Saturated fat re: bulking

[Deadly Ferret]

I'd be interested to read the opinions of the bodybuilders here about the intake of saturated fat during bulking. As we all know, saturated fat is the main (diet-based; obviously lack of exercise is just as important!) problem with overweight people.

The officials say we should limit our intake of saturated fat to 30g per day. That is of course practically impossible when bulking. It's difficult enough when not bulking!

When you're bulking, how much importance do you assign to limiting saturated fat? I know a lot of people just say pack in as much food as you can, particularly milk and that contains a lot of saturated fat (unless you drink gay milk, but that partially defeats the purpose of having milk).

I know the idea behind bulking is to eat heavily, and then the cutting phase is supposed to take care of the fat that's put on, but I still try to limit my intake of saturated fat because not only is it hard to break down & shift, but it's bad for the heart and for the health of one's blood...

 

[Freefaller]

Just don't do bulking, simple. You can eat lots without a large intake of sat fat too... furthermore bulking/cutting cycles aren't really necessary IMO, and unless you compete isn't necessarily particularly healthy either.

 

[burtie]

500 Kcals over maintenance calorie intake does not have to be chips,fried bacon, lard sandwich. A couple of baked potatoes with with a can of tuna and sweetcorn should be enough, where is the sat fat in there?

 

[Deadly Ferret]

I'm somewhere between ectomorphic and mesomorphic though. I need lots of food to get anywhere.

 

[Vulcan]

Just don't do bulking, simple. You can eat lots without a large intake of sat fat too...

Is that not what bulking is?

 

[Deadly Ferret]

500 Kcals over maintenance calorie intake does not have to be chips,fried bacon, lard sandwich. A couple of baked potatoes with with a can of tuna and sweetcorn should be enough, where is the sat fat in there?

I'm a lacto-ovo vegetarian, so no tuna or chicken. Furthermore, I find it very difficult to eat bland/simple food, especially in a repetetive manner. If I were to eat a baked potato, without cheese, I'd have to lash it with salt & tabasco...and that's not an ideal taste sensation!

 

[burtie]

No it's not about eating saturated fat's to get big, it's about eating loads of clean foods. Clean foods wholesome foods not pizza as you still want to limit the amount of fat you put on. Clean bulk all the way.

@Longbow

 

[WantoN]

I've never really struggled with particularly high saturated fat, are you eating a lot of dairy?

How does drinking skimmed (gay, wtf?) milk defeat the purpose?

The idea of bulking is not to eat heavily. It's to eat in excess of your maintenance values to ensure an appropriate anabolic envireonment. I've never had trouble keeping sat fats low when eating a calorie rich diet. Unless you're ramming in calorie heavy food for the sake of it.

Generally, people use 'bulk' to say 'I'm not too bothered about how much I eat as long as there's loads of calories' these days.

Ant

 

[burtie]

I'm a lacto-ovo vegetarian, so no tuna or chicken. Furthermore, I find it very difficult to eat bland/simple food, especially in a repetetive manner. If I were to eat a baked potato, without cheese, I'd have to lash it with salt & tabasco...and that's not an ideal taste sensation!

Quorn ok? Baked pot with quorn mince in tomato sauce.

 

[fluffmct]

Just don't do bulking, simple... bulking/cutting cycles aren't really necessary IMO

I think you're oversimplifying with this. Fair enough if you don't want to pack on a lot of fat when you bulk but that's just why most people clean bulk. If you bulk right then you won't be putting on a couple of stone in fat! Cutting is then good if you have a holiday/event/etc when you just want to be looking a little tighter than you normally would, then you can always revert back to normal after.

You're spot on about saturated fats though. There are plenty of foods that aren't filled to the brim with sat fats and it's very possible to eat a lot of food and maintain a healthy diet.

 

[Vulcan]

it's about eating loads of clean foods.

@Longbow

Well yeah that's my point. That's what bulking is.

 

[WantoN]

I'm a lacto-ovo vegetarian, so no tuna or chicken. Furthermore, I find it very difficult to eat bland/simple food, especially in a repetetive manner. If I were to eat a baked potato, without cheese, I'd have to lash it with salt & tabasco...and that's not an ideal taste sensation!

It's about compromise. And when has eating healthy ever, ever been about bland food?

You didn't specify this very restrictive dietary choice in your OP either, which demonstrates a little more why you struggle with fats when you choose to cut out the most protein rich natural sources available.

Choosing low fat, skimmed options will help, unless making these sensible dietary choices is too 'gay' for you

Ant

 

[WantoN]

I think you're oversimplifying with this. Fair enough if you don't want to pack on a lot of fat when you bulk but that's just why most people clean bulk. If you bulk right then you won't be putting on a couple of stone in fat! Cutting is then good if you have a holiday/event/etc when you just want to be looking a little tighter than you normally would, then you can always revert back to normal after.

You're spot on about saturated fats though. There are plenty of foods that aren't filled to the brim with sat fats and it's very possible to eat a lot of food and maintain a healthy diet.

I think the point being made is the true bulking and cutting cycles aren't necessary for your average trainer. Rather it's a case of working out what excess of calories works for you and sticking to it. Choosing to alter diet and training if at any point you feel you've gained too much podge. People get wrapped up in a lot of hype.

