Author Topic: Mustachian Weight Lifting - Eating for Size  (Read 5706 times)

Zola.

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 421
  • Location: UK
  • Let's do this.
Mustachian Weight Lifting - Eating for Size
« on: March 08, 2018, 07:20:20 AM »
I do gym work a few days a week and also BJJ (grappling) a couple of times a week. I love both, BUT BJJ burns so many calories that I am losing size and strength gains, faster than I can make or maintain them :(

I need a little help with easy calorie dense foods to help me maintain, I have dropped 5kg in the last 2 years (11lbs) from all the grappling.

My eating habits haven't changed, but I do eat a large cooked lunch every day (chilli con carne oer something like that), and a big dinner at night.

I am after some mustachian advice as to what I can eat to grow, or at least maintain size.

Ideally with less meat, as I eat it every linch and dinner, every day! :/



My diet looks something like this:

Breakfast
100g oats with semi skimmed milk and a sliced apple

Snack
Toast / apple / snickers

Lunch 
Chilli con carne with rice  / shepherds pie / spag bol with pasta  / chicken with roasted veg and sweet potato /  curry and rice

Dinner
something like as above

(usually rotated between these, I batch cook on sundays for lunch and dinner, and freeze a lot of it)

Evening Snack

Toast with peanut butter or some junk s**t

Davnasty

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 2793
Re: Mustachian Weight Lifting - Eating for Size
« Reply #1 on: March 08, 2018, 08:36:43 AM »
I would start by trying to come up with a daily caloric intake goal and writing down everything you eat. Even if you're only asking for advice on cheap, calorie dense foods, I think writing things down will help you realize where you're falling short and possibly eating way less than you think you are.

As for cheap healthy calories, I would recommend switching to whole milk. If you're not against whey protein powders you should look for an online seller of plain powder sold in 5-25 lb bags. I get plain whey protein concentrate for around $0.50/serving of 24g protein. Compare that to the cheapest flavored protein powder I've found which is closer to $0.80/serving.

You could also try using more fats and oils in the dishes you've already mentioned. When you're already at a calorie deficit, there's nothing unhealthy about adding some fat like butter, olive oil, and even some animal fats. Unfortunately the cheapest fats like vegetable oils are often extracted under high heat and probably aren't as healthy but even expensive fats are cheaper than most fresh foods on a per calorie basis.

Not sure what your current cooking style is but if you're buying meat with bones or other waste parts you can use any scraps to make broth and rendered fat. I use both when I cook rice or other grains to add fat and protein to an otherwise all carb dish.

And beans. Have we mentioned beans yet? Dry beans, lentils, peas, chickpeas... they can all be eaten plain, cooked with vegetables and fats, pureed, added to soup. Find the cheapest dry beans in your area, prices can vary significantly, and try to eat them at least once a day.
« Last Edit: March 08, 2018, 08:46:24 AM by Dabnasty »

Schaefer Light

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1328
Re: Mustachian Weight Lifting - Eating for Size
« Reply #2 on: March 08, 2018, 08:44:06 AM »
I eat a lot of peanut butter sandwiches, eggs, and chicken.  My advice wold be to figure out how many calories you're currently consuming and start ramping up until you get to a point where you can at least maintain your weight.  Then add calories until you can gradually gain weight (if that's what you're trying to do).  It took some trial and error for me.

GuitarStv

  • Senior Mustachian
  • ********
  • Posts: 23128
  • Age: 42
  • Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Re: Mustachian Weight Lifting - Eating for Size
« Reply #3 on: March 08, 2018, 09:00:43 AM »
I had a similar problem as you when competing in BJJ and trying to move up a weight class.  I was training six days a week, five two hour BJJ sessions, three hour long heavy barbell sessions (squats/deadlifts/lunges/ohp/bench/weighted chinups/weighted dips).  When I started tracking everything that went in my mouth it was very obvious - the problem ended up just being volume of food.  Eating clean I would always get full after about 3000 calories a day . . . and I needed about 5500 to gain.

Some snack ideas:
- Cottage cheese w/frozen blueberries
- Several handfuls of nuts (almonds, walnuts, pistachios, cashews, sunflower seeds) w/chocolate chips
- Peanut butter w/chocolate chips and banana melted into oatmeal
- Get your favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe, replace half the flour with protein powder, triple the number of eggs, and throw in a bunch of nuts . . . then eat the raw cookie dough - great stuff post workout
- 50/50 whole milk mixed with chocolate milk
- Oven grilled/salted chickpeas
- Grilled sweet potatoes (throw 'em in the oven with some salt, oil, and rosemary)
- Full fat yogurt w/raisins + nuts

Try to drink a lot of calories too (I normally only drink water, but replacing this with whole milk adds quite a few extra calories and a fair amount of protein).  Always eat something immediately before you go to bed.  Don't drink any booze, it impedes the process that your body uses to repair/build muscle.

Another thing to check is your resting heart rate each morning.  It's fairly easy to overtrain.  If your resting heart rate jumps or drops 15 or more bpm from where it normally is, decrease your workload to give your body time to recover.  It is more difficult to gain weight if you're overtaining.

