+ 2 Looking for some diet advice on bulk cycle.
Hi All,
Looking for some diet advice on a bulk cycle. I'm 33 y/o, 6'00", 210 lbs, and about 10% bodyfat. I'm about 5 or 6 weeks into a test/deca cycle, running at 750mg and 500mg per week, respectively. Ancillary wise, I am taking 6.5 mg aromisin per day, and 25 mg caber 3x per week (in addition to all the OTC stuff).
I have been working with a diet coach, but am really struggling to put on weight. In the past, I have bulked (natty) by eating around 2g/lb of protein, and moderate fats and carbohydrates. I put on a lot of fat and some muscle. The coach insists that I don't need this much protein if I take in a lot of carbs, and that I don't need more than 100g of fats per day on gear.
My current macro split is thus 650 carbs/340 pro/100 fat on training days (550 carbs /310pro /100 fat on off days). I train 5 days a week (PHAT), and am not doing any cardio. It has been 3 or 4 weeks, and the scale really hasn't moved. It will go up a few days, then fall back to where I started. We keep upping the carbs -- I started at 480 carbs, but my weight and my measurements are not really going up. If anything, I think I'm just getting bloated and a little fatter around the waist.
Calories are coming mostly from whole foods -- rice, bread, oatmeal, chicken, PB, EVOO, etc. I'm confused though, because this is damn near 5,000 calories a day (I measure my food, so I know I'm close), and nothing's happening. I've bulked successfully on fewer calories (around 4,500) before, but with fewer carbs, higher fats, and higher protein.
Has anybody experienced something similar? I really appreciate any advice on how to turn this thing around. I know the diet coach is going to say just add more carbohydrates, but I'm tempted to swap out come carbs for fats and bump the protein up further.
I look forward to any suggestions you all might have and thank you in advance,
-The Dude
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I always supplement additional calories with mct oil.. Sometimes up to 1500 a day. I love mct oil really helps me put on size while not putting on tons of fat. Some people have gi issues from it but I tolerate it well. Maybe think of adding a couple spoon full sat each meal. Just start slow! Good luck you look great.
what supplements do you take???
AnonNothing too crazy. (1) multi vitamin, (2) 1.5g fish oil (3) 1 g hawthorne berries (for blood pressure), (4) NAC and milk thistle (for liver health), and (5) 500 mg berberine (for insulin sensitivity). I will pop an occasional caffeine pill rather than drink coffee, but usually no more than once a day.
The only oddball is berberine. I took it because a couple of blood tests showed high fasting glucose levels in the high 90s, and metformin hurts my stomach. It has definitely lowered my blood glucose levels and has tons of other benefits -- reduces fatty liver, chronic inflammation, and improves gut health.
I just ran across a Pub Med article saying it was shown to reduce protein synthesis in mice, though this was supposedly easily overcome with resistance training. I haven't seen any similar studies on humans. Anyway, I plan to stop the berberine to see if it has any effect.
Looks good. I agree with your coach's points about less protein. If you're doing everything above; 5k/d, no cardio you should be growing. If you wanted to bump the above the easiest way I know of is through healthy fats such as virgin unrefined coconut oil, macadamia nut oil, or avocado oil. If you haven't tried this before you're going to be surprised at the way you feel and the way everything works (training, drugs, sleep, etc.). Last but not least are you squatting? Heavy?
AnonThanks, man. Yeah, I planned to up the fats via EVOO or almonds, but I have heard good stuff about coconut oil. I will try that.
Yeah, I squat twice a week actually. I am following the PHAT program. So the first time it is speed squats with a moderate weight (think I was using 365 for 6 sets of 3). The second time is heavier, power lifting style (I think I was at 425 for 3 sets of 3-5).
Appreciate the advice!
Give them a vote if you find it helpful.PermalinkAre you a Power lifter why so low reps up your reps eg try 225 x 20 for 4 or 5 set squat or 20 15 12 10 last set rest pause drop set till you can't walk then hack squat same thing. Get some blood in those muscle there is word for it .high reps high volume. Cut your amount of time in gym. Get blood work you may have crash your estrogen .
Looking good bro. Can't say I've experienced the same thing but I had a buddy who hit a wall similar to yours. I made a few suggestions for him that were actually later confirmed by a dietician as good ideas. Switched all of his grains from whole to white. This allows for a greater insulin spike, which I'm sure you know insulin is far more anabolic than test. Pushed a lot of these carbs closer to his workouts like CA suggested below. However, first I told him to fast for a few days. Seriously just water and ice cubes to chew on. Goal was to deplete his glycogen stores and prime his body to grow when he starts eating again. Can't promise this will work for you but it's food for thought. He was able to put on another 12lbs in the last 4 weeks of his cycle.
Also, like CA suggested training is huge. Just as important as diet. Look into that there's a lot of great threads on here for new ideas. Wish you luck.
+1, looking pretty good already.
You might want to try loading carbs around workouts, good carb loaded meals before and after. You're diet looks clean, you may dirty it up a bit with some red meat, pasta etc.
It may be more if a training than diet issue. Maybe time to switch it up... Take more rest days, play with rep schemes etc.
Good luck
AnonThanks, man. I appreciate the feedback and advice. I am about 10 weeks into the PHAT workout. I like it because it has heavy compounds and isolation movements and hits all the body parts twice a week. Prior to that, I was on a 5-day "bro" split, but the high volume chest and shoulders kind of irritates my joints.
Not sure I can really carb load around workouts any more. My last meal of the day is carbless, so that means all my other five meals have 100+ grams of carbs already. Lol. On top of that, I put 50 grams of maltodextrin in my workout shake. It really seems like a shit ton of carbs. I'm sort of afraid that this sort of eating is going to make me insulin resistant.
Anyway, I appreciate the feedback. You're looking pretty beastly yourself. The whole goal of this bulk is to add some thickness to my frame come hell or high water. With my ectomorph build though, it's an ongoing battle.
Give them a vote if you find it helpful.PermalinkYeah man, don't sacrifice bulk for getting fat tho. Unless you're looking to get up to 280-300 then cut to 240 for shows, it's not worth it IMO ... Just get some good steady gains.
Also, maybe take a week off the gym, let the body recover and then see how it responds when u come back.