Bucknellbison's Underdog Bulking Log

[bucknellbison]

Hey guys, I've been too afraid to bulk for the longest time and finally got the nerve to go for it. I woke up a few days ago and the scale read 137.0 lbs which was the point that I said I can't be chicken about it anymore. A little bit of information you should know on why I was so afraid to bulk is that I weighed in at 215 lbs as early as last June and up until the diet I went on last June I had pretty much been obese my whole life (other than birth obviously). I plan on doing a slow clean bulk trying to hit about a 200 calorie surplus everyday with eating about 2900 calories per day and keeping junk food to a minimum although I usually do eat about 250 calories worth of fat free ice cream everyday and I usually throw in there 1-2 ounces of sugary cereal. I will be posting my diet and exercise on Caloriecount so hopefully the link at the bottom of viewable seeing as though this is my 1st ever log. Hopefully this log will help me stay motivated to build some muscle and help not chicken out of this bulk I'm going to undertake.

http://caloriecount.about.com/anothe...cle-dnr3016960

[tehm]

in,go for it!

[bucknellbison]

Day #1 is going well so far. I woke up early this morning to do my 30 minute HIIT training. I did 20 total 30 second sprints with 1 minute of walking in between each sprint. I know most people recommend ot going over 20-25 minutes on HIIT but my stopwatch is broken right now so I'm making due with what I have until I get another. I do my HIIT in my old baseball league parking lot just to get some nice open space and it take about 20-25 to walk each way which really helps me wake up before my sprints and cools me down afterwards. Also did an hours worth of incline walkng at 7% incline at 3.2 MPH, I counted the total calories BEFORE subtracting my BMR at 400 whcih I think is a fair number even though my treadmill was showing like 570ish calories. I am also all done with my lifting for the day. Today was shoulder day today and I did some powr cleaning, military press, pull downs both regular and reverse, shoulder shruggs (chicks dig huge traps I hear), rows, flys, and some little free weight exercises which lasted approximatly 41 minutes (not that I counted.)

For lunch today I had 325g when weighe raw of some chicken breast and I'll be eating the same amount for supper, also chipped in 1lb of green beans for lunch. I plan on probably eating some broccoli and some oats before supper as well to get my calories up. I've done all my activities for the day so I will be doing nothing but relaxing and watching TV other than the school supply shopping I plan to do with my mom this afternoon.

According to calorie count if I eat 2900 calories today I'll be at around a +100 surplus, and this will be my first surplus since I joined the site 13 weeks ago so hopefully my bulking fear is starting to fade away. I'll keep you guys updated throughout the day on what else I eat and my numbers come the end of the night.

[bucknellbison]

Today's going well for my 1st bulking day. For a snack I ate 1/2 cup of oats and 655g (I kid you not) of steamed broccoli. I had 325g weighed raw of grilled chicken and 350g of green beans along with 1lb of steamed cauliflower. Calorie count is showing me my calorie expenditure today was 2790 so if I eat 2900 calories like I fully intend to I will be +110 for the day giving me my 1st calori surplus since I started logging in early May.

[bucknellbison]

I finished up today with quite a bit of food. Eat just under another pound of cooked broccoli, 60g of raspberries, then I finally got to treat myself. 172g of fat free brownie sundae (very good ice cream), a nice PB sandwich with 90g of Jiff Natural Crunchy PB, a small 50g baked potato, and 51g of Cinnamon Toast Cunch since I needed 5 more grams of fat to hit my goal of 74g for the day. Here is my breakdown for the day

Calories 2898
Fat 74g
Carbs 373 (includes fiber and sugar alcohols I'm too lazy to subtract)
Protein 246g

Net Calories for the day 2790

+108, a little under my +200 goal but a step in the right direction seeing as though I haven't logged a day with a calorie surplus since early May.

