where should i be getting them from... which foods? I don't want to get caught up in eating crap just make the calories up.

so can anyone suggest some good food that'll give me the quality calories i need without it being full of fat....... is that possible?

Off the top of my head...
peanut butter(2 Tbs) sandwhich on dark bread.

Thats 300 extra calories right there. Not a bad source of protein and fat. Consume sparingly.

 

[motionman04]

Just how much on average do some of you consume peanut butter? To me during that one point of the week when I have the urge to cheat, I just spread some peanut butter on a couple slices of bread to satisfy myself.

 

[CowPimp]

Just how much on average do some of you consume peanut butter? To me during that one point of the week when I have the urge to cheat, I just spread some peanut butter on a couple slices of bread to satisfy myself.

Peanut butter is good stuff. I have a serving every night with cottage cheese for my last meal.

 

[michael74737]

Peanut butter is good stuff. I have a serving every night with cottage cheese for my last meal.

I have a serving of of peanut butter on whole brown bread once a day as well.

 

[PWGriffin]

Shit, when I bulk, I do it hardcore style...what I want, when I want. It helps to maintain a sense of sanity IMO. I know QUITE a few bodybuilders that feel exactly the same way. I will really get meticulous about what kinds of foods and when, when I cut. Until then, my main concern is a mass of calories and high meal frequency.

See, I'm really trying hard to get back up over 200lbs though, and I'm not as patient as most of you....I gain prolly a pound or so a week...it's not that bad...when I start to put fat on my face and my shirts don't look good, I will start to slow it down a bit...