Ant

 

[burtie]

Well yeah that's my point. That's what bulking is.

Yeah sorry read you post wrong

 

[fluffmct]

I think the point being made is the true bulking and cutting cycles aren't necessary for your average trainer. Rather it's a case of working out what excess of calories works for you and sticking to it. Choosing to alter diet and training if at any point you feel you've gained too much podge. People get wrapped up in a lot of hype.

Ant

Yea I see what you mean. I don't think people really refer to the traditional bodybuilding sense when they talk about bulking and cutting these days though.

Totally agree that piling on 4 stone then dropping it again isn't going to be very healthy. Still impressive! My brother dropped 3 stone in 3 months to enter the mens health comp and he looked like a different person by the end of it.

It would have taken a lot of effort to hold that shape year round though, mainly because he did it so drastically.

 

[Freefaller]

I think you're oversimplifying with this. Fair enough if you don't want to pack on a lot of fat when you bulk but that's just why most people clean bulk. If you bulk right then you won't be putting on a couple of stone in fat! Cutting is then good if you have a holiday/event/etc when you just want to be looking a little tighter than you normally would, then you can always revert back to normal after.

"Bulking" the way I see it is not only building muscle but generally letting yourself balloon unnecessarily. I don't do bulking/cutting at all. I eat a lot and train hard. I don't really put on any weight anymore as I'm at a stage where I'm at a happy balance for my height, BF, and size. I would now struggle (or take a good year) to put on much more than a few lbs of lean muscle.

The terminology is just that - bulking, is getting excessively big to then reduce the fat afterwards. It's not really good, unless you're a professional I don't think there's much point.

I don't do the "beach" ready body. I may up the cardio a bit, but I still eat the same and train as hard. Because I'm low BF anyway it's not an issue fore me.

The whole bulk/cut cycle is not a healthy lifestyle. And you shouldn't need to get fat when trying to pack on muscle. In fact it's been shown that it's not actually that efficient as a way of building muscle anyway.

You're spot on about saturated fats though. There are plenty of foods that aren't filled to the brim with sat fats and it's very possible to eat a lot of food and maintain a healthy diet.

I've been saying this for years. Whereas I'm not certified and am not a professional, this is a sport I feel I know a lot about and it vexes and frustrates me when people just dive into things without really understanding what they're doing or dismissing several years of experience.

 

[Deadly Ferret]

Quorn ok? Baked pot with quorn mince in tomato sauce.

No it isn't, tastewise. Blander than Jo Brand!

You didn't specify this very restrictive dietary choice in your OP either, which demonstrates a little more why you struggle with fats when you choose to cut out the most protein rich natural sources available.

It isn't restrictive at all. There are soya alternatives which actually contain less fat than the real thing, plus soybeans contain more protein than chicken and tuna. Some of them taste nice to me and some, like Quorn, do not. I'm very fond of Sainsburys own products, they're much nicer than Quorn as they flavour them properly, and the nutrional content is usually better too. Things is, I can't just base a diet around them as I'd need more variety, and of course they lack certain nutrients.

As for "choose to cut out" that's how it might seem to somebody else, but as I've been vegetarian since birth I don't see it that way. To me, the idea of eating meat is as alien as the idea of eating mud. The idea that it is a "choice" simply does not exist in my mind.

 

[Deadly Ferret]

There are plenty of foods that aren't filled to the brim with sat fats and it's very possible to eat a lot of food and maintain a healthy diet.

Well please list a few!

Maybe some of you don't realise, but even only eating the foods that are lower in saturated fats than average still makes for more than 30g in a day if eating a significant amount of food.

Foods considered to be low in S.F. might, for example, contain 3g per 100g. But you can't just eat any of those, because you also need energy, protein, and non-sat fat! In order to get enough of the stuff needed, it's necessary to eat much more than a kilo per day, and so even with low S.F. foods, it's difficult not to exceed 30g.

 

[dun]

A general rule I follow is if I could have caught, killed and then cooked my meal, if I was a caveman then it is fine regardless of the saturated fat or anything else. This is only a very broad rule but for me all this stressing about tiny amounts of fat or anything else is a waste of time as I just burn it off. Obesity isn't a concern for me
This isn't for bulking as such as I just eat above my maintenance all the time but still.

 

[fluffmct]

The terminology is just that - bulking, is getting excessively big to then reduce the fat afterwards. It's not really good, unless you're a professional I don't think there's much point.

I don't do the "beach" ready body. I may up the cardio a bit, but I still eat the same and train as hard. Because I'm low BF anyway it's not an issue fore me.

The whole bulk/cut cycle is not a healthy lifestyle. And you shouldn't need to get fat when trying to pack on muscle. In fact it's been shown that it's not actually that efficient as a way of building muscle anyway.

I define bulking as just growing in size and that's how I interpret it when the majority of people say it.

As for the "beach body", I think that the majority of people training for shape will have that goal in mind. It's cool if you are happy at your shape but most people I know in good nick still like to tighten up a touch more for a holiday or whatever - look their best for a short time without intending to stay like that forever.

Sorry to pontificate but my point is that your main goal is strength/conditioning whereas that doesn't represent the aims of most people down the gym who are trying to change their shape (IMO of course).

Apologies for the terrible grammar haha - in a rush to get ready for the gym!