My bulk has stagnated

[George]

I started my bulk at about 146 pounds and am currently resting at 155~ pounds for the past few weeks. When I first started bulking, I was ingesting roughly 3800-4000 calories a day and the weight was just flying on. I was gaining almost 2 pounds a week. I decided to tweak my diet a bit because not all of the foods were clean (turkey bacon, powerbars) and because my macros were way off. My tweaks brought me to roughly 3500 calories with an almost 40/40/20 ratio. I thought that since it was such a slight reduction in calories, I would still continue gaining weight and I could minimize fat gain a bit. It seems this was not the case so I guess I need help on my diet plan.

This is the current set-up:

Meal 1: Protein shake, multivitamin
*workout*
Meal 2: Salmon on whole wheat, 2 pieces of fruit
Meal 3: Tuna on whole wheat, oatmeal with protein powder, veggies
Meal 4: chicken, rice and veggies
Meal 5: chicken, rice and veggies
Meal 6: Cottage cheese

This is by no means ideal but I have a few restrictions. My workouts are at school during weight training class. This is at 8 in the morning and I don't get a chance to eat until 10:15 which is my lunch break. I don't even have time for a protein shake at this point as I have to quickly dress and go to my next hour. Suggestions?

[Hort]

up to a 500 cal a day reduction is not slight- that equates to one pound a week. If you were having good gains at that level- you need to get back to the same, just with different foods.

By the way, on balance, turkey bacon is pretty "clean".

[Thomas]

if you dont eat within 45 minutes of a workout then you might as well have not worked out at all....or so i'm told

[1esotericguy]

Here's some points that I'm toying with since I'm in the same boat:

1.) You put on almost 10 pounds from your start of bulk. You may need to redo the math for pure quantity of calories. In other words, eat more to accomodate the new mass. I used this calculator: http://www.johnberardi.com/updates/j...calculator.htm
He has a cool "thermic effect of protein" multiplier which I hadn't seen before. I dig it.

2.) I'm trying a 40/30/30 split for bulking. I've read that the increased good fats will affect test levels etc etc. I didn't dig too deep into the science of that one; I'm just gonna give it a shot for me since I'm stalled on my bulk as well.

3.) Don't be afraid to put on fat. I'm a firm believer in the idea that one can actually sabotage a bulk by fear of losing leaness.

[1FastGTX]

Turkey Bacon rules.

Originally Posted by George

Meal 1: Protein shake, multivitamin
*workout*
Meal 2: Salmon on whole wheat, 2 pieces of fruit
Meal 3: Tuna on whole wheat, oatmeal with protein powder, veggies
Meal 4: chicken, rice and veggies
Meal 5: chicken, rice and veggies
Meal 6: Cottage cheese

Break meal 3 into 2 meals. 1st: tuna sandwich and veggies / 2nd: oats and protein powder.

Put fat in your last meal (cottage cheese). Use Flax, PB, etc.

You have a lot of carb meals (then again I do too when I bulk), but I was thinking carbs at meal 1 would do you well. Oats in the protein shake should make a huge difference to this plan. Might want to pull some rice from meal 5 perhaps, and add some fat to that meal instead, though... I don't know.

Eat more turkey bacon?

BTW - your avatar looks great, I meant to tell you yesterday.

Originally Posted by George

This is by no means ideal but I have a few restrictions. My workouts are at school during weight training class. This is at 8 in the morning and I don't get a chance to eat until 10:15 which is my lunch break. I don't even have time for a protein shake at this point as I have to quickly dress and go to my next hour. Suggestions?

Quickly dress and drink a shake at the same time.

You don't HAVE to have a PWO meal dude, especially at 17. Yes I think it would help but it's not required. I went through 4 years of high school and several years after it without using PWO shakes, and I did just fine. If you can, have some kind of carb source, something. But if you don't it's not the end of the world.

[George]

Originally Posted by 1esotericguy

Here's some points that I'm toying with since I'm in the same boat:

1.) You put on almost 10 pounds from your start of bulk. You may need to redo the math for pure quantity of calories. In other words, eat more to accomodate the new mass. I used this calculator: http://www.johnberardi.com/updates/j...calculator.htm
He has a cool "thermic effect of protein" multiplier which I hadn't seen before. I dig it.

2.) I'm trying a 40/30/30 split for bulking. I've read that the increased good fats will affect test levels etc etc. I didn't dig too deep into the science of that one; I'm just gonna give it a shot for me since I'm stalled on my bulk as well.

3.) Don't be afraid to put on fat. I'm a firm believer in the idea that one can actually sabotage a bulk by fear of losing leaness.

