I'm a mesomorph starting bulking for the first time after losing some extra weight. I think I understand what eating clean means. I imagine why eating clean is essential for cutting but I can't imagine eating clean while bulking.

To my understanding, eating clean is means strictly eating
1) complex carbs (brown rice, whole wheat bread and potatoes)
2) Vegetables and most fruits.
3) White meat (Tuna and chicken)

I can't understand how can anybody bulk while eating the above food. Actually, the specific foods I mentioned are all I can think of as clean. I can't have 6 meals of the above, not to mention that quantities needed to get surplus calorie intake.

I understand that you can't eat really bad food such as fried food, candies and other sugary food, food with saturated fats. But if you're eating clean you can't even eat rice, pastries or dairies. Each one of those is a whole category of food. How can one bulk without eating any of those fairly healthy foods?

Is my understanding of clean bulk strict? Can one cleanly bulk while eating white bread, pastries and cheese? These I can't live without.

Really need your opinion.

Sorry, I can't help you here.

I tried a strictly clean bulk last spring, and didn't gain a pound. I was eating non stop but it just wasnt enough. Eventually I added in pizza and ice cream, and that did the trick. :lol:

I combined it with an HST program and ended up gaining 6lbs in 8 weeks, and I'm willing to bet it wasn't all fat. :D

Just eat more of the above items. If you want to loosen up and have a goodie evey once in a while then have one. Just keep your goals in mind. You could eat nothing but candy if you want but the results probably wont be too good.

The key to bulking is to stay the monitor what you are eating and to keep it as clean as possible. Empty calories are just that. If you are hungry and need filler, then try some jerky or eggs. Cottage cheese is great. So is steak.

Its easy and fun to eat bread and sugary treats all day. Thats why we have an obesity problem in America.

...To my understanding, eating clean is means strictly eating
1) complex carbs (brown rice, whole wheat bread and potatoes)
2) Vegetables and most fruits.
3) White meat (Tuna and chicken)...

Doesn't eating clean also mean eating healthy fats? There's some more calories.

To my understanding, eating clean is means strictly eating
1) complex carbs (brown rice, whole wheat bread and potatoes)
2) Vegetables and most fruits.
3) White meat (Tuna and chicken)

I can't understand how can anybody bulk while eating the above food.
Maybe I'm stating the obvious, but, well, eat more of those foods? :)

In addition, your list is very short. Not only for bulking, but for cutting too. Try steak, it packs in calories and protein and well I just love steak. Your avoidance of saturated fat isn't necessarily bad, but I don't think a little bit here or there is bad (actually, I think a little bit would be a good thing for a lot of people).

Oatmeal? When I bulk oats can break the bank for me. Grind it up and add it to a scoop or 2 of protein powder in milk. That'll put some calories into your plan really quick and it's still pretty darn clean. Throw a banana in that meal and it's even better.

Now if you are not too concerned about fat gain (I mean, if it's really difficult for you to put on size), then I always liked this post - http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showpost.php?p=84088173&postcount=2 - by this guy: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/photo/showphoto.php?photo=58181&size=big&cat=&ppuser=21685 (130lbs. to 248lbs., his progress over the years is pretty great).

When bulking (a calorie surplus to gain lean muscle mass at a optimal rate), I aim for:

- 1lb beef per day
- 1 Gallon Milk per day
- Around 2000 cals per day from oats
- Lots of protein shakes (up to 8 per day)
- Chicken / Turkey
- Beef
- Rice
- Pasta
- Tuna
- Potatoes
- Veggies (Fresh if possible)

If there was ONE SINGLE KEY to the gains I made in the 1 1/2 years when I went from 175-225 (my best.. leanest gains), it is OATS / STEEL CUT OATS ! The emphasis here is that oats are a INEXPENSIVE, HEALTHY, yet VERY CALORIE DENSE FOOD. I saw lean gains like I had never seen before. But NO THEY DON'T TASTE GOOD. YOU HAVE TO FORCE FEED THEM. This gets old fast. I added about 1 cup of oats to each protein shake.

agreed with 1FastGTX.

i dont see the problem. just eat more of the clean foods. caloric surplus of quality foods.

But remember as well that "eating clean" is not a precisely defined thing. While most health-aware people would agree on certain things (e.g. avoiding trans fats and excess added sugar), there's some variation as to what people think of as a strictly "clean" diet. For example, I think of rice, bread or oats as a "cheat". Red meat is a required staple. Pastries (to use your example) would be a severe cheat. Potatoes would be a somewhat severe cheat too. Dairy, on other other hand, is a useful clean food.

This is regardless of bulking, cutting. etc.

For me, eating clean only means no fast food, fried food, or starchy foods like white bread or corn. I've been seeing success with a diet of lots of red meat, lean meats, protien supplements, fruits, veggies, and high fiber carb sources. I've been doing pretty well despite cheat days, too :P I think a lot of noobs try to be too strict with their diet (myself included at times).

But remember as well that "eating clean" is not a precisely defined thing. While most health-aware people would agree on certain things (e.g. avoiding trans fats and excess added sugar), there's some variation as to what people think of as a strictly "clean" diet.
Very true.

For example, I think of rice, bread or oats as a "cheat". Red meat is a required staple. Pastries (to use your example) would be a severe cheat. Potatoes would be a somewhat severe cheat too. Dairy, on other other hand, is a useful clean food.