[bucknellbison]

Today I overworked myself a little too much and my 2900 calories weren't enough to get me to a surplus. I rode my exercise bike at 18 MPH for a full hour and worked my retail job at TJ Maxx from 9:30-5. I also did bicepts/abs for my lifting today after work. I ate quite well and clean today. For breakfest I had 425g of cooked broccoli and 45g of oats. At work I had 400g of grilled chicken with 275g of raw cauliflower and 340g of green beans for lunch split in between my 3 total breaks at work. For supper I mixed it up going with 330g of Jennie-O's extra lean turkey breast which was delicious paired with 1 lb of cauliflower and 1 lb of green beans. For my snacks I had 550g of cooked broccoli, 192g of my fat free brownie sundae ice cream by Blue Bunny, a nice PB sandwich with 91g of Jiff Natural Crunchy PB, an Edy's no Sugar Added Fruit Bar (I highly recommend them), 50g of oats, and 18g of Recees Puffs to make sure I made it to 74g of fat for the day. Here ar my numbers for the day:

Calories 2899
Fat 74g
Carbs 347g (includes sugar alcohols and fiber)
Protein 269g too high, I need to sub some of this out for some carbs tomorrow

Calories burned 3131
Total -232, I need to step it up and get to +200 at least tomorrow

If you want a more detailed report on calorie breakdowns for my exercise and food, the link is below.

http://caloriecount.about.com/im-nev...sed-dnr3051617

[bucknellbison]

I think I'm looking at a another negative day, which is not good. I started out with my HIIT workout which I actually went 26 sprints on today instead of my usual 20, I contribute most of this to having to do it on my treadmill today because of the pouring rain and my treadmill only goes up to 10 MPH. I then was going to do 60 minutes of incline walking at 7% with 3.2 MPH for an hour but accidently did90 minutes worth. I then did my lifting for the day which included a ton of dips, pushups, and skull crushers for nearly 45 minutes. If I didn't have to work for 4 and a half hours at TJ Maxx tonight this would likly be maintenance for my 2900 calorie bulk diet, but I'll probably be -200 again today. For breakfest I had a nice big apple like I usually eat on HIIT days and for lunch I ate 297g of chicken (weighed raw) along with a pound of cooked cauliflower and 580g of cooked broccoli.

[tehm]

try to eat the 200 cals,just some nuts or PB.make sure you hit your planned macros,otherwise you might be undereating.seems to me that youre really scared of weight gain.

[bucknellbison]

try to eat the 200 cals,just some nuts or PB.make sure you hit your planned macros,otherwise you might be undereating.seems to me that youre really scared of weight gain.

Alright, I always thought you were supposed to keep your calories the same everyday. I'll try to work in the extra 200 today.

[bucknellbison]

I wasn't able to get into a calorie surplus today which stinks. After lunch I ate 1 lb of broccoli, green beans, and cauliflower each cooked. I also had 60g of oats, 220g of my fat free brownie sundae ice cream,a pb sandwitch with 95g of Jiff Natural Chuncky PB, and 2 more Edy's no Sugar added fruit bars. For supper at work tonight I ate 295g (raw) of chicken and 210g of raw cauliflower in the breakroom. Fortonatly I did get to my 74g of fat for the day thanks to 34g of Cinnamon Toast Crunch I just at. Hopefully I can throw a surpls on the board tomorrow. Final days macros.

Calories 2898
Fat 74g
Protein 239g better than yesterday
Carbs 381g (includes sugar alcohol and fiber)

Calories burned 3138

Days total -240 BOOOO!!
Full detailed report here http://caloriecount.about.com/well-e...urg-dnr3070539

[bucknellbison]

I might be staring at a deficit again today. I did 65 minutes at 18 MPH on the treadmill followed by 1 hour at 3.2 MPH at a 7% incline for walking as my cardio today. I then did my shoulder day for lifting for 4 hard minutes with power cleans, shruggs, military pres, several different rows, pull downs, and free weights with 50 pushups to finish it off. I trained fased today but for lunch I took my daily GNC multivitamin with 392g (weighed raw) of chicken breast, 1 lb of cooked cauliflower, 1 lb of cooked green beans, and 580g of cooked broccoli. Right now I've expended over 3000 calories for the day and my goal is to bulk on 2900 a day so this is not good. My question to anyone reading is should I keep my exact calories the same everyday or just th surplus, because 2900 is going to have me at way over +200 some days and way under that number much like today because I think keeping the surplus the same would be much easier.

