Exodus Strength

After 4 weeks at "maintenance/reverse diet" am now bulking. Still using Carbon for all my intakes.

Allentown wrote: ↑Tue Oct 05, 2021 6:06 am After 4 weeks at "maintenance/reverse diet" am now bulking. Still using Carbon for all my intakes.

I think sticking with Carbon is the right approach. It is so easy to gain too fast otherwise. How fast are you looking to gain?

How do you guys feel about going right from a cut to a bulk, as opposed to wallowing in maintenance for a bit?

dw wrote: ↑Tue Oct 05, 2021 9:40 am How do you guys feel about going right from a cut to a bulk, as opposed to wallowing in maintenance for a bit?

I think it depends on how you approach the bulk. If you are as strict with the bulk as you are with the cut, then it is fine. You have to first find your maintenance level and then slowly start adding calories. You'll probably go through a period where you really aren't gaining weight as your metabolism warms to the increased calories. Eventually, you start to bulk. However, if you just start eating more without trying to fine tune your intake, my experience is that you gain the weight back rapidly. Too rapidly. This is why bulking after a cut can be really difficult. You have awoken the bear, and the bear wants to eat everything. Controlling the bear can be tough. I find a controlled bulk much more difficult than cutting.

So, I just got back from the US. All bets were off while I was up there, we road tripped from Miami to Vermont and back to Miami in a rental. I ate as poorly as possible for the most part. Most of the trip was at a VRBO in VT. I might have eaten better, but we were near a place called Jones Bakery. That is one of the best doughnut shops I have ever been to, and I'm saying that as a Canadian that snubs Tim Horton's. It was way too dangerous. That and Creemees (However they are spelled, that's probably wrong). I landed at 273 lbs this morning, back to the diet starting today. We'll see where I am once I drop the water weight from the glycogen in my system. That is very minimal rebound for the things that I ate for 2 weeks. And I feel a lot better, either from the break/recovery or the carbs. Going to keto for a bit and then come up with an actual diet to live on.

JohnHelton wrote: ↑Tue Oct 05, 2021 7:05 am

Allentown wrote: ↑Tue Oct 05, 2021 6:06 am After 4 weeks at "maintenance/reverse diet" am now bulking. Still using Carbon for all my intakes.

I think sticking with Carbon is the right approach. It is so easy to gain too fast otherwise. How fast are you looking to gain?

.8lbs a week, as always averaged over the 7 days.

dw wrote: ↑Tue Oct 05, 2021 9:40 am How do you guys feel about going right from a cut to a bulk, as opposed to wallowing in maintenance for a bit?

Jordan just had a post about this, FYI. Both BBM and Layne Norton suggests at least a few weeks maintaining weight. I liked the "reverse diet" approach from Carbon, it pushed my maintenance calories up something like 300 while not changing weight- it was actually going to boost me more ant the end of week 4 because I had lost weight (or, my metabolism had sped up more than expected).

I can't wait to start bulking.

Up to 4260cal/day. Second increase since switching to a bulk because I havent been gaining enough/any weight.
185p
484c
176f

I actually bumped up the protein a little a few weeks back, I was having trouble eating enough fat and getting too much incidental protein.

Allentown wrote: ↑Wed Nov 03, 2021 5:53 am Up to 4260cal/day. Second increase since switching to a bulk because I havent been gaining enough/any weight.
185p
484c
176f

I actually bumped up the protein a little a few weeks back, I was having trouble eating enough fat and getting too much incidental protein.

Wow! That is a lot of calories with no weight gain!

JohnHelton wrote: ↑Wed Nov 03, 2021 6:43 am

Allentown wrote: ↑Wed Nov 03, 2021 5:53 am Up to 4260cal/day. Second increase since switching to a bulk because I havent been gaining enough/any weight.
185p
484c
176f

I actually bumped up the protein a little a few weeks back, I was having trouble eating enough fat and getting too much incidental protein.

Wow! That is a lot of calories with no weight gain!

Well, it's only a matter of days until all those carbs make me balloon up.

Allentown wrote: ↑Wed Nov 03, 2021 3:21 pm

JohnHelton wrote: ↑Wed Nov 03, 2021 6:43 am

Allentown wrote: ↑Wed Nov 03, 2021 5:53 am Up to 4260cal/day. Second increase since switching to a bulk because I havent been gaining enough/any weight.
185p
484c
176f

I actually bumped up the protein a little a few weeks back, I was having trouble eating enough fat and getting too much incidental protein.

