How much carbs while bulking?

[Deleted member 106824]

For me to get the last few lbs off I had them sometime around 1600-1800/day. It was TERRIBLE. Couldn't think of anything but food. Hungry, flat...just shitty. Adding T3 to keep metabolism up in keto is just a recipe for MORE muscle loss. LOL at keto diets for body BUILDING- that's my opinion.

And some of us have to be at that calorie level almost all the time to lose fat lol it sucks but whatever. When you diet now do you have days that have no or very little carbs even if the average is higher? For instance I generally carb cycle so some days may be refeeds with 500+g but most days are moderate with 150-250g and generally 1-3 days per week are 50-100g so there are definitely plenty of days with the only carbs I eat coming from cottage cheese and vegetables but other days there are plenty of other things added like fruit, oatmeal, cereal if it's a high enough carb day, etc..

Exactly bro! I've found the foods I feel are ideal for me. I've tried 8 meals, 6 meals, 3 meals,. 1 meal, 4 meals etc. I average 4 meals and then up to 6 when I'm bigger just because eating more than 1k clean calories per meal is too much so I split it up into more meals.

185-200lb guys eating 6+ times per day is a waste IMO. More muscle = more calories = more meals.

Same, personally the only benefit I get from 6 meals per day compared to 3 is that I get to eat more often so when cutting I don't go so long without eating but I generally like to eat bigger meals so I stick to 3-4. I do intermittent fasting generally eating 8-10 hours per day and "fasting" the rest
but am now trying out putting my last meal closer to bed so I'm not going to sleep starving every night...or at least not as badly.

Oats mess up my gut. Beans not as much, but oats bloat the hell out of me.

When I need to eat 600+ carbs and 300+g protein per day, eating fibrous foods just make it impossible for me to eat enough of the starch/meat. I then stick with lettuces and berries and things since they're less filling sources of micro-nutrients/antioxidants, etc.

90+ % of my carbs come from white rice. IMO - best bbing carb.

I've noticed this too. Give me a refeed with 500+g of carbs from cereal, pasta, etc and I'm fine but eat the same amount with lots of broccoli, spinach, oats, etc and I'm having GI issues all day.

 

[sammy555]

And some of us have to be at that calorie level almost all the time to lose fat

If I had to eat like that to lose fat id take up power lifting and say fuck it. I can get pretty lean on 3000 with 300 carbs per day. Not contest ready but easily swimming pool ready. At 2500 cals its a battle and food becomes a constant battle but I can get lean as fuck on them cals with 0 cardio
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[tr]

Like it. Wish I'd done high carb cutting from day 1 instead of fucking about with carb restriction

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absolutely agree with you Sammy, especially when on tren,t3 and hgh. I am an ecto so low carbs drains me, flattens me, makes impossible to get through the day etc tried very high protein high fat low carb (400 100 50) - was weak, flat, my stomach was bloated and had indigestion issue. Lowered protein upped carbs and fats only from eggs in the morning and I look, perform and feel better on more balanced higher carb diet

 

[Deleted member 106824]

If I had to eat like that to lose fat id take up power lifting and say fuck it. I can get pretty lean on 3000 with 300 carbs per day. Not contest ready but easily swimming pool ready. At 2500 cals its a battle and food becomes a constant battle but I can get lean as fuck on them cals with 0 cardio

Well all I can really say to that is fuck you yes it does suck lol

 

[sammy555]

Well all I can really say to that is fuck you yes it does suck lol

Haha good answere. To be honest having a faster metabolism just seems to mean you get hungry easier, I still have to suffer. Costs me more in good too:banghead:

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[Deleted member 106824]

Haha good answere. To be honest having a faster metabolism just seems to mean you get hungry easier, I still have to suffer. Costs me more in good too:banghead:

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There are definitely pros and cons. I can absolutely see how eating a lot day in day out gets annoying, and I have have periods trying 4000 calories per day of keto where I got really tired of food (and this is from a guy who can easily put down 10,000 calories on a cheat day). Along with the greater expense.

