healthy way to get loads of calories

robertscott · Post by **robertscott** » Thu Feb 19, 2009 7:10 am

Being as skinny as me has certain benefits, like never putting on any fat, ever. It also makes it damn hard to put on any muscle unless i hit about 4000 calories a day. I usually just about manage this, but the thing is the foods i eat are rubbish. Loads of really calorific processed foods (pizza mostly) and gallons of chocolate milk which i think is starting to mess with my stomach.

If anyone can suggest a way i can get loads of calories but in a healthy way I'd appreciate any suggestions

Post by **stuward** » Thu Feb 19, 2009 9:40 am

The following are high calorie foods that are packed with nutrients.
Fats: Olive Oil, coconut, avacodo, wild fish, nuts, meat, cheese. Don't forget CLA and Omega 3 supplements if you don't have access to grass fed meats. Canned herring is high in Omega 3, low in mercury and is dirt cheap (at least in Atlantic Canada).
Carbs: Sweet potatoes, Oats, Brown rice, potatoes, whole grains, beans.
Proteins: Grass fed beef, game meats, eggs, chicken, wild fish, whey powder.

If you base your diet on the above foods, you can avoid processed foods that are high in sugar and seed oils. I'm not a big fan of milk because not everyone can tolerate it. If you can, go ahead.

KPj · Post by **KPj** » Thu Feb 19, 2009 11:24 am

I'm naturally lean and used to really struggle puttin on mass, until I stopped trying to put on mass and just concentrated on lifting heavy things, but that could be coincidental.

First, just a little emphasis on the nuts - buy some mixed nuts asap and get into the habbit snacking on them. Lot's of calories in them. It's an easy way to 'sneak' calories in to your diet, in top of what you already eat. Plus, you more than likely don't get enough fat. Note: that's healthy fat. Ignore the stupid adverts on TV just now about saturated fat, the british heart foundation of all people don't know the difference between saturated fat and trans fats. Neither do the Food Standards Agency. Anyway, I need to stop myself there before I rant for 3000 words.

I'm not sure what your eating plan is, but that could be the answer. What Stuward listed is brilliant, just use those foods. You need to eat frequently - every 2-3 hours, or as close to that as possible, especially with a body type like yours.

Maximise your peri-workout nutrition. Try and have a shake before it, sip one during it, have one after, then eat 1-2 hours after that. I get around 700 calories peri-workout, then I eat dinner 1-2 hours after working out (around 500 calories).

Make sure you eat a good breakfast. Infact, if you don't have breakfast just now (I say this because I know your a student!), then make having breakfast your top priority i.e. have breakfast THEN come talk to us

Don't be scared of getting fat. I'm not telling you to TRY and get fat. But if you worry about it too much you won't eat enough. It's not like you'll get fat over night anyway.

Don't blow it at the weekends. A lot of people eat great during the week, then fall off at the weekend. Drinking lots of alcohol and not eating much at all. This only screws you up. Puts you right back at square one every Monday, so you take a step forward and a step back week on week. Essentially, you don't get anywhere. This food thing needs to be constant - you need to keep it up.

Think that's about all i can think of.

KPj

KPj · Post by **KPj** » Thu Feb 19, 2009 11:48 am

ok something else popped into my head.

Don't be 'that guy' that complains he can't put on weight, yet, 'needs' to do cardio between lifting days.

Just don't.

KPj

Rucifer · Post by **Rucifer** » Thu Feb 19, 2009 5:25 pm

I actually think cardio can help if you're trying to put on weight. Not the act of it itself, but that it can stimulate your appetite pretty hardcore. After a good cardio/hiit session, 2-3 hours later I'm starving. And that's after downing a protein shake right after the session. That's why I don't know a lot of people who can loose weight just running- cause they eat the calories right after they are done running.

anandsr21 · Post by **anandsr21** » Fri Feb 20, 2009 12:06 am

Loads of really calorific processed foods (pizza mostly) and gallons of chocolate milk which i think is starting to mess with my stomach.

If you want to gain muscle (and don't mind a little fat) what's wrong with these foods. Pizza if made with the traditional ingredients is very healthy. Even the Pizza hut variety should not be too bad.

Also GOMAD (a Gallon Of Milk A Day) is suggested by the experts for gaining muscle and fat. It probably is the fastest way to gain muscle. If it is raw and from grass fed cows even better. At least have full cream milk.

KPj · Post by **KPj** » Fri Feb 20, 2009 4:34 am

Rucifer wrote:I actually think cardio can help if you're trying to put on weight.

Well, it doesn't need to hurt. However, to put on weight you need to eat more calories than you burn. Cardio between lifting days just burns more calories, yet, won't do much in terms of adding mass.

Seems a bit extreme, but some people genuinely need to eat a tonne to put on mass - why make it more difficult by burning even more calories and then having to eat even more to be able to achieve that?

I'm not saying it's always bad to do - it's not. But, when someone is struggling, I think they need to be as brutal as possible, until they start seeing results, THEN start tweaking things, and seeing what they can get away with.