Beard N Bones

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 168
  • Location: Canada
Re: Mustachian Weight Lifting - Eating for Size
« Reply #4 on: March 08, 2018, 09:11:56 AM »
I do gym work a few days a week and also BJJ (grappling) a couple of times a week. I love both, BUT BJJ burns so many calories that I am losing size and strength gains, faster than I can make or maintain them :(

I need a little help with easy calorie dense foods to help me maintain, I have dropped 5kg in the last 2 years (11lbs) from all the grappling.

My eating habits haven't changed, but I do eat a large cooked lunch every day (chilli con carne oer something like that), and a big dinner at night.

I am after some mustachian advice as to what I can eat to grow, or at least maintain size.

Ideally with less meat, as I eat it every linch and dinner, every day! :/



My diet looks something like this:

Breakfast
100g oats with semi skimmed milk and a sliced apple

Snack
Toast / apple / snickers

Lunch 
Chilli con carne with rice  / shepherds pie / spag bol with pasta  / chicken with roasted veg and sweet potato /  curry and rice

Dinner
something like as above

(usually rotated between these, I batch cook on sundays for lunch and dinner, and freeze a lot of it)

Evening Snack

Toast with peanut butter or some junk s**t

Lots of great advice has already been given. 
- Eat more calorie rich food.  (ie. peanut butter/milk/yougurt/whey protein smoothies).  Eating more calories isn't a mustachian thing to do - but it is the only thing you can do if you want to regain/gain weight.  Its trying to determine which calorie rich foods are the most inexpensive.
- I would add, reading a few good articles on the matter will help.  I highly recommend the following two sites for good strength training (and associated information) articles:
https://www.elitefts.com/tag/elitefts-articles/
https://www.t-nation.com/all-articles

Davnasty

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 2793
Re: Mustachian Weight Lifting - Eating for Size
« Reply #5 on: March 08, 2018, 09:37:07 AM »
Nothing's cheaper than free!

https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/welcome-to-the-forum/ok-so-who-*really*-dumpster-dives/

Your ability to find discarded food depends greatly on the stores around you and how they dispose of food. Not sure how common compactors are in the UK but they ruin a lot of the diving opportunities in my area. I do this mostly for fresh fruits and vegetables which aren't high calorie but they are important to stay healthy.
« Last Edit: March 08, 2018, 09:39:09 AM by Dabnasty »

Lady SA

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 556
  • Age: 32
  • Location: Midwest
Re: Mustachian Weight Lifting - Eating for Size
« Reply #6 on: March 08, 2018, 09:41:56 AM »
Your diet doesn't seem to be robust enough for all the activities you are doing. You need to bump up the healthy fats and non-meat protein. Easiest way to add fats is when you are batch cooking, use extra butter or olive oil (makes it more delicious too!), and use whole fat dairy whenever possible (added benefit: whey protein). Your meals become more filling too. Then for protein, you need more nuts (these also have healthy fats!) and you can easily add some protein powder to your diet. Also include more eggs into your diet!! Hummus and veggies are a better snack (hummus is also full of protein and good nutrients, plus the veggies you eat with it)

Also, I would investigate adding a recovery drink to your workout regimen within 30 minutes after your workouts. It helps quickly replace the nutrients and calories you depleted, while boosting protein to help muscle recovery. You can get powder to mix your own at ~$2 per serving.


My husband and I are endurance athletes and train for 12+ hours per week. This requires a lot of calories (we burn 600-1000 extra calories per workout), but we have things dialed in pretty well and eat very healthy:

Breakfast: homemade green smoothie: raw almonds, whole fat unsweetened almond milk, frozen spinach, banana, frozen berries, dried dates

Lunch: usually a meat protein w/ veggie sauce over carbs (rice/noodles/potatoes): stir fry, pesto/chicken/sweet potato pasta, stew, soups, chow mein, burrito bowls, egg bake, chicken risotto, jambalaya, stroganoff.
We eat a lot of legumes, eggs, dairy, and many, many veggies. The sauces are made with full fats and lots of spices. Most times when we are cooking we substitute or add in extra fats on the fly.

Snack: homemade hummus and fresh vegetables (broccoli, red and green peppers, cauliflower, tomatoes, carrots, anything fresh at the store that looks good), trail mix (nuts and fruit), granola, chocolate and peanut butter on toast

Workouts: bananas/fruits, granola, electrolyte drink, and recovery drinks (see above)

Dinner: same as lunch, lunch is leftovers

Dessert (of course!): cookies, cake, whole-fat yogurt and berries, chocolate... oh and homemade banana bread (made with full-fat sour cream or yogurt)! Or lemon blueberry bread! mmmm I need to bake something tonight...
« Last Edit: March 08, 2018, 11:20:29 AM by Lady SA »

Davnasty

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 2793
Re: Mustachian Weight Lifting - Eating for Size
« Reply #7 on: March 08, 2018, 10:07:59 AM »
Eggs! How could I forget eggs?

Eggs are good cheap calories, the hard part for me is finding a way to get a lot of them down. I like eggs but I usually enjoy 2-3. After that it's work to eat number 4-8 and that's still only 560 calories. If you have time to seperate and cook the whites (with 1-2 yolks) then drink the rest of the yolks raw it makes getting them down a little easier.

