My bulking phase is making me fat

[Alt+F4]

Hello. I'm 23 years old, 6'1", been lifting seriously for about 9 months now. Started out in the mid 180's with 16% bodyfat. Originally I decided to cut, which was dumb since I only really had a gut and my arms and legs were very skinny. Around November I decided to bulk and promised myself I'd bulk clean. I've gone from 194 in this picture (on new year's day) to 206 currently, but I feel terrible.



My lifts are all improving, my bench has gone up 40lbs since Christmas, etc. But I just feel terrible, and mainly because of my gut. Twice in the last week my wife has said "so when do you start cutting?" which just makes me feel like absolute ****. Where did I go wrong? I figure it's all about learning so I need to find the glaring holes in my diet and fix them...

My bulking diet looks something like this:

5:30am - banana

5:45-6:30am - workout

6:45am - post workout shake of grapefruit juice, all the whey tasteless protein (2 scoops), 5g creatine

*I know I need to add in some oatmeal here*

10am - ON 100% whey (2 scoops) shake in 20oz milk

1-2pm - bowl of broccoli, spinach, and lowfat cheddar cheese, and three natty pb and stoneground wheat bread sandwiches (i think this may be doing some damage)

5pm - dinner (usually chicken, maybe brown rice, i eat a few pounds of 90% ground beef per week, pasta once a week)

9pm - ON 100% whey (2 scoops) shake in 20oz milk, 4-5oz flaxseed oil

Here's an average day for me, maybe a few more calories than average:



I'm always down for reading and most work days I just cruise around to these boards and read so I'm not one to do no research...just thought I finally had a decent diet down pat and I'm not so sure anymore...and I know creatine will create a bit of a bloat but I'm up 12lbs since January 1 so I have to be gaining the weight somewhere...

It's so tough trying to eat well when you're married because the wife doesn't want chicken every night you know? But all I want to do is look good for her...

[SwoleCat]

Look at your carb column, therein lies your problem!

Three peanut butter sandwiches?? Nothing like fats and carbs together to pack on the lard brutha. Bulking is about eating foods that will give you lean mass, not a fat ass.




~SC~

[goldylight]

Hello. I'm 23 years old, 6'1", been lifting seriously for about 9 months now. Started out in the mid 180's with 16% bodyfat. Originally I decided to cut, which was dumb since I only really had a gut and my arms and legs were very skinny. Around November I decided to bulk and promised myself I'd bulk clean. I've gone from 194 in this picture (on new year's day) to 206 currently, but I feel terrible.



My lifts are all improving, my bench has gone up 40lbs since Christmas, etc. But I just feel terrible, and mainly because of my gut. Twice in the last week my wife has said "so when do you start cutting?" which just makes me feel like absolute ****. Where did I go wrong? I figure it's all about learning so I need to find the glaring holes in my diet and fix them...

My bulking diet looks something like this:

5:30am - banana

5:45-6:30am - workout

6:45am - post workout shake of grapefruit juice, all the whey tasteless protein (2 scoops), 5g creatine

*I know I need to add in some oatmeal here*

10am - ON 100% whey (2 scoops) shake in 20oz milk

1-2pm - bowl of broccoli, spinach, and lowfat cheddar cheese, and three natty pb and stoneground wheat bread sandwiches (i think this may be doing some damage)

5pm - dinner (usually chicken, maybe brown rice, i eat a few pounds of 90% ground beef per week, pasta once a week)

9pm - ON 100% whey (2 scoops) shake in 20oz milk, 4-5oz flaxseed oil

Here's an average day for me, maybe a few more calories than average:



I'm always down for reading and most work days I just cruise around to these boards and read so I'm not one to do no research...just thought I finally had a decent diet down pat and I'm not so sure anymore...and I know creatine will create a bit of a bloat but I'm up 12lbs since January 1 so I have to be gaining the weight somewhere...

It's so tough trying to eat well when you're married because the wife doesn't want chicken every night you know? But all I want to do is look good for her...

Dude - lower your carbs and intake all carbs before 6PM. Take the juice out of PW shake and add water and dextrose(bc of the creatine). Try not to drin k juice too - fruit is better. Kill the white rice and corn too. FOr carbs try and stick with fruits such as bananna and apples, also oatmeal, whole wheat pasta and yams. For vegetables try to stay away from "sweet ones" like corn or carrots. Get a fat caliper - they are cheap this way you dont have to rely on the scale - you can just see if your fat is going up or down.

