Group: Specific Diets & Nutrition

Created: 2012/01/01, Members: 104, Messages: 22775

With so many diets and nutritional plans out there, you can get lost. Find out what works best for others and share your experiences!

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How to bulk-up

garch
garch
Posts: 5
Joined: 2009/02/18
United Kingdom
2009/02/18, 12:17 PM
Hi,

I'm a 40 year old male who is relatively fit. In a recent fitness test I scored within the top 10% for VO2 Max fitness for my age group.

I would like to put on weight to bulk-up. My stats are:

5'11" tall
160lb
BMI: 22
Muscle Mass % : 43.5%
Fat %: 13%
Visceral fat index: 7
Water % : 64%
VO2 Max: 44 (avg = 35 for my age group)
Total Cholesterol = 3.2
HDL Cholesterol = 1.1
All other blood test panels (renal, liver, blood, thyroid) = ideal

I have upped my calorie intake to about 3500 k/cal per day but am still struggling to put on weight.

My calorie intake is composed as follows:

I blend up the following and drink during the afternoon:
135g of mixed organic nuts (about 800k/cal)
1.5 large cups of frozen mixed winter berries (dark skinned)
One tablespoon of Greens+
One large tablespoon of mixed ground seeds
3 tablespoons of organic greek yogurt
1 cup of Green Tea
1 Cup of (non-concentrate) organic berry juice
1 Cup of (non-concentrate) organic mixed vegitable juice
3 scoops of organic ultra-fine rolled oats
1 scoop of maltodextrin
2 scoops of impact whey protein
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoon of unrefined advocado oil

I east a proper breakfast, lunch and dinner - each containing about 600-700 k/cal per meal - each with a green salad.

I play badminton for an hour twice a week in the evening and do weights on the other days for 30mins per day. I rest at the weekend.

During the day I sit in front of a computer and expend little physical energy.

Any ideas how I could accelerate my weight gain?

Thanks

Garch :)



















SFGiantsMVP
SFGiantsMVP
Posts: 1,533
Joined: 2005/12/04
United States
2009/02/18, 05:49 PM
Dude if your such a guru you should know how to Bulk, just saying!

Your answer is simple and you already know it if 3500 isn't doing it then up the calories.

Now the other question is since you didn't bother to tell us your lifting regime what is it, are you lifting heavy enough weight and let lone doing the correct lifts to gain becuase a stability ball and dumbbells are not going to do it. (Not saying this is you but just saying)

Eat big, lift big and rest big.

Squat, deadlift, Bench, Military Press, Back Rows and their variation along with Dips, Pullups and Chinups can all be great for gains. I'm sure I let out a few lifts but you get my point.

--------------
Knock-Um Down & Keep-Um Down!
My Log http://www.freetrainers.com/FT/jsp/Message.jsp?f_ix=15&t_ix=1631

Knockum Down & Keepum Down!

Training @ Wild Iron

Squat 305
Deadlift 365
Bench 275
coolnatedawg
coolnatedawg
Posts: 813
Joined: 2005/03/09
United States
2009/02/19, 09:34 AM
is that long grocery list you made just for that 1 shake?

you are very in depth at that one point, but then sum up your other meals pretty quickly. i bet if you took a look at these meals that:
A) you arent really taking in as many calories as you think
or
B) not enough protein
or
C) combo both A and B

I would look into that. Gaining weight is simple. Eat more than required to maintain. If 3500 is not working, bump it up 500 and see how that works.

also, like MVP said, look at your training. If you can get in and out of the gym in 30mins, MOST LIKELY you are not working hard enough or not doing the right lifts.
garch
garch
Posts: 5
Joined: 2009/02/18
United Kingdom
2009/02/19, 10:06 AM

By no means I?m I a guru, or anywhere near to. My day job is 9-5 on the trading desk of a bank, so my life does not revolve around diet and fitness.

The answer is more complicated that first seems. Sure I could swallow another 1000k/cals in refined carbs no bother. But high carbohydrate consumption is linked to long term metabolic disorders (just look at Sir Steve Redgrave, The multiple Olympic Gold Medallist). High carb intake has been shown to modify long term gene expression (and not in a health beneficial way) and in the short term modulate endocrine system (hormonal) homeostatus. From an evolutionary perspective our ideal diet is likely to follow the Palaeolithic protocol where carbs were a minor part of our diet. Point is, if we increase our intake of carbs as a proportion, then the homeostasis and gene expression will adapt (as best it can) in a sub-optimal way to ensure short term survival, with a price to pay in the long term.