[tehm]

why so much cardio?
well,your tdee is a number,your body does NEVER burn the exact amount every day.youre bulking.stop overthinking it,your tdee could be 3000 one day 3300 the next,2800 the next.just eat and adjust

[bucknellbison]

why so much cardio?
well,your tdee is a number,your body does NEVER burn the exact amount every day.youre bulking.stop overthinking it,your tdee could be 3000 one day 3300 the next,2800 the next.just eat and adjust

Alright, sounds like just going +200 across the board for my surplus is the way to go rather than eating the same amount of calories regardless of activity. That makes much more sense to me because I want to give myself a few rest days here and there and my main concern was having to eat my 2900 calories on rest days and being +several hundred which would put me into fat gaining mode.

[bucknellbison]

I ate well or supper tnight. Had 400g of green beans cooked and 480g of cooked cauliflower to go with 240g (raw) of grilled tilapia. For a snack I just ate 80g worth of strawberrys and I'm currently downing 65g of oats. I plan on having my ice cream and pb sandwich later tonight. I still would like a little bit of feedback on whether I should stick to the 2900 calories each day or just go +200 above my TDEE everyday for this bulk though, I'm still a bit confused on which method is best.

[bucknellbison]

I managed to break free of the 2900 calories I said I'd eat everyday and went for 3000 instead. I finished with 242g of my fat free brownie sundea ice ream, made myself a triple decker Jiff chuncky natural PB sandwich with 91g of pb on it (completly delicious), a cup of Kashi GoLean, a 60 calorie sugar free Jello Pudding, and another Edy's sugar free fruit bar. Here are todays macros

Calories 3000
Fat 77g
Carbs 396g (including sugar alcohols and fiber)
Protein 259g (need to drop this by at least 15-20g)

Calories burned 3073

Total -73, not good, but would be even worse if I only ate 2900 calories.

For full details on today check out my calorie count log.

IMG_0667.jpg

[bucknellbison]

Looks like I''m going to be too lowagain. I was able to do my HIIT outside today and did 22 intervals for 30 second sprints today with 1 minute of rest in between. I then did my hour of incline walking at 7% at 3.2 MPH. I also had to cashier at work for 5 and a half hours so I put in a ton of activity. As for my food I ate quite a bit. I 323g raw weight chicken for both lunch and supper and for veggies I've had 2 lbs of cooked green beans, 1 lb of cooked cauliflower, 210g of raw cauliflower, and 1100 total grams of cooked broccoli. I started off today before my HIIT with a 195g apple and for a snack tonight so far I've had 220g of my fat free brownie sundae ice cream and 65g of oats. I will be eating a large pb sandwitch and I'll try to make it to at least 3000 calories tonight so that my deficit is minimal.

[honowrestler243]

Don't do so much cardio if your trying to bulk up dude. Just do like 15-20 minutes at a medium speed on treadmill. And eat lots of food. You want to be at a caloric surplus everyday.

[bucknellbison]

Don't do so much cardio if your trying to bulk up dude. Just do like 15-20 minutes at a medium speed on treadmill. And eat lots of food. You want to be at a caloric surplus everyday.

I'm starting to see that its really tough to surplus with this much cardio, but I want to stay in good shape. I'm looking for about a +200 surplus everyday for my slow bulk so I need to decide whether I continue with this cardio and eat more or reduce the cardio, but run the risk that I might be way over +200 some days if I don't drop the calories.

