ScreamingTrees Posted July 29, 2012 Share Posted July 29, 2012 I started a calorie-dense diet about three or four days ago, but the first day or so I didn't take in as much as I did yesterday and today.. Yesterday morning I was 127.5 lbs (I probably gained a lb.), today I'm 128.4 (So I've likely gained 2 lbs..) Is this perfect for bulking? I'm not entirely sure how much I'd need just to be slightly over maintenance, so I'm hoping there's nothing wrong with me bulking in short bursts. I'm around 5'8-5'9 barefoot. I'm looking to gain maybe 7 lbs. to reach 135, I figure it's a start. The most I've ever seen on the scale was 130-131.. Is 7 lbs. in a week awesome for a bulker, or should I really try to figure out how to eat slightly above maintenance in order to gain like a lb. a week? I'm likely taking in 4k calories daily. Does it matter how quickly I put on the weight if I continue to gain a lb. a day? This is how I'm eating each day; I'll wake up, have some OJ, a banana, and a greek plain non-fat yogurt, then I'll possibly have some eggs/oatmeal, then throughout the day I'll have several servings of almonds, two protein shakes and two or three glasses of milk (non-fat, for the most part), peanut butter, whole wheat bread, ect.. I'm assuming that this weight gain isn't really bad, considering the fact that I'm gaining on mostly healthy-fat foods and not junk? Link to post Share on other sites
USMCHokie Posted July 29, 2012 Share Posted July 29, 2012 Sorry for the delay in answering your PM. I'll get on it. First of all, if that's all you're eating, you are NOWHERE close to consuming 4k calories a day...and the "weight gain" you're noticing is probably water. I don't know your body type, race, etc., but I'm assuming you're an ectomorph like myself. It took me about a year to gain 10 lbs of lean muscle mass back when I first started. You should wait for tman and fuc to give more complete answers. Link to post Share on other sites
Author ScreamingTrees Posted July 30, 2012 Author Share Posted July 30, 2012 Sorry for the delay in answering your PM. I'll get on it. First of all, if that's all you're eating, you are NOWHERE close to consuming 4k calories a day...and the "weight gain" you're noticing is probably water. I don't know your body type, race, etc., but I'm assuming you're an ectomorph like myself. It took me about a year to gain 10 lbs of lean muscle mass back when I first started. You should wait for tman and fuc to give more complete answers. How could I be gaining water weight if I'm not drinking any water? I urinate before I sleep and when I wake up before weighing myself. Or does that not make a difference? I'm probably an ectomorph, but I've got some muscle. Gimme a minute, I'll PM you a list from two days ago. Link to post Share on other sites
Enema Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 You said you're having lots of milk, juice and protein shakes. That's where your water weight is coming from. In answer to your question: It's bad to bulk too fast. You should only be consuming about 300-500 calories over maintenance on workout days and maintenance on rest days. Muscle builds very slowly. It's commonly accepted that you can gain 1-2lbs of muscle per month at the most, depending on your sex and genetics. If you end up doing 7lbs a week, the majority of it will be water retention & fat. Lastly, eating fat doesn't make you fat... excess calories make you fat. You're more likely to get fat from the orange juice than you are from fat. It is a very important part of your diet and going out of your way to find low-fat food is not good. Link to post Share on other sites
Emilia Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 How could I be gaining water weight if I'm not drinking any water? I urinate before I sleep and when I wake up before weighing myself. Or does that not make a difference? I'm probably an ectomorph, but I've got some muscle. Gimme a minute, I'll PM you a list from two days ago. It's water from the various types of food and from milk. You will see how the weight gain will start trailing off soon. You don't eat enough calories that would sustain me and I'm a woman who isn't trying to bulk up. I'm an ectomorph too with some mesomorph tendencies Link to post Share on other sites
Author ScreamingTrees Posted July 30, 2012 Author Share Posted July 30, 2012 Well, then I'm guessing all of the food I'm trying to eat isn't going to make a difference, ultimately, because I can't afford to eat more than this. Might as well just focus on intense daily training, then, to shock my muscles, rather than try to fuel them with food that they're not using? Link to post Share on other sites
Emilia Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 Well, then I'm guessing all of the food I'm trying to eat isn't going to make a difference, ultimately, because I can't afford to eat more than this. Might as well just focus on intense daily training, then, to shock my muscles, rather than try to fuel them with food that they're not using? What do you mean you 'can't afford to eat more than this'? Surely you just need to eat differently, not more expensively. Are you a vegetarian? Link to post Share on other sites
Author ScreamingTrees Posted July 30, 2012 Author Share Posted July 30, 2012 (edited) Nope, I'm not a vegetarian, I'm just a teenage kid who doesn't cook often and is rarely home to eat anything large. It's not like I never eat meat, but even when I did, I never gained weight. Seems my body doesn't change, regardless of how much food I take in or how healthy/unhealthy it is.. Unless it wants/needs to for whatever reason. I eat healthy regardless, because I'm sure that damage can be done internally, if not externally, and I don't want to eat like that for years just to have it start showing later on in life. I guess my body just doesn't need changing. Maybe I'm trying to mess with a good thing? :s Edited July 30, 2012 by ScreamingTrees Link to post Share on other sites
ThaWholigan Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 Nope, I'm not a vegetarian, I'm just a teenage kid who doesn't cook often and is rarely home to eat anything large. It's not like I never eat meat, but even when I did, I never gained weight. Seems my body doesn't change, regardless of how much food I take in or how healthy/unhealthy it is.. Unless it wants/needs to for whatever reason. I eat healthy regardless, because I'm sure that damage can be done internally, if not externally, and I don't want to eat like that for years just to have it start showing later on in life. I guess my body just doesn't need changing. Maybe I'm trying to mess with a good thing? :s You absolutely need to cook more. Even if you have to pack it in tuppaware before you go out. I already told you I never count calories. You wanna bulk up, eat more . I'll send you some links later. Link to post Share on other sites
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