Thanks for the info! Come to think of it, I was actually ingesting roughly 30% fat before I tweaked my diet. I've been wondering whether 40/40/20 is right for me, I'll try adding more healthy fats.

[George]

Originally Posted by 1FastGTX

I was thinking carbs at meal 1 would do you well. Oats in the protein shake should make a huge difference to this plan.

About the oats in the protein shake, I tried this yesterday and most of the oats sank to the bottom, is there a right way to do this? I use the blender on high and my protein shakes are 3 scoops whey(cheap stuff from costco) and 2 cups of soy milk, so I'm getting some carbs at this meal.

Eat more turkey bacon?

Maybe I can use this as the fat source in meal 6?

You don't HAVE to have a PWO meal dude, especially at 17.

This is what I was thinking, maybe I can add more food to meal 2 though?

BTW - your avatar looks great, I meant to tell you yesterday.

Thanks man! It seems like my chest is growing pretty fast in relation to the rest of my body.

[Timbermiko]

Originally Posted by Thomas

if you dont eat within 45 minutes of a workout then you might as well have not worked out at all....or so i'm told

That's not true.

[Timbermiko]

40/30/30 is a good breakdown for bulking.

Get back up to the 4000, if that's what working.

If in time you start to feel a bit slugish with the 40/30/30 then maybe try a 40/35/25...

Don't short change your bulk with a low fat plan.

[Gordo]

if you dont eat within 45 minutes of a workout then you might as well have not worked out at all....or so i'm told

That's simply just bunk, plain and simple.

[1FastGTX]

Keep fats high. Protein high. Carbs high. 100/100/100 is a good macronutrient ratio.

Originally Posted by George

About the oats in the protein shake, I tried this yesterday and most of the oats sank to the bottom, is there a right way to do this? I use the blender on high and my protein shakes are 3 scoops whey(cheap stuff from costco) and 2 cups of soy milk, so I'm getting some carbs at this meal.

Oh man pull that soy milk out now. Drink skim moo cow or water!

Can you get your hands on a coffee grinder? They are cheap. You can get one at the grocery store. Put your oats in there and grind it up. I find that it works a lot better than the blender. :P Like you, when I used just the blender the oats sank to the bottom.

Originally Posted by George

Maybe I can use this as the fat source in meal 6?

Eh, I don't know. I have to go look up the nutrient facts on it, cause I have not had it in a loooong time. I just remember liking it better than regular bacon, and that it seemed to be much healthier. I think if you want to add fats to your last meal, natural peanut butter or flax or fish oils would be better.

Originally Posted by George

This is what I was thinking, maybe I can add more food to meal 2 though?

Good idea! Since in a way this IS your post-workout meal. I would probably go for major oats or rice here if I were you. That might help you out.

Originally Posted by George

Thanks man! It seems like my chest is growing pretty fast in relation to the rest of my body.

Yea I think so, overall you have a great physique, especially after knowing you're only 17!

Keep up the great work ethic and research and what-not, and you'll be a monster by the time you're 20. :d_eek:

[George]

Originally Posted by 1FastGTX

Oh man pull that soy milk out now. Drink skim moo cow or water!

Can you get your hands on a coffee grinder? They are cheap. You can get one at the grocery store. Put your oats in there and grind it up. I find that it works a lot better than the blender. :P Like you, when I used just the blender the oats sank to the bottom.

I just ran out of soy milk this morning. I was about to go buy a huge box of it from costco later today but I think I'll try not using it. I don't own a coffee grinder, but my mom suggested that I use a food processer to grind it up. I'll try mixing the whey, water and oatmeal tomorrow morning. I'm also going to buy a half gallon of skim milk to experiment with.

Eh, I don't know. I have to go look up the nutrient facts on it, cause I have not had it in a loooong time. I just remember liking it better than regular bacon, and that it seemed to be much healthier. I think if you want to add fats to your last meal, natural peanut butter or flax or fish oils would be better.

I'll try a few tablespoons of natural Peanut butter with the cottage cheese.

Good idea! Since in a way this IS your post-workout meal. I would probably go for major oats or rice here if I were you. That might help you out.

I wonder how I'll get oatmeal/rice to school though. Should I try to tupperware it? Should I just eat it along with the sandwich or do you think I should bring something different altogether?

Keep up the great work ethic and research and what-not, and you'll be a monster by the time you're 20.

I plan on ending this bulk when I'm 20.

[1esotericguy]

Originally Posted by George

I wonder how I'll get oatmeal/rice to school though. Should I try to tupperware it? Should I just eat it along with the sandwich or do you think I should bring something different altogether?