[goldylight]

OH and also - try and seperate meals into Protein\fat and protein carb.

[Alt+F4]

I thought natty pb had the "good fats" I was looking for...I guess not. Thanks for the response SC.

And GL - thanks to you too. The carbs late at night thing is extremely difficult, but I'll work on it. As for the post-workout shake, this is a subject that I've touched upon on other boards and nobody has given me a clearcut answer. Some say the sugar/carbs are good because it's PW and I'll use it up...some say it's bad news...I used to drink a chocolate whey shake with malto but stopped once I discovered grapefruice juice. The stuff tastes great..but if it's doing damage I'll stop.

[SwoleCat]

CAPS BELOW FOR ASSISTANCE BRUH...


5:30am - banana UTILIZE A GREEN APPLE IF HANDY.

5:45-6:30am - workout

6:45am - post workout shake of grapefruit juice, all the whey tasteless protein (2 scoops), 5g creatine

SKIP THE GRAPEFRUIT JUICE, AND UTILIZE DEXTROSE. FRUCTOSE IS NOT GOOD, THAT GOES TO YOUR LIVER, NOT TO YOUR MUSCLE CELLS. YOU ARE INHIBITING RECOVERY FROM JUMPSTREET.



*I know I need to add in some oatmeal here* NO U DON'T...ABOUT 1.5 - 2 HOURS LATER, HAVE A CLEAN CARB/LEAN PROTEIN MEAL. (EX. CHICKEN/RICE)


10am - ON 100% whey (2 scoops) shake in 20oz milk
LOSE THE MILK, READ THE CARB CONTENT ON MILK..........ALL THE CARBS ARE WHAT??? EXACTLY, SUGAR...........NO GOOD. U ALREADY HAVE PROTEIN IN THE WHEY, DON'T ADD SUGAR WHERE YOU DON'T NEED IT. U ARE BULKING I KNOW, BUT ALSO COMPLAINING ABOUT FAT GAIN, SO THIS WILL HELP TO TAKE IT OUT! USE WHEY, WATER, AND A GOOD EFA HERE.

1-2pm - bowl of broccoli, spinach, and lowfat cheddar cheese, and three natty pb and stoneground wheat bread sandwiches (i think this may be doing some damage)
ABSURD BRUH. IF U ARE CARB SENSITIVE, PROBABLY BEST TO GO W/LEAN BEEF HERE AND A NICE GREEN VEGETABLE. BEEF/MEAT BUILDS MUSCLES, NOT PROCESSED WHEAT PRODUCTS (STONEGROUND OR NOT), AND FAT.

5pm - dinner (usually chicken, maybe brown rice, i eat a few pounds of 90% ground beef per week, pasta once a week) PRETTY BIG LAPSE IN TIME BETWEEN MEALS. I'D MAKE THIS ANOTHER WHEY SHAKE W/HEALTHY EFA. DON'T FORGET THE ROLE OF HEALTHY FATS IN BULKING! GOOD FOR TEST LEVELS. UP THIS AN HOUR.

9pm - ON 100% whey (2 scoops) shake in 20oz milk, 4-5oz flaxseed oil\
AGAIN, UP THIS AN HOUR OR MORE, AND MAKE IT A SOLID MEAL. (NEVER USE MILK AND FLAX, ASIDE FROM BEING DISGUSTING, YOU NEED ONE OR THE OTHER). TAKE THE MILK OUT, YOU'LL STILL GAIN QUALITY MASS BULKING, BUT LEAVE THE LACTOSE (SUGAR) FOR THE KIDS. SO, SOLID MEAL OF PROTEIN AND A NICE GREEN VEGGIE HERE IS A GOOD IDEA.

JUST SOME SUGGESTIONS THAT'S ALL. REMEMBER, YOU WILL HAVE TO FIND THE APPROPRIATE MACRO AMOUNTS FOR YOUR GOALS, BUT THIS PATTERNIZATION WILL BETTER HELP TO ADD LEAN MASS, AND NOT SO MUCH "FAT ASS".

HOPE IT HELPS!
~SC~

[Alt+F4]

You guys ROCK. I'm going to take a serious look at this and adjust as necessary...now if I could only find a whey protein that wasn't disgusting in water...

