Should you ever be hungry while bulking? This is a question that seems to come up a lot. So many people seem to be hungry, even while in a caloric surplus and putting on weight during a bulk. So, I looked into this issue and found an answer that may surprise you…
Yes. Even while in a caloric surplus and gaining weight, it is possible and even normal to be hungry at times. However, you shouldn’t be hungry that often. If you are constantly hungry, there may be a few reasons for this:
- You think you are gaining weight, but you are actually not
- You’re eating too much junk food with lots of calories and not enough healthy food
- You are putting in too much time and/or intensity in the gym
- Not properly timing your meals
Now, let’s go over each of these in turn.
Before that though, check out this great video from YouTuber Massive Iron – Steve Shaw on this topic:
Are You Actually Gaining Weight While Bulking?
This question may seem a bit silly on its face. But, a lot of people who believe themselves to be “bulking” are not actually gaining weight. Or not gaining enough for it to be significant in terms of muscle gain. Many people either:
- Don’t weigh themselves (consistently)
- Guess at how much they should be eating
- Are misled by numbers they received from a calorie counter online
You need to actually record your weight while bulking. I recommend recording your weight every 2-3 days. This is an aggressive pace, and don’t expect to be gaining weight this often, but at least you should make sure you aren’t losing weight.
If you are guessing at how much you should be eating, that is fine, but start taking a log of what you eat and recording your weight. If you aren’t gaining after two weeks on a certain caloric total, up the calories (by 300 or so). Wait a couple weeks and record again. Rinse and repeat.
Sometimes people are misled by online calorie counters that incorrectly estimate the number of calories you need to gain weight. If you’re using one of these, try ditching it and using the methods I mentioned of recording weight and slowly increasing calories.
Are You Eating Too Much Junk Food While Bulking?
If you are hungry while bulking all the time, it may be because you are eating too much junk food. Junk food, which contains empty calories in the form of sugar and unnecessary amounts of fat, are not filling because they are not nutritious.
Try adding more nutritious foods into your diet. Fiber and protein have both been found to contribute to the feeling of “fullness” you should be getting from a meal. Some foods high in both fiber and protein are:
- Lentils
- Peas
- Quinoa
- Beans
- Chickpeas
- Oats
- Sprouted Grain Bread
- Broccoli
Are You Putting Too Much Time and/or Intensity in the Gym?
This may be hard to admit for some of us, but it’s time we did. Sometimes we get addicted to the gym. We want to think we are capable of everything, but we’re not. I’ve definitely fallen into the trap of doing too much or pushing it too hard in the gym for too long.
One effect this can have on you is to make you hungrier. I know I’m always hungriest after a good workout. Sometimes it’s wise to scale back the time, volume, or intensity of your training. Being hungry while bulking all the time could be a good indicator you need to scale it back a bit.
If you think about it, it’s actually pretty easy to fall into this trap while bulking. While cutting, you know you are in a caloric deficit and so your training is designed (or at least should be) to accommodate that. You know you’re probably not going to be at your best strength-wise. But, when bulking, you can easily develop the false confidence of feeling like you can push any limit because you are in a caloric surplus.
If you think about it, it’s actually pretty easy to fall into this trap while bulking. While cutting, you know you are in a caloric deficit and so your training is designed (or at least should be) to accommodate that. You know you’re probably not going to be at your best strength-wise. But, when bulking, you can easily develop the false confidence of feeling like you can push any limit because you are in a caloric surplus.
Are You Properly Timing Your Meals?
Let’s think about this logically. Let’s say you need to eat 4000 calories a day in order to gain weight. You could technically eat two big meals a day, with 2000 calories in each meal. These meals could be spread 10 hours apart. And you could gain weight. But, I reckon you would still get hungry at some point in between those 10 hours, especially if a lot of those calories are coming from non-nutritious sources.
Monitor when you are eating. Are you getting enough peri-workout nutrition in? Pre, during, and post workout? Make sure you are spacing your meals out properly to avoid being hungry in between.
In Summary
There are four different tactics you can take to try if you are excessively hungry while bulking. Those four tactics are:
- Recording your weight consistently and adding calories when it isn’t moving up
- Eating less junk food and more nutrient-dense food
- Scaling back the volume and/or intensity of your training
- Timing meals so they are spaced apart evenly and consuming more calories as needed
And, remember, it is totally natural and normal to feel hungry sometimes while bulking. So, if this is you, then don’t sweat it.
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