Having said that, I definitely think having a slow metabolism is worse. I am often hungry even when bulking, which is way worse on cycle because I gain weight crazy fast. For instance on my last cycle I put on 18lb in 6 weeks eating ~2800 per day on average.

Also, while you may get hungry, at least there is more to eat so it is temporarily more satisfying. For instance if eating 3000 calories across 3 meals you can make three huge meals with enough high volume food. I can still make somewhat large meals currently dieting with 1800 with enough vegetables and whatnot but food is constantly on my mind.

 

[sammy555]

There are definitely pros and cons. I can absolutely see how eating a lot day in day out gets annoying, and I have have periods trying 4000 calories per day of keto where I got really tired of food (and this is from a guy who can easily put down 10,000 calories on a cheat day). Along with the greater expense.

Having said that, I definitely think having a slow metabolism is worse. I am often hungry even when bulking, which is way worse on cycle because I gain weight crazy fast. For instance on my last cycle I put on 18lb in 6 weeks eating ~2800 per day on average.

Also, while you may get hungry, at least there is more to eat so it is temporarily more satisfying. For instance if eating 3000 calories across 3 meals you can make three huge meals with enough high volume food. I can still make somewhat large meals currently dieting with 1800 with enough vegetables and whatnot but food is constantly on my mind.

Out of interest how comes you bulking on keto? Bulking on 2800 calories is amazing. I can go 5000 plus clean and use quite of slin and struggle to add weight and I'm only 230lb or so( pretty lean though)

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[Deleted member 106824]

Out of interest how comes you bulking on keto? Bulking on 2800 calories is amazing. I can go 5000 plus clean and use quite of slin and struggle to add weight and I'm only 230lb or so( pretty lean though)

Just an experiment I tried a few years ago, I just recall it being the only time I was ever consistently sick of eating food since I usually have such a huge appetite.

And yea, right now I am stuck with my cut eating ~1800 calories per day :\ I think my T3 from ManPower might be bunk. His stuff was always so good, then I started reading bad stuff about his AIs and now his T3 too so I'm not sure. I'll be getting blood work Friday to see.

For instance:

3/26: 200.4, 2000 cal, 50mcg T3
3/27: 202lb, cheat day, 50mcg T3
3/28: 209.8lb, 1200 cal, 50mcg T3
3/29: 205lb (didn't lose as much as usual from such a low day), 5000 cal (mistake), 50mcg T3
3/30: 205.2lb, 1800 cal, 50mcg T3
3/31: 206.2, 1800 cal, 50mcg T3
4/01: 204.2, 1900 cal, 50mcg T3
4/02: 204.2 cal, 1800 cal, 50mcg T3

Other than the bad move I made on 3/29 I don't know how to explain that. I was consistently under 200 before and generally after a refeed I shot back down to where I was after 1-2 days but now it's like the ~204 is my new baseline or something. Only thing I can think of is thyroid being shit

Temp is consistently in the 96's too

 

[sammy555]

Just an experiment I tried a few years ago, I just recall it being the only time I was ever consistently sick of eating food since I usually have such a huge appetite.

And yea, right now I am stuck with my cut eating ~1800 calories per day :\ I think my T3 from ManPower might be bunk. His stuff was always so good, then I started reading bad stuff about his AIs and now his T3 too so I'm not sure. I'll be getting blood work Friday to see.

For instance:

3/26: 200.4, 2000 cal, 50mcg T3
3/27: 202lb, cheat day, 50mcg T3
3/28: 209.8lb, 1200 cal, 50mcg T3
3/29: 205lb (didn't lose as much as usual from such a low day), 5000 cal (mistake), 50mcg T3
3/30: 205.2lb, 1800 cal, 50mcg T3
3/31: 206.2, 1800 cal, 50mcg T3
4/01: 204.2, 1900 cal, 50mcg T3
4/02: 204.2 cal, 1800 cal, 50mcg T3

Other than the bad move I made on 3/29 I don't know how to explain that. I was consistently under 200 before and generally after a refeed I shot back down to where I was after 1-2 days but now it's like the ~204 is my new baseline or something. Only thing I can think of is thyroid being shit

Temp is consistently in the 96's too

Metabolism is so much more complex than just thyroid and I think there's aspects off it that we still don't fully understand. Insulin sensitivity a huge part of it. I honestly believe too much low calorie dieting really does long term damage to metabolism as the body normalises to it. Problem is its a long road to repair metabolism and badicly involves very very gradually increasing calories over a long time while holding body weight. Eventually your be eating a lot more to hold same Weight then you've got somewhere to go with calorie restriction.

