looking for the final pieces

[abrocketsfan]

I've been trying to bulk up for the first time in my life (I'm 19), and over the past 10 weeks I've refined my diet to these foods (pretty much):

1/2 cup skim milk
1 cup cottage cheese
1/2 grape nuts or all bran cereal
1 cups cracked wheat
2 scoops Isopure (50 g protein)
4 oz pasta with a little sauce
1 banana
1 orange
1 apple
4oz ground beef
1 cup boiled chicken breast
1 whole wheat pita bread
6 egg whites
1 cup kidney beans
1 tablespoon flax seed oil
Lunch (usually some small amounts of veggies + some meat...has about 20 grams fat on average)
tuna (maybe twice a week)


All the foods are very healthy, nutritous, and do not contain much sugar or saturated fat. However, they only add up to about 2900-3000 calories and 220-240 grams of protein .

Seeing as though I'd like to go up to 3200 calories or so, I would like to know what I should add. Some options I came up with and the problem with them....

1. More milk or maybe some yogurt (sugars??)
2. Almonds (that'll put me way over the 20% fat I consume)
3. More flax oil (no protein, so will it lead to mass gain? )
4. Peanut butter (again, will it just be more calories or will it help me gain mass?)

As you can see, I'm looking for something will not much in the carb department and decent amounts of protein and perhaps unsaturated fat. What should I consume?


Thanks a lot. Also, I know some may say, "If you're bulking, eat whatever you want", but the reason I don't is because I'm pretty skinny now (12% bf, 139 libs) but I used to be quite fat (20+% bf, 158 lbs), so I try to stay lean.

 

[quigs]

Bro you're in the exact same position as me...I'm 19 now, and i used to be chubby when I was younger until I decided i'd had enough of being a fatass and lost the weight. Unfortunately, I had no idea what i was doing and I did lose quite a bit of muscle in the process. When I finally did think that i was lean enough to quit dieting, I began to bulk back up by eating pretty much everything. I gained about 20 lbs over 3-4 months, but a lot of it was fat and water. The next time I bulked, I ate clean, watched my calories, and trained hard. I gained about 15lbs...about 10 of it was muscle. So you're wise in the way that you decided to go about your bulking cycle. What would I add to your diet? (not necessarily in this order)

1) All natural Peanut butter--plain or on wheat bread
2) Raw or dry roasted nuts (preferrably unsalted)
3) brown rice (mix it with your chicken--yumm!)
4) oat meal (you can throw in a scoop of protein)
5) fat free yogurt (some only has like 15gms sugar plus the active cultures are great for healthy digestion)
6) a few more eggs w/yolks (maybe 6 whites/2yolks)
7) broccoli...lots of broccoli
8) lots of tuna...put in a tblspn of mayo, some horseradish, black pepper, celary, onions, carrots, etc. Make a big batch every few days and portion it in little glad ware containers for convenience.


I'll add some more when I think of it...don't worry so much about these fats (nuts flax, egg yolks, mayo, etc.) They're mostly unsaturated efa's so the're great for bulking w/minimal fat gain. Concern yourself more with watching your sugar intake....its great post workout, but other than that stay away from the kool-aid---avoid all white bread/bleached flower. Don't eat corn flakes, fruit loops, cookie crisp, or any of that shit. Stick with the oat meal and the all bran that you metioned. No white rice, only wild or brown rice. If you like tofu, that's not bad once and a while. low carb, high protein, high efa's. The girl down the hall from me makes some kickass tofu for me in her dorm room. Well, thats it for now...good luck bro!

 

[MrTestosterone]

Here's what I think your problem is: You are trying to eat to friggin' cleanly! I see the exact same thing with everyone I know that has ever been pudgy in the past. They lose the fat, get pretty darn skinny, and they stay that way b/c they are afraid to eat bulking food! Understand that you WILL gain some fat when you are trying to add muscle. That is not a problem, though. You can diet the fat off later. Most guys don't go from a ripped 180 to a ripped 200 to a ripped 220. For most of us non-mutated people, we have to be a hulking 240 before we can be a ripped 220. Most of the foods you listed are the kinds of food that I advocate when dieting down. They are, however, also great for bulking up, so long as you throw in some calorie dense foods as well. Some of you guys will probably crap on yourself when you see this, but here are some foods I advocate for those trying to supplement additional calories to gain muscle:
Wheat bread (high GI)
Bananas (high GI)
Full-fat cottage cheese
Apples (low GI)
Ice cream (low GI)
Plain yogurt (moderate GI)
Fried chicken
Hamburger meat
Whole eggs
Whole milk (low GI)
Pasta (high GI)
Endless trips to the Chinese buffet (ungodly GI)

Sure, these foods are not typical "health food," (with possible exception to the fruit) but you aren't the average guy. The average guy wants to lose weight; Americans have gotten downright fat. Hence, we are programmed to think certain foods are *bad.* No food is bad; some have certain places in your diet, and others may not. However, the foods that you do not need may be helpful for another person.

Face it. You aren't going to get 4000 kCal a day off of tuna, eggs, and oatmeal.

Coe

 

[quigs]

Oh yea, eat chille too...turkey and beef chille.
Its great before bed.

While Mr. Test is right...you will gain some fat while bulking...your goal should be to gain minimal fat while still gaining muscle. you can do this if you watch your diet and watch your growth. If you don't think that you are growing fast enough...eat more. if you think you're gaining more fat than muscle...eat less and train harder. I personally don't need to eat 4000 cals to build muscle. When I do, i feel like shit...all bloated and fat. i usually stick more around 3200-3500 and gain just fine. You just have to find what works for you. this way, when it comes time to trim away the fat you'll have a lot less work to do and you can spend more time bulking up