First time BULKERS apply here ;)

[andrerox80]

My first bulk lasted about 5 months. I was coming out of that under eating stage and was hell bent on leaning out Yeah I was just like a lot of women here and didn't listen.

was the undereating b/c of the reasons of the majority of noobs here or b/c of your food allergies?

do you have a rate at which you want to gain or are you just happy to take what you can get?

i have no weekly goal. think i'm just being impatient and am afraid of staying the same or too close to the same for even one week when i'm busting my butt in the gym and even though i know the stats on how much (that is, how little) muscle can be gained, i'm convinced that if i didn't put on weight, it was all for nothing.

You can easily use leg press for power until you're able to do heavy squats.

i can and do do leg presses, just not as power. food for thought. thanks.

can't wait to get started on this!

are you starting tmw? do you have it all figured out? are you swapping any exercises or leaving it as written?

still weighing daily.

why weighing daily?

My calories are approximately 2200 on rest days and 2400-2500 on workout days. Protein ranges from 125-165g

is anyone else like me and eats the same on work out and rest days?

[TBC122901]

OK y'all I uploaded pics of me in Mid Nov. I did avery short bulk from end of julytil sept I think? Not a journaler, then cut. No clue how to post pics, I;m terrible at this stuff. I'm equally terrible at taking pics of myself, I seem to chicken out when I feel "fluffy" I'm feeling very fluffy right now! I will try to take the bulk pics in another 6or 8 weeks then start cutting down.

[freebirdmac]

was the undereating b/c of the reasons of the majority of noobs here or b/c of your food allergies?

Food allergies. When they hit it took me a good 1.5 years to figure out what I could eat. I was probably lucky to eat 1000 calories. Fortunately I was not exercising at all. Other than that, I have never had a problem eating enough calories. If someone came up with a cure I'd "bulk" and no doubt gain 50 pounds in a hurry!

[lotusdeva]

was the undereating b/c of the reasons of the majority of noobs here or b/c of your food allergies?


i have no weekly goal. think i'm just being impatient and am afraid of staying the same or too close to the same for even one week when i'm busting my butt in the gym and even though i know the stats on how much (that is, how little) muscle can be gained, i'm convinced that if i didn't put on weight, it was all for nothing.


i can and do do leg presses, just not as power. food for thought. thanks.


are you starting tmw? do you have it all figured out? are you swapping any exercises or leaving it as written?



why weighing daily?



is anyone else like me and eats the same on work out and rest days?

Me! I eat the same on workout and rest days. I wear bodymedia and according to it, I am still burning calories, so gym or not gym I am eating

[freebirdmac]

OK y'all I uploaded pics of me in Mid Nov. I did avery short bulk from end of julytil sept I think? Not a journaler, then cut. No clue how to post pics, I;m terrible at this stuff. I'm equally terrible at taking pics of myself, I seem to chicken out when I feel "fluffy" I'm feeling very fluffy right now! I will try to take the bulk pics in another 6or 8 weeks then start cutting down.

You look great! Even without current picts I doubt you'll have to cut much for summer.

[andrerox80]

