The Big Boy's Menu Plan by J.M. Blakely

[Sensei]

I know this is an old thread, but I think it's worth bumping, and just to say one thing:

The point of the article isn't that you have to eat 10000 dirty calories a day no matter who you are and what your goals are. The point of the article is the ideas of how to get in more calories. For the whole group of "hardgainers" and ectomorphs who say they can't gain weight (I used to be part of that), you have to start gradually applying some of the concepts in this article. That doesn't mean eat 10000 calories a day right off the bat, it means throw in a candy bar here and there, add some extra mayo every now and then. If you don't have to, then don't do it, because it's obviously unhealthy. If you reach the point where you don't need to eat candy bars, mayo, etc. anymore because you've jump started your weight gain or whatever other reason, then you can stop. If you start to develop high blood cholesterol or blood pressure, then like he says, stop eating dirty. But what this article is is a collection of ideas to bust through weight gain plateaus.

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And he says a little bit more along those lines, but there ya go, it's a great article from a great lifter.

Thank you - JM is one of the best. Sadly, it's not a shock that so many people can't read an article like this and see the wisdom in it... and thank you RhodeHouse.

My reality is this - I work w. high school kids ALL THE TIME who cry about not being able to put on quality weight and almost 100% of them (and I'm not exaggerating) simply fail to put in the necessary effort at the "training table".

"What do you eat for breakfast?"
"Umm, well... My first period class is early so..."
"Sometimes I'll have some juice...."
"I had an energy bar this morning."

Very rarely do I hear a kid say "I had an orange juice, yogurt, PB&J sandwich, and topped that off with a protein shake." When I do, they are NOT a kid with a problem putting on weight.

[DontTakeEmOff31]

This article makes me want to drop my cutting phase and start eating 6000 calories a day again.

Same issue of the fear of gaining fat stopping progress. You can always cut after if that is what concerns you.

Not to derail the thread, but to the people who are used to eating like monsters. Have you done any heavy conditioning while doing a serious bulk? Did it help keep some fat off while gaining, or did it just slow the gain down overall? Always wondered about this.

[Behemoth]

There's nothing more pathetic than making excuses for not being able to gain weight. Unless you have tape worms you're a bitch if you can't.

[Sensei]

Not to derail the thread, but to the people who are used to eating like monsters. Have you done any heavy conditioning while doing a serious bulk? Did it help keep some fat off while gaining, or did it just slow the gain down overall? Always wondered about this.

Doing some cardio will go a looooong way towards just making you feel better overall - and that matters a lot when you are heavier than you'd prefer to be anyway.

Walking/hiking, unless you are going really hard and/or more than a few miles/day, shouldn't impact recovery much.

[RhodeHouse]

There's nothing more pathetic than making excuses for not being able to gain weight. Unless you have tape worms you're a bitch if you can't.

Extremely well said.

[Ender Wiggin]

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[DontTakeEmOff31]

Had a quick question about bulking overall, didn't think it was worth it to start a thread so I figured I'd post it here.

I'm getting in around 5000 - 5500 calories a day right now. About 3000 of those is from drinking (Gallon of 1% milk, whey and peanut butter shakes, glyco maize + gatorade, and results). Does it really matter that a good portion of my calories are from liquids? I'm guessing it doesn't, but was curious about it either way, as I prefer drinking the calories if I can.

[RichMcGuire]

Had a quick question about bulking overall, didn't think it was worth it to start a thread so I figured I'd post it here.

I'm getting in around 5000 - 5500 calories a day right now. About 3000 of those is from drinking (Gallon of 1% milk, whey and peanut butter shakes, glyco maize + gatorade, and results). Does it really matter that a good portion of my calories are from liquids? I'm guessing it doesn't, but was curious about it either way, as I prefer drinking the calories if I can.

It makes no difference as long as you're getting the Calories in.

[Bako Lifter]

Had a quick question about bulking overall, didn't think it was worth it to start a thread so I figured I'd post it here.

I'm getting in around 5000 - 5500 calories a day right now. About 3000 of those is from drinking (Gallon of 1% milk, whey and peanut butter shakes, glyco maize + gatorade, and results). Does it really matter that a good portion of my calories are from liquids? I'm guessing it doesn't, but was curious about it either way, as I prefer drinking the calories if I can.

Liquid or solid, its the same. But liquid calories are so much easier to consume. More than half of my cals come from milk and shakes over a 40 pound bulk. I can maybe eat up to 1,000 calories in a sitting, leaving me stuffed, but can always top it off with two cups of milk.