Monday, August 11, 2014

The Beginning of a Clean Bulk


Eat less of this

I’m bulking. This is a term used in the weightlifting world that means to eat an excess of calories to gain muscle. However, what usually happens is people gain fat! So, to correct my original statement of, “I’m bulking,” to “I’m clean bulking.” I still eat an excess of calories, but I am still strict [ish] about the types of foods I use to gain an extra 800 -1000 calories. And, I try not to gain more than 12% body fat. This means that I don’t get seconds or thirds for dessert! I may do that for lean meats and definitely more vegetables, which is fine. But, it is damn hard to get all of your caloric needs, for bulking, by only eating the healthy stuff. To make it even more difficult on myself I tend to eat a grain and gluten free, paleo hybrid diet. I know I’d get yelled at from every angle on that: it can’t be called a strict paleo diet because I don’t adhere to the tenets that is paleo; I eat gluten every now and then, and I don’t have celiacs or a gluten sensitivity [but, I also don’t go telling people that I’m gluten free and giving them the wrong impression about people that absolutely need to be off gluten]. I like my diet because it’s simple, it’s healthy, and it works for me. But, I digress; back to the bulking.
And more of this
    I wanted to see how many calories I ate on average to help me gauge how much more I’d have to eat to reach my caloric goal. Turns out I only ate at maintenance levels, roughly 2200 - 2500 calories a day, and I thought I ate a lot! What this told me is that my leptin seemed to be working right; I only stopped eating when I felt full. I needed more calories from somewhere. I began to do simple things, like eating an extra egg and piece of bacon for breakfast, or adding snacks of yogurt or a protein bar in between my meals, then having another protein shake after my workout. But, that still wasn’t enough, it only added, roughly, 300 more calories to my day. I had to do what I had to do, I went to GNC to see what advice they had to offer me (actually, I looked for advice online and I already knew what I wanted there). I decided to buy a “MASS GAINER.” They are expensive, and there’s only six servings in the tub! Truthfully, I felt bad because I always liked the idea of not using those crazy supplements, but the only thing that’s different about the mass gainer from the protein powder that I normally drink is: it has more calories, more carbs and more protein. So, I didn’t think I was deviating too much. I only take half a serving size, and only on days that I’m working out, that way, it will last a bit longer, too.
No curls in the squat rack today!
    This whole bulking thing is a little experiment on myself. I’ve always looked pretty skinny. I’d say like a swimmer’s body physique. I’ve had people call me deceptive because with clothes on I don’t look very muscular, but with those fancy athletic shirts or no shirt I’ve had people call me big. It’s just a big enigma to me, “what am I, big or skinny?” And, that’s why I want to bulk, properly. Ultimately, I want to keep my body fat % below 12% while building muscle. And I think I get all that my body needs with they way I’m bulking now.

What have you done to help you bulk up, and gain muscle? Have you noticed it get’s harder to lose the body fat if you’ve done a dirty bulk?

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