Okay, I have to vent a little. We all hear trainers talk out of the asses, but i am bombarded w/ it since i work at the gym, and it's driving me mad. The last couple of days have been annoying at the gym. Nothing major, but just got to me. A trainer was asking abt my prgm (pwb. He just knew I was starting something else and telling me how bad linear prgms are, blah blah blah. Need heavy and light days. I just do what I can, progress as I can, take deload weeks, etc. He's actually a good trainer and is one of the few who is constantly reading and keeping up-to-date w/ the research and is also really good w/ injuries. But it's a professional prgm, and he admittedly didn't know about or of it. And I wasn't asking for his opinion. And he keeps thinking he knows what's best for me. He's good but thinks he's god. And then 10 min later another trainer (who I know is really good. Had a few sessions w/ him and was impressed) was trying to get me to eat a doughnut. He knows how I eat and it was obvious he was just saying it b/c there were other people around. There's another trainer who tries to get me to eat unhealthy stuff but it's totally a joke and in jest and we have a totally different relationship. But this was different. Just annoying. But even w/ that trainer, the one I really dig, he was talking abt taking creatine, and when I asked what kind, he said "some kind of whey." Oh dear. If you don't know about or take supps, fine, but if you do, know what's going into your body. Meanwhile when I did back and wasn't getting an exercise right (was feeling too much in my triceps), I asked yet another trainer and he had never heard of it. I tried explaining it, but he showed me a diff exercise, didn't know name and was telling me to call it all sorts of things (b/c he saw I write things down/log everything) - face pull! Common exercise. Feel like he should have known the name, but not a biggie, I guess. I forget what he told me to call it. And these aren't bad trainers. Oh and I'm fine when I'm eating one of my concoctions and someone asks what's in it (they are weird looking and it's totally unclear what the hell they are), but don't ask if I'm carb loading before a workout if I'm eating two slices of bread in a meal! And the same trainer (he's the first one I mentioned) was asking abt my breakfast concoction and was like, "is there enough fiber in that?" Um, a) wtf, and b) the first ingredient I said was beans, c) he has no idea what the rest of my diet is like. Oh and this old, bitchy, gossipy front desk person who was eavesdropping on a convo I was having w/ my fave member (I was 'friends' w/ him before I started working there. He actually used to be gm at a gym) abt goals and stuff, and she had egg nog almonds and I didn't want one and she was like, "yeah, you're never gonna gain weight." F u !! Then yesterday, even more. Another trainer smelled chocolate (my dark choc edamame) and was like, "damn girl, how can you eat that much chocolate and not be 500 lbs? A. No one food makes you fat. Cals in vs cals out, b. She had no idea how much or what I was eating. .75 serving, 30 g, 150 cals. Same trainer who didn't know what whey and casein were (not the supps, but actual whey and casein), and also, when her client was asking me abt my meal 1 (now meal 3) and I started listing ingredients, she said she'd kill him if he ate that b/c of all the carbs (main carb = oats). And the fitness manager was saying how she doesn't wanna lose her butt. She's skinny-fat-ish. I've actually never seen her lift. But maybe she thought of that before she went on a juice cleanse and does countless hrs on the treadmill and arc trainer.

That was just the last 2 days!

[-H-]

why weighing daily?

Wanted to figure out maintenance so I could increase accordingly. Appears to be right around 2000. I have never been a daily weigher, but it is interesting. I never used to weigh myself, maybe once a week or two.
Ate over for a week then needed a deload week so maintained at 2000, back to bulking cals tomorrow. Is weighing myself once a week enough to see the trend? Wanna see a nice slow increase- not spin my wheels but not eat TOO much over, either. Guess the way I look will be telling, too.

[wakechica]

Okay, I have to vent a little. We all hear trainers talk out of the asses, but i am bombarded w/ it since i work at the gym, and it's driving me mad. The last couple of days have been annoying at the gym. Nothing major, but just got to me. A trainer was asking abt my prgm (pwb. He just knew I was starting something else and telling me how bad linear prgms are, blah blah blah. Need heavy and light days. I just do what I can, progress as I can, take deload weeks, etc. He's actually a good trainer and is one of the few who is constantly reading and keeping up-to-date w/ the research and is also really good w/ injuries. But it's a professional prgm, and he admittedly didn't know about or of it. And I wasn't asking for his opinion. And he keeps thinking he knows what's best for me. He's good but thinks he's god. And then 10 min later another trainer (who I know is really good. Had a few sessions w/ him and was impressed) was trying to get me to eat a doughnut. He knows how I eat and it was obvious he was just saying it b/c there were other people around. There's another trainer who tries to get me to eat unhealthy stuff but it's totally a joke and in jest and we have a totally different relationship. But this was different. Just annoying. But even w/ that trainer, the one I really dig, he was talking abt taking creatine, and when I asked what kind, he said "some kind of whey." Oh dear. If you don't know about or take supps, fine, but if you do, know what's going into your body. Meanwhile when I did back and wasn't getting an exercise right (was feeling too much in my triceps), I asked yet another trainer and he had never heard of it. I tried explaining it, but he showed me a diff exercise, didn't know name and was telling me to call it all sorts of things (b/c he saw I write things down/log everything) - face pull! Common exercise. Feel like he should have known the name, but not a biggie, I guess. I forget what he told me to call it. And these aren't bad trainers. Oh and I'm fine when I'm eating one of my concoctions and someone asks what's in it (they are weird looking and it's totally unclear what the hell they are), but don't ask if I'm carb loading before a workout if I'm eating two slices of bread in a meal! And the same trainer (he's the first one I mentioned) was asking abt my breakfast concoction and was like, "is there enough fiber in that?" Um, a) wtf, and b) the first ingredient I said was beans, c) he has no idea what the rest of my diet is like. Oh and this old, bitchy, gossipy front desk person who was eavesdropping on a convo I was having w/ my fave member (I was 'friends' w/ him before I started working there. He actually used to be gm at a gym) abt goals and stuff, and she had egg nog almonds and I didn't want one and she was like, "yeah, you're never gonna gain weight." F u !! Then yesterday, even more. Another trainer smelled chocolate (my dark choc edamame) and was like, "damn girl, how can you eat that much chocolate and not be 500 lbs? A. No one food makes you fat. Cals in vs cals out, b. She had no idea how much or what I was eating. .75 serving, 30 g, 150 cals. Same trainer who didn't know what whey and casein were (not the supps, but actual whey and casein), and also, when her client was asking me abt my meal 1 (now meal 3) and I started listing ingredients, she said she'd kill him if he ate that b/c of all the carbs (main carb = oats). And the fitness manager was saying how she doesn't wanna lose her butt. She's skinny-fat-ish. I've actually never seen her lift. But maybe she thought of that before she went on a juice cleanse and does countless hrs on the treadmill and arc trainer.