Carbs, as well as proteins (in excess) also result in some pretty ghastly post-metabolic waste products, including the tendency to increase the acidity of the body. High levels of body acidity are correlated (although a causal relationship has not been established) with higher frequencies of central nervous system (incl. neurological) degenerative diseases and cancer. In fact terminal cancer patients have extremely low pH levels in comparison to the general population.

To maintain the ideal pH balance at 4000 k/cal a day (with say 30% of calories derived from carbs) requires an enormous intake of fresh vegetables and fruit, such that one starts to suffer from excess Vitamin C and excess non-soluble fibre intake. Currently I try to derive 30% of my calorie intake via oils (60% monounsaturated, 30% polyunsaturated & 10% saturated). However, oils put a large demand on the body and deplete anti-oxidant minerals and anti-oxidant amino-acids far faster than either carbs or protein, gram for gram. So again one has to ingest large quantities of vegetable and fruit matter to replenish anti-oxidant reserves. This is quite hard to achieve when one is not a full time athlete who has to do a day job to pay his way.

Most of the Hard Gain supplement products are just terrible and just supply vast quantities of high GI, GI, high GL, high insulin index nutritionally empty simple carbs. This approach just invites metabolic disorder disease.

I was wondering whether anyone had come up with a ?smart? Hard Gain diet ? rather than just stuff down more simple carbs.

thanks
garch
coolnatedawg
coolnatedawg
Posts: 813
Joined: 2005/03/09
United States
2009/02/19, 10:13 AM
with all those statistics why are you even asking us? first off, dont act like you are going to die because of "too much" of anything. at 5'11, eatin 4000 cals with 30% carb is not goin to kill you. people have been doing this way before you.

just eat. no one mentioned carbs yet you only mentioned them in your post. you suffer from over analyzing. its not rocket science. instead of spitting all that useless info, cram some food in your mouth.
coolnatedawg
coolnatedawg
Posts: 813
Joined: 2005/03/09
United States
2009/02/19, 10:15 AM
and if you somehow in a billino years begin to suffer from too much vitamin c or excess non-soluble fiber at any point, send me the damn bill.
garch
garch
Posts: 5
Joined: 2009/02/18
United Kingdom
2009/02/19, 10:27 AM
I have increased my protein intake until the point that my body (urine) pH falls below optimal. Then I up my intake of veg and fruit until it normalised. But there is a point at which the post-metabolic acidity can no longer be normalised via diet intake of veg and fruit (ie the excessive vitamin C and non-soluable fibre cause digestive issues). This I think is my max protein intake ceiling.

My target intake is as follows:
Carbs 527g
Protein 184g
Fat 168g

Thanks

garch
garch
garch
Posts: 5
Joined: 2009/02/18
United Kingdom
2009/02/19, 10:45 AM
Go take 10,000mg of vitamin C and see that it doesn't take a billino years before all that great (expensive) food is being ejected into the bowl of your WC.

Mankind didn't land a man on the moon by saying that "well the diesel engine has worked well for others in the last 60 years, so why bother with a rocket".

If the point is not health (long term too), then might as well just inject testosterone and myostatin inhibitor and look like a beast for 10 years then die a horrible death.

Garch



coolnatedawg
coolnatedawg
Posts: 813
Joined: 2005/03/09
United States
2009/02/19, 10:58 AM
the fact of the matter is, it has been proven that the body CAN and WILL survive with protein amounts of 1-2+ gr/lb of LBM. your body is no different. you claim you bf% is 13, therefor you LBM is 139.2. You can take in 139-278.4g of protein a day. so you can take in anywhere from 556-1113 calories just from protein.

I dont understand why you are so concerned with your post-metabolic acidity. if you have so much of a problem with your digestive issues, make sure to take in some soluble fiber as well.

your right, man did not land on the moon with a diesel engine. However, we arent trying to land on the moon for the FIRST TIME. we are trying to gain weight for the 10751723571035719759 time in the history of the universe. follow what has worked.

i hope you are this meticulous at your work. i might hire you for some of my banking needs...
garch
garch
Posts: 5
Joined: 2009/02/18
United Kingdom
2009/02/19, 12:00 PM
Thanks coolnatedawg,

Am a mathematician by trade, so "anal retentiveness" comes naturally to me :big_smile:

Yup it took some "meticulous" efforts to invent the Unfunded Synthetic CDO aka the "Wallsteet Doomsday Machine".

Your points are gracefully taken and will utilise.

Thanks,

Garch