[BoostedBMW]

Originally Posted by DougLikesBMW

Cool, thanks for the info Suareezay and Bobby_Light.

Also, nice post BoostedBMW...I can definitely relate to a lot of things you mentioned.

I have been taking Truemass by BSN, a lean mass weight gainer, for a few months now. I can say that adding these to my diet plan has definitely helped me bulk up and also get stronger. Lately I have only been able to have 1 shake a day, but I should at least be bumping that up to 2 shakes a day soon. The only thing that sucks about protein shakes is that they are so much liquid it fucks up my stomach sometimes.

I don't want to hijack the thread, but BoostedBMW, do you know of any quick cook recipies that can be made that are healthy and good for "bulking"? I am in college so I don't have a lot of time to spend cooking. Keep in mind I have a stove and a microwave (it toasts, bakes, and microwaves), no oven. Any help for me?

Something easy for me, but often gets boring very quickly is boneless, skinless Chicken breast with some garlic salt and pepper on it cooked in a pan, and making a sweet potatoe in the microwave, with brown rice cooking on the stove.

Ok, if you have a stove and a micro then the possibilities are endless!

First off, just realize that your weight gainer doesn't contain anything that "real food" doesn't have in it. All that it contains is a protein blend with some added fats and some carbs, which is fine because its a convenient way to take in 600+cals if you don't have the time to eat real food, but I don't want you to think that you can't successfully bulk without it. BTW, if you add a cup and a half of oats along with two tablespoons of peanut butter to a whey/casein blend you will essentially have the same thing that BSN is selling you, but it looks like they dump in some vitamins to give it a really long ingredient list.

Ok, as far as easy foods to cook you have a bunch of options. I find it best to just take one day where I have an hour of spare time and I will cook a bunch of food for the week (ie. I'll bake 20 chicken breasts in the oven that are covered with olive oil and paprika so I'll have them for the week). As far as easy to cook meals I eat eggs a lot during the day because its something that I can cook up in 5 minutes and is really high in protein. I'll usually have a whole egg with a cup of eggwhites, some chicken, black olives, cooked with olive oil, and seasoned with paprika/red pepper. On the side of this I'll have a sweet potato, brown rice, or a piece of fruit.

Another good recipe that I found, which has been a staple for me when I'm down on cals has been protein pancakes. These are a great way to take in a good 800 cals in a single meal, which is nice, and they taste really good as well. The recipe is really simple to make as well, and only takes around 10 minutes to cook. To make the batter take a cup of oats and blend it into oat flour in your blender. Then add 1/2 cup cottage cheese, 1 cup eggwhites, teaspoon baking powder, pumpkin spice, and cinnamon. Blend that all together and your batter is done. Pour that into a pan that is sprayed with olive oil and you have pancakes ready to go in a few minutes that are loaded with protein, and high in complex carbs from the oats. I'll top it off with a tablespoon or two of peanut butter, a sliced up banana or some other fruit, or some sf syrup (how many toppings and what kind usually depends on how down on cals I am for the day).

Oats are also a great food because they are so dense in calories. I like to take a huge tub of oats (around 9 cups I think it is), throw it in a bowl and add a ton of cinnamon/pumpkin spice to it as well as some melted down honey. Mix it all together and then bake it in the over for 10-15 mins to make your own granola that you can eat as cereal in the morning.

There are so many options though. Another easy meal to make is to cook some chicken and boil some bean thread or chow mein wheat noodles that only take a few minutes to prepare. Mix them together with some type of sauce (general tsaos, teriyaki, thai penaut sauce, etc) to make a stirfry.

I try to make something different just about everyday so I don't get tired of eating the same crap all the time, but it consists of many of the same types of foods.

Originally Posted by Double White

From my personal experience I find that natural protein is much more effective then artificial WHEY protein. I tend to eat a lot of meats (mostly white meats) after a workout and the results aren't bad at all. Just remember not to mix protein and carbs. Carbs make it harder for your body to break down the protein. As for your question I find it more effective to consume through out the day, but also a lot right after a workout.

Just so you know, whey protein isn't too artificial as it comes from milk, but yes, I also prefer to eat whole foods over powder whenever I can. Also, although I don't feel that it is necessary to supplement with malto/dextrose/waxy maize starch PWO to drive your insulin sky high, I do believe that carbs are DEFINITELY needed pwo. Your muscles glycogen stores are depleted, you need carbs. I take in at least 50g carbs PWO, if not more, and there is no reason not to mix carbs with protein.

Originally Posted by hayjoelb

Listen to BoostedBMW's post. He speaks the truth Broscience 4tl. As far as your original question, read this post: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=272067. It will answer all your questions about pre/post workout nutrition.

The only thing I'd like to add is once you figure how how many calories you need per day, it tends to be easier to break them down into 'macros' (nutrients needed in large quantities). Keep in mind this isn't exactly "required" per say and the breakdowns you use are totally up to you, but it makes figuring out your general daily caloric intake much easier.

Personally I'm a fan of 40/40/20. For me it's a good overall macro that I can use to both bulk and cut. Basically, 40% of my calories come from protein, 40% from carbs, and 20% from fats. Also...

1g protein = 4 calories
1g carbs = 4 calories
1g fat = 9 calories

If you're attempting to bulk and your maintenance target is 2500, you need about a surplus of 500 calories as Boosted mentioned. So, assume you chose to use the 40/40/20 breakdown, here would be your daily values (3000 calories):

1200 protein
1200 carbs
600 fats

And here are those values in grams:

300g protein
300g carbs
67 fats

If you feel you can't consume that much protein per day, you can do whatever variation you prefer...30/50/20, 30/40/30, doesn't really matter because there's no one 'best' macro. Just make sure you have enough protein =) And you can split those values up however you want into as many or as little meals as you want.

Btw, after you loose large amounts of weight quickly, it's quite common to have to have a combination of loose skin with fat underneath the surface...aka skinny fat. It's a bitch and there's really not much you can about it at the moment (unless you want to consider a tummy tuck). Personally, I'd recommend a nice LONG clean bulk to fill out your frame, then try cutting again.

Definitely a good link. Alan Aragon over on ******* definitely knows his stuff when it comes to nutrition. Good advice with the macros also as taking in more than 1.5g of protein per lb is definitely way too overkill especially on a bulk, which is why I am currently eating on more of a 35/40/25 pro/carb/fat split.