That was just the last 2 days!

LOL you need a t-shirt that says F-Off. Or need to perfect your bert stare for moments like that

[skirtinthedirt]

I can't decide what's worse: getting ridiculous advice from people who SHOULD know what they are talking about or people who obviously don't have any interest in personal fitness but give you advice anyway. Yesterday a guy at my work who is morbidly obese told me the secret to looking like you ladies I want to look like is to eat less than 1200 calories a day and lift light weights so I won't "get all flabby." When I started to explain why this wouldn't work because I'm trying to build muscle he looked at me like I was a moron and said "Umm....that's what the weights are for. And if you're THAT worried about it just make sure you drink protein shakes." He then went on to explain that unlike men most women have the same muscle structure but you just can't see it on most women because they have fat over it.

Oh, and also, cellulite is from drinking too much water apparently.

Awesome.

[WariorGoddess]

You are all so inspiring...the more I read and see the more I am inspired to bulk! I tried attaching some pics here but I am a few posts short of having permission to do so! I did post a few on my profile page. I was thinking on bulking to 130, thats about 6-8lbs would that be enough to make a difference? I want to be able to cut back down to about 120 by the end of June? Does this make sense? Possible?

[stackums]

You are all so inspiring...the more I read and see the more I am inspired to bulk! I tried attaching some pics here but I am a few posts short of having permission to do so! I did post a few on my profile page. I was thinking on bulking to 130, thats about 6-8lbs would that be enough to make a difference? I want to be able to cut back down to about 120 by the end of June? Does this make sense? Possible?

Instead of thinking of it more as pounds on the scale to bulk to....Bulk until you are at a fat % that you cant deal with anymore, or go by the mirror or how clothing fits. Remem..the scale is just a # and some bulking weight is going to be initial bloat and a little fat too. So 6-7 lbs wont give you too much added lean mass in the end.

[agambow]

OK y'all I uploaded pics of me in Mid Nov. I did avery short bulk from end of julytil sept I think? Not a journaler, then cut. No clue how to post pics, I;m terrible at this stuff. I'm equally terrible at taking pics of myself, I seem to chicken out when I feel "fluffy" I'm feeling very fluffy right now! I will try to take the bulk pics in another 6or 8 weeks then start cutting down.

Wow you look awesome! I definitely see gains all around, especially in your upper body.

[TBC122901]

Thanks Agambo and Freebird!
Ok question: What do y'all do on a bulk when you have a deload week?? I"m oing 5-3-1 and it's my deload week. Light lifting and i'll be doing a little cardio and lots of ard work since I'll have extra energy from taking it easy on the weights. I'm thinking of cutting my cals down to maintence for the week. What do yall do? Just wanted to chek with all my bulking gurus ;-)

[thepowerwithin]

Thanks Agambo and Freebird!
Ok question: What do y'all do on a bulk when you have a deload week?? I"m oing 5-3-1 and it's my deload week. Light lifting and i'll be doing a little cardio and lots of ard work since I'll have extra energy from taking it easy on the weights. I'm thinking of cutting my cals down to maintence for the week. What do yall do? Just wanted to chek with all my bulking gurus ;-)

Just checked out your mid November pics. You look great!