I can help here; I've got the porta-meal thing down.
1.I put 1 cup dry oats, 1 scoop whey, 1/2 chopped banana - ALL INTO A TUPPERWARE.
2. Then I go to the caf at work/school, grab one of those monster size soda fountain cups, fill it with water from the soda fountain, and just pour the contents of the tupperware into the cup - AND I USE THEIR SPOON AS WELL. Costs nothing. Totally portable.
3. And if you get jammed up, you can even go into a Fast Food joint and just fill the tupperware under the water thing and eat out of the tupperware directly. This is one of my staples and a really reliable porta-meal.

By the way COSTCO is my main supplier as well, so I know for a fact that the oats, bannana's, and protein powder will spoon stir very nicely.
ENJOY!

[George]

Okay, trying to combine the information in this thread into one meal plan results in something like this:

1) protein shake - 3 scoops whey, .5 cup oatmeal, 2 cups water
2) 3 ounces Salmon on whole wheat, 2 bananas, .5 cup oatmeal
3) canned tuna, almonds, and veggies
4) 1 cup oatmeal and 1 scoop protein powder
5) 10 ounces chicken and .5 cup rice, veggies
6) 10 ounces chicken and veggies
7) 1 cup cottage cheese, 3 tablespoons peanutbutter.

4000ish calories 37/31/32

What do you guys think?
If nothing else it'll be unique.

[George]

Originally Posted by 1esotericguy

I can help here; I've got the porta-meal thing down.
1.I put 1 cup dry oats, 1 scoop whey, 1/2 chopped banana - ALL INTO A TUPPERWARE.
2. Then I go to the caf at work/school, grab one of those monster size soda fountain cups, fill it with water from the soda fountain, and just pour the contents of the tupperware into the cup - AND I USE THEIR SPOON AS WELL. Costs nothing. Totally portable.
3. And if you get jammed up, you can even go into a Fast Food joint and just fill the tupperware under the water thing and eat out of the tupperware directly. This is one of my staples and a really reliable porta-meal.

By the way COSTCO is my main supplier as well, so I know for a fact that the oats, bannana's, and protein powder will spoon stir very nicely.
ENJOY!

This seems good, and I already have the bananas. Is the protein powder important?

[dafish721]

I use oats in my moring shake too. I use a "Magic Bullet" blender. It is kind of expensive ($60) but it is the best bodybuilding gadget I own. Goto ebay, etc to buy it. I add water, whey, oats, 5-6 ice cubes (gives thickness) and pulse the magic bullet and the shake is like one you get at an ice cream store. Add Dex PWO and it is even tastier. Magic bullet is also great to mix micellar casien (very thick) with naty PB and ice. This is my all time favorite shake. What is nice about the Magic Bullet is that the mixing container is the mug itself so no transfering the shake to a new glass.

[dodus]

Originally Posted by George

Okay, trying to combine the information in this thread into one meal plan results in something like this:

1) protein shake - 3 scoops whey, .5 cup oatmeal, 2 cups water
2) 3 ounces Salmon on whole wheat, 2 bananas, .5 cup oatmeal
3) canned tuna, almonds, and veggies
4) 1 cup oatmeal and 1 scoop protein powder
5) 10 ounces chicken and .5 cup rice, veggies
6) 10 ounces chicken and veggies
7) 1 cup cottage cheese, 3 tablespoons peanutbutter.

4000ish calories 37/31/32

What do you guys think?
If nothing else it'll be unique.

If this works, I'm stealing your meal plan.

[1esotericguy]

Originally Posted by George

This seems good, and I already have the bananas. Is the protein powder important?

Yes. The protein powder is the only protein in the meal. So the powder is a must in my book. I actually just started using a 1/2 cup of berries in mine as well (for the calories). Costco sells frozen bags of berries that are good quality.

[Timbermiko]

Originally Posted by 1FastGTX

Keep fats high. Protein high. Carbs high. 100/100/100 is a good macronutrient ratio.

Yeah, mine at the moment is like 80/60/60

[TarSeal]

Originally Posted by George

Okay, trying to combine the information in this thread into one meal plan results in something like this:

1) protein shake - 3 scoops whey, .5 cup oatmeal, 2 cups water
2) 3 ounces Salmon on whole wheat, 2 bananas, .5 cup oatmeal
3) canned tuna, almonds, and veggies
4) 1 cup oatmeal and 1 scoop protein powder
5) 10 ounces chicken and .5 cup rice, veggies
6) 10 ounces chicken and veggies
7) 1 cup cottage cheese, 3 tablespoons peanutbutter.

4000ish calories 37/31/32

What do you guys think?
If nothing else it'll be unique.

Awesome meal plan. Very smart!

You might trade beef for chicken sometimes...