Last week we looked at what I eat when my goal is to lose weight and maintain muscle. This week, let’s take a look at what I eat in a day when I want to ADD muscle to my frame, also known as a bulking phase.
A good bulking phase to build muscle should last 8-12 weeks with the goal of adding 1-2 pounds of healthy weight per week. Inevitably some fat will be added with even the cleanest of bulks, but we’re going to eat as clean as possible to limit the total amount of fat gained.
Remember, the goal here is to add muscle, so we have to eat A LOT of food in order to fuel that growth. My goal will be to add 250-500 calories to my daily maintenance phase limit, roughly 2600 calories.
BREAKFAST
For breakfast, I made one of my favorite meals: Banana Protein Pancakes! I’ve shared this recipe before but for a quick reminder: use a 1:1 ration of bananas and eggs, mix them together, add a scoop of protein powder and cook as you would flour pancakes. You’ll notice a trend today as I add protein powder to several meals in hopes of reaching my macro goals as well as my calorie threshold.
LUNCH
Just because the amount of food you need to eat increases in a bulking phase doesn’t mean the amount of hours in the day will too. For that reason, I like to meal prep and have 8-10 meals ready to grab and go. For lunch, I had ground turkey meal prep with jasmine rice and veggies. I always weigh my food with a scale so I can register the most accurate info into my food log. I highly recommend meal prep for all phases of nutrition.
DINNER
More meal prep, this time chicken! I switch between chicken, ground turkey, white fish, and ground beed as my protein source in meal prep, often including my favorite veggies and jasmine rice. It’s important that you enjoy the food you eat, especially when you have to eat a lot of it when in a bulking phase.
SNACKS
When in a bulking phase, think of ‘snacks’ as a 4th meal. I am a breakfast lover so I decided to have a delicious pumpkin walnut oatmeal with protein powder because it’s incredibly healthy AND packed with the macros I need to grow muscle. I also had 2 small shakes throughout the day. If looking for a delicious protein shake, I recommend Premier Protein - Cafe Latte flavor. As a coffee lover, I think it’s fantastic!
CONCLUSION
This was actually pretty difficult. I am at a point in my life/fitness where I’m just not as hungry as I used to be. Fitting all of these meals/snacks in between clients, dogs, family, etc was a real challenge, but meal prep saved the day! I also managed to complete a full Push Day workout AND walk 10,000 steps while consuming 100oz of water.
This is a great example of how to eat when in a bulking phase to fuel muscle growth and limit fat gain. For more tips/advice, book a free consultation call today!
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