Regarding cals, I wouldn't drop them. I posted an article about this a few pages back. I can't find it now. It basically recommended keeping your surplus or a slight surplus intact if you are bulking. It's not unlikely to experience muscle growth during a deload or rest week.

Good luck! You're doing great .

[freebirdmac]

Just checked out your mid November pics. You look great!

Regarding cals, I wouldn't drop them. I posted an article about this a few pages back. I can't find it now. It basically recommended keeping your surplus or a slight surplus intact if you are bulking. It's not unlikely to experience muscle growth during a deload or rest week.

Good luck! You're doing great .

I agree!

[gobbles23]

are you starting tmw? do you have it all figured out? are you swapping any exercises or leaving it as written?

is anyone else like me and eats the same on work out and rest days?

I don't know- my training is all screwed up. I've had so many set-backs this month Last week I had jaw problems from my tooth extraction and I did one workout on monday which was a lame chest/biceps which I didn't complete and was so weak it could have been a deload workout. Then my jaw felt great and I did an awesome leg workout on Wednesday but I left out an exercise or two becasue I felt a cold coming on. Then I caught a mild head cold and took three days off. Then on Sunday (yesterday) I did back and left out calves and abs. Now I'm more sniffly and sneezy. I'm having an awesome month! Thank goodness the next one is almost here- I have high hopes for that one lol! Will do shoulders and triceps today but I don't know how well it'll go.

Anyway- moral of that story- since I'm not 100% the only thing I changed so far was leaving stuff out and doing less volume. When I'm all better I'm going to do 4-5 sets of both main power exercises and maybe add in an exercise or two since I enjoy volume and have all the time in the world for it right now. I know exactly what exercises I'm going to do for everything- had lots of time to plan

Regarding calories- I'm generally hungrier on workout days. I'm ravenous after my workouts. And I eat differently on w/o days and off days. Off days I drink lots of coffee and eat diferent meals and stuff, so it just works out that way. I'm just aiming for 200 extra calories a day and my bodymedia gave me a 2000/2200 calorie burn on rest/workout days respectively and it seems to be spot on, so.... Mind you if I'm extra hungry on rest days I have no problem eating more than that. I actually don't aim for those numbers, they just conveniently fall there. I'm satisfied there.

OK y'all I uploaded pics of me in Mid Nov. I did avery short bulk from end of julytil sept I think? Not a journaler, then cut. No clue how to post pics, I;m terrible at this stuff. I'm equally terrible at taking pics of myself, I seem to chicken out when I feel "fluffy" I'm feeling very fluffy right now! I will try to take the bulk pics in another 6or 8 weeks then start cutting down.

You look amazing! Awesome progress!!!! I don't drop them on a deload, I keep them at 200 above my maintenance. Mostly because I'm used to eating that amount and am hungry until I get there

[Walks90]

Just seen back a few pages there when people were discussing measuring bodyfat. I always thought calipers were more accurate than the BF scales? I've done both and got two very different results and felt that the scales were way off mark. Somebody then told me that if you've drank a lot of water/eaten a big meal before stepping on the scales then this can massively affect your bodyfat result. What does everyone think of this?

[freebirdmac]

Just seen back a few pages there when people were discussing measuring bodyfat. I always thought calipers were more accurate than the BF scales? I've done both and got two very different results and felt that the scales were way off mark. Somebody then told me that if you've drank a lot of water/eaten a big meal before stepping on the scales then this can massively affect your bodyfat result. What does everyone think of this?

Hydration has a big effect on the bf scale. Neither calipers or the scales are worth much for measuring body fat. Way too much inaccuracy in the actual numbers and repeatability. Progress picts and measurements work far better. Body fat is just a number that can mean absolutely nothing in terms of how you look. Same with scale weight. Unless you can afford to get a dexascan on a regular basis you're far better off not even worrying about a number.

[toodlepip]

LOL you need a t-shirt that says F-Off. Or need to perfect your bert stare for moments like that

No kidding...I'd go nuts...or else constantly wear headphones and sunglasses so nobody talked to me...