RyanAtTanagra

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1316
  • Location: Sierra Mountains
Re: Mustachian Weight Lifting - Eating for Size
« Reply #8 on: March 08, 2018, 10:20:04 AM »
So I have a similar problem with just having a hard time getting enough calories to gain.  I'm as active as you, but I also just don't have a huge appetite.  The biggest change I made is with breakfast.  I'm never hungry in the mornings, it takes a while for my stomach to wake up, so I started doing high calorie smoothies in the mornings, which since I'm just drinking it, it tricks my stomach.  I make a 1000 calorie smoothie, which gets me off to a good start for getting enough calories for the day.  My recipe, if you want to try it, play with it:

1 cup whole milk (150 cal)
1/2 cup rolled oats (150 cal)
1 banana (100 cal)
2 heaping cups frozen fruit (200 cal).  I'll alternate and mix strawberries/blueberries/pineapple/mango.  Trader Joe's is great for cheap frozen fruit.
2 Tbsp peanut butter (200 cal)
2 Tbsp olive oil (200 cal)
---------------------------
Total (1000 cal)

It perfectly fills up a quart sized mason jar.  If I do this before I go to work it's early enough that I'm hungry when lunch time comes around.  If I waited until I could eat to have breakfast, I wouldn't be hungry for lunch until 2pm, then not for dinner until almost bedtime, so getting breakfast in early just sets me up for an overall better day of eating, and having it be 1000 cal gives me a good head start.  If you want more calories you can do coconut milk instead of cow's.  I would, but I hate coconut.

Cromacster

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1695
  • Location: Minnesnowta
Re: Mustachian Weight Lifting - Eating for Size
« Reply #9 on: March 08, 2018, 10:55:18 AM »
I see no eggs and no whole chicken with olive oil smoothies.  Are you sure you want to gain weight?

/s

Lots of good advice.  You obviously aren't eating enough for your goals

One website I would add to checkout is Eat to Perform

The mustachian way is going to be lots of chicken thighs, white rice, and whole milk.

- Get your favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe, replace half the flour with protein powder, triple the number of eggs, and throw in a bunch of nuts . . . then eat the raw cookie dough - great stuff post workout

And goddamn, if thats not the best postworkout I've ever heard of!
« Last Edit: March 08, 2018, 10:59:24 AM by Cromacster »

Davnasty

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 2793
Re: Mustachian Weight Lifting - Eating for Size
« Reply #10 on: March 08, 2018, 12:22:54 PM »
So I have a similar problem with just having a hard time getting enough calories to gain.  I'm as active as you, but I also just don't have a huge appetite.  The biggest change I made is with breakfast.  I'm never hungry in the mornings, it takes a while for my stomach to wake up, so I started doing high calorie smoothies in the mornings, which since I'm just drinking it, it tricks my stomach.  I make a 1000 calorie smoothie, which gets me off to a good start for getting enough calories for the day.  My recipe, if you want to try it, play with it:

1 cup whole milk (150 cal)
1/2 cup rolled oats (150 cal)
1 banana (100 cal)
2 heaping cups frozen fruit (200 cal).  I'll alternate and mix strawberries/blueberries/pineapple/mango.  Trader Joe's is great for cheap frozen fruit.
2 Tbsp peanut butter (200 cal)
2 Tbsp olive oil (200 cal)
---------------------------
Total (1000 cal)

It perfectly fills up a quart sized mason jar.  If I do this before I go to work it's early enough that I'm hungry when lunch time comes around.  If I waited until I could eat to have breakfast, I wouldn't be hungry for lunch until 2pm, then not for dinner until almost bedtime, so getting breakfast in early just sets me up for an overall better day of eating, and having it be 1000 cal gives me a good head start.  If you want more calories you can do coconut milk instead of cow's.  I would, but I hate coconut.

I'll second this, getting started early makes hitting calorie goals easier. My recipe is very similar:

2 cups whole milk (300 cal)
1/2 cup rolled oats (150 cal)
1 banana (100 cal)
2 Tbsp peanut butter (200 cal)
30g whey protein (120 cal)
30g almonds (160 cal) - caution: sometimes nuts don't blend completely. olive oil or more pb may be a better choice.

When I add frozen fruit it gets too thick to drink. What is the consistency like with your recipe? Mine could certainly use some more flavor.

honeybbq

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1468
  • Location: Seattle
Re: Mustachian Weight Lifting - Eating for Size
« Reply #11 on: March 08, 2018, 12:31:19 PM »
Agree with what others have said - when I'm in season training I eat lots of:

- hard boiled eggs (I get the individually wrapped ones from Costco, facepunch away!)

- Costco has breakfast sandwiches with a sausage replacement that are actually really tasty and keep me full.

- don't forget other proteins: cheese sticks, cottage cheese, yogurt.