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[mickeymbbc]

I usually have 600-700 grams of carbs when bulking, because i think thats what suits me, but does it suit me?.......... I have always told myself this works well for me because i "feel" big on this but im now facing the reality that even though i feel big and full while eating like this, i have got a bit of a belly on me and very little abs most of the time.

so as i am now trying big A's method of 500g protein a day i think it's a good time to cut the carbs down.

I am thinking of dropping it to 60g per meal so 360g non training days and 450g on training days.

I know its differant for everybody but my question is how many do you eat when bulking?

I'm pretty sensitive carbs myself and will sometimes bloat really quick, so I cannot go far past 200 when bulking

 

[thehazzle]

It's just bloat though. I'm the same. 7 site callipers test put me at 8% ATM but visually I look more like 12% from high carbs. Few low carb days in a row and I drop a good 7lb and look much tighter. If you're bulking who cares about bloat

 

[mickeymbbc]

It's just bloat though. I'm the same. 7 site callipers test put me at 8% ATM but visually I look more like 12% from high carbs. Few low carb days in a row and I drop a good 7lb and look much tighter. If you're bulking who cares about bloat

I HATE THE BLOAT If i can minimize the bloat while bulking, I'm happy

 

[Pharm_Fed]

absolutely agree with you Sammy, especially when on tren,t3 and hgh. I am an ecto so low carbs drains me, flattens me, makes impossible to get through the day etc tried very high protein high fat low carb (400 100 50) - was weak, flat, my stomach was bloated and had indigestion issue. Lowered protein upped carbs and fats only from eggs in the morning and I look, perform and feel better on more balanced higher carb diet

How many carbs were you eating before? I ask because 100g fat is by no means "high fat". If you were eating 400-500 carbs before, that's 1600-2000 calories to fuel your daily activities. If you cut that to 50 and only eat 100g fats that's barely over 1000 calories. Of course you'll feel a difference. FWIW, it usually takes a week for your body to switch over to using fat efficiently as an energy source.

I am doing a high protein, high fat, low-ish carb diet right now and I feel and look great. My fat is in the 300-350g per day range though. It took a few days going to 'low carb flu' and getting fat-adapted but now energy is much more stable, no bloat, no indigestion, feel great all day. Eating a primal diet, pretty similar to Paleo but with high fats and dairy included.

YMMV.

 

[sammy555]

How many carbs were you eating before? I ask because 100g fat is by no means "high fat". If you were eating 400-500 carbs before, that's 1600-2000 calories to fuel your daily activities. If you cut that to 50 and only eat 100g fats that's barely over 1000 calories. Of course you'll feel a difference. FWIW, it usually takes a week for your body to switch over to using fat efficiently as an energy source.

I am doing a high protein, high fat, low-ish carb diet right now and I feel and look great. My fat is in the 300-350g per day range though. It took a few days going to 'low carb flu' and getting fat-adapted but now energy is much more stable, no bloat, no indigestion, feel great all day. Eating a primal diet, pretty similar to Paleo but with high fats and dairy included.

YMMV.

Really is genetics imo. I lose fat so much easier with high carb and hold strength too and stay real dry even on 400 carbs. I've got a mate who if he eats 200 carbs a day is a bloated mess and gains fat real easy on them so he eats more like you with great results. My blood sugar naturally runs very low and even 10 iu gh doesn't budg it up so i tend to feel shitty with no carbs. I do love the results on carbless post workout though but it does mean feeling like shit for s day after training. I'm assuming it's all related to insulin sensitivity as when I use slin it just fills my muscles but I never gain fat on it. I don't worry about this 10g carbs per iu stuff either, I just shit load them in.ive given your approach a good go as it makes most sense in my mind but the reality is my body absolutely loves carbs and I seem to be completely immune to insulin resistance. Mixing carbs and fats is when I get a little chubby.

