“Eat more food” is generally what is recommended to anyone like myself trying to gain weight. I’ve been eating as much as I can but I feel like I’m constantly cooking and eating. I’ve gained 4 pounds in two weeks and dropped 1%bf so it’s working. I’m looking for tips on what specifically you big guys eat to gain weight as well as tips to help cut down the cooking.
Currently I eat 2-3 protein shakes with 28oz 2% milk, lots of eggs, fish, chicken, sausage, pasta, sandwiches, yogurt, quinoa, rice, bagels w/cream cheese or butter, fruit, nuts.
My next idea was to make a huge portion of fried rice, just eggs and rice fried in a little olive oil with soy sauce, and then use that as a quick meal.
Seriously? You are aware there’s a whole “Articles” section here, with “star” ratings set by the general populace, and a discussion thread for each/all of them???
4 lbs in 2 weeks while reducing bodyfat? don’t change anything, cause you’re on a great pace. Once progress stalls then worry about changing things up.
I’ve put on 3 lbs in the past month (while trying to gain weight), while cutting 3.5% bodyfat. No changes here until I see that I’m no longer progressing.
what has really helped me is Berardi’s Popeye Smoothie in his “Gourmet meets nutrition” article.
I’ve read the articles about top 10 superfoods with broccoli and blueberries and gourmet cooking but like I said, I’m spending all day cooking. Even if I average 20 mins cooking per meal x 6 meals that’s 2 hours of cooking a day.
So if anyone has suggestions on what they like and what works for them then I’d love to hear it. Otherwise move on, I don’t want to hear from you.
You could look into a “raw diet”. It is supposedly very healthy, very efficient, and not as risky as one might think. I know that for me I’d have a very hard time with it, and I eat my beef incredibly rare - but it’s still a jump to “raw” http://www.google.com/search?q=raw+diet+for+humans
Do you have a slow-cooker? I use mine to make pork tenderloins and beef roasts in quantity. I’ve done chicken too but it can’t cook all day like “sturdier” meats do. I then portion it, refrigerate a few days worth and freeze the rest. There’s still time required for the portioning, but actual “attended time” for the cooking is reduced. This is good for fatty meats for those cutting fats as it will mostly cook off.
Much depends on the equipment you have in the kitchen. If you’ve got one 8" skillet and a 2 quart pot you’re fairly limited in options.
In general, what works for me is making quantities and learning to eat things at room temperature or possibly cold from the fridge. There are obvious exceptions - scrambled eggs will not translate well to a dish “kept for later”. It takes only slightly longer to cook 6 chicken breasts than it does one (but then I’ve got a 13" Circulon pan)
Finally, if you’re not efficient in the kitchen (and only you an gauge that) there’s LOTS of on-line recipes for “quick meals” - they might not be perfect as-is, but you may find a more effective means of cooking that works for you.
You want foods that are ‘nutrient dense’. You’ll discover tricks to hide calories the longer you’re at this. Natural peanut butter has long been a favorite trick of mine (eating a spoonful after every normal meal will give you an added 1000+ calories over the entire day), or even drinking a protein shake as the beverage with your meals.
I recall one of the first times I tried seriously bulking. I was at work, and my lunch was two tuna sandwiches on whole wheat bread, a bananna, and a myoplex shake (people stared at me like I had four heads!)
[quote]johnny-longtorso wrote:
You could look into a “raw diet”. It is supposedly very healthy, very efficient, and not as risky as one might think. I know that for me I’d have a very hard time with it, and I eat my beef incredibly rare - but it’s still a jump to “raw” http://www.google.com/search?q=raw+diet+for+humans
Do you have a slow-cooker? I use mine to make pork tenderloins and beef roasts in quantity. I’ve done chicken too but it can’t cook all day like “sturdier” meats do. I then portion it, refrigerate a few days worth and freeze the rest. There’s still time required for the portioning, but actual “attended time” for the cooking is reduced. This is good for fatty meats for those cutting fats as it will mostly cook off.
Much depends on the equipment you have in the kitchen. If you’ve got one 8" skillet and a 2 quart pot you’re fairly limited in options.
In general, what works for me is making quantities and learning to eat things at room temperature or possibly cold from the fridge. There are obvious exceptions - scrambled eggs will not translate well to a dish “kept for later”. It takes only slightly longer to cook 6 chicken breasts than it does one (but then I’ve got a 13" Circulon pan)
Finally, if you’re not efficient in the kitchen (and only you an gauge that) there’s LOTS of on-line recipes for “quick meals” - they might not be perfect as-is, but you may find a more effective means of cooking that works for you.[/quote]
If I’m not mistaken, I do believe your body is only able to digest roughly half the amount of nutrients from raw meats. I could be wrong.
[quote]naughtybox wrote:
Throw in a couple unhealthy meals. Taco Bell, Burger King, some pizza. Using one in place of a PW meal is ideal, imo.
Hypertrophy and Strength gains come from taking in more calories than you expend.[/quote]
why include “unhealthy” meals? that right there should be point enough.
granted, maybe once in a blue moon it won’t make a big difference on overall health or body comp. But there are many ways to include nutritious calories in bulk.
Hell, I make my own protein balls out of PB, whey/casein mix, along with other ingredients (size of a golf ball), and they top 200 cals/per ball, and packed with good nutrition.
And using “unhealthy” meals for PWO, while may not lead to fat gain, I’d rather store better nutrients in my body than garbage.
There are numerous articles on there showing that shitty food, ones with saturated fat and high calories increase size, strength and actually lean body mass if done correctly.
You cannot just live off of peanut butter and whey protein. You need a full, solid meal, not 50/50.
Using a crap meal as a postworkout feeding is just plain stupid. Fat slows digestion and that’s the last thing you want after training. ANy other time of day, and I’d certainly see no problem with it, especially if you have an excessively sluggish metabolism.
A couple times a week i go out and get fast food or eat at a restaurant. I see no problem with it at all. I couln’t imagine doing it after a workout though. It might make me want to vomit.
My brother used to swear by DInty Moore Beef Stew. He’d buy a bunch of those cans at a local BJ’s and just nuke it whenever he was hungry. If I recall, while not exactly health foods, they had a good number of cals, prot, and even good carbs.
I’ve actually taken to buying Turkey Chile in a can myself (local Trader Joe’s). Great when you don’t feel like cooking, maybe 450/500 cals per can, 40+g prot, not a lot of sat fat, and pretty low sugar. It does have a lot of sodium though, but if you’re not really concerned, it convenient as hell. I usually toss some shredded cheese on top and just go to town.
Don’t eat crap food. Or at least, don’t make it a habit. Adhere to the same 90% rule as you would cutting.
Whatever you’re doing, it’s WORKING! If you’ve added 4 lb and lost 2% bf in 2 weeks, you are on a great track. Don’t change things up if you’re not stalled and/or getting chubby.
As far as cooking, the biggest thing is to just cook all your weekly meals (except maybe breakfast) on Saturday or Sunday. That way you don’t have to cook at all the entire week. Tupperware is your friend–store up your meals. put your meat in the freezer–funk starts to appear after about 5 days. Anyway that should cut down on cooking time.
Is there a problem with drinking too much milk? Right now I’m drinking about 64oz 2% milk per day, if I double that then I’ll have no problem keeping up with my calories. Anyone currently drink a gallon per day?