- I eat a handful or 2 of mixed nuts for a snack

- apple with peanut butter

- homemade protein smoothies: PB and yogurt, banana, flax and chia seeds, etc. Sometimes I make green smoothies with kale/spinach using the costco power bag

Lady SA

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 556
  • Age: 32
  • Location: Midwest
Re: Mustachian Weight Lifting - Eating for Size
« Reply #12 on: March 08, 2018, 12:32:41 PM »
So I have a similar problem with just having a hard time getting enough calories to gain.  I'm as active as you, but I also just don't have a huge appetite.  The biggest change I made is with breakfast.  I'm never hungry in the mornings, it takes a while for my stomach to wake up, so I started doing high calorie smoothies in the mornings, which since I'm just drinking it, it tricks my stomach.  I make a 1000 calorie smoothie, which gets me off to a good start for getting enough calories for the day.  My recipe, if you want to try it, play with it:

1 cup whole milk (150 cal)
1/2 cup rolled oats (150 cal)
1 banana (100 cal)
2 heaping cups frozen fruit (200 cal).  I'll alternate and mix strawberries/blueberries/pineapple/mango.  Trader Joe's is great for cheap frozen fruit.
2 Tbsp peanut butter (200 cal)
2 Tbsp olive oil (200 cal)
---------------------------
Total (1000 cal)

It perfectly fills up a quart sized mason jar.  If I do this before I go to work it's early enough that I'm hungry when lunch time comes around.  If I waited until I could eat to have breakfast, I wouldn't be hungry for lunch until 2pm, then not for dinner until almost bedtime, so getting breakfast in early just sets me up for an overall better day of eating, and having it be 1000 cal gives me a good head start.  If you want more calories you can do coconut milk instead of cow's.  I would, but I hate coconut.

I'll second this, getting started early makes hitting calorie goals easier. My recipe is very similar:

2 cups whole milk (300 cal)
1/2 cup rolled oats (150 cal)
1 banana (100 cal)
2 Tbsp peanut butter (200 cal)
30g whey protein (120 cal)
30g almonds (160 cal) - caution: sometimes nuts don't blend completely. olive oil or more pb may be a better choice.

When I add frozen fruit it gets too thick to drink. What is the consistency like with your recipe? Mine could certainly use some more flavor.

A vitamix (it is expensive though) grinds almonds/nuts down completely. We have frozen fruit in our smoothies and when it gets a bit thick, we add more milk until the consistency is better. The nuts/oats absorb liquid so put a splash more than you think is necessary.

RyanAtTanagra

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1316
  • Location: Sierra Mountains
Re: Mustachian Weight Lifting - Eating for Size
« Reply #13 on: March 08, 2018, 12:56:33 PM »
When I add frozen fruit it gets too thick to drink. What is the consistency like with your recipe? Mine could certainly use some more flavor.

It's pretty thick, but that's mostly due to the oats and the minimal milk.  I doubt frozen berries would add too much thickness.  Blueberries do the best for flavor, but strawberries are usually cheapest.

trollwithamustache

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1146
Re: Mustachian Weight Lifting - Eating for Size
« Reply #14 on: March 08, 2018, 01:10:57 PM »
GOMAD.

wenchsenior

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3789
Re: Mustachian Weight Lifting - Eating for Size
« Reply #15 on: March 08, 2018, 01:12:14 PM »
So I have a similar problem with just having a hard time getting enough calories to gain.  I'm as active as you, but I also just don't have a huge appetite.  The biggest change I made is with breakfast.  I'm never hungry in the mornings, it takes a while for my stomach to wake up, so I started doing high calorie smoothies in the mornings, which since I'm just drinking it, it tricks my stomach.  I make a 1000 calorie smoothie, which gets me off to a good start for getting enough calories for the day.  My recipe, if you want to try it, play with it:

1 cup whole milk (150 cal)
1/2 cup rolled oats (150 cal)
1 banana (100 cal)
2 heaping cups frozen fruit (200 cal).  I'll alternate and mix strawberries/blueberries/pineapple/mango.  Trader Joe's is great for cheap frozen fruit.
2 Tbsp peanut butter (200 cal)
2 Tbsp olive oil (200 cal)
---------------------------
Total (1000 cal)

It perfectly fills up a quart sized mason jar.  If I do this before I go to work it's early enough that I'm hungry when lunch time comes around.  If I waited until I could eat to have breakfast, I wouldn't be hungry for lunch until 2pm, then not for dinner until almost bedtime, so getting breakfast in early just sets me up for an overall better day of eating, and having it be 1000 cal gives me a good head start.  If you want more calories you can do coconut milk instead of cow's.  I would, but I hate coconut.

Ryan's advice is good. He advised me the same a few years ago and it worked. I have a very slow digestive system and thus cannot eat bulky foods or slow digesting food to gain weight, and I can't eat a lot of sugar because of severe reactive hypoglycemia, AND I don't tolerate dairy well.  Thus, I kept sliding down to 100lbs, about 10-15 lbs below my low-but-healthy weight.  I had been relying on tons of nut oils and olive oils, but that just made me feel SOOO full and slowed digestion down even more.

High calorie smoothies (hemp milk was esp helpful) early in the day was the key for me to stop struggling so much, and with some strength training I was able to gain about 10 lbs (a huge accomplishment).