[bucknellbison]

I'm going to be at a deficit again today, but I did reah 3000 calories for the day. I finished with a club Jif natural chunky PB sandwitch just like the one I took a picture of yesterday only this one had 98g of pb on it. I also threw in there 60g of strawberrys and 26g of Reeses Puffs. Here are my macros for the day.

Calories 2999
Fat 76g
Carbs 388g (includes sugar alcohols and fiber)
Protein 256g (I need to drop this by a good 15-20g a day)

Calories burned 3141

Total calories for the day -142, once again under my calories, URG!

For a more detailed report check it out my calorie count report http://caloriecount.about.com/under-...ses-dnr3095477

[bucknellbison]

I will likely be in a calorie deficit again today. I did 65 minutes on my exercise bike at 18 MPH followed by my usuall 3.2 MPH incline walking for an hour at 7%. I also worked 5 hours at TJ Maxx today in the men's department putting away clothing and what not. I trained fasted for the exercise and then had 472g of broccoli for breakest with my GNC multivitamin. For lunch in the breakroom I had 325g raw weight of chicken breast and 240g of raw cauliflower. For supper I had 325g raw weight of chicken breast, 2 pound of green beans cooked, 1 pound of cooked cauliflower, and 500g of cooked broccoli. For a snack I had 100g of strawberrys, 70g of oats, 195g my usual fat free brownie sundae ice cream, and a nice Jif natural crunchy pb sandwich with 97g of pb on the bread. I'm currently at 2740 calories just trying to get to 3000 so that my deficit isn't too great because I burned 3200 calories today.

[bucknellbison]

I managed to get to nearly 3000 calories today thanks for 50g of Reeses Puffs and 2 Edy's no sugar added fruit bars, but still finished in a deficit.

Calories 2994
Fat 77g
Carbs 381g (Includes sugar alcohols and fiber)
Protein 254g (would like to drop by about 15g)

Calories burned 3196

Total -202, I am just killing myself right now. I've been in cutting mode for 14 months and I just can't get out of it. I am happy that at least I'm eating a good amount of calories though.

For a more detailed report check it out on caloriecount. http://caloriecount.about.com/stuck-...isk-dnr3108524

[bucknellbison]

Today is looking a lot like my past couple of days. I did my early morning HIIT for 22 30 second intervals with 1 minute in between intervals, then did my 3.2 MPH of 7% incline walking for an hour. After that I worked a 5 and a half hour cashiering shift at TJ Maxx and got in a 40 minute lifting workout after with tons of skull crushers, dips, and push ups. For food today I had a 181g apple before my HIIT then I ate 465g of cauliflower cooked before going to work. At work I ate 425g raw weight of chicken breast and 270g of raw cauliflower in my 15 minute break (I don't know how I did it.) For supper I had beef Sirloin tips that my mom put in the crock pot with an onion and a beef bouiloin (however you spell it) cube. My portion was 205g, I also had 365g of green beans cooked, 68g of strawberries, 707g of cooked broccoli, another 465g of cooked cauliflower, and I'm right now eating 345-350g of green beans. I plan on still eating my PB sandwich tonight, some oats, and my usual ice cream.

[bucknellbison]

Finished up today with a Jif Natural crunchy pb sandwitch with 83g of pb on there, 52g of Cinnamon Toast Crunch, 65g of oats, a Blue Bunny Fudge Lite Bar, and 215g of Fat Free Brownie Sundae to get me to 2990 calories for the day. Here are the macros

Calories 2990
Fat 77g
Carbs 394g (includes fiber and sugar alcohols)
Protein 241g a step in the right direction from the past few days

Calories burned 3096

Total -106, not as bad as the last few days, but I'm still in a deficit and I've got to break the chain.

