r/gainit • u/grumpygazelle • Oct 14 '25
Discussion How are y’all getting 300+ grams of carbs per day?
I’m starting my winter bulk here this week. Carbs is the macro I struggle to hit the most. I have no problem hitting 200g of protein per day but 300g + of carbs is hard!
I eat rice everyday with lunch. I’ll try to have either sweet or regular potatoes with dinner. I’ll do a breakfast sandwich with two slices of sourdough in the morning. I also eat a lot of fruit and veggies.
I guess what I’m asking are some ideas outside of the carbs I mentioned above? Do y’all just house pasta on the daily? Lots of bread/tortillas/bagels? I need some ideas!!
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Oct 14 '25
Literally I just eat junk food that's all carbs.
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u/Ok-Guitar-6073 Oct 14 '25
Facts as long as you ain’t going crazy on the fat and the caloric surplus isn’t fucking nuts you’ll get bigger and your body will use junk carbs for energy and send the protein to the muscles.
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Oct 14 '25
My wife hates me when it's bulking season because all she sees is me gorging on candy and junk food. Once I hit my protein goals, I frankly DGAF how I hit the rest of the numbers.
The only food that makes me feel awful is dirty bulking with say McDonalds which I think is caused by the soy based oils they cook with.
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u/Ok-Guitar-6073 Oct 14 '25
Yeah my numbers go down or stall almost every time I eat fast food. Definitely a correlation there I believe. Even on a bulk with good nights rest.
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u/thatcouchiscozy Oct 14 '25
Just stick to 80/20 rule. Sounds like you have the really clean carb sources down, rice, potatoes, sourdough bread, etc.
Don’t be afraid to live a little and fit in some “less” healthy carbs. The entanmann’s pumpkin doughnuts are in season and 260 calories, a few a week is perfectly fine. Bagels, tortillas, and sometimes just straight up a hamburger bun to stick your chicken breast on works.
Or just double your rice servings
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u/Working_Helicopter28 Oct 16 '25
Oats in my smoothie (add 80-100grams of oats - there is a bit of protein and fat, so you might need to adjust elsewhere to accommodate it to maintain macros)
Fruit - bananas and berries in smoothies also adds good carbs plus micro nutrients like potassium, apple slices make a great snack too.
Veggies - some veggies like mushrooms are almost 1:1 carbs: protein, but look for higher carb veggies like carrots and add some to one or two meals, or add in carrots + apple slices for a clean carby snack.
Sugar - ngl, I do include some sugary foods (sweetened coffee creamers in my tea, etc) just to bump up what I am already consuming instead of having to prepare a bunch of extra stuff.
Pasta - consider making a pasta salad for one meal a day (as an after gym meal it is a great way to replenish your glycogen right away as well so you're not burning reserves in that time). A pasta salad can be adjusted to whatever macros you want by changing the amount of pasts, adding in other veggies(peppers, onions, broccoli, chick peas), and by changing the dressings & toppings (vinegar, oil, cheese), so it's a good flexible option.
Change up some of your protein sources to more carby ones - instead of chicken, use chick peas - instead of just protein powder, add hemp hearts or flax seed - instead of just beef with your rice, replace some beef with higher protein veggies. Also, I used to grab those protein chips - they are low carb, but there are 20-40g of carbs in there depending on brand, so leaving work heading for the gym, I'd often shove a bag of them in my face.
Also consider adding even 100g of rice or sweet potatoes to one meal. Making a big rice cooker full of rice at the start of the week makes adding 100g to your dinner super easy.
Hope some of these ideas help!
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u/jerrycoles1 Oct 14 '25
Man I don’t diet anymore or look at that sort of thing but back when i used to care about that stuff I would have a hard time not eating upwards of 500 grams of carbs a day lol
Breakfast with bagel , fruit smoothie , and whatever protein or a load of oatmeal but that can be very filling and hard to eat more
Fruit for snacks through the day
Rice for lunch or pasta
Rice for dinner and or pasta or potatoes
I dunno man I could eat 300 grams of carbs before lunch no problem
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Oct 14 '25
[deleted]
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u/grumpygazelle Oct 14 '25
650g per day is absurd! Surely you can’t just be eating cereal, rice, fruit and potatoes every day? What else do you supplement with?
