I'm Making Great Gains On A Traditional Bodybuilder Diet

[JohnA]

I know we all hate on the bodybuilding bros, but I've been following my version of a traditional bodybuilding diet recently with great results.

I think of the traditional bodybuilding diet as high carb, moderate protein, low fat (~55%/30%/15%) and high calorie (3,500-5,000). The only non-"Peaty" aspects are that it's high starch and that I include casein protein shakes around my workout window. But I've always done well on high starch diets.

I've been feeling really good for the last year or so (see my comments in the Temperature Reset thread), but since increasing my calories and increasing strength training from about 1x weekly to 3x, I've gone from about 180lbs to +190lbs over the last few months while maintaining my six pack. I'm still warm, sleeping well, good libido, good hair, good digestion, only peeing every 4-5 hours, and I've gotten a confidence boost from walking around with the extra muscle. To be fair, I was a similar weight and body comp while playing sports in undergrad 8 years ago, but I've never put on muscle this effortlessly before.

Here's a sample eating log for a training day:

Breakfast 6am
Bone broth soup with starch (rice, potatoes, or lentils), protein (eggs, liver, oysters, beef, or shrimp), a sugar based sauce (salsa or bbq, etc.), and sometimes a vegetable (lettuce, mushrooms, etc.). This meal has been a game changer for me. I batch cook rice, lentils, boiled eggs, mushrooms, etc. in advance, and then it takes just 5 minutes to throw everything in a pot and warm a little. Since I'm always varying the starch, protein, and sauce, every meal tastes different and delicious.

Latte 7am
Heated fat free milk mixed with maple syrup, coconut oil, honey, and coffee. I'll also include some gelatin powder if I'm not having much bone broth soup that day.

Raw carrot salad 9am

Lunch 1pm
Bone broth soup with starch, protein, a sugar based sauce, and sometimes a vegetable

Latte 3pm
​

Pre-workout shake 5pm
~16oz Orange juice or lemonade
Honey
Scoop of casein powder

During-workout shake 5:30pm

Post-workout shake 6:30pm

Dinner 7:30pm
Bone broth soup with starch, protein, a sugar based sauce, and sometimes a vegetable

Bed-time 10pm
~4oz OJ
Honey

On a day like this, I'll get in well over 4,000 calories while keeping PUFAs and other fats low, while still enjoying every meal. On non-workout days, I'll skip the shakes and maybe have bigger servings of the soups and more OJ throughout the day. I eat out a decent amount and have alcohol around 2x a week.​

 

[Luckytype]

Sats and sugars have always been instinctively attractive to me and ive always made all kinds of gains on it. Reading this food list makes me hungry

 

[raypeatclips]

Looks good! And looks fairly normal (apart from the protein shakes) Glad you're feeling better. Viva la starch.

 

[Vinero]

I don´t think taking extra casein protein is necessary if you eat enough milk, cheese and meats.
Too much protein slows metabolism, because of the high amount of anti-thyroid amino acids tryptophan, cysteine, and methionine.
Eating more carbs is more effective for gaining muscle since carbs spare protein and carbs are pro-thyroid.
I think Ray his recommendations (between 80 and 150 grams a day), is enough for building muscle and maintaining high metabolism.
Also, I would watch out for any added fillers the casein supplement might have, such as silicon dioxide.
These things can damage your gut.

 

[BigChad]

I don´t think taking extra casein protein is necessary if you eat enough milk, cheese and meats.
Too much protein slows metabolism, because of the high amount of anti-thyroid amino acids tryptophan, cysteine, and methionine.
Eating more carbs is more effective for gaining muscle since carbs spare protein and carbs are pro-thyroid.
I think Ray his recommendations (between 80 and 150 grams a day), is enough for building muscle and maintaining high metabolism.
Also, I would watch out for any added fillers the casein supplement might have, such as silicon dioxide.
These things can damage your gut.

is 60g fat, 220g protein, 180g-200g carbs a day fine?
in whey protein powder, aren't there other aminos like bcaas, tyrosine etc which would counteract or balance out the tryptophan, cysteine and methionine?

 

[nbznj]

I've gained a lot of weight following such a diet in the past. I thought it was quality weight. Truth is, my "muscle" was glycogen stores being fully filled up, and most of the remaining weight was visceral fat. No one but a total noob to weight training (or a noob to steroids) gains 10 pounds of lean mass within a few months.

Then I got my HbA1c over 6% twice in 18 months while my bodyfat was below 10%. My LDL was also total trash. A Peaty caloric surplus got my trigs over 100 for the first time in my life. Cutting back on total calories (and sat fats) got both down to more optimal levels

Careful with overfeeding, and labeling weight gain as muscle gains. Unless you're very active and spend a lot of time outside in the Canadian winter, you can't be sub 200lbs and need north of 4000kcals to function. Again, you're at risk of building up visceral fat if you're prone to it / have low subcutaneous fat stores (I know I'm part Asian and that's my genetics, nice and lean but prone to T2D), and you won't really see it in the mirror. A lot of bodybuilders have pregnant bellies because of reckless overfeeding and the use of androgens that burn off subQ fat.