Wow! That is a lot of calories with no weight gain!

Well, it's only a matter of days until all those carbs make me balloon up.

I'm sure you'll make a helluva 275.

quikky wrote: ↑Wed Nov 03, 2021 4:05 pm

Allentown wrote: ↑Wed Nov 03, 2021 3:21 pm

JohnHelton wrote: ↑Wed Nov 03, 2021 6:43 am

Allentown wrote: ↑Wed Nov 03, 2021 5:53 am Up to 4260cal/day. Second increase since switching to a bulk because I havent been gaining enough/any weight.
185p
484c
176f

I actually bumped up the protein a little a few weeks back, I was having trouble eating enough fat and getting too much incidental protein.

Wow! That is a lot of calories with no weight gain!

Well, it's only a matter of days until all those carbs make me balloon up.

I'm sure you'll make a helluva 275.

I'm 95% sure it will cut back a little, what I suspect happened was I had a few light/low liquid intake days around an out of town wedding where I didn't have access to a scale, so my average weight was artificially lower from sampling bias.

Allentown wrote: ↑Fri Nov 05, 2021 4:42 am

quikky wrote: ↑Wed Nov 03, 2021 4:05 pm

Allentown wrote: ↑Wed Nov 03, 2021 3:21 pm

JohnHelton wrote: ↑Wed Nov 03, 2021 6:43 am

Allentown wrote: ↑Wed Nov 03, 2021 5:53 am Up to 4260cal/day. Second increase since switching to a bulk because I havent been gaining enough/any weight.
185p
484c
176f

I actually bumped up the protein a little a few weeks back, I was having trouble eating enough fat and getting too much incidental protein.

Wow! That is a lot of calories with no weight gain!

Well, it's only a matter of days until all those carbs make me balloon up.

I'm sure you'll make a helluva 275.

I'm 95% sure it will cut back a little, what I suspect happened was I had a few light/low liquid intake days around an out of town wedding where I didn't have access to a scale, so my average weight was artificially lower from sampling bias.

Now at 4564/day.
200p/536c/180f

Also bulking.

Gave up on doing a meet in the "new" -90kg class, and am embracing being a light -100kg.
Switched to carbs about a month ago as well.
Been eating 3,200 to 3,500 calories, and after gaining back the 4 or 5lbs from the (i guess) mini cut, i'm around 200 to 201 lbs AM weight.

Typically
180ish protein
275 to 400 carbs
around 90 to 125 fat

Hopefully the change in macros will result in more rapid (less slow?) muscle gain.

Not at all looking to fill out the -100kg class.

So
Much
Rice

Wilhelm wrote: ↑Fri Jan 14, 2022 8:02 am So
Much
Rice

Yes. Pasta is a bit more calorie dense. We eat a lot of rice, and it is good for filling you up when you are on a cut. Harder on a bulk. Of course, you can always add fats to make foods more calorie dense while on a bulk.

Lentils though.
Beans in general are way better than rice. What am I missing?

augeleven wrote: ↑Fri Jan 14, 2022 10:02 am Lentils though.
Beans in general are way better than rice. What am I missing?

Love me some beans.

JohnHelton wrote: ↑Fri Jan 14, 2022 8:34 am

Wilhelm wrote: ↑Fri Jan 14, 2022 8:02 am So
Much
Rice

Yes. Pasta is a bit more calorie dense. We eat a lot of rice, and it is good for filling you up when you are on a cut. Harder on a bulk. Of course, you can always add fats to make foods more calorie dense while on a bulk.

Typing this as i'm eating a big bowl or rotini with sour cream and salt.

180 grams dry.
786 calories with the sour cream

I am not specifically on a bulk, I just went off my diet while I'm in the US. I feel like I'm not eating like an asshole, just carbs and a little bit of junk. I was 290 at the doctor's office a couple of days ago, up from 262 at my lightest on the cut. Granted, some of it was the fact that at the doc's I was wearing shoes and clothes, but still... Waist is unchanged somehow, hasn't changed a millimeter the entire time, from 296 down to 262 and back up didn't change at all on the tape. Blood pressure was fine though, so whatever. It should not have been fine at that weight, but it was. Back on a cut when I fly out of here on the 24th. I'd like to maybe end up around 260 ultimtely.