For a more detailed report you can take a look at my report on caloriecount. http://caloriecount.about.com/doing-...dio-dnr3125946

[bucknellbison]

At last, it looks like there is good news to report. I managed to fight the urge to do my 18 MPH of exercise biking for the day and instead just went for 75 minutes of 3.2 MPH incline walking at 7%. I followed that up with a nice 5 minute lift with some power cleans, military press, standing and sitting rows, free weights, shoulder shruggs, pull downs, flys, and a few other accessory sets. So far I've eaten 1.5 lbs a piece of broccoli and cauliflower with both being cooked, 1 lb of green beans, 320g raw weight of chicken breast, and 70g of oats. I do still have to put in a shift at TJ Maxx tonight for 4 and a half hours so I have some raw cauliflower and 320g of raw weight chicken breast for my break. It looks like if I hit the 3000 calories I desire tonight I will be right around a 225 calorie surplus whch is right where I want to be so I'm feeling very good about today.

[bucknellbison]

Got back on track today. I ate a 1 lb bag of steam broccoli/cauliflower combo before work. n the break room I ate the 325g of chicken ad 280g of raw cauliflower. When I got back I ate 200g of my brwnie sundae ice cream, a pb sandwitch with 96g of Jif natural crunchy pb, 44g of Reeses Puffs, 40g of grapes, 19g of unsalted prtezels, and I'm finishing my night right now with a Blue Bunny fudge lite bar. Here are todays macros.

Calories 2992
Fat 77
Carbs 382g (includes sugar alcohol and fiber)
Protein 255g I could lower this by 10-15 tomorrow

Calories burned 2791

Overall +201, absolutly dead on with my goals for this slow bulk.

For a more in depth look check out my calorie count report. http://caloriecount.about.com/today-...ppy-dnr3144956

[bucknellbison]

I feel very good about how today is going. I'm not going to have the +200 surplus I'm gunning for, but for the first time in seveal months it looks like I will go back to back days in a calorie surplus which is a step in the right direction. I started off this morning doing my HIIT workout and made it through all 22 of my 30 second sprints. I felt like today I put in a significantly better workout than the past few weeks which makes me feel great. After tha was all done I did my usually 7% incline walking at 3.2 MPH for 75 minutes on my treadmill. For my lifting there wasn't a heck of a lot of it since today is bicepts and abs day. I put in a hard 45 minute workout with tons of different situps, a lot of curls both one arm and two arm, I even threw in some reverse curls today, and I finished strong with 5 sets to fail of both push ups and sit ups. After lunch I went college shopping for some dorm essentials and 2 new pairs of shoes for the upcomming year. I also bought some groceries today. I decided to take a chance on the Krave cereal today since it sounds absolutly delicious so I'm hoping that tastes good because I usually go with Reese's Puffs and I'm nearly out and decided to mix it up with the Krave instead. I also bought a lot of veggies, some turkey, some chicken breast, and some more strawberries. Heres what I've all had for food today (were going with a list form today, fancy)

Breakfest

Apple 186g

PWO (about 15 minutes before lunch)

Strawberries 75g

Lunch

2 Chicken Breasts 421g (raw weight)
Cooked Cauliflower 466g
Cooked Green Beans 458g

Snacks

Cooked Broccoli 656g
Raw Radishes 105g

I also know that a few of you wanted to see a picture of how I currently look and I have attached one. Looking at this picutre on my camera is making me realize how much I truely do need to bulk up. I'd rather look like this than I did last June at 215lbs, but if I add a few pounds of muscle to my frame I can attain that great body I've wanted for so long, so if you guys keep posting this picture in my face whenever I'm slipping up in my bulk as motivaion I'd appreciate it because I'm seriously having a hard time looking at how skinny I've gotten.]

IMG_0669.jpg

[bucknellbison]

Ended today pretty well. I'm not in as big of a surplus as I'd like, but I finally went back to back days with a calorie surplus. Heres what I all ate to finish up the day.

Dinner

Beef London Broil 143g
Mushroom Soup (used as gravy essentially) 19g
Cooked Cauliflower 472g
Cooked Green Beans 454g

Snacks

Grapes 62g
Oats 70g
Fat Free Brownie Sundae Ice Cream 200g
Sara Lee Wheat Bread 50g
Jif Natural Crunchy Peanut Butter 81g
Reese's Puffs 50g

Macros

Calories 3008
Fat 77g
Carbs 390g (includes sugar alcohols and fiber)
Protein 247g (close to where I want to be, I can drop it by like 5-10g)

Calories burned 2976

Overall +32, lower than the surplus I want, but at least its a positive number.


