Bulk or Cut? Foods for Both Here :)

What is a bulk and when should you do it?

A bulk is eating in a caloric surplus (eating more calories than your body naturally burns) in order to gain muscle. If you're not eating enough, your muscles can't grow. Unless you have very large (not just a little) amounts of body fat, I recommend that every beginner bulk first. "Beginner's gains" are real y'all lol. It will be easier to build muscle first and then get rid of the extra fat you put on. During a bulk you should be lifting as heavy as possible, focusing on higher weights and lower reps. You should be doing very little cardio, if any, during a bulk.

What is a cut and when should you do it?

A cut is eating in a caloric deficit (eating less calories than your body naturally burns) in order to lose fat. You can calculate the amount of calories you should be consuming in a cut by using a caloric deficit calculator online. Please do not just starve yourself, you will only end up exhausting yourself, ruining your metabolism, and having no way to gain muscle. You can track your calories on my fitness pal, or if you think this could create unhealthy/ED behaviors you can cut by just controlling portion sizes and eating low-cal substitutes. You should be "volume eating" which is eating foods that are low in calorie but make you feel full longer. Vegetables are great volume foods. During a cut you should still lift weights in your normal consistency, but also add cardio to the end of your workouts. Also, getting 10,000-13,000 steps in a day is super beneficial to lose fat.

Importance of Protein

Whether you are cutting or bulking, protein should be an essential part of your diet. You should be cramming this stuff into your system everyday lol. It keeps you full longer and is essential for muscle growth. You should aim to 0.5-0.8 grams of protein per pound of your bodyweight. You can use MyFitnessPal to track protein/macros also.

My favorite foods for cutting

- PB fit instead of peanut butter

- Almond milk instead of regular

- No soda or 0 Cal soda

- Halo top ice cream

- Fiber one brownies and desserts

- Rice cakes

- Vegetables

- Egg white French toast

- Dave's Killer Bread

- Fruit and veggies

- Homemade protein shakes with whey protein powder

- Premier protein shakes + coldbrew coffee

- OLIVE OIL IS THE DEVIL THERES SO MANY

CALORIES JUST USE BUTTER LOL

- Quick oats

- healthy choice power bowls

- Kodak cakes and power flapjacks

- low Cal syrup

- Premier protein bars (cookie doughs the best)

- Air fryer grilled chicken

- Rice and quinoa

My favorite bulking foods

- you can go back to normal milk and peanut butter etc.

- Still stay away from a bunch of sugary foods (moderation is just fine :))

- Builder's protein bars

- Muscle milk

- All the varieties of grilled chicken

- You can pack a crap ton of calories in homemade protein shakes

- Add protein powder to French toast for calories

- Eggs

- Healthy choice max power bowls

- Carbs before workouts (rice Krispy treats are cool lol)

- Zone nutrition bars

- Protein chips

- Baked oats with protein powder (there's an entire "oat-tok" side of tik-tok. I recommend finding it lol).

- Basically, just add protein powder into everything and it works lol.