Make sure everything is properly tracked doing bloodwork.

 

[GreekDemiGod]

I followed a similar diet when I started lifting and put on weight easily. Elevated insulin levels >> highly anabolic environment.
I read that if you're in a caloric surplus, then those extra calories, if they come from fat, are much more likely to be stored as bodyfat. So having 100g + of fat / day while bulking might not be best body-composition wise.

Truth is, my "muscle" was glycogen stores being fully filled up

Do you think on a Peat-diet our muscle glycogen stores are not being fully filled up? If let's say, the only starch sources are rice and white potatoes.

 

[Deleted member 5487]

"Body Builder Diet" does not suit well for a average weight lifter. 3-4x a week.

Bodybuilder Diet should be called "Collegiate and Professional Athlete diet"= 3-8 hours a day of training, day in and day out. Yes then you can stuff your face with starch and protein.

Much better off with seafoods, fruits, eggs, organs and general high nutrient diets. Enough Sugar to keep liver/muscle glycogen full, enough fat for fat soulables and muscle fuel, and enough protein for liver function and structural integrity, While filling all the microsnurtients and minerals.

 

[Hans]

I'm also currently making great gains on a "bodybuilder" style diet. High protein (beef, organ meat and gelatin), potatoes, sugar, little bit of skim milk and saturated fat (from the beef, coconut oil and stearic acid). I just supplement with some extra calcium and everything is going smoothly. I'm eating over 3500 calories and staying lean and I see results pretty fast if I change something in my training.

 

[ExCarniv]

I'm also currently making great gains on a "bodybuilder" style diet. High protein (beef, organ meat and gelatin), potatoes, sugar, little bit of skim milk and saturated fat (from the beef, coconut oil and stearic acid). I just supplement with some extra calcium and everything is going smoothly. I'm eating over 3500 calories and staying lean and I see results pretty fast if I change something in my training.

Potatoes everyday? How much?

I'm starting to lift heavy weights and tweaking my diet because I think I'm not eating enough to build muscle, around 2500 calories a day.

 

[ExCarniv]

I followed a similar diet when I started lifting and put on weight easily. Elevated insulin levels >> highly anabolic environment.
I read that if you're in a caloric surplus, then those extra calories, if they come from fat, are much more likely to be stored as bodyfat. So having 100g + of fat / day while bulking might not be best body-composition wise.


Do you think on a Peat-diet our muscle glycogen stores are not being fully filled up? If let's say, the only starch sources are rice and white potatoes.

Everyone is different, but on a high sugar diet I feel depleted easier for workouts and football games, starch seems better to keep stores filled for a longer period of time.

 

[Hans]

Potatoes everyday? How much?

I'm starting to lift heavy weights and tweaking my diet because I think I'm not eating enough to build muscle, around 2500 calories a day.

I'm having between 1.5 and 2kg daily. They are perfect for energy and satiety for me atm.

Yeah 2500 is way too low. One thing that a lot of people with less that 10 years of training experience can do is to eat a lot (not get fat, but also not super lean bulk) to build a solid foundation of muscle that will last a lifetime. Eating too little (small surplus) will just be too taxing for the body to optimize metabolism, androgens, recovery, etc.

 

[ExCarniv]

I'm having between 1.5 and 2kg daily. They are perfect for energy and satiety for me atm.

Yeah 2500 is way too low. One thing that a lot of people with less that 10 years of training experience can do is to eat a lot (not get fat, but also not super lean bulk) to build a solid foundation of muscle that will last a lifetime. Eating too little (small surplus) will just be too taxing for the body to optimize metabolism, androgens, recovery, etc.

Thanks, seems like with 1.5k of potatoes a lot of vitamins and minerals are covered, you don't even need fruits, just cover protein (beef, eggs, gelatin) and calcium (milk) and the rest of calories could be white rice and some sugar with milk.

 

[ExCarniv]

I'm having between 1.5 and 2kg daily. They are perfect for energy and satiety for me atm.

Yeah 2500 is way too low. One thing that a lot of people with less that 10 years of training experience can do is to eat a lot (not get fat, but also not super lean bulk) to build a solid foundation of muscle that will last a lifetime. Eating too little (small surplus) will just be too taxing for the body to optimize metabolism, androgens, recovery, etc.

Thanks, seems like with 1.5k of potatoes a lot of vitamins and minerals are covered, you don't even need fruits, just cover protein (beef, eggs, gelatin) and calcium (milk) and the rest of calories could be white rice and some sugar with milk.

 

[ExCarniv]

I'm having between 1.5 and 2kg daily. They are perfect for energy and satiety for me atm.

Yeah 2500 is way too low. One thing that a lot of people with less that 10 years of training experience can do is to eat a lot (not get fat, but also not super lean bulk) to build a solid foundation of muscle that will last a lifetime. Eating too little (small surplus) will just be too taxing for the body to optimize metabolism, androgens, recovery, etc.

Thanks, seems like with 1.5k of potatoes a lot of vitamins and minerals are covered, you don't even need fruits, just cover protein (beef, eggs, gelatin) and calcium (milk) and the rest of calories could be white rice and some sugar with milk.