JW's Bulking Diet

I want to share a sample diet that I am about to begin using for my upcoming training cycle. First of all, I am not listing this as advice but as a window for others to see what I do. I do not give advice because we are all different and have different nutritional needs. One should examine their own needs and consult a physician before starting on any diet or exercise plan.

Most bodybuilding diets I find online are somewhere around 40% protein, 30% carbs, and 30% fat. I personally do not agree with this and with my health needs I take a different approach. The breakdown I target 50% carbs, 30% protein, and 20% fat. I am early 40's and have a couple health issues that doctors have identified. My kidney function is barely within the range my doctor finds acceptable so I trim down the protein a bit. I have also had gallbladder problems so I trim down the fat. Again, it is important to consult your physician before diet and exercise.

I'll give the steps I take to build a sample diet.

1. I determine my calorie goal for the day. To start with, I determine what my maintenance calories per day are. A good way to calculate this is just keep track of what you eat for a week of a well balanced diet. If you are not losing or gaining weight then add up those calories, divide by the number of days you tracked and you now know maintenance calories. In order to gain size, you will need a well balanced diet with excess calories beyond your maintenance. I determined that along with proper exercise, I am going to target 4,000 calories per day.

2. I plan how many meals I want to do and the times. I am self employed with a wife who works right by my side so I have a advantage here. My meal schedule is as follows,

Breakfast - 6:30am
Snack - 9:00am
Lunch - 12:00pm
Snack or Post Workout Drink - 3pm
Dinner - 6pm
Snack - 8:30pm

3. I determine the macro breakdown I want to use. In my case, I target 50% carbs, 30% protein, and 20% fat.

4. Start writing out the meals with a pencil and a piece of paper. I've been bodybuilding for 26 years and this has become simple for me. I know the nutritional value of different foods well. I seek to create well balanced meals with fresh meat and plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables. I keep candy, soda, chips, and any junk food to a absolute minimum.

5. I see what I end up with. I add up the calories, carbs, protein, and fat for each meal and then see what I have for the day. Then I go back and edit the meals to get the proper macros and balance out the meals. Lunch is typically my largest meal and my workout is about 2:30pm on the days I train.

6. I create substitute meals. We all like a little variety. I create different meals that I can swap out. For example, the lunch meal I have on my paper contains flounder. I will create another meal that has chicken that I can eat in place of it. I may switch the fruits and vegetables too.

7. Tweak as I go along. If I start putting on body fat for example, I will trim some.

In the beginning, I measure out all of my food. After you have ate a meal a couple times, you know how much of each thing you should have. This is how I do it. Feel free to ask any questions. I'll update this from time to time.