Bulking is a huge part of fitness, it is a process where an individual eats in a caloric surplus (eating more than the daily requirement of calories) in order to gain weight and build muscle. Although this is a vital part of having a great physique, this can be done wrong by dirty bulking.
Dirty bulking is a nutrition strategy where an individual tries to consume as many calories as possible without paying attention to the quality of food that they are eating. Although this method does allow you to gain weight faster, the MAIN issue is that the accelerated weight gain is mostly comprised of fat rather than muscle.
This can lead to short-term and long-term health issues, today we are going to be breaking down the TOP 3 reasons why dirty bulking is bad for your health and why you should NOT do it. Rather you should try clean bulking, a process where you bulk but eat healthy foods instead.
1. Nutrient Deficiency
One of the main issues with dirty bulking is the high potential for there to be nutrient deficiency in the body. By focusing only on consuming as many calories as possible, without proper consideration about essential nutrients in the food, many individuals battle deficiencies of essential vitamins, minerals and micronutrients.
Deficiencies have many negative impacts on the body' s overall health such as a compromised immune system, hindrance on bodily function and the feeling of being unwell.
By clean bulking, you intake essential vitamins and minerals needed for bodily functions as well as gain muscle in a MUCH healthier way.
2. Increased GAIN IN FAT and a LOSS IN MUSCLE
The primary reason for a dirty bulk is to gain muscle. However, the MAIN side effect is the HUGE increase in overall body fat percentage. This is deemed to be unhealthy weight gain as having a higher body-fat percentage than normal is NOT a good thing for your cardiovascular health and the health of your body as a whole. Not only will your athletic performance drop, but your health will too.
By eating too much high-calorie and processed foods (junk food) as well as too much sugar and saturated fats (also junk food), you allow yourself to gain much more fat than muscle while dirty bulking which in turn will give you an undesired muscle-to-fat ratio.
This will not only hinder your physical appearance in relation to your goals, but more importantly it will cause a variety of health issues.
By having a higher body fat percentage you increase your chances of developing heart disease (due to body fat having to make the heart work harder).
Other disorders and diseases such as diabetes also comes into play as your insulin levels are much more sensitive when eating these super unhealthy foods. Other metabolic disorders and health issues also occur when dirty bulking but we won't get into those because there are TOO many to count!
Finally, even after the dirty bulk, you will have immense difficulty in the cutting phase as you would have to cut more extremely as well as for a longer period of time to shed of the body fat. This will ultimately lead to muscle loss because of being in the cut too long.
3. Hormonal Imbalance
Finally, dirty bulking will cause hormonal imbalances, especially with fluctuating insulin and leptin levels. When diets are comprised of processed and sugary foods, insulin resistance occurs. This is when the body struggles to regulate your blood sugar levels.
Moreover, hormonal imbalance in hormones like leptin (which is responsible for appetite control) will lead to dietary issues which can lead to overeating as well as further issues in managing weight in the future.
Important Things to Consider:
Although in the fitness world, only eating clean and healthy is heavily prioritized. However the only people who eat completely healthy are the people who are in fitness as their career path. 99% of people do not have to eat EXTREMELY healthy, it is okay to enjoy some of your favourite foods here and there, it's ALL ABOUT BALANCE! Just make sure you are always mindful about your health, both in the short term and the long term because at the end of the day, HEALTH IS WEALTH.
Conclusion
Overall, while dirty bulking may seem like a fast-pass to gaining muscle, the health risks associated with doing so make it an unsustainable and a bad way to gain muscle. Clean bulking is the way to go when it comes to building muscle, clean bulking makes sure there are no nutrient deficiencies and a healthy balance between macronutrients and micronutrients.
At the end of the day, we diet and exercise to be healthier, so it is crucial to consider long term health effects or benefits of your diet. Be safe and make sure that there is a balance in your diet, your job and your life!
Just a young man trying to bring fitness to the world!
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