How important is diet for gaining weight

Mojorisin99

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I have dramatically altered my diet recently and am now eating 4-5 meals a day of mostly just chicken, turkey, fish, pasta, and vegetables. But when one is trying to gain 5-10 pounds of muscle is it important to be a stickler about diet?

I want to be able to eat fried chicken, cheeseburgers, steaks, white bread, and pizza. For people who are trying to cut weight I understand they should stay away from this stuff. But if I am trying to put on some weight can i get away with eating these?
 
Mojorisin99 said:
I have dramatically altered my diet recently and am now eating 4-5 meals a day of mostly just chicken, turkey, fish, pasta, and vegetables. But when one is trying to gain 5-10 pounds of muscle is it important to be a stickler about diet?

I want to be able to eat fried chicken, cheeseburgers, steaks, white bread, and pizza. For people who are trying to cut weight I understand they should stay away from this stuff. But if I am trying to put on some weight can i get away with eating these?

A bulking diet usually has stuff like that in it (white bread, cheese burgers, etc.). You don't want to load up on a bunch of McDonalds and garbage like that, but eating some pizza or white bread every now and then isn't going to ruin you.

During a bulking period it's usually accepted that you'll put on a little fat. As long as you're putting on a minimal amount of fat and gaining the muscle you want, I don't see why you can't eat some "fun" foods.

I eat fairly clean, but once a week or so I'll splurge with a couple of slices of pizza or something like that. If I want a hamburger, I make my own. Even when I'm eating stuff like that I try to stay away from fast food places.
 
I want to be able to eat fried chicken, cheeseburgers, steaks, white bread, and pizza. For people who are trying to cut weight I understand they should stay away from this stuff. But if I am trying to put on some weight can i get away with eating these?

No.

I eat fairly clean, but once a week or so I'll splurge with a couple of slices of pizza or something like that. If I want a hamburger, I make my own. Even when I'm eating stuff like that I try to stay away from fast food places.

There's a key bit of information here to understand why a person could get away with this. First I'll give an example why I have a one-word response to the above question. My MANAGER at one of the stores I work at who studies pharmacology and knows a lot about pretty much everything regarding supplementing eats lunch from the grocery store deli next door about every day. And I mean the hot lunches. The Chicken, rice, pasta, meatballs, etc. I keep razzing him about it, he keeps saying "I'm bulking man." Let me tell you, because I'm not cruel enough to tell him. He's getting FATTER. It's all going to his gut. And he trains 5 days per week, lifting relatively heavy. Denial is a powerful powerful thing my friends.

His problem, he cheats sporatically. Systematic cheating is one thing, once per week ON THE SAME DAY each time. Twice per month following suit. SAME DAYS, VERY IMPORTANT. Your body can get used to this. However, I have met very, and I mean VERY few people who have the sort of discipline to carry that through. Garbage-eating does a lot to insulin sensitivity, and induces cravings. I haven't eaten sweets anything near consistently in like two years and every now and again I still SWEAR if someone had a box of doughnuts I'd skin them alive for them with a butter knife.

I wouldn't encourage cheating for that simple reason. You do it once you'll do it again, you'll figure "eh what the Hell"...and exercise alone is not enough to ward off diabetes, blood-pressure problems, etc.
 
King Kabuki said:
No.



There's a key bit of information here to understand why a person could get away with this. First I'll give an example why I have a one-word response to the above question. My MANAGER at one of the stores I work at who studies pharmacology and knows a lot about pretty much everything regarding supplementing eats lunch from the grocery store deli next door about every day. And I mean the hot lunches. The Chicken, rice, pasta, meatballs, etc. I keep razzing him about it, he keeps saying "I'm bulking man." Let me tell you, because I'm not cruel enough to tell him. He's getting FATTER. It's all going to his gut. And he trains 5 days per week, lifting relatively heavy. Denial is a powerful powerful thing my friends.

