Need to improve my bulking diet

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I've been trying to bulk since mid-Jan, and it doesn't seem to be working. For the last three years or so, my weight has fluctuated between 72kg and 74kg. After about seven weeks of eating more food, and lots of regular heavy lifting, constantly pushing upwards on the weights used, I weigh in today at...76kg!

I know something must be going on, as afterall I've been getting stronger. I can only conclude that my muscle has been getting more dense whilst I've somehow lost a bit of fat to balance it out. I can tell that my biceps, chest, and thighs have got noticeably bigger, and most other areas must have to some extent although it's hard for me to see it.

I came up with a lacto-ovo diet, and although I have modified it quite a bit over time, I have stuck with a form that gives the same sort of nutrition numbers, and it is one designed to cut right down on saturated fat whilst upping everything else. It also involves eating a bit less on rest days (whilst keeping up protein intake) so in theory it's only right that I should be losing fat...I'm just surprised that I still weigh virtually the same amount as when I started.

Typical intake on a training day:

4 Weetabix
1l semi-skimmed milk
3 duck eggs (bigger, healthier, and much tastier than chicken eggs)
5 Sainsburys meat-free hot dogs
100g soya protein chunks stir-fried with onions, mushrooms, and garlic.
9 fruit biscuits
20ml flax oil
20ml hemp oil
1 red apple
1 shake of 25g dextrose, 25g maltodextrin, 30g instantised whey, 500ml water
1 shake of 50g dextrose, 50g maltodextrin, 60g instantised whey, 1l water

Can't find the numbers I wrote down, but it's about 3000 calories, 225g protein, 25g bad fat, 70g neutral & good fat, 350g carbs.


Any ideas please? The only thing I can think of trying is to start eating lots of chocolate cake! :D
 
Whole milk x 1 gallon a day.
squat 1 x 20 3 times a week.

Comeback to me in a month and tell me you have not gained 20lbs :cool:

Take it from me, this works.
 
Gay milk?!

Hehe, sorry I was just remembering something that happened a few years ago. A friend came round and I made the tea. We both noticed something a bit funny about the taste and at first we thought there was something wrong with the water, but then we checked the milk and found I'd accidentally bought full fat milk instead of the semi-skimmed everybody we knew had drunk forever. He shouted out, "err, gay milk!"

Okay, I'll start making shakes with milk instead of water then. I started the Hungarian Leg Blast routine today...do you reckon that will do in place of the squats you suggest?


Chicco, 1400c from one shake?! Is much of that coming from your powders, or is it mostly the milk?


Thanks. :)
 
I'm sure your body can't process that much protein in one go anyway - you're probably not gaining much by doing that, and probably knackering your kidneys.
 
To the OP..

might be better to post the times you eat what...doesnt look like that much food at all...
 
Well I am hardgainer, I find it incredibly difficult to put on size due to my high metabolism. However recently (past 4 months) I have been watching my diet very closely and trying to eat as much as I can. Needless to say it is paying off.

Here is what I eat on a typical day:

7am - Oats and milk
9am - Protein shake, 500 ml full fat milk (107g protein, 1400 cals)
10:30am - 3 scrambled eggs
12:00 am - Chicken and rice
2:00 pm - Cottage cheese and baked potato
4:00pm - Protein shake, 500 ml full fat milk (107g protein, 1400 cals)
6:30pm - Dinner, steak, potatoes and salad.
7:30pm - Gym
8:30pm - Protein shake, 500 ml full fat milk (107g protein, 1400 cals)
10:00pm - Chicken & Rice or Tuna & Pasta

Sometimes I will wake up in the middle of the night and go make something quick, like a microwave meal. I think I had cottage pie this morning. I've not sat down and worked out all of my calorie / protein / carb / fat intake but the protein shakes alone give me close to 4200 calories and 300g of protein. So I probably eat about 6000/6500 calories a day. Now when I first started eating like this I would get full very quickly, however my body has adapted to my eating pattern and now if I don't eat every 2 hours or so I get very hungry very quickly.

Why do you have milk in your post workout shake? water would help the protein to be processed quicker, which is what you want.

6000-6500 kcals a day? really?
could you post some more information - height, weight, bf%, current routine.
Would be interesting to see the stats given the amount of kcals you are consuming.
 
the_chicco said:
107g protein
I think you'll be better off (financially in the very least :p) to have less whey, as you're also getting plenty of protein from food. You should be eating 1.5g per lb of lean body mass, which going by your diet puts you at 100+kg?
 
I think you'll be better off (financially in the very least :p) to have less whey, as you're also getting plenty of protein from food. You should be eating 1.5g per lb of lean body mass, which going by your diet puts you at 100+kg?

Probably taking in anything from 400-500g protein a day depending on how much chicken and steak is had, also how much oats and of course the milk (51g protein from 1500ml whole milk?) and not forgetting the cottage cheese!!
 
1140c come from the powder, I use Cytogainer Mint Choc. However I double-dose, use 300g of powder instead of 150g. It's the only thing I can really stomach and actually tastes nice. If I didn't have such an intolerance to nasty tasting carp I'd probably go for Serious Mass or something as it would be considerably cheaper.

Some of you may have seen me do this before but I think it's important, its a little technique I like to call "Reading the Label™" ;)

Cytogainer Mint Choc Ingredients said:
CytoCarb II™(CytoSport's Unique Combination Of Branching As Well As Long Linear Chain Maltodextrins With Very Low "DE" (Dextrose Equivalence) Providing A Complex Source Approximately 96.5% Sugar-Free), CytoCarb II™(Whey Protein Concentrate, Whey Protein Hydrolysate), Cocoa Powder, Creatine Monohydrate, CytoVite I™(Vitamin And Mineral Premix Consisting Of Vitamin A Acetate, Cholecalciferol, D-Alpha Tocopheryl Acetate, Ascorbic Acid, Folate, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Niacinamide, Pyridoxine HCL, Cyanocobalamin, Biotin, Pantothenic Acid, Di-Calcium Phosphate, Potassium Iodide, Potassium Chloride, Ferrous Fumarate, Magnesium Oxide, Copper Gluconate, Zinc Oxide, Chromium Nicotinate), Cellulose Gum, Xanthan Gum, Soy Lecithin, Salt, Natural And Artificial Flavors, Potassium Citrate, Carrageenan, Acesulfame Potassium, Sucralose
Allergen Statement: This Product Contains Ingredients Dervied From Milk And Soy.

Source: http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/cs/gainer.html

So reading that carefully and not being blinded by the BS we have maltodexrin and whey with creatine, vitamins and minerals, some binders, salt (?), flavourings and sweetners.

How is this better than oats and whey with cocoa, perhaps some fruit and a couple of multi vits? The answer of course (imho) is that it isn't, especially when you consider that the top link in google seems to suggest that it cost £32 for 2.7kgs. There is the convenience and taste factors but if you're not prepared to spend a little time preparing the food/supps that are vital to achieving your goals then there's little I nor anyone else can do to help ;)

As always the above is posted in good humour and with the caveat that if it works for you then who am I to argue :)
 
Sorry DF totally ignored your initial post :o

If you're getting the right number of calories my only thought is that your veggie diet isn't supplying the right amount of aminos. Did you look at the ratios of essential aminos when you devised the diet? I know nothing of meat free diets so I could be way off ;)
 
The meat at my canteen can be slightly depressing. When I'm not feeling the meat I replace it instead with lots of milk and lots of desert :)
 
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