This is regardless of bulking, cutting. etc.
Philiph, we usually agree on most things, but that's just crazy talk!!! :eek::eek: :lol:

Actually, now that I think about it, you're right, oats are horrible, please send all of your oats to me via Express mail, and I will be sure that they are disposed of properly. :spaz:

:)

Thanks for your replies. Here's some conclusions. Please comment if necessary.

I never thought or even heard of oats or oatmeals. Don't be surprised. Where I live, oats are not popular, nearly unknown. They seem to be the bodybuilder's favorite source of complex carbohydrates so I'll seriously consider it. Hope it's cheaply available where I live.

It seems that pastries are out of option :(. So off they go.

I'll keep eating sandwiches of cheese in brown bread. I'm ready to lose pastries, but not both pastries and dairies, I'll die! I'll see if there's cottage cheese in local markets. That's another thing I never head of before :).

Will keep it up with fresh vegetables, I enjoy a big bowl of green salad.

Any comments?

Actually, now that I think about it, you're right, oats are horrible, please send all of your oats to me via Express mail, and I will be sure that they are disposed of properly. :spaz:

:)

No, send them to me. I'll dispose it.

Thanks for your replies. Here's some conclusions. Please comment if necessary.

I never thought or even heard of oats or oatmeals. Don't be surprised. Where I live, oats are not popular, nearly unknown. They seem to be the bodybuilder's favorite source of complex carbohydrates so I'll seriously consider it. Hope it's cheaply available where I live.

It seems that pastries are out of option :(. So off they go.

I'll keep eating sandwiches of cheese in brown bread. I'm ready to lose pastries, but not both pastries and dairies, I'll die! I'll see if there's cottage cheese in local markets. That's another thing I never head of before :).

Will keep it up with fresh vegetables, I enjoy a big bowl of green salad.

Any comments?
Oatmeal is the greatest food on earth, tied with steak of course. :D

Sandwiches are fine but I would keep them 1) in the diet sparingly (not 2 times every day for example) and 2) as healthy as possible (wheat bread, little or no mayo, add lettuce, etc.).

Cottage cheese is good too, but it gets old fast (to me anyway).

Salad is good, but try to vary the vegetables you use. If you can just drop by the store sometime soon and pick up a small portion of a bunch of different veggies that you can sample at home: green beans, asparagus, broccoli, etc. Be sure to try spices on them too, and try different ways of cooking them (changing their texture via microwave vs. steamer vs. boiling can go a long way in making them more appealing).

Just came from a grocery store and a herbs store.

There's no oatmeal cereals in the grocery. The closest thing was Bran cereals. Don't ask me what kind of bran.
And to my great surprise, there's nothing but white oat powder in the herbs store. No steel-cut oats or even rolled oats. I suppose that white oat loses all the nutritious fibers and is as bad as white wheat.

ive been bulking for five weeks now with a clean diet of around 3500-3800 cals daily and have only gained 1lb a week...this is despite cutting basically all cardio out of the equation...only 3 x 1hr lifting sessions...the main advantages are that i feel more energetic and also
my strength seems to be consistently increasing.

in the past binging on rubbish like cookies candy and pizza would mean i could easily have gained that 5lb in a week!but my energy levels would be down.


healthy fats ie olive oli..almonds ..pistachios..peanuts ..peanut butter...have been a great help in that they are calorie rich and tasty.also milk is easy calories.

ive been bulking for five weeks now with a clean diet of around 3500-3800 cals daily and have only gained 1lb a week...this is despite cutting basically all cardio out of the equation...only 3 x 1hr lifting sessions...the main advantages are that i feel more energetic and also
my strength seems to be consistently increasing.


1lb/week on clean diet is great progress. I can see that your body fat percentage is slightly increasing, but still, that's great progress. I'm now more inspired to eat clean food.

What is your height?

im 5ft 8. a few months prior i was only doing cardio (no weights)and managed to drop down to around 145lb BUT beacause my lean body mass was low..i was weak and not too happy .

so around 6 weeks ago i started lifting and eating mainly clean food...and i feel a lot better.
i would like to go upto around 175 (keeping bf around 20%) over the next 5 months then cut back for summer!!
Carguy is doing a bulking challenge ..im sure you can join in ..its good for motivation.
http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?t=38506&page=13

Bulking cleanly doesnt have to be limited to four or five foods...you have a wide choice as long as you keep your total calorie and macronutrient in check...and you dont need to cut any food totally i still eat occasional candly/cookies ..i just had a few slices of pizza this evening.

planning your meals is important ...have alook at this list of foods and make yourself a meal plan...

http://www.wannabebigforums.com/showthread.php?t=46565&highlight=bodybuilder+eats




eat Big and train Big!!

:gl:

Red meat should be part of every bulking diet. Hell, red meat should be part of every cutting diet too.

Just get lean ground beef, flank steak, top sirloin.. save the ribeye and 20% fat ground beef for special occasions.

Where in the hell did people get this idea that red meat is bad for you? Nothing could be farther from the truth.

Red meat is loaded with monounsaturated fat, stearic acid, etc.. it's perfectly natural and very good for you.

Just try to get grass fed beef to keep the omega-6 fatty acids to a minimum and you're golden.