[toodlepip]

Thanks Agambo and Freebird!
Ok question: What do y'all do on a bulk when you have a deload week?? I"m oing 5-3-1 and it's my deload week. Light lifting and i'll be doing a little cardio and lots of ard work since I'll have extra energy from taking it easy on the weights. I'm thinking of cutting my cals down to maintence for the week. What do yall do? Just wanted to chek with all my bulking gurus ;-)

I agree you look fantastic!

I took last week off and didn't track...just ate to appetite, keeping protein at a decent level. Was a nice break.

[DaniGrrl]

is anyone else like me and eats the same on work out and rest days?

I was eating less on rest days but since I've upped my calories a couple weeks ago, I've been trying to eat the same even on rest days. Freebirdmac made a good point to someone a few pages back that I hadn't thought of - saying you need to eat enough on a rest day to help your muscles recover from the day before and also so you have enough for your next workout. I typically rest Saturday and Sunday, with maybe a yoga workout on Saturday if I get up early enough, but she also said even with two rest days in a row, you still need the calories to be able to fuel your workout for the next day. I guess everyone is different in what works for them but that seemed to make sense to me. It's also been nice not worrying and/or stressing I'm eating too much on rest days. LOL

Got a nice complement today. I was talking to some guy at the gym and he commented on the fact that I'm lifting pretty heavy weights, and I mentioned that I'm thinking of competing and he told me he can tell I've put on some muscle over the past few months. He said it looked like 3-5 pounds worth which I got a chuckle at because I'm sure it's definitely not that much muscle as I've maybe put on 5 pounds at the most total since December 2010 when I was weighing 98 pounds. LOL He must have thought I got creeped out by him telling me that because he said it's not like he's been staring or anything but it looks pretty obvious to which I said that I was glad he said it, because you know it's hard to tell on yourself and I really am horrible at taking pictures.

I was up another pound today but, 1, I have my period and I'd just eaten lunch so I'm not putting much stock in it at this point. But at least I am not dropping back down as I kept doing so hopefully things are moving in the right direction finally

[WariorGoddess]

so I'm doing it, I'm increasing my cals from eating at a deficit of about 1600-1700 to 2000cals, which is about my maintenance. I will gradually increase. I will seriously have to sit and eat peanut butter and ice-cream in order to get in enough cals lol I live a very holistic life-style and barely eat anything processed, and rarely red meat. But....I want to gain strength and muscle and the word is this is how you do it It sucks bc I don't have a big appetite and I have to force myself to eat a lot of the time. In order to feel in 'control' I will keep this up until April so I have lots of time to cut for the summer...even if my gains are not significant. Off to grab a spoon and a jar of peanut-butter...not even the natural kind lol

[nicholina]

Okay, I have to vent a little. We all hear trainers talk out of the asses, but i am bombarded w/ it since i work at the gym, and it's driving me mad. The last couple of days have been annoying at the gym. Nothing major, but just got to me. A trainer was asking abt my prgm (pwb. He just knew I was starting something else and telling me how bad linear prgms are, blah blah blah. Need heavy and light days. I just do what I can, progress as I can, take deload weeks, etc. He's actually a good trainer and is one of the few who is constantly reading and keeping up-to-date w/ the research and is also really good w/ injuries. But it's a professional prgm, and he admittedly didn't know about or of it. And I wasn't asking for his opinion. And he keeps thinking he knows what's best for me. He's good but thinks he's god. And then 10 min later another trainer (who I know is really good. Had a few sessions w/ him and was impressed) was trying to get me to eat a doughnut. He knows how I eat and it was obvious he was just saying it b/c there were other people around. There's another trainer who tries to get me to eat unhealthy stuff but it's totally a joke and in jest and we have a totally different relationship. But this was different. Just annoying. But even w/ that trainer, the one I really dig, he was talking abt taking creatine, and when I asked what kind, he said "some kind of whey." Oh dear. If you don't know about or take supps, fine, but if you do, know what's going into your body. Meanwhile when I did back and wasn't getting an exercise right (was feeling too much in my triceps), I asked yet another trainer and he had never heard of it. I tried explaining it, but he showed me a diff exercise, didn't know name and was telling me to call it all sorts of things (b/c he saw I write things down/log everything) - face pull! Common exercise. Feel like he should have known the name, but not a biggie, I guess. I forget what he told me to call it. And these aren't bad trainers. Oh and I'm fine when I'm eating one of my concoctions and someone asks what's in it (they are weird looking and it's totally unclear what the hell they are), but don't ask if I'm carb loading before a workout if I'm eating two slices of bread in a meal! And the same trainer (he's the first one I mentioned) was asking abt my breakfast concoction and was like, "is there enough fiber in that?" Um, a) wtf, and b) the first ingredient I said was beans, c) he has no idea what the rest of my diet is like. Oh and this old, bitchy, gossipy front desk person who was eavesdropping on a convo I was having w/ my fave member (I was 'friends' w/ him before I started working there. He actually used to be gm at a gym) abt goals and stuff, and she had egg nog almonds and I didn't want one and she was like, "yeah, you're never gonna gain weight." F u !! Then yesterday, even more. Another trainer smelled chocolate (my dark choc edamame) and was like, "damn girl, how can you eat that much chocolate and not be 500 lbs? A. No one food makes you fat. Cals in vs cals out, b. She had no idea how much or what I was eating. .75 serving, 30 g, 150 cals. Same trainer who didn't know what whey and casein were (not the supps, but actual whey and casein), and also, when her client was asking me abt my meal 1 (now meal 3) and I started listing ingredients, she said she'd kill him if he ate that b/c of all the carbs (main carb = oats). And the fitness manager was saying how she doesn't wanna lose her butt. She's skinny-fat-ish. I've actually never seen her lift. But maybe she thought of that before she went on a juice cleanse and does countless hrs on the treadmill and arc trainer.

