3200 cal bulking diet - thoughts?

[pistachio]

Ok, so here it is.

250g meat (any cut, provided its lean), or even 250g roo mince
250g chicken breast
185g tuna (sole mare)
6 eggs
40 almonds (raw or roasted, probably roasted )
200g carrot (or similar veggie)
200g green beans (or similar veggie)
250g potato
250g sweet potato
Half avocado
Apple (or similar fruit)
Protein shake (containing 20g calcium caseinate, 10g WPC, 10g cacao powder, 20g oatmass, 400mL skim milk, 1 tablespoon sweetener (1.5g)
17g Olive oil (2 tablespoons)
5 Fish oil
3 scoops Xtend
Quarter cucumber or more
A bit of lettuce and other stuff through salad

This is pretty much right on 3200 calories (3199), although this can vary quite markedly depending on what break down you use for various items.

Breakdown is approx 35/40/25 (P/F/C), see attached pic (couldn't attach spreadsheet)



Will occasionally have 250g of fresh fish instead of the meat or chicken, probably not instead of the tin of tuna as the macros aren't really the same with all the olive oil.

The apple can be any fruit as they all have about the same calories.

The two veggies can be pretty much any veggie as they all have about the same calories. Green beans will be the staple though, and carrot as they are cheap.

Will occasionally have a rice dish instead of the sweet potato and normal potato (which i have as a mash), particularly if sweet potatoes are too expensive. Will mostly stick to the mash tho.

What do you guys think?

My diet at the moment is nearly identical, just without the tin of tuna and less almonds and a few other minor tweaks. I'm on 2700 at the moment and slowly losing weight.

I also have a 3000 calorie diet ready, basically the same just less almonds. I think 3200 would probably be closer to what I need to clean bulk though.

 

[MaxBrenner]

So you can't fit any ice-cream or chocolate into that 3200 calories?

Is that calorie intake a 10-15% surplus?

Your macronutrient intake is excellent

 

[pistachio]

So you can't fit any ice-cream or chocolate into that 3200 calories?

Is that calorie intake a 10-15% surplus?

Your macronutrient intake is excellent

I could, but honestly, I'd prefer not to. If I have a little bit, I'll just want more. When I'm eating like this though, it is actually an effort to finish all my food for the day, and I'm never hungry, so I don't really get cravings.

Besides, my protein shake is actually delicious

What I might do is occasionally forgo my chicken breast and mash for the day and get some KFC fillets and chips. I LOVE those boneless, skinless fillets, I could easily eat 10 of them in one sitting!

Not sure if I'm going to do cheat days either. If I do, it'll probably only be a minor cheat (like 100-200 calories) and more via subsitition like the above example.

 

[TrentZor]

Mate the effort u have put into this shows how committed you are pistachio!!
I will be the first to tell u that counting macros is hard work but if u have the time and means to do it then all for it.
Your results wont be short of dramatic.

 

[pistachio]

So you can't fit any ice-cream or chocolate into that 3200 calories?

Is that calorie intake a 10-15% surplus?

Your macronutrient intake is excellent

Oh and yes, I think it would be 10-15%. I am currently on 2700 and losing, so 2800 is probably around maintenance, maybe even more. So I'll go 3200, if its not enough I'll readjust. I doubt it'd be too much tho.

Mate the effort u have put into this shows how committed you are pistachio!!
I will be the first to tell u that counting macros is hard work but if u have the time and means to do it then all for it.
Your results wont be short of dramatic.

Thanks mate.

I think its hard to get started, but once you are in the routine, it isn't that hard. You'll notice i've made everything 250g or 200g. Makes it very easy.

Ie Buy a 1kg pack of meat, divide it into 4 roughly equal portions. Done. Even easier with something like roo mince.

I've tried wherever possible to make the measurement side of things as easy as possible.

 

[TrentZor]

Ive got over 100 of those chinese takeaway boxes just so i can store my meats.. I used to put then in plastic bags and the meat got stuck to the plastic lol.
cheaps as chips for them boxes 5c each.

 

[MaxBrenner]

I could, but honestly, I'd prefer not to. If I have a little bit, I'll just want more. When I'm eating like this though, it is actually an effort to finish all my food for the day, and I'm never hungry, so I don't really get cravings.

Besides, my protein shake is actually delicious

What I might do is occasionally forgo my chicken breast and mash for the day and get some KFC fillets and chips. I LOVE those boneless, skinless fillets, I could easily eat 10 of them in one sitting!

Not sure if I'm going to do cheat days either. If I do, it'll probably only be a minor cheat (like 100-200 calories) and more via subsitition like the above example.

All good mate, whatever helps you adhere long term to your caloric requirements is of personal preference.

I know what you mean about the protein shake, my little concoction tastes unreal as well.

If you are going to have a 'cheat' day, just have it so that day is of a 10-15% calorie increase over your current calorie intake.

Good luck with it man, looking forward to seeing your progress. Which I'm sure will be fantastic!

 

[MaxBrenner]

I've tried wherever possible to make the measurement side of things as easy as possible.

Good work.

The easiest thing is knowing what you consume for a week and buy your weeks total. Then you can divide it up to how you like for your daily consumption (as you mentioned ) but as long as your weekly intake is consumed in the week, how you did it on the daily basis is irrelevant.