RyanAtTanagra

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1316
  • Location: Sierra Mountains
Re: Mustachian Weight Lifting - Eating for Size
« Reply #16 on: March 08, 2018, 02:52:31 PM »
High calorie smoothies (hemp milk was esp helpful) early in the day was the key for me to stop struggling so much, and with some strength training I was able to gain about 10 lbs (a huge accomplishment).

wenchsenior, glad it helped!  I forgot to mention the hemp milk, thanks for adding that.  For those that don't like/can't do cow milk, hemp is a good alternative.  Soy and almond milks are only 40cal/cup, whereas hemp is 140, so when more calories is the goal, it's a good second choice.

Barbaebigode

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 201
Re: Mustachian Weight Lifting - Eating for Size
« Reply #17 on: March 09, 2018, 05:29:20 AM »
I was having a similar problem when I started commuting and taking my son to the daycare by bicycle. I saw a bar recipe that pack a lot of calories and it's something like this:

100g peanut butter (100% peanuts, not the crunchy type)
100g flaked oats
100g powdered milk
60g honey/molasses (original recipe was 100g, but I thought it was too sweet)
20g cocoa powder (100% cocoa, optional)

Mash it all in a bowl*, flatten the dough on a tray between two plastic bags and chill in the fridge. When it gets more consistent, use a heavy knife to cut into bars.

* It WILL look as if it's too dry and will never get to a dough consistency, it takes a little faith and a lot of mashing. If you decide that it needs more wet stuff, only add it after mashing a lot and everything is thoroughly mixed. Adding too much wet stuff will turn your bars into a sticky delicious mess.

And of course you can tweak this recipe by adding powder protein, chocolate chips, raisins, etc.
« Last Edit: March 09, 2018, 05:41:27 AM by Barbaebigode »

genesismachine

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 100
Re: Mustachian Weight Lifting - Eating for Size
« Reply #18 on: March 09, 2018, 10:33:49 AM »
It sounds like you're not too far off on your calories if you only lost 11 pounds in 2 years. If you want to gain weight, and are patient, you might only have to up your calories by a few hundred a day.

Your breakfast looks really small (volume). One trick would be to just eat 10% more volume of whatever you're already eating at every snack/meal. Or just add some peanut butter or protein powder to your breakfast oatmeal.

Nothing drastic seems needed here. If you want to eat a lot more, search "eating 10,000 calories a day". It follows Robert Oberst around for a day (strongman competitor). That is SERIOUS eating!

gutts

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 34
Re: Mustachian Weight Lifting - Eating for Size
« Reply #19 on: March 10, 2018, 05:11:35 PM »
Buckwheat!!!
Too lazy to read all of the posts, so if someone has already suggested it, I am sorry

chasesfish

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 4376
  • Age: 41
  • Location: Florida
Re: Mustachian Weight Lifting - Eating for Size
« Reply #20 on: March 10, 2018, 05:23:29 PM »
What a great thread to read!  Not much to add other than add two eggs in the morning and start enjoying peanut butter whole milk yogurt

MrThatsDifferent

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2317
Re: Mustachian Weight Lifting - Eating for Size
« Reply #21 on: March 10, 2018, 06:33:01 PM »
Agree with what others have said - when I'm in season training I eat lots of:

- hard boiled eggs (I get the individually wrapped ones from Costco, facepunch away!)

- Costco has breakfast sandwiches with a sausage replacement that are actually really tasty and keep me full.

- don't forget other proteins: cheese sticks, cottage cheese, yogurt.

- I eat a handful or 2 of mixed nuts for a snack

- apple with peanut butter

- homemade protein smoothies: PB and yogurt, banana, flax and chia seeds, etc. Sometimes I make green smoothies with kale/spinach using the costco power bag

Da fuq? You can’t boil your own eggs?

brute

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 691
Re: Mustachian Weight Lifting - Eating for Size
« Reply #22 on: March 10, 2018, 09:57:29 PM »
Eggs. Chicken leg and thigh quarters. Oils. Carbs are easy, rice, oats, pasta. It comes down to how bad you want it. It reminds of of Dave Tate's westside bulking story.

Here's a quick story.
There was a time at the Old Westside gym where I couldn't gain weight to save my fucking life.

There was this dude who trained there who could just put on weight like fucking magic. He'd go from 198 to 308 and then to 275 and back down to 198. And he was never fat. It was amazing.

I finally asked him one day how he did it.

"You mean I never told you the secret to gaining weight? Come outside and I'll fill you in."

Now remember, we're at Westside Barbell. And this guy wants to go outside to talk so no one else can hear. Think about that for a minute. What the hell is he going to tell me? This must be some serious shit if we have to go outside, I thought.

So we get outside and he starts talking.

"For breakfast you need to eat four of those breakfast sandwiches from McDonalds. I don't care which ones you get, but make sure to get four. Order four hash browns, too. Now grab two packs of mayonnaise and put them on the hash browns and then slip them into the sandwiches. Squish that shit down and eat. That's your breakfast."

At this point I'm thinking this guy is nuts. But he's completely serious.

"For lunch you're gonna eat Chinese food. Now I don't want you eating that crappy stuff. You wanna get the stuff with MSG. None of that non-MSG bullshit. I don't care what you eat but you have to sit down and eat for at least 45 minutes straight. You can't let go of the fork. Eat until your eyes swell up and become slits and you start to look like the woman behind the counter."