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[Adonis89]

And some of us have to be at that calorie level almost all the time to lose fat lol it sucks but whatever. When you diet now do you have days that have no or very little carbs even if the average is higher? For instance I generally carb cycle so some days may be refeeds with 500+g but most days are moderate with 150-250g and generally 1-3 days per week are 50-100g so there are definitely plenty of days with the only carbs I eat coming from cottage cheese and vegetables but other days there are plenty of other things added like fruit, oatmeal, cereal if it's a high enough carb day, etc..



Same, personally the only benefit I get from 6 meals per day compared to 3 is that I get to eat more often so when cutting I don't go so long without eating but I generally like to eat bigger meals so I stick to 3-4. I do intermittent fasting generally eating 8-10 hours per day and "fasting" the rest
but am now trying out putting my last meal closer to bed so I'm not going to sleep starving every night...or at least not as badly.




I've noticed this too. Give me a refeed with 500+g of carbs from cereal, pasta, etc and I'm fine but eat the same amount with lots of broccoli, spinach, oats, etc and I'm having GI issues all day.

Absolutely bro. My body is always a bit different, particularly when training/calories fluctuate. I always did well with carb cycling and I go more or less by feel, look, what I'm training and glycogen storage levels to determine how many carbs I eat on a given day. I may do some really low (~50g) carb days here and there if I need to get some stubborn fat off.

I only eat more meals when fitting the amount of cals I need into fewer meals becomes too hard. I find my hunger signalling is better with fewer, larger meals. I was hungry ALL THE TIME (leading to excessive cheating/binging/food obsession) with 6+ meals. Of course, when I'm real big and eating 750-1k calorie meals then I don't get this problem. 6x 350 calorie meals = always hungry for me.

I do best on white rice, white potato and rice cakes. I eat some bread (I tolerate it well) too when I'm craving it. I love bread with a little EVOO on it

 

[sammy555]

Double post:banghead:


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[Pharm_Fed]

Really is genetics imo. I lose fat so much easier with high carb and hold strength too and stay real dry even on 400 carbs. I've got a mate who if he eats 200 carbs a day is a bloated mess and gains fat real easy on them so he eats more like you with great results. My blood sugar naturally runs very low and even 10 iu gh doesn't budg it up so i tend to feel shitty with no carbs. I do love the results on carbless post workout though but it does mean feeling like shit for s day after training. I'm assuming it's all related to insulin sensitivity as when I use slin it just fills my muscles but I never gain fat on it. I don't worry about this 10g carbs per iu stuff either, I just shit load them in.ive given your approach a good go as it makes most sense in my mind but the reality is my body absolutely loves carbs and I seem to be completely immune to insulin resistance. Mixing carbs and fats is when I get a little chubby.

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I agree there will be tons of variance from person to person. I think it may have to do with what kinds of carbs people are eating as well. I've recently read a lot about gluten sensitivity, phytates in beans and grains, etc. which are all big parts of a high carb bodybuilding diet for most people. I plan to experiment with a more traditional high carb low fat diet again but instead use only vegetables, and fruits for my carbs. No bread, pasta, grains, oats, rice, etc. and see how I do.

I think it might be more of a case of eating things my body didn't digest well and not realizing as opposed to the high carb part being the problem. Should be interesting to see what happens. I love learning new things about the human body, and mine in particular.

 

[sammy555]

I agree there will be tons of variance from person to person. I think it may have to do with what kinds of carbs people are eating as well. I've recently read a lot about gluten sensitivity, phytates in beans and grains, etc. which are all big parts of a high carb bodybuilding diet for most people. I plan to experiment with a more traditional high carb low fat diet again but instead use only vegetables, and fruits for my carbs. No bread, pasta, grains, oats, rice, etc. and see how I do.

