vegansludge

Always do! I'm surprised other people haven't posted in this thread.

Recomping for a little while then officially bulking. Was going to do the bulk first but I'm easing into it. Macros: ~60/135/180 Calories: 1,800 I keep a long on tumblr (link in my signature), too.

You might be carbohydrate sensitive or have a gluten sensitivity. Also, your fat intake - where is at currently?

Working toward being the female version of this: http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/s320x320/251357_10150206374637726_274830562725_7094812_4087639_n.jpg For me, he's got the perfect amount of definition without compromising his muscle mass by getting shredded (in this photo at least).

+ http://www.thenategreenexperience.com/blog http://www.bodyrecomposition.com http://www.leangains.com

I do stuff like this all the time. My girlfriend calls it "protein voodoo." Haha.

Best sig on the site.

Bingo. Abs aren't like other muscles that can grow infinitely. If you focus on heavy compound lifts that engage your core, i.e. deadlifts and squats, and your diet is in check with your goals, your abs will start to pop. That is, you will lose the fat that's covering them up. It takes time but Rome wasn't build in a day, you know?

First off, I hope your recovery goes well - just keep your mindset positive and focus on the things you can do until you're back to 100% and you can crush weights. Second off, that just means more of us need to step it up and get on stage/into meets!

I'm probably going to do this one next year since it's only about 30 minutes from my parents house: http://toughmudder.com/events/kentucky-2012/

Definitely make sure you do a weekly weigh-in and be mindful of how you feel intaking that many carbs and adjust accordingly. I know, personally, I have a hard time with a high volume of food but people have no problem with it. Other than that, it looks solid. Also make sure you try and change it up, too, so you don't get tired of the same foods day-in and day-out. Also, just so you know, meal-timing isn't super important so don't stress about always getting your shakes in PWO and pre-bed.

Most definitely be rigid with tracking while you get used to it - you'll be amazed at how much you're not eating even if you think you're eating a lot. While it's a pain and an invest, getting a small food scale is also pretty handy because measuring cups and things of that nature aren't the most accurate for portion sizes (I recently found out that method had me overestimating my intake).

Chilis, soups, stews, and stir-frys are always good bets. Will provide links to a few good ones once I have more time.

I wouldn't worry about percents, per se. Setting your macro ratio is based upon what makes you feel better (i.e. what allows you to eat the kind of foods you actually enjoy) while also helping you reach your goals. Some people do better with a higher fat and lower carb ratio, others the opposite. See which one makes you feel better/eat the foods you enjoy more - just make sure you're getting a good amount of both day-in and day-out. My personal recommendation is raising your fat a bit and lower carbs, especially if you have an issue with putting back a lot of food since you get more bang for your caloric buck with fats.

Organic Raw Food Protein bars are pretty awesome. The Simply Bar is also good, too. The former is easier to find but they're both available for purchase by the case on Amazon.com.

Pounds. For example, for me: 123 x 10 x 1.5 = 1845.

Everything in Nicholas's posts is spot on. Though, I'd give it 2-3 weeks just because it'll take a little while for the body (and mind) to adjust between high fat or high carb; also don't forget to try out cycling (high-carb/low fat on lift days; lower-carb/higher fat on non-lift days) because that does wonders for some people, too.

I always recommend counting calories. Why? Because people either over- or -under-estimate their intake (usually the opposite of what they're trying to accomplish) and, therefore, end up spinning their wheels trying to accomplish their goals. Just because you think you're eating over your maintenance doesn't mean you are - to see real progress and changes, you have to track your calories/macros and be consistent with your diet, training, and counting.

Since you're probably already relatively lean, I would recommend finding out your caloric needs (usually your BWx10x1.5 to factor in activity level if you don't want to get really technical with it) and eat slightly over that in order to build more muscle - maybe something like 200 calories over, making sure you're getting 1g of protein per pound of body weight. Aside from making sure you have carbs and protein after a work out, just fill in the rest of your calories with a ratio of carbs:fat that you find personally satisfying and make sure you're lifting heavy so those few extra calories are going toward building muscle. The foods you listed are spot-on for doing that, it's just a matter of making sure you're eating the right amounts of them in order to facilitate muscle growth.

Robert, that whole list is impressive but these names, specifically, definitely stand out for me. Congrats on having yet another successful year and thank you for always being such a huge inspiration and motivator for chasing after my own dreams.

The Performance Optimizer is the only pre-work out supplement I've ever tried that I've felt actually gave me an edge when lifting. I have yet to try the recovery accelerator and haven't found a place around me that carries the bars to try them out, though.

If your goal is to gain muscle mass, adding in cardio means you're burning more calories and, therefore, do not have as many to build muscle from. If your goal is to lose weight while retaining muscle mass and you're eating a caloric deficit, you need to make sure you're getting enough protein in while also lifting heavy and not going so far into a caloric deficit that you're losing a substantial amount of muscle.

What are your goals and stats and could you be more specific with serving/portion sizes?

Mixing pea with brown rice is the best way to go about it. I'm currently using a 65/35 split and it's actually not terrible - I prefer it to the soy powder I was using beforehand. Other than using Vega, which I've found to be the best pre-mixed powder on the market, I'd recommend checking out ordering a comparable split from either MyProtein or TrueProtein - both of which are vegan friendly and pretty good when you're strapped for cash. If someone's really set on soy, though, both of those sites carry it. I just find the texture and taste to be rather bland and I already get a decent amount of soy protein eating TVP and drinking soy milk.

This thread's a bit dated but ... to be fair, you can lose weight and eat chips, sweets, and chug sodas all you want. For losing weight, it's as simple as this: eat less calories than what you need to maintain your current weight. There is no such thing as eating "right" in terms of weight lose - it's all about calories in vs. calories out. Of course, just eating chips and sweets at a caloric deficit isn't going to garner the best results but you will lose weight doing so.