"For dinner you're gonna order an extra-large pizza with everything on it. Literally everything. If you don't like sardines, don't put 'em on, but anything else that you like you have to load it on there. After you pay the delivery guy, I want you to take the pie to your coffee table, open that fucker up, and grab a bottle of oil. It can be olive oil, canola oil, whatever. Anything but motor oil. And I want you to pour that shit over the pie until half of the bottle is gone. Just soak the shit out of it."

"Now before you lay into it, I want you to sit on your couch and just stare at that fucker. I want you to understand that that pizza right there is keeping you from your goals."

This guy is in a zen-like state when he's talking about this.

"Now you're on the clock," he continues. "After 20 minutes your brain is going to tell you you're full. Don't listen to that shit. You have to try and eat as much of the pizza as you can before that 20-minute mark. Double up pieces if you have to. I'm telling you now, you're going to get three or four pieces in and you're gonna want to quit. You fucking can't quit. You have to sit on that couch until every piece is done.

And if you can't finish it, don't you ever come back to me and tell me you can't gain weight. 'Cause I'm gonna tell you that you don't give a fuck about getting bigger and you don't care how much you lift!"

Did I do it? Hell yeah. Started the next day and did it for two months. Went from 260 pounds to 297 pounds. And I didn't get much fatter. One of the hardest things I've ever done in my life, though.

wenchsenior

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3789
Re: Mustachian Weight Lifting - Eating for Size
« Reply #23 on: March 11, 2018, 09:20:33 AM »
Eggs. Chicken leg and thigh quarters. Oils. Carbs are easy, rice, oats, pasta. It comes down to how bad you want it. It reminds of of Dave Tate's westside bulking story.

Here's a quick story.
There was a time at the Old Westside gym where I couldn't gain weight to save my fucking life.

There was this dude who trained there who could just put on weight like fucking magic. He'd go from 198 to 308 and then to 275 and back down to 198. And he was never fat. It was amazing.

I finally asked him one day how he did it.

"You mean I never told you the secret to gaining weight? Come outside and I'll fill you in."

Now remember, we're at Westside Barbell. And this guy wants to go outside to talk so no one else can hear. Think about that for a minute. What the hell is he going to tell me? This must be some serious shit if we have to go outside, I thought.

So we get outside and he starts talking.

"For breakfast you need to eat four of those breakfast sandwiches from McDonalds. I don't care which ones you get, but make sure to get four. Order four hash browns, too. Now grab two packs of mayonnaise and put them on the hash browns and then slip them into the sandwiches. Squish that shit down and eat. That's your breakfast."

At this point I'm thinking this guy is nuts. But he's completely serious.

"For lunch you're gonna eat Chinese food. Now I don't want you eating that crappy stuff. You wanna get the stuff with MSG. None of that non-MSG bullshit. I don't care what you eat but you have to sit down and eat for at least 45 minutes straight. You can't let go of the fork. Eat until your eyes swell up and become slits and you start to look like the woman behind the counter."

"For dinner you're gonna order an extra-large pizza with everything on it. Literally everything. If you don't like sardines, don't put 'em on, but anything else that you like you have to load it on there. After you pay the delivery guy, I want you to take the pie to your coffee table, open that fucker up, and grab a bottle of oil. It can be olive oil, canola oil, whatever. Anything but motor oil. And I want you to pour that shit over the pie until half of the bottle is gone. Just soak the shit out of it."

"Now before you lay into it, I want you to sit on your couch and just stare at that fucker. I want you to understand that that pizza right there is keeping you from your goals."

This guy is in a zen-like state when he's talking about this.

"Now you're on the clock," he continues. "After 20 minutes your brain is going to tell you you're full. Don't listen to that shit. You have to try and eat as much of the pizza as you can before that 20-minute mark. Double up pieces if you have to. I'm telling you now, you're going to get three or four pieces in and you're gonna want to quit. You fucking can't quit. You have to sit on that couch until every piece is done.

And if you can't finish it, don't you ever come back to me and tell me you can't gain weight. 'Cause I'm gonna tell you that you don't give a fuck about getting bigger and you don't care how much you lift!"

Did I do it? Hell yeah. Started the next day and did it for two months. Went from 260 pounds to 297 pounds. And I didn't get much fatter. One of the hardest things I've ever done in my life, though.

How horrifying.  That makes me never want to eat again.   I'll just try to be happy with my little 10 lb gains LOL.

facepalm

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 431
  • Location: California
Re: Mustachian Weight Lifting - Eating for Size
« Reply #24 on: March 11, 2018, 10:07:12 AM »
I do gym work a few days a week and also BJJ (grappling) a couple of times a week. I love both, BUT BJJ burns so many calories that I am losing size and strength gains, faster than I can make or maintain them :(


It would be helpful if we knew your vitals: Height, weight, BF percentage.

When you say you are losing strength gains, what do you mean, exactly? That your squat or other PRs have gone down? How much of the weight you dropped over the past year was actual muscle? Wehn dropping weight, it is usually a combination of muscle and fat; which is why using weight lost as a metric sometimes yields an inaccurate picture of what is happening. PRs dropping? Much better metric.

