I have tried low-carb in the past, and have come to the conclusion that higher carbs is much better for me. By low carb, I mean (<100g/day) and high carb (>400g/day) Im a former skinny “hardgainer”, not so skinny any more, but i seem to get leaner when i go higher carbs.
So those of you that have had good success with higher carb bulking, what were your main food guidelines?
I have too eat massively to gain weight, so it seems that the typical recomendations of ONLY vegetables, and low glycemic carbs isn’t gonna work.
I read somethign Berardi wrote about how back in the day, he would eat a whole bag of bagels with PB each day.
It seems that the whole “carbs make you fat” craze has taken away from the magical abilities that carbs have for building muscle.
I always hear that you should only eat low glycemic carbs, and they should always be with protein, but not fat. And no carbs after a certain time, etc. etc…
Does any of this matter, or during a bulk, does it just come down to getting it all in, no matter what?
Thanks for the advice guys… Right now im mixing all my whey shakes with milk, but i need to get me some whole milk.
I think im gonna try what Berardi did with the bagels + PB and a whey shake for every snack between meals… And i’ll have something like a yam and/or veggies with my meals. And simple sugars like candy before workouts…
The interesting thing I noted was that I seemed to get leaner when I was doing higher carbs. Maybe just because my muscles are fuller but it really seems as if I lose fat.
I don’t think simple sugars like candy are ever the answer. If you’re eating carbs all day, you’ll have plenty of energy for workouts.
Also, mixing shakes with whole milk hasn’t worked all that well for me. It is almost like the milk is fully saturated, with no room for the powder. I usually make my shakes as normal, and then down glasses of milk throughout the day.
I just recently finished a very high carb bulk. 700-850grams of carbs daily. I aiming for 100-150 carbs a meal with 60-75grams of protein. Pretty simple.
Most of my carbs, besides my morning oatmeal, was higher glycemic. Rice-a-Roni was a staple for me. lol. White potatoes, italian bread, WMS ect… When you’re eating frequently I don’t feel that it matters.
Why would you ever try a low carb bulk, especially if you were “skinny” and “have to eat massively to gain weight”?
Have you ever tried the “Hour of Power”? I believe it’s something Defranco coined. Basic point of it is to have a designated hour a couple times a week where you just stuff yourself with as much food as you can without throwing up. Supposedly has helped a lot of skinny bastards not so skinny anymore…
Also, mixing shakes with whole milk hasn’t worked all that well for me. It is almost like the milk is fully saturated, with no room for the powder. I usually make my shakes as normal, and then down glasses of milk throughout the day.
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yeah, i had the same problem, but only if i tried to stir the powder in, if you put in in a nalgene or something and shake it for a while it pretty much completely dissolves, and tastes better too. obviously the brand makes a difference.
[quote]That One Guy wrote:
Have you ever tried the “Hour of Power”? I believe it’s something Defranco coined. Basic point of it is to have a designated hour a couple times a week where you just stuff yourself with as much food as you can without throwing up. Supposedly has helped a lot of skinny bastards not so skinny anymore…
Bit off topic.[/quote]
Ive heard of stuff like this. An hour would do nothing for me though. Maybe one hour every day or one day a week, but my last bulk was all out for two weeks, and I didn’t gain all kinds of fat from it.
A couple of years ago when I went from 150-180’ish, I was all over dipping french bread in olive oil with vinegar. Im starting to think that when you are training with a high frequency and high overall workload, food choices dont matter that much. As long as you are getting enough protein and a huge surplus of calories you’ll be fine.
So I bought my bagels, natural PB, Snickers, Power bar harvest, fat free cookies, milk, yams and chicken. Time to start eating.
high carb = gold IMO
cleanest gains made by slowly increasing all macronutrients as I went but mainly carbs. Makes cutting easier also you can just drop a chunk of ur carb intake and taper lower as losses slow.(raise protein, slightly lower fat also)
bagels, subs, milk, cereal. Also simple sugars become less of a problem as you lose sensitivity somewhat just dont over do it.
During workout I just have 30g dextrose in half ltr of water, doesen’t affect stomache at all, then a massive post meal with some simple carbs. (slightly sugary cereal or even pasta is great for this)
As a former skinny bastard, I can attest that you NEED carbs. It’s essential to put on pounds. Protein just cannot enter your muscles unless you have sufficient carbs for energy.
I stick to about 40% carbs, and I’ll get them anyway I can.
Also, whole milk is amazing. And mixed nuts. And olive oil.
I found low carb really sucks for any type of gains. Once i added whole milk and lots of carbs all my lifts started moving again. Surprisingly my bodyweight hasnt gone up but i look better in the mirror.
Bulking is more productive without carbohydrate restrictions (<100gram/day). However; many lifters will make great progress without exceeding 400 grams/day. If more is required that is one thing; otherwise it results in unproductive weight gain that must be delt with at some point down the road.
But when you guys are talking about >100 grams of carb intake, are you referring to a higher carb day within a carb cycling weekly schedule? Or just >100 grams of carbs EVERYDAY?
And would you place that day of higher carb intake depending on physical activiity, or just say you want a high carb day every X days, and go from there?
For instance, if I have a heavy leg day on a Friday, wouldn’t I want to start the higher carb day late Thursday and carry it through mid Sat?
That way, I’d have glycogen replenished before my Friday workout, and will be taking in carbs post-leg day for about half a day.
I’m getting good results from a somewhat high carb bulk (400g a day) so far. Put on about 30lbs since December. I get alot of my carbs from milk, beans, sometimes some rice, and occasionally I’ll eat a large pizza for lunch. Chipotle is a great bulking food too.
[quote]PonceDeLeon wrote:
But when you guys are talking about >100 grams of carb intake, are you referring to a higher carb day within a carb cycling weekly schedule? Or just >100 grams of carbs EVERYDAY?
And would you place that day of higher carb intake depending on physical activiity, or just say you want a high carb day every X days, and go from there?
For instance, if I have a heavy leg day on a Friday, wouldn’t I want to start the higher carb day late Thursday and carry it through mid Sat?
That way, I’d have glycogen replenished before my Friday workout, and will be taking in carbs post-leg day for about half a day.
Makes sense?[/quote]
Everyday. Especially for ectos (like me) I’m just over 600g a day bulking slowly (2lbs a month)