Bulk is Stalling

[gkmantis]

I started bulking around 4-5 months ago and went from 135 to 155. However, I haven't gained any weight in almost 2 months and am trying to figure out changes to my diet that I can make to get the scale moving again. My lifts are still increasing (I'm using Rippetoe's program), but I would like to put on another 10-20lbs. Also, I would preferably like to do it eating clean food. Here is what I eat on a daily basis:

8am: Shake - 1 cup skim milk, 2 scoops whey, 1/2 cup oats, banana, flax seed oil
1030am: couple slices of wheat bread
1230pm: cheeseburger or grilled chicken sandwich, beef stew
330pm: 7oz bag of tuna on 2 slices of wheat bread
5pm: Apple
630pm: Shake - 1 cup skim milk, 2 scoops whey, 1 cup oats, 3 strawberries
830pm: chicken breast/steak/salmon/shrimp/ground beef with wheat pasta/brown rice
11pm: 3 eggs, toast

I literally eat the same thing everyday and I think my body has adapted to the calorie intake. I need to add more calories, but I am not sure where to add them. It already feels like I am eating all day long. Does anyone have any suggestions on where I could add in some more calories or tips on what to do when your bulk begins to stall?

 

[shaunuk]

Hehe yeah, if you're no longer gaining weight, you just need more calories. A p1ss-easy and cheap way to add calories to your diet is in the form of healthy fats, i.e. olive oil.

1 tbsp (tablespoon) of olive oil (and sunflower oil also) contains 120cals, so getting down a few tablespoons of oil is a pretty easy way of getting more calories in. Maybe try adding 4 tbsps to your diet, taken throughout the day. Add the olive/sunflower oil to your whey shakes, you won't taste it, and it'll slow the digestion of the whey down

I don't think taking this extra fat in my shakes fills me up btw, so it should work alright.

-shaun

 

[Nobody]

20 lbs in 4 or 5 months? All I hear is good stuff from Rippetoe. I'm going to have to do it when I get a gym membership.

 

[Warboss Alex]

I started bulking around 4-5 months ago and went from 135 to 155. However, I haven't gained any weight in almost 2 months and am trying to figure out changes to my diet that I can make to get the scale moving again. My lifts are still increasing (I'm using Rippetoe's program), but I would like to put on another 10-20lbs. Also, I would preferably like to do it eating clean food. Here is what I eat on a daily basis:

8am: Shake - 1 cup skim milk, 2 scoops whey, 1/2 cup oats, banana, flax seed oil NOT BAD
1030am: couple slices of wheat bread PROTEIN?
1230pm: cheeseburger or grilled chicken sandwich, beef stew HOW MUCH PROTEIN HERE?
330pm: 7oz bag of tuna on 2 slices of wheat bread NOT BAD
5pm: Apple PROTEIN?
630pm: Shake - 1 cup skim milk, 2 scoops whey, 1 cup oats, 3 strawberries
830pm: chicken breast/steak/salmon/shrimp/ground beef with wheat pasta/brown rice HOW MUCH CHICKEN/MEAT? GIVE A QUANTITY
11pm: 3 eggs, toast MORE PROTEIN NEEDED, LOSE THE CARBS

I literally eat the same thing everyday and I think my body has adapted to the calorie intake. I need to add more calories, but I am not sure where to add them. It already feels like I am eating all day long. Does anyone have any suggestions on where I could add in some more calories or tips on what to do when your bulk begins to stall?

Basically, you need to go on a structured diet with 300g protein a day (50-60g per meal) plus extra protein on workout days, that should get you going again.

 

[RedPill]

Are you eating any vegetables?

One thing I learned about myself was that when I began eating seriously, things were not staying regular in the intestinal department because I rarely ate vegetables. When I started adding a serious quantity of vegetables it did a few things:
1) my digestive system started functioning like a well-oiled machine
2) that feeling of always full and fatigued diminished significantly
3) metabolism & appetite increased, and so did gains, without a massive increase in the amount I was eating

Getting some fiber in the diet is important, but for me it was specifically making a conscious effort to eat lots of vegetables as much as possible that really made a difference. But that said don't discount the importance of protein intake...

 

[gkmantis]

8am: Shake - 1 cup skim milk, 2 scoops whey, 1/2 cup oats, banana, flax seed oil NOT BAD
1030am: couple slices of wheat bread PROTEIN? I'll add a small shake: 1 scoop whey, tbsp flax seed oil. Sound good?
1230pm: cheeseburger or grilled chicken sandwich, beef stew HOW MUCH PROTEIN HERE? Around 40g of protein
330pm: 7oz bag of tuna on 2 slices of wheat bread NOT BAD
5pm: Apple PROTEIN? I just eat this on my way home from work to keep my appetite up.
630pm: Shake - 1 cup skim milk, 2 scoops whey, 1 cup oats, 3 strawberries
830pm: chicken breast/steak/salmon/shrimp/ground beef with wheat pasta/brown rice HOW MUCH CHICKEN/MEAT? GIVE A QUANTITY Usually a half pound piece of meat/ground beef or ~50g of protein from shrimp
11pm: 3 eggs, toast MORE PROTEIN NEEDED, LOSE THE CARBS 4-5 eggs better?

Basically, you need to go on a structured diet with 300g protein a day (50-60g per meal) plus extra protein on workout days, that should get you going again.

I will try to add some more protein to my diet. Right now I am getting around 250g a day. I will bump that up at least 50g and see if that gets my weight going up again.

 

[EFFORT]

Like Alex said get your protein intake up id say to 325g a day at your weight now.

If you dont have a fitday account its time to make one fitday.com, if you dont have a food scale its time to get one (there very cheap)

From there its time to weigh your food and be nit picky for a week to see what your really getting vs what you estimate your getting. This will probably blow you away, i know a lot people that estimate and end up being off by a lot.

Another important thing is to only count protein from animals, dairy and whey towards your protein total.

So get your protein to 325g daily, and add 2-4 tablespoons of olive oil (would just take it straight instead of putting it in a shake unless you like drinking a nasty olive oil tasting shake) and your muscle gains will start up again.