His problem, he cheats sporatically. Systematic cheating is one thing, once per week ON THE SAME DAY each time. Twice per month following suit. SAME DAYS, VERY IMPORTANT. Your body can get used to this. However, I have met very, and I mean VERY few people who have the sort of discipline to carry that through. Garbage-eating does a lot to insulin sensitivity, and induces cravings. I haven't eaten sweets anything near consistently in like two years and every now and again I still SWEAR if someone had a box of doughnuts I'd skin them alive for them with a butter knife.

I wouldn't encourage cheating for that simple reason. You do it once you'll do it again, you'll figure "eh what the Hell"...and exercise alone is not enough to ward off diabetes, blood-pressure problems, etc.


King,
I'm not disagreeing with you because I fully understand that if a person doesn't have self-control, they can defintely lead to problems. I was just sharing my personal experience, as my waist has only increased by 1/4" in the past month whereas my chest has increased by an inch.

I've read a ton of your posts and I know that you know much more about nutrition and supplementation than I've ever learned. I was just sharing my personal experience, but I now understand that probably wasn't for the best. The last thing I'd ever want to do would be give someone bad advice.
 
King,
I'm not disagreeing with you because I fully understand that if a person doesn't have self-control, they can defintely lead to problems. I was just sharing my personal experience, as my waist has only increased by 1/4" in the past month whereas my chest has increased by an inch.

I've read a ton of your posts and I know that you know much more about nutrition and supplementation than I've ever learned. I was just sharing my personal experience, but I now understand that probably wasn't for the best. The last thing I'd ever want to do would be give someone bad advice.

I wasn't really disagreeing with you either. I was just pointing out that the main thing you're doing right is being consistent about WHEN you eat the shit foods. A lot of guys overlook that, and think it's alright to just randomly throw a monkey wrench into your eating plan. Hence why you have a lot of guys who no matter what they do always have the little rolls of fat here and there that they come up here periodically and ask what they can take to lose. lol
 
more than discipline... you can't have a GF, esp ones that love dessert!
 
So basically no matter what your goals (cutting or gaining) your diet should be strict and somewhat similar just more meals and larger proportions if you are trying to gain.

I have gained a few pounds of lean muscle but not quite the results I am looking for. I find it hard to eat a lot when you have limited options, the dining commons at my school serves mostly crap.
 
mojo - yea, there are a lot of limitations to trying to eat a strict diet, school, work, social life, etc. but take your example of the school commons, I'm pretty sure they serve an entire range of food groups, skimp off the stuff that makes you fat (the sauces, the desserts) and try to eat as much of the good stuff as you can, just cuz they put it in front of you doesn't mean you have to eat it all.

And try to make slight changes to the way you eat, for example, I frequently eat bananas for the potassium and general nutrition value, but when I pick them out from the supermarket, I choose a bunch with the smallest fruit on them. It's about one less bite, but it cuts down a few calories each time. Try to do something like this with everything you eat, and it will add up.

*EDIT* (crap, forgot this post was about GAINING weight)
 
I beg to differ. I eat like shit, Wendy's and whatnot. Lots of fat and unhealthy ones too. The only thought I give to my diet is getting as much protein as I can and some supplementation. My gains have never been so good, and I'm not putting more fat than I'm putting muscle on my frame. I think eating healthy is not necessary when you bulk. What is necessary is to eat a lot and eat lotsa protein. And some supplementation.

Mojorisin, you can take my advice for what it's worth. I say eat like you want, as long as it's not sweets (no protein no nothing). I would rather eat bacon.

Sorry to come over as uneducated among you guys, but it works for me. I just wanted to pass on the word of hope to Mojorisin.
 
Alright, so diet is important for gaining weight? Or just for putting on as little fat to lean muscle as possiable?
 
I beg to differ. I eat like shit, Wendy's and whatnot. Lots of fat and unhealthy ones too. The only thought I give to my diet is getting as much protein as I can and some supplementation. My gains have never been so good, and I'm not putting more fat than I'm putting muscle on my frame. I think eating healthy is not necessary when you bulk. What is necessary is to eat a lot and eat lotsa protein. And some supplementation.