I'm now all out of Reese's Puffs so the Krave cereal I bought today better be good. I also picked up some more sugar free pudding and the brand I bought today unlike most of them did not have partially hydrogenized vegetable oil listed in the ingredients which makes me very happy.

Check out my caloriecount report for a more detailed report of how I did today. http://caloriecount.about.com/very-e...ood-dnr3160831

[bucknellbison]

Not a good for my bulk today. Woke up to weigh myself and the scale read 136.8, so I have not gained a thing in just over a week, which is to be expected since I haven't been able to get into a surplus enough and that is completly my fault. For exercise today I trained fasted and did 70 minutes on my exercise bike at 18 MPH, followed by incline walking at 7% at a speed of 3.2 MPH for an hour. Formy lifting today it was chest and tricepts so I did a hard 42 minutes of skull crushers, did some sets on my bench press machine, a few accessory exercises, and then 7 sets of 20 body weight dips, 7 sets of 20-25 push ups, and 7 sets of skull crushers as super sets. I've already burned over 3100 calories today so it looks like I might be in a deficit again which completly sucks. Heres what I all had for nutrition today

PWO

Grapes 44g
GNC Megaman Sport Multivitamin (forgot to add this, I take it everday with the 1st thing I eat)

Lunch

Chicken Breast 357g (raw weight)
Cooked Green Beans 456g
Cooked Cauliflower 460g

Snack
Cooked Broccoli 715g
Cooked Cauliflower 472g

[bucknellbison]

Another day where I didn't hit my +200 calorie goal. One good thing about today is I'm currently giving the Krave Double Chocolate a shot and it is completly delicious. I'm also now up to 3050 calories a day from 3000 in hopes it helps me out a little. Heres what I ate to finish off the day.

Dinner

Strawberries 102g
Green Beans Cooked 470g
Baby Carrots Raw 115g
Chicken Breast 357g (raw weight)
Grapes 40g

Snacks

Oats 72g
Fat Free Brownie Sundae Ice Cream 203g
Sara Lee Wheat Bread 47g
Jif Natural Crunchy PB 94g
Krave Double Chocolate Cereal 49g

Macros for the Day

Calories 3049
Fat 79g
Carbs 383g (includes sugar alcohols and fiber)
Protein 267g I need to drop this by a good 25-30g, had too much chicken today

Calories burned 3120

Overall Calories -71, disgraceful at best.

You can see my full report on caloriecount by following the link. http://caloriecount.about.com/once-a...ulk-dnr3177069

[bucknellbison]

Its looking like another day in which I'm not going to hit my surplus. Including my BMR today I burned 2850 calories so far, which would be perfect if I ate my 3050 calories for the day for a +200 surplus, but I have been called into work so that 4 and a half hour shift is not going to help my plans of sitting on my butt and watching TV tonight.

For exercise today I woke and did my early morning HIIT of 22 30 second intervals with a minute in between each. I followed that with 75 minutes of 7% incline walking for 75 mintues. For my lifting today I did power cleans, pull downs both front and reverse, shoulder shruggs, military press, bent over and seated rows, and I threw in there several free weight accessory sets for a total of 43 minutes. Heres my food log for the day

Breakfest

Apple 189g

PWO (about 20-25 minutes before lunch)

Strawberries 89g

Lunch

Cooked Cauliflower 462g
Cooked Green Beans 457g
Cooked Broccoli 704g
Chicken Breast (raw weight) 295g

Snacks

Cooked Green Beans 457g
Raw Radishes 115g
Oats 71g

Dinner (all preweighed, I will be eating this on my break)

Chicken Breast (raw weight) 295g
Raw Cauliflower 258g