I think it might be more of a case of eating things my body didn't digest well and not realizing as opposed to the high carb part being the problem. Should be interesting to see what happens. I love learning new things about the human body, and mine in particular.

Oats fuck me up big time. White rice probably easiest to digest. I get on well with musily as it fills me up nice.i just make sure to only have 100g in one sitting.

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[Pharm_Fed]

Absolutely bro. My body is always a bit different, particularly when training/calories fluctuate. I always did well with carb cycling and I go more or less by feel, look, what I'm training and glycogen storage levels to determine how many carbs I eat on a given day. I may do some really low (~50g) carb days here and there if I need to get some stubborn fat off.

I only eat more meals when fitting the amount of cals I need into fewer meals becomes too hard. I find my hunger signalling is better with fewer, larger meals. I was hungry ALL THE TIME (leading to excessive cheating/binging/food obsession) with 6+ meals. Of course, when I'm real big and eating 750-1k calorie meals then I don't get this problem. 6x 350 calorie meals = always hungry for me.

I do best on white rice, white potato and rice cakes. I eat some bread (I tolerate it well) too when I'm craving it. I love bread with a little EVOO on it

Have you ever tried eliminating any of the stuff you tolerate well to see what happens?

I ask this because until recently I also thought I tolerated bread well. Along with pasta, rice, etc. I would get a distended stomach but I always attributed that to the quantity of food. I never had pain or discomfort or the "typical" signs of bad digestion. But when I eliminated grains and gluten I had two funny things happen. Chronic pain in my left ankle from a torn peroneal tendon disappeared, and a rash under my right eyebrow went away. Further reading showed me that signs of gluten intolerance can manifest themselves in many different ways. One man constipation is another man's backache.

I thought I felt good too, but didn't realize what truly feeling good meant. It's like someone who smokes a pack a day. Their body adapts to that and they would say they feel fine, but you give a non-smoker a pack a day and they'll be sick. Point is, sometimes you don't realize the effect it has until you remove it.

 

[Deleted member 106824]

How many carbs were you eating before? I ask because 100g fat is by no means "high fat". If you were eating 400-500 carbs before, that's 1600-2000 calories to fuel your daily activities. If you cut that to 50 and only eat 100g fats that's barely over 1000 calories. Of course you'll feel a difference. FWIW, it usually takes a week for your body to switch over to using fat efficiently as an energy source.

I am doing a high protein, high fat, low-ish carb diet right now and I feel and look great. My fat is in the 300-350g per day range though. It took a few days going to 'low carb flu' and getting fat-adapted but now energy is much more stable, no bloat, no indigestion, feel great all day. Eating a primal diet, pretty similar to Paleo but with high fats and dairy included.

YMMV.

Damn that's a lot of fat. What are your carbs and protein at?

Have you ever tried eliminating any of the stuff you tolerate well to see what happens?

I ask this because until recently I also thought I tolerated bread well. Along with pasta, rice, etc. I would get a distended stomach but I always attributed that to the quantity of food. I never had pain or discomfort or the "typical" signs of bad digestion. But when I eliminated grains and gluten I had two funny things happen. Chronic pain in my left ankle from a torn peroneal tendon disappeared, and a rash under my right eyebrow went away. Further reading showed me that signs of gluten intolerance can manifest themselves in many different ways. One man constipation is another man's backache.

I thought I felt good too, but didn't realize what truly feeling good meant. It's like someone who smokes a pack a day. Their body adapts to that and they would say they feel fine, but you give a non-smoker a pack a day and they'll be sick. Point is, sometimes you don't realize the effect it has until you remove it.

This would presumably be found by trying a keto/low carb diet as well though right, not just healthier carbs? Do you know how long this would have to be done?

Right now most of my days have minimal carbs, just that coming from veggies and occasionally some apples but definitely some higher carbs in there. Can't say I feel any better on low carbs but it could take longer to adapt.

When doing keto I would say I have less fluctuations in energy levels. Did gluten free for 2 weeks and that was nothing special.