That was just the last 2 days!

Sounds like they're just messing with you and being playfully sarcastic for the most part. The doughnut, asking if there is enough fiber when the first thing you say is beans, the comment about being 500 lb for eating chocolate. For comments like that, I say dish the sarcasm right back and give them **** about something, or laugh. For the legit stupidity...kind of comes with the territory of working in a gym it has to be annoying though.

[andrerox80]

LOL you need a t-shirt that says F-Off. Or need to perfect your bert stare for moments like that

No kidding...I'd go nuts...or else constantly wear headphones and sunglasses so nobody talked to me...

it's at work, so i can't wear headphones and am working on my "eat sh*t and die" look and definitely don't indulge them. maybe a lack of reaction will be enough to squash it. what i overhear (i.e., what's not said abt it, whether it's to me or to someone near me) is another story. i still get super annoyed, but in a different way. i mean, it's just frustrating. but we all know this and we all say that people shouldn't put any stock into trainers' advice re nutrition and that you should sort of interview your trainer and they're not all created equal. just sad. makes me mad. people come in w/ goals, pay good money, etc.

Sounds like they're just messing with you and being playfully sarcastic for the most part. The doughnut, asking if there is enough fiber when the first thing you say is beans, the comment about being 500 lb for eating chocolate. For comments like that, I say dish the sarcasm right back and give them **** about something, or laugh. For the legit stupidity...kind of comes with the territory of working in a gym it has to be annoying though.

it's not sarcasm. you didn't hear the tone or the way it was said. i know them and how they talk. the fiber one was being serious. the chocolate one was 100% serious. she is dumb as rocks abt nutrition. was vegan until she asked me abt protein supps and i told her abt whey and casein b/c they're the most common and b/c i did NOT know she was vegan, and she got casein. when i found out she was vegan and had to break the news to her, oy. the doughnut one was 1/2 serious and 1/2 trying to look cool in front of others.

I was thinking on bulking to 130, thats about 6-8lbs would that be enough to make a difference? I want to be able to cut back down to about 120 by the end of June? Does this make sense? Possible?

you're limiting yourself way way way too much. by numbers and by time. also, you plan to bulk 8 lbs and then cut 10 by this june?

so I'm doing it, I'm increasing my cals from eating at a deficit of about 1600-1700 to 2000cals, which is about my maintenance. I will gradually increase. I will seriously have to sit and eat peanut butter and ice-cream in order to get in enough cals lol I live a very holistic life-style and barely eat anything processed, and rarely red meat. But....I want to gain strength and muscle and the word is this is how you do it It sucks bc I don't have a big appetite and I have to force myself to eat a lot of the time. In order to feel in 'control' I will keep this up until April so I have lots of time to cut for the summer...even if my gains are not significant. Off to grab a spoon and a jar of peanut-butter...not even the natural kind lol

i gave you a laundry list of ideas on one of these pages.