Again good luck with it mate!

 

[Skalatharx]

Food intake looks solid mate, do you have a goal weight set? Or just going to see how it goes?

 

[pistachio]

Ive got over 100 of those chinese takeaway boxes just so i can store my meats.. I used to put then in plastic bags and the meat got stuck to the plastic lol.
cheaps as chips for them boxes 5c each.

Yup, thats how I do it too. Its a good way to divvy up all the mashed potatoes and veggies and shit too.

All good mate, whatever helps you adhere long term to your caloric requirements is of personal preference.

I know what you mean about the protein shake, my little concoction tastes unreal as well.

If you are going to have a 'cheat' day, just have it so that day is of a 10-15% calorie increase over your current calorie intake.

Good luck with it man, looking forward to seeing your progress. Which I'm sure will be fantastic!

Yeah, thats what I was thinking. Sub out say 250g chicken breast and the mash with KFC and chips (which will inevitably be higher calorie), but overall, calories for the day should only be up maybe 10-15%. I'm currently contemplating 'cheating' in this way probably once every two weeks. But if I don't feel like a cheat day, I won't have one just for the hell of it. I'll only use them if I really get a strong craving or need something.

Thanks mate

Food intake looks solid mate, do you have a goal weight set? Or just going to see how it goes?

Just going to see how it goes I guess. I suspect by the end of my cut I will be hovering between 89-90kgs (currently about 90-91kgs). One week intermission before starting the above diet.

I am hoping to lean bulk next year, so I guess I want to reach at least 96-97kgs by about this time next year, but with comparable bodyfat levels.

I have never been this strict with my diet and training before though, so I will not be limiting myself to that weight, should things go well.

Plus I'll be on the BN test booster stack, so not sure how that'll factor in. I definitely want to make sure I'm in a calorie surplus though to make the most of it all.

I will probably aim to stay under 100kgs though, as I think it is highly doubtful I could gain 10kgs LBM in one year naturally.

 

[pistachio]

Your macronutrient intake is excellent

I forgot to ask, do the micros look ok? I would think I wouldn't need a multivitamin on this diet, it has a lot of good stuff in it. However, if I'm eating mostly the same stuff every day, it might be a good idea to take a multi anyway in case there is anything I'm missing.

Thoughts?

 

[MaxBrenner]

Mate, with the large variety of food types you are having and in those amounts, IMO your miconutrient intake would be quite sufficient. For piece of mind, you could take a multi, but IMO you could go with out.

Looks good.

 

[Shrek]

Instead of putting olive oil in the shake (milk and oil don't mix well), pour it over the beans or carrots, that's what i do.

 

[MaxBrenner]

Coconut oil + protein shake = profits

 

[pistachio]

Mate, with the large variety of food types you are having and in those amounts, IMO your miconutrient intake would be quite sufficient. For piece of mind, you could take a multi, but IMO you could go with out.

Looks good.

Cool, thanks mate.

Instead of putting olive oil in the shake (milk and oil don't mix well), pour it over the beans or carrots, that's what i do.

There isn't any in the shake?

17g (two tablespoons) through my salad, and about 25g (3 tablespoons) in my tin of tuna.

 

[dave]

How long are you sticking with the same food for? Are you rotating it around?

 

[pistachio]

How long are you sticking with the same food for? Are you rotating it around?

Umm, about 48 weeks lol. I can have cheat days if I want, as I explained earlier. The only thing that will be rotating around will be the fruit choice and the veggies. Occasionally if i find something else I want to eat, I might rework it to fit it into the diet.

The plan is basically to run 4 cycles of PPP (starting in a couple of weeks), with 1 week inbetween each cycle. That should leave room for about a 8 week cut at the end of next year. If I'm good with my diet, I shouldn't have too much to cut.

I've been doing almost the exact same diet for 2 weeks so far without any dramas. I'm enjoying most of the food I eat, so its not that hard to maintain.

Also, most of the enjoyment I get out of food is related to its health benefits. So even though I enjoy a good pizza, the guilt i have after eating it ends up making me feel shit.

 

[Rambodian]

Wow Pistachio, that's awesome mate, I'm putting a copy of that away for later use mate. You've done all the hard work for me.....sweet.
Looks yum as well.

 

[jzpowahz]

Coconut oil + protein shake = profits

agreed!

Pistachio: I personally think you may need a bit more than 3200 to bulk from 91kg but see how you go and adjust from there I guess. The "cheat" days may be required to gain

 

[pistachio]

Wow Pistachio, that's awesome mate, I'm putting a copy of that away for later use mate. You've done all the hard work for me.....sweet.
Looks yum as well.

Haha, happy to help mate, if anyone else wants to make the most of my effort feel free!

I can tell you now that the salad I make is nothing short of gold:

- 2 eggs
- Half avocado
- 100g chicken breast
- lettuce
- carrot
- cucumber
- 17g olive oil (2 tablespoons)
- vinegar
- salt/pepper if desired

agreed!

Pistachio: I personally think you may need a bit more than 3200 to bulk from 91kg but see how you go and adjust from there I guess. The "cheat" days may be required to gain

Yeah, I'll just have to suss it out. At the moment, I am only JUST losing weight at 2700 (i am pretty much sedentary outside of the gym), so 3200 seems to be at least close. Should be about right for starters anyway.