A sport like BJJ is very efficient at stripping mass. Nature of the beast. Unless you are a genetically gifted Dean Lister, it can be difficult to keep extra muscle mass. When I did JJ hardly anyone i worked out with could remain big without eating a ton.

Easiest way to maintain or gain weight? GOMAD. Search for Ripptoe's comments on the subject. There is no magic bullet or superfood that will get you there. You need lots of calories. Easiest, cheapest way to get extra calories is milk and whey shakes. Very mustachian, and better than eating junk or making fancy inedible meals.

GLWYT.
« Last Edit: March 11, 2018, 10:15:04 AM by facepalm »

MrThatsDifferent

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2317
Re: Mustachian Weight Lifting - Eating for Size
« Reply #25 on: March 11, 2018, 02:07:43 PM »
Eggs. Chicken leg and thigh quarters. Oils. Carbs are easy, rice, oats, pasta. It comes down to how bad you want it. It reminds of of Dave Tate's westside bulking story.

Here's a quick story.
There was a time at the Old Westside gym where I couldn't gain weight to save my fucking life.

There was this dude who trained there who could just put on weight like fucking magic. He'd go from 198 to 308 and then to 275 and back down to 198. And he was never fat. It was amazing.

I finally asked him one day how he did it.

"You mean I never told you the secret to gaining weight? Come outside and I'll fill you in."

Now remember, we're at Westside Barbell. And this guy wants to go outside to talk so no one else can hear. Think about that for a minute. What the hell is he going to tell me? This must be some serious shit if we have to go outside, I thought.

So we get outside and he starts talking.

"For breakfast you need to eat four of those breakfast sandwiches from McDonalds. I don't care which ones you get, but make sure to get four. Order four hash browns, too. Now grab two packs of mayonnaise and put them on the hash browns and then slip them into the sandwiches. Squish that shit down and eat. That's your breakfast."

At this point I'm thinking this guy is nuts. But he's completely serious.

"For lunch you're gonna eat Chinese food. Now I don't want you eating that crappy stuff. You wanna get the stuff with MSG. None of that non-MSG bullshit. I don't care what you eat but you have to sit down and eat for at least 45 minutes straight. You can't let go of the fork. Eat until your eyes swell up and become slits and you start to look like the woman behind the counter."

"For dinner you're gonna order an extra-large pizza with everything on it. Literally everything. If you don't like sardines, don't put 'em on, but anything else that you like you have to load it on there. After you pay the delivery guy, I want you to take the pie to your coffee table, open that fucker up, and grab a bottle of oil. It can be olive oil, canola oil, whatever. Anything but motor oil. And I want you to pour that shit over the pie until half of the bottle is gone. Just soak the shit out of it."

"Now before you lay into it, I want you to sit on your couch and just stare at that fucker. I want you to understand that that pizza right there is keeping you from your goals."

This guy is in a zen-like state when he's talking about this.

"Now you're on the clock," he continues. "After 20 minutes your brain is going to tell you you're full. Don't listen to that shit. You have to try and eat as much of the pizza as you can before that 20-minute mark. Double up pieces if you have to. I'm telling you now, you're going to get three or four pieces in and you're gonna want to quit. You fucking can't quit. You have to sit on that couch until every piece is done.

And if you can't finish it, don't you ever come back to me and tell me you can't gain weight. 'Cause I'm gonna tell you that you don't give a fuck about getting bigger and you don't care how much you lift!"

Did I do it? Hell yeah. Started the next day and did it for two months. Went from 260 pounds to 297 pounds. And I didn't get much fatter. One of the hardest things I've ever done in my life, though.

How horrifying.  That makes me never want to eat again.   I'll just try to be happy with my little 10 lb gains LOL.

This was like reading the eating plans of Olympic male swimmers. You need to be burning insane amounts of calories to make this even somewhat workable. Oh and helps to be a younger man.

Cromacster

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1695
  • Location: Minnesnowta
Re: Mustachian Weight Lifting - Eating for Size
« Reply #26 on: March 12, 2018, 08:20:40 AM »
Eggs. Chicken leg and thigh quarters. Oils. Carbs are easy, rice, oats, pasta. It comes down to how bad you want it. It reminds of of Dave Tate's westside bulking story.

Here's a quick story.
There was a time at the Old Westside gym where I couldn't gain weight to save my fucking life.

There was this dude who trained there who could just put on weight like fucking magic. He'd go from 198 to 308 and then to 275 and back down to 198. And he was never fat. It was amazing.

I finally asked him one day how he did it.

"You mean I never told you the secret to gaining weight? Come outside and I'll fill you in."

Now remember, we're at Westside Barbell. And this guy wants to go outside to talk so no one else can hear. Think about that for a minute. What the hell is he going to tell me? This must be some serious shit if we have to go outside, I thought.

So we get outside and he starts talking.

"For breakfast you need to eat four of those breakfast sandwiches from McDonalds. I don't care which ones you get, but make sure to get four. Order four hash browns, too. Now grab two packs of mayonnaise and put them on the hash browns and then slip them into the sandwiches. Squish that shit down and eat. That's your breakfast."