I don't know- my training is all screwed up. I've had so many set-backs this month Last week I had jaw problems from my tooth extraction and I did one workout on monday which was a lame chest/biceps which I didn't complete and was so weak it could have been a deload workout. Then my jaw felt great and I did an awesome leg workout on Wednesday but I left out an exercise or two becasue I felt a cold coming on. Then I caught a mild head cold and took three days off. Then on Sunday (yesterday) I did back and left out calves and abs. Now I'm more sniffly and sneezy. I'm having an awesome month! Thank goodness the next one is almost here- I have high hopes for that one lol! Will do shoulders and triceps today but I don't know how well it'll go.

Anyway- moral of that story- since I'm not 100% the only thing I changed so far was leaving stuff out and doing less volume. When I'm all better I'm going to do 4-5 sets of both main power exercises and maybe add in an exercise or two since I enjoy volume and have all the time in the world for it right now. I know exactly what exercises I'm going to do for everything- had lots of time to plan

i'm sorry you've had such a sucky health mo, but you're right - new mo starting. the tooth is gone, your jaw will continue to heal, and you'll get over your cold. then you'll be back and ready for business. very interested in what you're gonna do. regardless, i hope you love it. i am having fun. i should look at the website and the suggested exercises again. some i kept, some i swapped, but i wanna take a look again, now that i've gone thru ea body part.

you need to eat enough on a rest day to help your muscles recover from the day before and also so you have enough for your next workout.

i somehow missed that point by freebird but makes sense to me. i always kept things the same thinking my muscles need the fuel on off days for growing. but that's just what made sense to me, not anything that was backed up by anything. i like what freebird said.

awesome abt the compliment and the 1 lb. how often are you weighing and how often are you increasing cals? tmw is a weigh-in for me. i do it weekly.

[nicholina]

so I'm doing it, I'm increasing my cals from eating at a deficit of about 1600-1700 to 2000cals, which is about my maintenance. I will gradually increase. I will seriously have to sit and eat peanut butter and ice-cream in order to get in enough cals lol I live a very holistic life-style and barely eat anything processed, and rarely red meat. But....I want to gain strength and muscle and the word is this is how you do it It sucks bc I don't have a big appetite and I have to force myself to eat a lot of the time. In order to feel in 'control' I will keep this up until April so I have lots of time to cut for the summer...even if my gains are not significant. Off to grab a spoon and a jar of peanut-butter...not even the natural kind lol

I have the same problem. I have a very small appetite. I also don't eat red meat or processed foods. Ive gotten a lot of good suggestions here. Peanut butter or nuts are good. Think dried foods too. Like dried fruit. I found dried garbanzo beans that are about 120 cals for 1/4c. You can also make them yourself by roasting any type of canned bean. Protein shakes. Protein sludge (P. powder mixed with a little water to make a toothpaste like consistency). Dry oatmeal mixed in whatever. Raw cacao. Avocado. Whole eggs. Salmon. Cheese. Putting veggies into protein shakes has been helpful so that vegetables don't have to take up as much volume at other meals. Ive tried carrots and spinach and both work well. Adding starchy vegetables like sweet potatoes, peas, corn (also less filling if you roast them or find them in dried form).
You don't have to resort to ice cream, unless of course you want to, thats totally fine too!

[DaniGrrl]

so I'm doing it, I'm increasing my cals from eating at a deficit of about 1600-1700 to 2000cals, which is about my maintenance. I will gradually increase. I will seriously have to sit and eat peanut butter and ice-cream in order to get in enough cals lol I live a very holistic life-style and barely eat anything processed, and rarely red meat. But....I want to gain strength and muscle and the word is this is how you do it It sucks bc I don't have a big appetite and I have to force myself to eat a lot of the time. In order to feel in 'control' I will keep this up until April so I have lots of time to cut for the summer...even if my gains are not significant. Off to grab a spoon and a jar of peanut-butter...not even the natural kind lol

The nuts and nut butters add up quick. Sometimes at night if I need a lot of calories, even 400 calories sometimes after dinner, I easily find ways to make it add up. Flax seeds and chia seeds are easy ways to add calories with a lot of nutrients, without adding a lot of volume if you don't have a huge appetite. I've learned that I need to add more earlier in the day, have been having an extra serving of berries at breakfast, having a tangerine with my sandwich at lunch. Sometimes I find I still need a lot even after dinner - I need to come up with 300 calories to have tonight as a snack. I am like you in that I try to avoid processed stuff and I know it would be okay to have ice cream or some other sort of treat, I try to come up with some other concoctions, usually oatmeal and some nuts but it depends on what I need but these days it seems like I mostly just need carbs. I'm sure everyone here will have ideas for you if you're having trouble hitting your calories.