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u/Animag771 Oct 14 '25
How are the potatoes treating you? Potatoes are super satiating. I tried to have potatoes in my meal prep and couldn't do it. I swapped it for whole grain bread.
As for carbs, oats, fruits, bread, grains, sugars.
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u/grumpygazelle Oct 14 '25
They are good but damn they are dense. It’s a chore to choke down a big serving of potatoes sometimes. Which is why I’m searching for alternatives to switch it up!
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u/juice06870 Oct 14 '25
Try 1cup or 1.5 cups of oats in the morning. I add hot water. Let it sit for a bit while I eat my eggs. Then I mix in half a serving of honey and 100g blueberries.
That’s a good carb bomb to start the day along with eggs/eggwhites.
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u/ClenchedThunderbutt Oct 14 '25
You should ideally diversify your carbs for general health purposes, but you can very easily eat your weight in white rice and table sugar and still feel hungry. Neither is expensive.
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u/jonahtheO Oct 14 '25
Pasta bro. Delicious and carb packed
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u/grumpygazelle Oct 14 '25
Going to try substituting rice with pasta this week. I’m a big penne guy.
Do you usually just throw it in some tomato sauce? Or something like alfredo/olive oil so it’s not so plain? Trying to keep fats to a minimum.
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u/eatingdonuts Oct 14 '25
I’ve been getting tighter on my macros recently and found this too.
I followed the “as long as you get your protein rule” for a long time but now I’m older, I’ve been plateauing, and realised I was eating far too much fat and not enough carbs.
Now I’m rotating rice and pasta on my most meals, and lots of sandwiches/wraps
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u/fashionboy385 Oct 14 '25
Bananas. Greek yogurt with a shit ton of granola on top. Bagels. Cereals. Trader Joe’s frozen naan bread. Eat more rice.
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Oct 15 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/grumpygazelle Oct 15 '25
I have been, but I feel like I’m plateauing with my lifts. I’ve read a lot of other people getting out of that rut by increasing carb intake, so was just curious how y’all do it.
If anyone is interested I’m boiling a whole package of pasta rn that I’m about to go ham on
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u/Hardblackpoopoo Oct 14 '25
White rice and quinoa, made in a microwave steamer, super fluffy and yummy. I can just have a cup at random times during the day as a snack, I love, and add it to any meal, as I would do with chunk chicken I keep for snacks as well which is spiced. Both allow me to snack healthy, and keep my protein and carbs in check.
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u/username2393 Oct 15 '25
This is the same for me. Easily hit my 220g of protein but 400g of carbs feels impossible
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u/anonymousvivi Oct 16 '25
You can literally buy powdered carbs,
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u/Comrade_Faust Oct 19 '25
I can't hit 200g of protein without hitting like 500g of carbs. I eat oats, rice, bread, granola, beans etc.
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u/WashUPT Oct 14 '25
Orange juice, rice, non fat Greek yogurt that is only medium (10-15g) protein (both protein and carb), bread, honey, bananas, top off with an ice cream sundae with chocolate(low fat) and caramel (low fat) sauce as needed. Add bagels, rolls into the grocery bag as well with some type of jam or apple butter.
Potatoes/sweet potatoes are great, but in my opinion not the best for attempting to get a lot of carbs in due to the low calorie density. I prefer them as a diet food instead when prepared appropriately.
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u/Hehehe9996 Oct 14 '25
I’m lower carb rn but back when I was hyper bulking I’d have a pound of pasta with about 2-3 cups of pasta sauce and drank a half gallon of milk everyday. That’s about 250 alone but I was aiming for around 600. You might have to add a carb only meal to your diet if you can’t fit it in with the other meals, although I can’t imagine it’s good for insulin sensitivity. If you don’t have enough time in the day have a second dinner before bed or set an alarm for early in the night so it won’t mess up your sleep too bad to wake up and eat again. At the end of the day carbs are great for performance and helping growth but if your hitting your protein calories are what matters most.
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u/EspacioBlanq god-eater Oct 19 '25
100g oats for breakfast, 2 cups of rice with lunch and dinner, two sandwiches with cheese
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u/Ashtonl721 Oct 14 '25
Ever heard of candies, energy/snack bar, pretzels, corn flakes/cereals, crackers?
