want to bulk up a bit more- changes needed

[lockmac]

Hi guys.

Just need a bit of help and some suggestions.

At the moment, im looking a bit lean, but have been doing weights for the past couple of months and am starting to notice a difference on my arms and abs.

Anyways, I have probably not been eating enough lately as I am trying to loose the puppy fat on my belly (my friends call me kemo because i used to be a bit chubby and lost like 8 kilos in a month).

Anyways, I want to bulk up a bit. Thats basically my aim, but am probably going the wrong way about it.

I do weights 3 times a week, chest, arms and legs. But im pretty sure i dont eat the right foods for doing weights. I eat really healthy and not enough. I eat like oats for breakfast, maybe a tuna salad or sandwich for lunch and then something mum cooks for dinner with a bit of fruit in their.

My friends eat like mad. My bestie is massive like he is benching 80kg and he eats maccas a couple of times a day etc etc.

My questions are, how do I bulk up a bit? I take protein shakes after a workout. Should i do this more often (i dont have much protein in my diet i dont think).
What in my diet should change?

How would I loose the puppy fat on my belly? (you can almost see my abs on a good day 🙂.

Any suggestions would be great

 

[brikis98]

Just follow these two rules:

1. Calories in > Calories out. This is the only formula that really matters in terms of gaining (or losing) weight. If you have a caloric surplus each day, you will gain weight. However, don't bother trying to "guess" how many calories you eat/burn - you need to track it accurately. Use a site like thedailyplate.com or fitday.com to track how many calories you eat and how many you burn. Even with sites like these, you're still approximating your caloric intake & expenditure, so you need to weigh yourself (once a week, as daily fluctuations don't matter) and see if your weight is going in the proper direction: if it is, you're doing a good job of estimating, if not, you are over/under estimating something.

2. A caloric surplus only guarantees you'll gain weight, which will consist of not just muscle but also fat. To convince your body to make the weight gain primarily muscle, there are a few things you should do. The first is resistance training. Ideally, a program focusing on compound movements with heavy weights and low reps. Secondly, ensure your protein intake is high enough, using the sites in step 1 to ensure you're getting ~1g of protein per pound of bodyweight each day. Finally, don't overdo it with the caloric surplus, with a 250-500 daily calorie surplus being a reasonable goal. Too much more and a larger percentage of the weight gain will be fat.

 

[BeauJangles]

How big are you? How many calories do you eat in a normal day? How old are you?

 

[purbeast0]

as long as you are lifting consistently you can eat more than you probably think you can and you won't get "fat" only in your belly. if you are goign to be gaining muscle mass, chances are you are also going to gain some fat however.

also, why don't you work your back, traps, or shoulders? also, what is your "arms" workout?

(i always find it funny when people say they have an "arms" day at the gym)

 

[dealmaster00]

It is difficult to bulk and lose fat at the same time. You could consider focusing on one first, like losing fat, and after you are comfortable with how much fat you lost you can go for the bulk.

 

[eddiebravo]

most people who are trying to gain weight arent eating nearly as many calories as they think they are. write down everything you eat for a week and see what your average daily caloric intake is. id be willing to bet you just need to eat a lot more food.

 

[crownjules]

Originally posted by: lockmac
I do weights 3 times a week, chest, arms and legs. But im pretty sure i dont eat the right foods for doing weights. I eat really healthy and not enough. I eat like oats for breakfast, maybe a tuna salad or sandwich for lunch and then something mum cooks for dinner with a bit of fruit in their.

My questions are, how do I bulk up a bit? I take protein shakes after a workout. Should i do this more often (i dont have much protein in my diet i dont think).
What in my diet should change?

You're definitely not eating enough. It would be easier if you gave us your current weight/height so we can give you a rough starting point for calories you should be consuming. A very basic estimate for maintenance calories, that is how many calories are required to maintain your current weight with normal activity levels, is your weight x 14. Add another 500-600 and you've got what you need to eat to gain weight.

So take me for example. I weigh 175lbs so my BMR is (roughly) 2450 calories. In order to put on weight, I'd need to go up to about 3000. You can Google for more precise BMR calculators that will be specific to the types of activities you engage in regularly.

You should also be getting plenty of protein. Anywhere from .7g - 1g per pound of body weight at a minimum. The more this is from regular, whole foods (fish, meats, eggs, cheese, etc) the better when bulking. Protein shakes should just be to help fill in the gaps.

How would I loose the puppy fat on my belly? (you can almost see my abs on a good day 🙂.

You'd need to go into a cutting phase - eating at a calorie deficit. Your muscles would not be growing during this time because your body is consuming your fat stores to keep your muscles from deteriorating. So you should go through a bulk up period first to get yourself bigger and increase your weights before going into a cut and shedding the fat you will build up.

It is possible to do what's called a "clean bulk", but it is a very slow process and requires strict dietary control. You basically can't eat any crap foods.

HTH.