Well in the last couple of months i've been bulking and part of the diet consists of: 2 whole cooked eggs per day and 2 full glasses of milk per day and i consume a protein shake with (30g protein, 30g sugar!! in it) every second day or so (mainly after workouts)...

These are the main things i've added to my diet along with eating more of what i was eating before (was already good healthy protein rich food) and eating more often...

Problem is... the skin on my face! 1 or 2 pimples popping up every week, a couple of whiteheads as well and i dont know if this is related but terrible red spots all over my face from shaving!! especially under my chin and on the cheek nearer to the mouth.

Are the eggs, milk or sugar in the protein shakes causing this or wat?? If i cut them out then i will really struggle to bulk... especially without the protein shakes....

help! thanks

You may have a problem with diary products.

One of my kids had a really bad case of acne - a kid with a ' love ' of all things dairy....ate a TON of dairy products....milk, yogurt, cheese, cottage cheese.

We were doing some reading about dairy and decided to cut out all dairy from the diet to see if it helped ( look up ' elimination diet ' on Google ) ...remember it takes about 3 months for your body to really reflect the ' full extent' of diet changes, but the difference after a 2 month period of ' no dairy ' was amazing. I'd say a 80%+ improvement in complexion.

Remember, protein shakes are usually made from whey, and whey is derived from cheese, which is derived from milk ( dairy ).

You may want to talk to a doctor or nutritionist etc. first, but some 'trial and error' on your part - i.e. eliminate all dairy for 6 weeks - might be worth a try...couldn't hurt.

Thanks for the advice

I've already decided... milk, eggs and protein shakes are GONE! Not much point having big muscles if the skin on your face is terrible.... id rather have the clear skin.

I guess cheese is out as well... but i didn't eat too much of that anyway as it makes me feel sick... especially pizza... so thats gone.

1. Is soy milk still ok? not much... just a bit to mix with cereal (not the crap high sugar breakfast cereal).
2. I'm really going to struggle to bulk now... any advice on high protein, high calorie foods that don't fill you up for hours. Tuna?

Eggs may still be O.K....why not keep taking eggs and just cut out all dairy for 6 weeks or so ?

Yup. Cheese is dairy....made from milk.

I see no problem with that......or the occasional soy based protein bar as well...just no whey based protein bars.

That's the trouble, dairy is such a good source of protein....especially at breakfast.

That leaves you with the other usual suspects - fish, chicken, other lean meats, eggs, peanut butter, raw nuts / seeds, most beans, etc.

Beyond that, double check the protein content of other common foods - i.e 3 cups of cooked pasta is about 20 grams of protein I think - as there may far more other readily available ' fair ' sources of protein out there than you think

Do you sweat a lot? That helps with cleaning out the dirty pores.

I have acne as well, although it's pretty clear on forehead (just red spots/scars) with a few on both sides of my head. I personally can handle no eggs (I eat them though) but not without yogurt. I need them...a lot. Skim milk plain whole fat with 14 grams of protein does wonder for the body building so that would be the only dairy I wouldn't give up. Beside, dairy is mainly the only significant source (in term of the amount of serving) and we all need calcium to build strong bones don't we?