At this point I'm thinking this guy is nuts. But he's completely serious.

"For lunch you're gonna eat Chinese food. Now I don't want you eating that crappy stuff. You wanna get the stuff with MSG. None of that non-MSG bullshit. I don't care what you eat but you have to sit down and eat for at least 45 minutes straight. You can't let go of the fork. Eat until your eyes swell up and become slits and you start to look like the woman behind the counter."

"For dinner you're gonna order an extra-large pizza with everything on it. Literally everything. If you don't like sardines, don't put 'em on, but anything else that you like you have to load it on there. After you pay the delivery guy, I want you to take the pie to your coffee table, open that fucker up, and grab a bottle of oil. It can be olive oil, canola oil, whatever. Anything but motor oil. And I want you to pour that shit over the pie until half of the bottle is gone. Just soak the shit out of it."

"Now before you lay into it, I want you to sit on your couch and just stare at that fucker. I want you to understand that that pizza right there is keeping you from your goals."

This guy is in a zen-like state when he's talking about this.

"Now you're on the clock," he continues. "After 20 minutes your brain is going to tell you you're full. Don't listen to that shit. You have to try and eat as much of the pizza as you can before that 20-minute mark. Double up pieces if you have to. I'm telling you now, you're going to get three or four pieces in and you're gonna want to quit. You fucking can't quit. You have to sit on that couch until every piece is done.

And if you can't finish it, don't you ever come back to me and tell me you can't gain weight. 'Cause I'm gonna tell you that you don't give a fuck about getting bigger and you don't care how much you lift!"

Did I do it? Hell yeah. Started the next day and did it for two months. Went from 260 pounds to 297 pounds. And I didn't get much fatter. One of the hardest things I've ever done in my life, though.

How horrifying.  That makes me never want to eat again.   I'll just try to be happy with my little 10 lb gains LOL.

This was like reading the eating plans of Olympic male swimmers. You need to be burning insane amounts of calories to make this even somewhat workable. Oh and helps to be a younger man.

Day in a life of the Worlds Strongest Man, around 12,000 calories

https://youtu.be/YQEJyjKTH9g?t=3m38s

Quote from: Brian Shaw
Eating for me is the hardest part.  It's constant, you don't ever stop.  From the time you wake up you eat literally to the time you go to bed.  Then when I wake up in the morning the first thing I do is eat.  Then I do it all day again.  I don't ever get to just chill out and you know I'm not gonna eat.  That's not an option.  But the training is fun.  People think the training is the hard part, it's not really because thats fun.  I get to go let loose and train and do what I want to do.  But this [eating] is what helps me perform.  So it kind of goes hand in hand.  You get to train for a few hours during the day, but this is all day, constantly.  It's a necessary evil.

GuitarStv

  • Senior Mustachian
  • ********
  • Posts: 23128
  • Age: 42
  • Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Re: Mustachian Weight Lifting - Eating for Size
« Reply #27 on: March 12, 2018, 10:03:32 AM »
Man, I have to figure that developing those habits has got to seriously fuck you up when you eventually retire from training.

whitethunder

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 22
Re: Mustachian Weight Lifting - Eating for Size
« Reply #28 on: March 12, 2018, 10:41:26 AM »
Why are you training so much?

One suggestion: wake up in the middle of the night to eat. My bodybuilder friend did this during his competitive days. Like other posters have said, it comes down to how bad you want it. If you do want it, you need to EAT. Try upping your potion sizes, too. For example, instead of 2 eggs have 6; instead of one cup of oatmeal have 2. You may have to play with the numbers because your body might not absorb all the nutrients if you eat frequent large meals. On the other hand, look up Brian Shaw Eating on YouTube and you'll see what you need to do!

You can use money-saving apps to reduce the cost of this mountain of a task. Eating can become a full-time job depending on how much mass you want to carry.

Zola.

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 421
  • Location: UK
  • Let's do this.
Re: Mustachian Weight Lifting - Eating for Size
« Reply #29 on: March 13, 2018, 03:52:57 AM »
Thanks for all the replies! Very helpful.

I have started drinking whole milk in between meals, thats something I will seek to add in more each day. I havent bought whey protein in about 2 or 3 years!

I am also eating now before bed whether I am hungry or not. Also have two big peanut butter sandwiches to eat here in work on either sides of lunch!



« Last Edit: March 13, 2018, 03:57:30 AM by Zola. »

Cromacster

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1695
  • Location: Minnesnowta
Re: Mustachian Weight Lifting - Eating for Size
« Reply #30 on: March 13, 2018, 07:59:16 AM »
Man, I have to figure that developing those habits has got to seriously fuck you up when you eventually retire from training.

Well that and the steroids...

brute

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 691
Re: Mustachian Weight Lifting - Eating for Size
« Reply #31 on: March 13, 2018, 08:40:12 AM »
Man, I have to figure that developing those habits has got to seriously fuck you up when you eventually retire from training.

Well that and the steroids...

What? No, never! The Hulkster taught me it was saying my prayers that would get me that big!