Mojorisin, you can take my advice for what it's worth. I say eat like you want, as long as it's not sweets (no protein no nothing). I would rather eat bacon.

Sorry to come over as uneducated among you guys, but it works for me. I just wanted to pass on the word of hope to Mojorisin.

I think what you need to understand is that getting bigger and being healthy are two different things. I've seen Pro Bodybuilders who do recreational drugs (not smoking weed, but other things) and eat like shit in their off-seasons because their philosophy is "I'm a bodybuilder, not a health nut"...and a couple of them who had that catch-phrase are now dead from things like heart failure.

Eating properly is more to delay the natural and in most cases hereditary health ailments that tend to plague people wether they're athletic or not. A lot of guys can get away with bad or inconsistent eating habits, but only for so long before things start going wrong.
 
Hows this for an eating/exercise plan:

Breakfast - Bowl porridge

Swim 1.5km

Protein Shake, Bannana, Apple

Mid Morning- Orange, pumpkin seeds

Weights or Run 5k

Protein Shake, Bannana, Apple, Orange

2X Wholewheat Pitta Bread & Cottage cheese

Muay thai

Chicken or lean meat, green veg

Ive been doing the exercise part for a long time its just the eating part i am looking to clean up on ( i have dropped out the bacon rolls at lunchtime) i am at work most of the day so it limits what i can do for lunch/ snacks any advice suggestions for loosing the gut would be appreciated.
 
King Kabuki said:
I think what you need to understand is that getting bigger and being healthy are two different things. I've seen Pro Bodybuilders who do recreational drugs (not smoking weed, but other things) and eat like shit in their off-seasons because their philosophy is "I'm a bodybuilder, not a health nut"...and a couple of them who had that catch-phrase are now dead from things like heart failure.

Eating properly is more to delay the natural and in most cases hereditary health ailments that tend to plague people wether they're athletic or not. A lot of guys can get away with bad or inconsistent eating habits, but only for so long before things start going wrong.

I completely understand the difference between eating for health and eating to get bigger Kabuki, my own feeling is that maybe it's you guys who don't get it. He was asking diet questions for the sake of getting bigger, not for health, that is my point.

Also, for bodybuilders maybe the recreational drugs and the roids they might be taking has something to do with the following heart failure. But I grant bad eating won'T help anything.

I personally feel people get a bit too worried about health nowadays. So much that in fact, it sometimes doesn't seem too...healthy.
 
I completely understand the difference between eating for health and eating to get bigger Kabuki, my own feeling is that maybe it's you guys who don't get it. He was asking diet questions for the sake of getting bigger, not for health, that is my point.

No we get it. There is no reason getting bigger should have to warrant tossing eating for optimum health as well completely out the window. None whatsoever. A guy can get bigger and be healthy, one does not have to compromise the other.

I hope you're not serious about feeling people get too worried these days. Especially if you're in America. All you have to do is take a look around. In the past year I've met just as many 22 and 23 year-olds who are insulin-dependant diabetics as older people. That's pretty frightening.

Very few bodybuilder deaths are actually linked to steroids. So no that doesn't have a whole lot to do with the heart-failures. It doesn't help, but it's usually a combination of putting their bodies through the stress of athletics, not eating properly year-round (gourging on junk food in off-seasons comes back to haunt a lot of them), and doing recreational drugs. But the point in that was that even guys who can appear to be healthy might only be making their situations worse. A lot of them workout like beasts, and drop dead just the same. Now of course it can be argued that when it's your time it's your time, true. But I don't see why a person would half-ass their health. I've said in here control and timing are important, moderation of indulging in foods that are not healthy won't harm a person in the end. But these days most people would rather kill themselves than adhere to anything that remotely resembles voluntary discipline.
 
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