Bulking is essentially eating over-eating on purpose. Your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) is made up of your BMR (Basal metabolic rate - kcal your body burns at rest) and any extra calories used from daily activities. You will burn the least amount of calories sleeping. Of course this fluctuates constantly depending on your activities (the BMR will also fluctuate slightly). To bulk effectively, one must consume more calories than the amount of the calories utilised from the TDEE on a daily basis. This will cause weight gain, how much of it and how fast will be determined by how much the calories consumed exceeds the TDEE by. The type of activities completed on a daily basis will contribute to the sort of bodyweight gained (fat or muscle or both). Obviously laying in bed all day whilst overeating will cause fat gain and minimal, perhaps even negative muscle gain. Weight training whilst overeating will cause muscle gain and fat gain (inevitable as a natural). How much muscle one can gain will be determined the quality of training (routine/volume/intensity/rest/technique will all play a part) as well as genetics, age and gender. The amount of calories consumed over the TDEE will also decide the amount of fat gained. Inevitably, a 1000kcal surplus will cause substantial fat gain over a period of weeks. Try shooting for between 200-400 and adjust accordingly as you go.
This is more food than most people realise. Your not going to achieve this by eating chicken salad and weightwatchers meal replacement bars. Serious amounts of food need to be consumed on a DAILY basis. More often than not its easier to get to these calories by eating high calorie, processed junk food to supplement your daily intake. Its easy to eat and the kcal rack up quickly. However, if this is done for months on it can negatively effect health, which will of course only hinder you in the long term. The human body will not function as efficiently; its ability to produce muscle mass will be hindered. Not to mention ailments/disorders that can develop as a result of continued poor diet. To maintain good overall health whilst consuming high amounts of calories on a daily basis I would do the following:
Increase the portion of calories that will come from fat sources. Prioritise mostly unprocessed fats within this. Avocados, good quality olive oil, nuts and seeds, nut butters, oily and fatty fish, eggs and some read meat. This will help bulk the calories out without having to eat too much food volume (1g of fat contains 9 calories compared to only 4 in carb and protein sources). Fat macros should be much higher when bulking than cutting.
Protein shouldn't be excessively high. Copious amounts of meat consumed for long periods of time will not benefit the body's health. I don't think its as much meat, as the quality of meat and the health of the animal it comes from these days. Animals are pumped full of drugs to aid growth and stop diseases killing them before they reach full size. Dairy is much the same, try to limit the quantities consumed as it comes from the same, sick animals. I think 2-2.5g per kilo should be completely adequate. If money is no option buy organic and consume some lean sources and some fattier sources of meat, chicken thighs, red mince meat, oxtail, salmon and mackerel, eggs etc. Vegan protein powders can also be utilised to bulk up protein consumption without worrying about any more diary, sugars and chemicals in your system than what your already eating in your whole foods.
Carbohydrates should be high to fuel long and hard training sessions. Eat plenty of fresh fruit, bear in mind some will not give you many calories. Bananas are dense and stacked full of carbohydrates. Fresh fruit juice can help (not from concentrate or with added sugars). Utilise dried fruits, such as dates, figs and apricots (dates especially high in carbs) to really bulk up your carb consumption. Use processed bread sparingly, although easy to consume it can cause skin/digestive problems if its relied upon solely to bring in carbohydrate calories. Basics such as sweet potato, rice and oats work well. Vegetables should be eaten freely and often. This is imperative to maintain good overall health.
Example cutting/bulking macro structure:
Cutting -
200g carbohydrate
45g fat
185g protein
Bulking -
450g carbohydrate
90g fat
175g protein
This is just an example of how macros might look between cutting and bulking. Each person is different, a range of factors will influence the amount of each food source. In essence, increase unprocessed fat sources to help overall kcal intake, maintain a high vegetable, fruit intake and utilise dried fruits to help bulk out carbohydrates and keep water intake high (3litres+). Stay away from caffeinated, pre-workout supplements and anything promising you increased muscle gain/fat loss other than creatine. Nothing good will come from regular usage.
Check out www.youtube.com/naturalaesthet1cs for videos. For more info on online coaching email me at rossi01@hotmail.co.uk
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