What's on the menu when bulking?

My muscle gains aren't happening as fast as they were in the beginning.  I'm pretty sure it's my diet.  I'd like to bulk up a bit and I know I need a calorie surplus from my diet.  I also know that I can't just go eat a whole pizza (man, that sounds good right now).

So what's on the menu when bulking?

I'm fond of cottage cheese and peanut butter.  Not together ;)  But there's a lot of protein and good fats to be found right there.

U need to make sure your eating 5-6 times a day & attempting to get a gram of protein per pound you weigh. (ex: 200lbs = 200g of protien.)1st thing after waking up drink a protein shake to prevent the muscle wasting stage b/c u just fasted for 6-8 hours (hopefully) then for breakfast get some grains & a fruit.... morning snack should be a/b 150-200 calories (cottage cheese is awesome).... for lunch knockout your last complex carbs (pasta/potatoe) for the day along w/a hefty dose of 4-6oz whole food protein... then for afternoon snack make sure to get another 150-200 calories (great time for protein bar/shake)..... insert Workout here...... then immediately post workout drink something w/fast digesting carbs (gatorade is great) then within 30 minutes drink a 30-40g whey protein shake.... for dinner take in 6-8oz of lean meat & your veggies (green & yellow)...... of course this is all contigent upon u working out in the afternoon. If you workout in the morning like me, hit me back & I'll email u a copy of my daily meal plan.

Original Post by jayhomefitness:

U need to make sure your eating 5-6 times a day & attempting to get a gram of protein per pound you weigh. (ex: 200lbs = 200g of protien.)1st thing after waking up drink a protein shake to prevent the muscle wasting stage b/c u just fasted for 6-8 hours (hopefully) then for breakfast get some grains & a fruit.... morning snack should be a/b 150-200 calories (cottage cheese is awesome).... for lunch knockout your last complex carbs (pasta/potatoe) for the day along w/a hefty dose of 4-6oz whole food protein... then for afternoon snack make sure to get another 150-200 calories (great time for protein bar/shake)..... insert Workout here...... then immediately post workout drink something w/fast digesting carbs (gatorade is great) then within 30 minutes drink a 30-40g whey protein shake.... for dinner take in 6-8oz of lean meat & your veggies (green & yellow)...... of course this is all contigent upon u working out in the afternoon. If you workout in the morning like me, hit me back & I'll email u a copy of my daily meal plan.

Here is a link to a clean foods list.

When you're bulking, eat clean and eat a lot of it. 500 kcal over daily maintainence should put you about where you want to be to clean bulk w/o excess fat.

Here it is.

If you're bulking I wouldn't worry too much about having too many carbs, as long as you're still-hitting your fats and proteins at the right ratio. I'd say 30/30/40. 1 gram protein per body lb is good but you might even want more. Eat as much fiber as you can get your hands on in the form of leafy greens and whole grains to help your body digest all that protein. I would ditch the idea of a gatorade after a work out and instead following your workout with a protein shake and some complex carbs and also some higher glycemic ones. Something like oatmeal and a banana. If oatmeal is not really possible, just the banana. Eating rather than drinking calories is good for boosting your metabolism as well due to the TEF that food causes. If youre having trouble building you might not be eating enough, but remember that muscle gain is a very slow process. You may have originally been holding water, which may have given you the appearance of more gains than you really made.

soy vey-  appreciate u lookin out w/the added info. I myself workout in the morning so it's easier for me to get my protein shake & banana followed by oatmeal but recently I was told to drop the oatmeal & try gatorade for the glucose it could shoot right to my muscles post workout... I'd rather keep up w/the proteinshake & banana right after & then about 30 min later i hit up plain oatmeal w/either splenda or even some pumpkin- u got any other ideas as far as flavoring the oatmeal? I eat it everyday & I need to keep it interesting...

To keep oatmeal and other grains "clean" while making them interesting, try adding spices or extracts.

I put either vanilla or almond extract in mine, with cinnamon and sometimes some stevia(a natural calorie free sweetener NOT made from chemicals). You can also use sugar free flavorings, if you aren't freaked out by artifical stuff, such as what they use for coffees. This can also be used for shakes to make them taste good w/o being high in sugar. Oatmeal can be done sweet or can be savory, with herbs such as oregano or thyme with salt and pepper.

Baking flavorings such as butterscotch, maple and cherry or banana can also be good additions for eating clean.

Screw the gatorade, eat the oatmeal. The banana takes care of the quick absorbing carbs that you need. Eat the shake and banana immediately post work out. Then have a real meal with protein and carbs(like the oatmeal) about 45 min to 1 hr afer your workout. If you eat meat, this could be oatmeal with chicken, turkey, tuna, lean ground beef, or egg whites.

Try not to combine fats and carbs in the same meal. So if you're having oatmeal, don't put nuts in it. Have your meals be either carbs+ protein or protein+ fat.