[nicholina]

it's at work, so i can't wear headphones and am working on my "eat sh*t and die" look and definitely don't indulge them. maybe a lack of reaction will be enough to squash it. what i overhear (i.e., what's not said abt it, whether it's to me or to someone near me) is another story. i still get super annoyed, but in a different way. i mean, it's just frustrating. but we all know this and we all say that people shouldn't put any stock into trainers' advice re nutrition and that you should sort of interview your trainer and they're not all created equal. just sad. makes me mad. people come in w/ goals, pay good money, etc.



it's not sarcasm. you didn't hear the tone or the way it was said. i know them and how they talk. the fiber one was being serious. the chocolate one was 100% serious. she is dumb as rocks abt nutrition. was vegan until she asked me abt protein supps and i told her abt whey and casein b/c they're the most common and b/c i did NOT know she was vegan, and she got casein. when i found out she was vegan and had to break the news to her, oy. the doughnut one was 1/2 serious and 1/2 trying to look cool in front of others.
.

True, tone definitely makes a difference, and Im sure you can tell. I was just guessing they might have been playing around since its your work and they seem like your friends. In that case, they're idiots. I really can't believe he was serious about the fiber comment. I still would give them a snarky comment back to lighten the mood, or just ignore them. I hate when people comment on my food...people LOVE to talk about other peoples food though, make comments, etc. I don't get why since its no ones business. The doughnut guy sounds like a d-bag..best just not to give him a reaction.

[stephanielynn76]

Hi all. I'm still suffering over here. I've been on antibiotics since Thursday of last week and I'm getting worse. I thought I just had a case of strep throat but as it turns out I must have some other nasty infection in addition to the strep. It's moving down towards my chest and I'm starting to have a cough. I called the clinic and they called me in a second antibiotic to take in addition to the previous one as well as some steroids to reduce all this inflammation. I haven't breathed through my nose in days and the skin around my nose is red, raw, and peeling. Sorry for whining...

So... I will admit that I've never done a deload. I really haven't taken time off since... well... ever. On Monday I was feeling tired and losing motivation and I wondered if I should just take the week off but I wouldn't let myself. Come Thursday I'm feeling bad and by Friday I'm sick as a dog. Do you think it's possible my brain/body was trying to tell me to just take a break on Monday... and when I didn't... it revolted??? LOL

Ok to catch up on other things...
**Thanks FBM for sharing your progress pictures. My legs are shaped the same way and I, too, have noticed the same sorta reshaping you have... though I'm not quite there yet. I still have a ways to go. Gobbles23 yours look fantastic... I don't even see what you're complaining about!
**To all the new bulkers... welcome! I hope you will love bulking as much as I have! I'm going to miss you all as I make my way to the cut thread soon.

So... my diet was supposed to start February first... but I've decide to just put that on hold for now until I get over this illness. I've yet to take official post-bulk pictures but when I do I'll post them here.

[ms_mac]

Here's the link to my BodyForm log, if anyone would like to follow:

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=141856191

[DaniGrrl]

[QUOTE=andrerox80;823364651i somehow missed that point by freebird but makes sense to me. i always kept things the same thinking my muscles need the fuel on off days for growing. but that's just what made sense to me, not anything that was backed up by anything. i like what freebird said.

awesome abt the compliment and the 1 lb. how often are you weighing and how often are you increasing cals? tmw is a weigh-in for me. i do it weekly.[/QUOTE]

I know I shouldn't but I weigh every day. I don't get freaked out by any elevated numbers but was doing it to sort of monitor progress which in hindsight doesn't really make much of a difference but the number wasn't budging at all so I know I'm definitely doing the right thing by increasing.

Things have been all over the place since I've increased calories but I know the fluctuations are due to extra cals, extra carbs, water weight, etc. But I'm not dropping down at all, so I'm happy about that. I increased an extra 100 calories about two weeks ago and increased another 100 last week. I can probably add another 50-100 but I wanted to giveit another week or so at this level to see what happens, especially with my period being this week because that makes it hard to tell what's really going on with any gains.