Binging during Bulking

[PmonteX]

So I have been on a bodybuilding "BULK" phase for the past 5 weeks. I have been eating 6 meals a day high in clean calories, protein, veggies and good carbs (brown rice, oats, etc)

In the Gym (6 days, rest 1), I have been lifting heavy, with less reps, to exhaustion! I have also been instructed by my advisor to do NO CARDIO until "cut phase." It has been a wonderful journey!

My question is... lately on the weekends, at night I get the binge feeling that is overwhelming. I have failed to resist the temptations and have been eating things like ice cream, wheat bread, and lots of natural peanut butter. This has been getting common for the past 2 weeks. I know I'm supposed to gain some body fat from all the clean food I'm eating, but I feel like I'm gaining more than I should be. I know that If I continue this habit I will make things harder for me in the cutting phase...

Again, My question is... What can I do to cut some of this fat while still in the bulking phase? Is it possible? My thoughts are:

-1st off, get my will power under control!
-then add some cardio for a week or so, after workouts (20 mins of cardio)

or

- dont do any cardio, you're supposed to gain fat, just don't continue to binge and what's done is done...work harder in "cutting" phase

or

- dont do cardio, stop binging... once you're back into lots of ONLY clean calories, your body will respond and naturally cut some of the negative body fat out, even during bulk phase

any thoughts? your feedback is greatly appreciated! thanks guys!

PS - nots on the images - the first image was taken right after the gym (pumped up), 2nd was taken in the morning right after a large clean breakfast, before workout... sorry for the incompatible variables.

[Christiffer]

You can still do cardio and bulk. I still do hiit 2 times a week and been gaining just fine.

[msm00b]

Eating to excess will not accelerate muscle growth. Muscle growth just takes time and training. It doesn't require more than a very minor/modest daily/weekly caloric surplus. Doing moderate cardio will not inhibit muscle growth as long as you still eat enough to maintain a small surplus. All binging and excessive calorie intake will do is make you fluffy, and it looks like you just lost definition in your before/after photo without adding more lean body mass than you otherwise would have if you'd done it cleanly.

I know I've linked his profile before, but I plan on following his general mantra:

http://bodyspace.bodybuilding.com/PBateman2b2w/

It's not really possible to naturally (ie without anabolic steroids) put on lean muscle at a rate much faster than he is, and he's maintained sub 10% body fat throughout his entire "bulking" phase.

Cycling "bulking" and "cutting" phases just seems an exercise in redundancy imo. Shoot for a clean bulk and periodically trim the fat as needed. Planning on eating to excess and then dieting back down begs the question: "why?".

[Dexter3000]

Eating to excess will not accelerate muscle growth. Muscle growth just takes time and training. It doesn't require more than a very minor/modest daily/weekly caloric surplus. Doing moderate cardio will not inhibit muscle growth as long as you still eat enough to maintain a small surplus. All binging and excessive calorie intake will do is make you fluffy, and it looks like you just lost definition in your before/after photo without adding more lean body mass than you otherwise would have if you'd done it cleanly.

I know I've linked his profile before, but I plan on following his general mantra:

http://bodyspace.bodybuilding.com/PBateman2b2w/

It's not really possible to naturally (ie without anabolic steroids) put on lean muscle at a rate much faster than he is, and he's maintained sub 10% body fat throughout his entire "bulking" phase.

Cycling "bulking" and "cutting" phases just seems an exercise in redundancy imo. Shoot for a clean bulk and periodically trim the fat as needed. Planning on eating to excess and then dieting back down begs the question: "why?".

100% agreed.

[surfergirl36]

My question to you would be are you eating enough? Is the overwhelming need to binge something new for you? Were you cutting hard before? It could just be a matter of willpower but if you have that need to binge, it's always a good idea to stop and take a look at what is going on and where that need comes from.

[Pennyw1se]

If you are bulking and get the urge to binge, what is going to happen when you start cutting?
If ice cream, peanut butter and bread is your weakness, get rid of it, at least until you can get your urges under control. Get rid of anything that may be too tempting for you. I used to get those urges and, in all honestly, would also fail. Getting rid of these temptations for a while allowed me to control myself. Now its no big deal if I have something in the kitchen that is "bad" for me.

[msm00b]

Whenever I get a bad case of the munchies I either down a glass of water + casein protein powder or a can of tuna with saltines and a glass of water. Both of those sit on your stomach like a rock. If I've still got the munchies after that I make myself a small portion of whatever it was that I wanted ... and I usually don't have the appetite to finish up whatever it is I make for myself.