u/stratusnimbo

I have a res coming up but it’s just for 2 so I won’t be able to try everything. What are the must-tries for food and drink? Thanks!

What do you hate about the endeavor of natural bodybuilding building as it stands today?

For me it’s the people who make excuses for their lack of results. Or the countless people I’ve heard say how bad they want to look better/lifting/eat better, but don’t do a single thing about it.

Sorry if this topic doesn’t belong here - I was at a party yesterday where they catered Mexican food. I got into a long convo with this guy who was telling me a story how he went golfing and didn’t eat any breakfast and then played 18 holes without eating anything and how it was the best round of his life blah blah…then he went back to the food and refilled his bowl multiple times filled with cheese, beans, steak etc. and then when to the dessert and had some big pieces of cake, while enjoying a variety of beers, all during the span of our conversation.

Anyways…this made me realize how much of a lifestyle difference it can be when pursuing natural bodybuilding compared to ”normal people”. For example I can’t imagine going golfing all day without eating or packing meals, or going back for 2nds, then 3rds, then dessert without mentally keeping track of how much I’m eating, how it’ll make me feel, how it will digest etc…On one hand I was sort of jealous about how care free this guy was, just eating and drinking whatever the hell he wanted without a care in the world, but on the other hand It made me feel grateful for the habits I’ve developed through natural bodybuilding to know how and when to indulge in the right ways. It made me realize that I’m the weird one and that this lifestyle certainly isn’t normal. Has anyone else had similar experiences?

They say you can’t force feed muscle growth, but looking back at my training history, I gained the most strength, size, and progress when I was eating like an asshole. I’m still trying to get to the levels of strength I was at by the end of my first year in the gym, and I’m going on year 3.

When I first started lifting I committed to the classic dirty bulk. I brought my bench from 135 to 225 in 9 months and I saw the most strength progression ever when I was eating like a mad man. However, after a leg injury took me out for 6 months, getting fat, and spending the next year losing 55lbs and getting lean as hell, and then starting back up again, over the last year, I’m still not even at a 225 bench. I’m in my 3rd year of training and despite doing everything “right” - getting lean first, eating slightly above maintenance, training hard, eating high quality Whole Foods - my progression is just so damn slow and I’m nowhere near as strong as I was when I was just lifting and eating like a tank in my first year. Yeah I look much better aesthetically, but just feel so weak despite taking bodybuilding very seriously the last 1.5 years. How do I get less numbers oriented? I know it’s called bodybuilding and aesthetics are the goal, but can’t help but look back at what I used to lift, like I’m envious of my younger, stronger self lol. If they say you can’t force feed muscle growth…why did it work so well for me, and could this be a sign I need to be eating more?

Any input appreciated.

Does anyone have a rec for a classic New York style pizza spot that holds up? Looking for that huge slice, charred undercarriage, crunchy but airy crust that NY style is known for, not that 12 inch personal pizza

27M 5’11 - I finished my 8 week cut a few weeks ago. I went from 180lbs to 166lbs over the 8 week cut. The lowest I got was 2200 cals for a few weeks eating 200ish g carbs. When the cut ended I jumped straight to 3000-3200 cals 450ish g carb on training days right away to get out of the deficit as soon as possible. No reverse diet. I had an initial weight spike which jumped it back up to 170ish lbs - assuming it was just water/glycogen from the carb increase. I’ve been consistent in these cals/macros and the weight is actually trending back down toward 166 and am sitting around 167 since ending the cut 3 weeks ago.

How does this even make sense? I basically doubled my food intake and yet the weight is not trending upwards. Does…does that mean I put on muscle during my bulk and my maintenance increased? Does this mean I get to eat more food? I’m more just curious about what is happening physiologically, and even more curious about how I’m not spiking in weight after such a big increase in food. Any input appreciated.

How many grams of carbs are you eating before your lift and what does the meal consists of? Recently I’ve been doing 100g of cream of rice, 30g whey, and 100g frozen blueberries, which comes out to around 90g carbs - but I’m looking to switch it up a bit as I’m getting kind of tired of it. Looking for other good pre workout meal ideas. What’s your go to?

Looking to do a pizza night at home. Where’s a good spot to buy dough balls?

I am very curious how my fellow bodybuilders like to approach their nutrition since there are so many different ways to go about it, and it always interests me to see what others are doing nutritionally.

How many meals do you eat a day? What are your main protein, carb and fat sources? How do you space them out? What is your favorite meal in your rotation right now? Do you track? Eat intuitively? Do you time your carbs around training? Etc.. how do you structure your daily meals?