[goldylight]

You guys ROCK. I'm going to take a serious look at this and adjust as necessary...now if I could only find a whey protein that wasn't disgusting in water...

The protein i found best in water and with flax when i was on a CKD was optimum's zero carb - not bad.

[Dwight Schrute]

26 servings of Grapefuit drink? Oh boy....Dump it. Find a better alternative.

Dump the Peanut butter sandwiches. With that mnay carbs and fats together your LPL levels and glycemic load is through the roof.

Corn reacts more as a starch in the body but you can get away with 1 serving.

Switch the white rice to brown and basmanti. They have a much lower GL.

I think MIlk is fine. It is a sugar but relatively low on the GI and GL index. I also prefer a lower GI source than SC does on post workout.

[ManBeast]

I also prefer mixing my shakes with milk (nonfat when cutting, 1-2% when bulking), but I've mixed my strawberry all the whey in water and it was pretty good, definitely on par if not better than the Optimum 100%whey chocolate flavor.

ManBeast

[SwoleCat]

www.allthewhey.com for best tasting protein powder in water.

~SC~

[Alt+F4]

Figures...I just ordered a 5lb jug of ON 100% whey in chocolate...is there anything I can mix with ON whey and water that'll make it a bit thicker and more manageable? Or maybe I'll just sell it off to someone and get some All the Whey. Money's not a big deal when it comes to protein powder but I hate to waste the 5lbs that's not even here yet...

[SwoleCat]

That stuff is very good in water too............did u get the double chocolate? If so, all good...

~SC~

[Alt+F4]

I tried ON whey in water last fall...and I just can't hack it man. I'll trade you for some AtW

[Longdog]

Try to add in a little cardio. I am currently bulking & started to feel like I was adding fat. I added 3 30min bike seesions per week & I look & feel leaner while still slowly adding LBM.

If you have a hard time replacing carbs in the evening, try low carb tortillas. They have just a couple grams of carbs & lots of fiber. Goes well with a cut-up grilled chicken breast for my 8:30pm meal.

[Cogar]

I tried ON whey in water last fall...and I just can't hack it man. I'll trade you for some AtW

Another protein to consider is Isomatrix Reloaded. The chocolate hurricane flavor is the best I have yet encountered. Never cared much for ON whey, although I have a 5-pounder now myself as I got it very cheap.

[Alt+F4]

Any opinions of where I could fit hardboiled eggs into my day? Maybe a few with lunch or as a snack?

[goldylight]

Any opinions of where I could fit hardboiled eggs into my day? Maybe a few with lunch or as a snack?

Just keep it in a protein\fat meal. does not matter when. i usually have whole eggs after 6 when i am done with carbs.

[BingeAndPurge]

I thought natty pb had the "good fats" I was looking for...I guess not. Thanks for the response SC.

And GL - thanks to you too. The carbs late at night thing is extremely difficult, but I'll work on it. As for the post-workout shake, this is a subject that I've touched upon on other boards and nobody has given me a clearcut answer. Some say the sugar/carbs are good because it's PW and I'll use it up...some say it's bad news...I used to drink a chocolate whey shake with malto but stopped once I discovered grapefruice juice. The stuff tastes great..but if it's doing damage I'll stop.

NAT PB is high in EFA'a, these guys are just saying that you want to avoid mixing fats and carbs together. Mixing fat and protein at night is the best way to go. Olive oil and tuna, PB and protein shake, cheese, things like that and the fat will help to slow the protein breakdown while you sleep.

An easy way to get dextrose in your PWO shake is powdered gatorade. You can get the monster cans fairly cheap. I add three scoops in with either vanilla or strawberry protein and creatine. It tastes pretty damn good.

[BingeAndPurge]

[QUOTE=Alt+F4]Figures...I just ordered a 5lb jug of ON 100% whey in chocolate...is there anything I can mix with ON whey and water that'll make it a bit thicker and more manageable? QUOTE]

During the day I'll add some oats and maybe a banana and I have an electric hand mixer thing that'll grind them up pretty good in the shake. I don't think using milk is all that big a deal either, but if you really want to cut out some of the sugar fat free yogurt ain't bad at all. Just add a couple tablespoons and that'll help thicken up your shake with a little less sugar than just using milk. Also, at nigh Nat PB is awesome in a shake.

I'm not a stickler for taste since I always chug the damn things down anyway. I've never been one to sip on a protein shake so these kinds of things work fine for me.