Is diet THAT important if....?

[KillingTime]

The bulking/cutting advice here looks like something straight out of bodybuilding.com or one of those sites. It works, no doubt about it BUT, what about those of us who want to be muscular but not going for the perfect, symmetrical, massive bodybuilder look? I'm 5'10 and about 150 lbs, not skeleton skinny but definately slim.... my goal is to achieve something like Nich Lachey's body (im guessing id have to be around 170 to look like that, but its a guess). He's a pretty buff guy by average standards, but he's not perfection... can't even see his abs, but i don't like the super cut look anyway. I don't count numbers, just eat as much as I can and keep it as clean as possible, my usual diet is:

Meal 1. 4 eggs with chorizo and franks (i can take a bit of fat no prob) and a bowl of oatmeal
Meal 2. chicken breast, potato with lots of butter, bowl of rice
Meal 3. Two cans of tuna, bowl of rice, apple
Meal 4. Fish (about 6 pieces) or a big steak with rice, a potato and a salad
Meal 5. 3 eggs and a bowl of oatmeal

That keeps me pretty full, so it's what I eat.... Ive been trying to add in a 6th meal but I don't have the time. But anyway, is that good for my goal?

 

[semag]

There are two things you can basically do to your body:

1) Build up.

2) Cut Down.

You're slim. Build up.

"Ohh... but I don't wanna get too big."

I always laugh at these ridiculous statements. You're not going to explode over night. You wanna gain 20 lbs??? That'll take a while of hardcore bulking. The cutting is there if you put on so much fat. Read the guides.... take them in.

You need to get it into your head that there's no difference between Joe Bodybuilder and Joe Normal in terms of body, except for the amount of muscle mass on the body. The bodybuilder has more mass on his body, and is therefore bigger. He started out small, however, and kept packing it on till he was happy. Same with you. Pack it on.... you won't be big until you have a "big" amount of muscle on your body. If you don't wanna look big, then stay at 170 lbs. If you think you need more? Bulk up some more.

Don't go by pounds, go by the mirror. Bulk and cut until you are pleased with the results. That is the goal.

Why listen to the bulking and cutting of bodybuilders??
I don't know about you, but it looks like they know what they're talking about (they're really big after all...) and I tend to listen to people that know what they're talking about. It just makes things easier, more efficient, and allows you to do it correctly the first time, rather than use trial and error.

 

[NRM]

Thing with diet is different people have different metabolisms. If you're eating that much and having a hard time bulking up, you need to eat more. You just judge your progress on what you're doing and how it's affecting you. semag is right about bulking. It never happens overnight. You'll start getting bigger and you think your body is the way you want it, you start maintaining it. Natural forces don't want to waste more energy than you have to. It is harder to bulk up than maintain or not bulk up, so don't worry about that.

Your goal should be improvement. Whatever you're lifting, try to go up every week. Get stronger and the body will follow. I say go with the MAX-OT for your training. I have nothing against Diesel's guide, and some of it is just like MAX-OT, but MAX-OT has a nice base that I like.

 

[madgame]

semag and nrm are right. But I guess the real answer to your question is: Maybe no, maybe yes. When I started bulking I didnt give a **** about counting calories or anything. Hell I didnt even give a **** about eating protein. When I started drinking lots of milk in order to meet my protein needs, I did see results way more quickly though. So i did some reading up and started eating like 1g protein per lbs of bodyweight (actually I guess i started with something like 0,7g and then increased it over the time). Actually Im still doing it like this and im getting the results I want. I dont count calories while bulking, but because Ive been through some cutting cycles I know how much calories I consume approximately and eat like 2 little meals more if I played basketball that day. So I suggest u just try to eat about 1g protein per lbs of bodyweight, if ure seeing the results u want (and its not about what u imagine to see after 3 weeks but rather if ure lifts increase every month or so!) its all good but if not chances are ure not getting enough calories and u need to further adapt ur diet.