KPj

Post by **stuward** » Fri Feb 20, 2009 5:17 am

anandsr21 wrote:
Loads of really calorific processed foods (pizza mostly) and gallons of chocolate milk which i think is starting to mess with my stomach.
If you want to gain muscle (and don't mind a little fat) what's wrong with these foods. Pizza if made with the traditional ingredients is very healthy. Even the Pizza hut variety should not be too bad.

Also GOMAD (a Gallon Of Milk A Day) is suggested by the experts for gaining muscle and fat. It probably is the fastest way to gain muscle. If it is raw and from grass fed cows even better. At least have full cream milk.

Most pizza is made with highly refined flour and with processed meats. Yes, it's OK occasionally but as a staple, it's not terribly healthy. The cheese bothers some people.

The gallon of milk is fine for people that can tolerate it and are relatively young. In a lot of places it is still illegal to sell raw milk so that's not always an option. You're right about the full fat milk.

Remember the OP said his diet was "starting to mess with my stomach". That probably comes from too much milk and cheese.

robertscott · Post by **robertscott** » Mon Feb 23, 2009 1:24 pm

thanks for the advice guys, a lot to consider. As for GOMAD I'm pretty sure drinking all the chocolate milk i do as a mass gainer is what's messing with my stomach. If i drink it with a meal i am ok, but if I drink it instead of a meal then I'll be hurtin'.

I never have time for breakfast, ever. I'm not a morning person and generally sleep pretty terribley so every second in the morning counts and breakfast is low priority. On the days I'm in college early in the morning I can usually grab a bacon roll after an hour or so in class which is about the best i can do usually, despite it not being exactly protein or calorie laden. I guess I'll just have to get that sorted.

And yeah I muck up my eating at weekends, I generally spend at least one night drinking heavily and lose a day or two feeling too rough and lazy to bother making food.

I'm not scared of getting fat either, I don't think it'll happen anytime soon no matter what my diet.

Going back to GOMAD, will that be worse for my stomach than the chocolate milk? I'd like to give it a try (even though it is a stupendous amount of milk!) I've heard that lactose intolerance is to do with milk and sugar, am I wrong about this and milk on its own will be hard going?

robertscott · Post by **robertscott** » Mon Feb 23, 2009 1:25 pm

oh yeah and as for cardio: I hate cardio! I never do any kind of endurance exercise at all, and i doubt i ever will

Post by **stuward** » Mon Feb 23, 2009 1:31 pm

You should look into your inability to get a good nights sleep. I know I have trouble if I eat chocolate in the evening. I wake up after a couple of hours wide awake. I'm sure there are other things that can cause it as well but that's something I have to be careful of. Alcohol is another.

I'm not sure what a bacon roll is but as far as fast food goes, a bacon mcmuffin from MacDonalds is not a bad breakfast. 2 would be better. If you're watching carbs, throw away the bun.

ninjackn · Post by **ninjackn** » Mon Feb 23, 2009 7:27 pm

Lactose intolerance has to do with milk sugar where your body is unable to break down lactose, a sugar found in milk. Even if you're not lactose intolerant, drinking too much milk may have an ill effect. Not all is lost, you can buy the low/no-lactose milk or the pills to help with lactose digestion. Personally I find the pills to be ridiculously expensive and the low/no-lactose milk to be slightly expensive when compared to regular milk.

As for breakfast, try to find at least invest 10 seconds to open the refrigerator door. You can easily prepare things in advance for breakfast. Hard boiled eggs are a good example. Just remember to grab them in the morning on your way out.

@stuward
I don't know if you already know this but chocolate has a decent amount of caffeine in it.[/i]

Post by **ironmaiden708** » Mon Feb 23, 2009 9:51 pm

ninjackn wrote:Lactose intolerance has to do with milk sugar where your body is unable to break down lactose, a sugar found in milk. Even if you're not lactose intolerant, drinking too much milk may have an ill effect. Not all is lost, you can buy the low/no-lactose milk or the pills to help with lactose digestion. Personally I find the pills to be ridiculously expensive and the low/no-lactose milk to be slightly expensive when compared to regular milk.

As for breakfast, try to find at least invest 10 seconds to open the refrigerator door. You can easily prepare things in advance for breakfast. Hard boiled eggs are a good example. Just remember to grab them in the morning on your way out.

@stuward
I don't know if you already know this but chocolate has a decent amount of caffeine in it.[/i]

Lactase pills are useless depending on how bad the lactose intolerance is.

robertscott · Post by **robertscott** » Tue Feb 24, 2009 8:14 am

maybe I'm not lactose intolerant, I don't know. I think i might have mentioned this already but it only seems to mess with my stomach if i drink it without eating anything at the same time.

I would be gutted if i had to give up the chocolate milk, a litre of the stuff has over 1000 calories and 40 grams of protein. I drink it instead of protein shakes because they REALLY went for my stomach.

As for my sleep patterns it just depends, there doesn't seem to be much of a pattern to it. Sometimes i just don't sleep, at all.

anandsr21 · Post by **anandsr21** » Wed Feb 25, 2009 1:53 am

I guess avoiding any caffeine/nicotine products is the only thing that will help. No coffee no tea no chocolates. I also have similar problem sometimes I also cannot sleep. But there is not much that I can do about it. I have stopped drinking and eating caffeine related things. The only exception is morning coffee or tea or chocolate.