bulkers corner

[JP]

Hey who is bulking at the moment (meaning: deliberately packing on extra calories to gain weight)?

I started bulking last week and hope to keep this up about 6 weeks and hit 105-6kg/231-233lbs

Its hard work though! last time i was consciously bulking was a while ago, and i was a few kg's lighter - i can see how i would need to eat even more this time around to get all the calories for bulking. And its not easy!

I have a huge stack of stuff from Unicorn (vegan supermarket in manchester) in my work desk drawer: almonds and other nuts, chick pea/sesame "noodles", dates, apricots.

I also have soya chocolate drinks and SoCrispy, soya based crisps (8.9 grams of protein) and hempower bars which have about 220 calories in them.

perhaps i should start a food log in my training log as well

So who else is packing on the calories and making vegan food providers rich?

[michaelhobson]

The resident "fat bastard" is of course bulking!

I am gaining steadily about 1 kilo per week, for the last 6-7 weeks. I was almost down to 100kg in July after losing 7kg in 10 days of being sick. Yesterday I weighed in at 109.5!!! My heaviest ever!!! I am shooting for 113-115kg in the next 6-8 weeks!

Right now I am eating two Builders Bars every day, two bean burritos every day, bagels with peanut butter, several bananas, Tofurkey sandwiches with Veganaise, chili, vegan sausages, vegan chinese takeout, protein smoothies, soymilk and of course any veggies I can get my hands on. Basicly I am eating something every 1-2 hours from 9am to 9pm every day. Well actually I will eat any vegan food I am near any time.

In addition I use about 10 grams of creatine post-workout. On non-workout days I only use 5 grams, though most of the time I forget about it on non-workout days.

PS 105kg is a girly weight. Come on man, you can do better than that.

[JP]

good grief that is a lot of weight gain MH!

no way i could get to 107... but lets see, that would be a nice round number, erm or something But judging from past experience 106 is a realistic goal.

I am trying something though. one powerlifter told me that he puts on almos 3 kg of weight when he ups creatine intake to 20 grams a day! Now i haven't seen any evidence of that in written format, but since i always take really small doses like 3g/day i thought i'll try in few weeks time and see what happens.

How do you feel on the strength front mate?

[michaelhobson]

good grief that is a lot of weight gain MH!

no way i could get to 107... but lets see, that would be a nice round number, erm or something But judging from past experience 106 is a realistic goal.

I am trying something though. one powerlifter told me that he puts on almos 3 kg of weight when he ups creatine intake to 20 grams a day! Now i haven't seen any evidence of that in written format, but since i always take really small doses like 3g/day i thought i'll try in few weeks time and see what happens.

How do you feel on the strength front mate?

I agree on the creatine, 20 grams per day for the first five days is a good loading phase for me. If I have been off creatine for a while, I will usually gain about 2.5-3kg in the first week. After loading I continue with 5-10 grams per day as mentioned above.

Strength is fantastic. As you know, I pulled 455 pounds just over a week ago. I can pull 400 any day of the week now, which is a nice feeling. I'm working out 4 days per week and benching 3 of them. I'm doing multiple doubles with 102kg on the bench now!

Being sick seems to have been very good for me. Before I had a lot of problems with indigestion and suffered from soy allergies and diminished appetite. After being sick I seem to be abled to eat anything in any quantity and my body is using it effeciently. I am hungry and eating all the time and growing steadily. Couldn't ask for more.

[buzz]

I am bulking but not massively, and am just eating a bit more on lifting days, and more again on heavy lifting days. Hovering around 86-88kg just now, and my aim is to weigh in at 88.9kg first thing in the morning naked. When i bulked before i put on 1kg a week steadily but now it is just a few hundred grams, but my digestion is still good, and my body likes me for not stuffing it too much! And I'm also avoiding the protein powder this time as it makes me feel a bit sickey.

Typical day would be

7am oats and raspberries
9am few scoops home made houmus
11am bulghur wheat with olives, ginger and garlic
12noon big apple
1.30pm 100g (approx) cashews
3pm soup with 100g yellow split peas in it (approx 23g protein)
6.30pm tea - usually pasta/rice/quinoa or another carb food with tofu and veg
7.30pm shake with spirulina, cinnamon, coconut block, home made nut milk, maple syrup, ground flax seed, strawberries

I have been thinking of adding in another 50-100g of cashews around 8.30 at night, as i seem to sleep ok after eating them, and it would stick in another few calories.

[Jonathan]

im sick of bulking at the moment, and also cos im not very active my appetite is a bit crap. friday i start my job as a wage slave, so with me being on my feet, i should eat more.

in my experience the best things for bulking are soy burgers. i make them myself and i reckon they are 25% protein. hobbers, you've had some of them i think.

i do ultimately want to bulk to 125kg but i dont want a gut! just the muscle and the strength!

jonathan

[michaelhobson]

in my experience the best things for bulking are soy burgers. i make them myself and i reckon they are 25% protein. hobbers, you've had some of them i think.

Yes, massive things! I nearly exploded trying to finish two of them! As big as my fist or bigger they were.

i do ultimately want to bulk to 125kg but i dont want a gut! just the muscle and the strength!

Yes, the gut is a sacrafice for getting huge. If you can do it without getting fat, that's great for you. I put on fat so easily, growing without accumulating fat really isn't an option. Fortunately, when I set my mind to it I am also quite good at trimming down. I am planning a 16 week diet cycle leading up to Vegan Vacation 2006. At least that is what is in my head, if I'm still enjoying getting huge I may stick with that.

[Jonathan]

Yes, massive things! I nearly exploded trying to finish two of them! As big as my fist or bigger they were.

ah man - you light weight! my record is five (though they were on their own!).

ill try to post some sort of recipe for them. could be tricky though as i make it up each time!

jonathan

[JP]

buzz, interesting bulking plan - very little soya there. I aim to that, but then end up eating loads of soya anyway.

We should count how many calories we take in some day. I dont count it, if i grow, i keep level, if i dont, i eat more

NO GUT NO GLORY!

[Jonathan]

hehe - im still not sure that this topic should be in the diet, nutrition and healthy eating part of the forum! not with you lot determined to develop gargantuan guts! lol!

im just lucky (?) that i put weight on with so much difficulty that in two years of bulking ive gained 1.5% bodyfat!

jonathan

[bronco]

Hey, you guys make me wanna bulk also - eating is fun .

[buzz]

Yeah, the only soy i use now is in the form of home made tofu. I am keen to get protein largely from grains (have tried barley, amaranth and kamut recently) and also from legumes. I haven't worked out total daily intake recently but feel that it is about as i'd like it. Sneaked in that extra handful of nuts before bed last night too I am looking to add in an extra meal at around 12.30pm so am thinking of stocking up on haggis samosas from the baked potato shop! (again!)

[JP]

am thinking of stocking up on haggis samosas from the baked potato shop! (again!)

do i read it right? Haggis samosas?

[buzz]

Don't tell me you've never tried the famous haggis samosas from the baked tattie shop??!?!?

[Fruitbat]

wow you guys put away one heck of alot of food!! And my friends thought i was amazing for the amount i eat and i am only a "little girl"!!!

Any girls purposefully "bulk"???? I just resolved to eat loads more at the mo to see if I can get my strength to keep soaring like it has been. In fact I consutled Pat Reeves on Monday and she enthusiastically told me I should consider aiming for competitive powerlifting... but I should have htought I am no where near strong enough to even consider that.