BULKING SEASON DOESN’T MEAN YOU HAVE TO GET FAT…

By, Charlotte Snow

Okay, for those of us who are fitness competitors, we all know ridiculously intense our diets are during competition season! I mean, we are talking no joking around, crazy, hard – core diets. When clients or friends express interest dieting down to achieve this “stage look”, but have no intention of ever competing, I try to explain to them that eating healthy and maintaining a healthy lifestyle is a much healthier, better route to go.

When we, competitors, are on prep, we are weighing all of our food, literally every ounce of food we consume we strategically weigh and pack in Tupperware to take with us for the day. We have to make sure there is no added salt, unknown spice or any kind of oil or such on our food. So, we are limited in the sense that we can’t easily just grab something on the road. Seems kind of strict, huh? Well, it is. This is my life on season. No questions asked.

However, off season is a little less strict. I still weigh and pack my food for the day, because I do stick to an off season diet, but, if I am out and want to grab lunch with a friend, I can easily order something healthy at a restaurant. I allow myself the freedom to change up my meals. As long as I am eating healthy, making clean choices and sticking within my range of macros for the day, I am okay. I maintain my healthy lifestyle, a physique I am happy with and optimal energy! This is what I recommend to anyone looking to maintain a healthy lifestyle. I would never put my clients who are uninterested in competing on a strict competition diet. It’s hard, very trying and truly unnecessary if you’re not planning to step on stage.

There seems to be this common misconception that gaining muscle over the winter, also known as “bulking season” means throwing a healthy diet out the window, eating whatever you want and putting on extra fat. To coincide with that misconception, here’s another… many think they need to put on a lot of excess fat in which they will later turn into muscle. Sound healthy? Hmmm… I don’t think so. Necessary? Hardly.

You can gain more muscle mass without all the excess calories from not so desirable sources. What do I mean? Well, instead of eating a cake and a bunch of cookies made from tons of refined sugar and other garbage ingredients, you can increase your daily caloric intake with healthier foods. Yes, of course your diet will be different if you are in a bulking phase. That’s an obvious no brainer! But let’s think about what you are eating along with how much food you are eating.

What do I mean? Well, for starters, instead of overloading on a chocolate cake or a half dozen donut holes, you might want to consider adding in a higher intake of healthy fats such as peanut butter, almond butter, cashew butter or sunflower butter (made from sunflower seeds and delicious). You will definitely increase your calories as these varied nut butters pack a whopping 180 to 190 calories per serving. You may also want to consider taking a weight gainer of some sort, being mindful to choose a clean product from a reputable brand. Another option would be Muscle Sandwich original flavor or Muscle Sandwich Peanut Butter Bar. It is a delicious treat, it’s easy to pack and travel with and you can have it on the go.

Some other options for you may be to eat more red meat, providing you are a meat eater. Now don’t go crazy with this. Limit your intake because too much red meat is not the healthiest choice either. It is difficult to digest and sits in your stomach for quite some time before your body can break it down. You can also increase your healthy carb intake. Eat more brown rice, oats, sweet potato, quinoa, kamut and other healthy grains.

With all of these extra calories, coming from healthy sources, well your body will definitely have the energy to lift heavier at the gym. Ah ha! Here’s where the muscle building comes into play. Feed your body, the right foods, and the right amounts of the right foods, very important, and you will be able to train harder and heavier! Don’t kid yourself and think you need to put on crazy amounts of fat in order to eventually transform it into muscle. That is a very old school, outdated way of looking at things. Hey, we work hard to maintain a healthy lifestyle, well that is the key word, “maintain”. So maintain it! You deserve to look and feel good year round, so keep up the good work and stay focused!