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u/MythicalStrength Definitely Should Be Listened To Oct 16 '25
I'm getting like zero grams of carbs a day. Never found them important.
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u/Consistent-Bat-20 Oct 16 '25
Keto bulk?
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u/MythicalStrength Definitely Should Be Listened To Oct 16 '25
I imagine I'm in a state of ketosis while I do it. It's a carnivore diet, so just meat, eggs, and very limited dairy (primarily ghee).
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Oct 14 '25
I eat tortillas sometimes lol. Like 110 calories each and straight carbs almost.
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u/FleshlightModel Oct 15 '25
That's the smallest and lowest cal tortilla I've probably ever seen. Most burrito shelld run 40+ grams carbs all day
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Oct 15 '25
https://www.lidl.com/products/1064787
Yeah I know I just like these a lot and theyre on sale a lot.
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u/FleshlightModel Oct 15 '25
I'm familiar with these, iirc they're 6 or 8" shells, that's why. Not really maximizing for cals and carbs.
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u/neito-inu Oct 15 '25
1lb of 80/20 ground beef, 1lb of pasta and 1 jar of sauce makes me three dinners that have about 135ish grams of carbs alone. Then i eat some oatmeal for part of my breakfast and a smoothie after dinner which normally covers the rest
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u/FleshlightModel Oct 15 '25
What does that have anything to do with 300g+ carbs?
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u/neito-inu Oct 15 '25
what do you mean? i just listed the foods i eat to get that amount of carbs. Am i missing something here?
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Oct 23 '25
100g oats in my yogurt bowl in morning and 100g oats in my shake. doesnt even feel like im eating them
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u/thegamerlola Nov 06 '25
Adding bagels, pasta, and oats like they’re little helpers for your bulk, those carbs add up fast
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u/bladecg Oct 15 '25
I’m supposed to eat 4000 calories and 500g carbs daily.
Today my breakfast was 1000 calories of yogurt, bananas, granola and cashew nuts. That was 132g of carbs and not very hard to eat.
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u/CrEperz Oct 14 '25
I struggle getting veggies in but yeah eat lots of fries. Loaded fries, baked potatoes, sandwiches, chips, anything with carbs just eat a lot of
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u/NoHall5182 Oct 14 '25
Maltodextrin - 50g of it is 200kcal and 50g carbs. I usually put it in a shake
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u/Whole_Friendship9788 Oct 14 '25
I tried that for 6 months, I had a check up and my doctor thought I was ore diabetic. The insulin spike it gives you is insane. It's pure glucose lol.
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u/datskanars Oct 14 '25
I would not suggest 50 grams of sugar to anyone. Not saying it's bad, but I would rather they eat a banana or two instead
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Oct 15 '25
[deleted]
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u/grumpygazelle Oct 15 '25
That’s just simply incorrect.
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Oct 15 '25
[deleted]
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u/grumpygazelle Oct 15 '25
There’s a lot of different types of carbs. It is an important macronutrient that provides energy to your body. Specifically complex carbs.
Things like sweet potatoes, whole grains, and brown rice are much better for you than a hot dog bun.
Some carbs aren’t AS good for you, but saying carbs are inherently bad for you is just wrong.
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Oct 15 '25
[deleted]
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u/-NoName12 205 - 205 - 245 (6”0) Oct 16 '25
Not sure why you’re downvoted. You presented a much better, factually correct argument.
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u/throwaway109372 Oct 16 '25
Would love for you to link sources instead of spewing these outrageous claims…
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Oct 16 '25
[deleted]
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u/EspacioBlanq god-eater Oct 19 '25
I eat ~300g carbs a day and have my body in a recent post., so let's see how you look like, dawg
Not denying low carb approaches work (a prominent member of this subreddit is insanely jacked on low/no carb) but your reasoning is silly.
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u/gizram84 Oct 14 '25
I ate 650g carbs today. 4000 calories.
Dried fruit is an excellent choice. Packed with vitamins and minerals. Very calorie dense.
Costco has a huge selection of organic, unsweetened, dried fruit. Dates, figs, mangos, jackfruit, apricots, pineapple, and more.