Bulking: Clean Diet?

[Thremp]

Basically overrated. Get your nutrients. But don't shirk a large fatty ribeye, a 6pack of beers and a large pizza. In fact if bulking I'll step out on a limb and say that the aforementioned 3 items together would be far superior to a large dry leafy green salad, a baked chicken breast, and water.

If you have declared jihad on skinniness, and are eating 8 times a day feeling like you're going to throw up or actually do after eating. FFS stop eating "clean".

I will use myself as an example. When I was solely bulking, as a skinny dude, it is fairly hard to gain mass, I drank soda each day and ate fried food. Sure this would kill me in the long term, but 3 months of it makes it a heck of a lot easier to gain weight. If you eliminate juice/milk/soda etc each day I'm likely pulling ~600+ calories less, something almost anyone is going to have trouble making up in a clean diet (400 grams of black beans maybe?).

Now don't take this as a carte blanche for just gorging yourself year round. But if you have trouble gaining weight, at some point it becomes more important to just get the calories in than it does to eat a 5th serving of steamed broccoli that day.

[cbloom]

Yeah, I'm having trouble with this. I'm trying to gain muscle but I've always been pretty skinny and ripped and it's just really bugging me to eat a lot, and I can feel a little bit of flab on me, it makes me really want to cut and get the flab off.

[Thremp]

cbloom,

Buy only larger clothes, you'll either look stoopid or grow into them.

[Colt McCoy]

Good thread, Thremp. This should be in a sticky. People need to get it through their heads that if they want to gain weight or even just add muscle, you NEED FAT!

[Doug Funnie II]

Yeah people who avoid fat when bulking just aren't going to be happy with their results. But I can't say I disagree with avoiding foods like cheese and beer, as long as you replace them with something else calorie dense.

[jah7_fsu1]

With all due respect I'm going to have to completely disagree.

A: You can't force your body to grow more MUSCLE by simply consuming more calories. This is a myth. While you need to be eating enough to promote anabolism, you can't EAT EAT EAT and expect to gain more muscle. You will put on bodyfat. More food (more calories) does not equal more muscle growth. In my exercise science classes we called it a protein synthesis limit. I have heard it called others. Very basically the amount of muscle you can build is dependent on your body's capacity to synthesize new muscle tissue from the ingested protein. Assuming you aren't using steroids I don't believe (definitely not aware of any science) that allows you to change this limit.

B: Knowing what I said in A, I will attempt to make an argument for a clean bulk. Let's assume I have 12 months to add "as much muscle" as possible. Let's also assume at the end of those 12 months I want to "look ripped." So a general bulk then cut right? Put on a bunch of fat (and muscle) and then cut that bodyfat out. Something like 9 months of bulking and 3 months of cutting perhaps? Well, most people know it is damn near impossible to cut fat and GAIN muscle. Calorie restriction (needed for fat loss) just isn't very anabolic. So during that cutting phase you aren't adding muscle and might lose some.

C: Your right you need to get the calories in, but the idea that beer and pizza are going to be huge tools in your muscle building garage is just ludicrous. Obviously, I think you can "relax" your diet somewhat when trying to add muscle (I hate calling it bulking), but the implications of going all out crap food need to be known. It's just generally a crappy way to go about any goal unless your goal is obesity or diabetes.

[Thremp]

[ QUOTE ]
Now don't take this as a carte blanche for just gorging yourself year round. But if you have trouble gaining weight, at some point it becomes more important to just get the calories in than it does to eat a 5th serving of steamed broccoli that day.

[/ QUOTE ]

Jah7,

Good to see even after I correct you... You still can't get past the first two sentences.

[jah7_fsu1]

What are you not getting! I posted....simply "getting in more calories" is not good. You basically said it's fine to eat like crap, then saved yourself at the end. You used yourself as an example of crappy diet, and said some very misleading things. Your way is wrong, unhealthy, and generally a waste of time if your trying to gain quality mass.

Edit: Misconceptions are why I'm eventually getting out of the fitness industry. People are to sold on something they have heard or thought they experienced.

[Thremp]

jah7,

Please reread my post. Point by point and make a list of conditionals.

[jah7_fsu1]

You gave a way to bulk up, I proposed an alternative. I think people will have more success with my way. I gave reasons for why I thought this. Don't take me disagreeing with you so personally. I have a ton of experience on this type of subject, and on exercise science in general.