Eating more, but convieniently

[Saint Nick]

I am 6' 4" and about 165 lbs right now. When I started I was 6'4 and 150 lbs (in December). Cliffs at bottom.

Like many on the forum, I've been working out to build mass/gain weight. I've been relatively successful so far, but I'm having a problem getting in my 3000-3500 or so calories per day.

I lead a very busy life. From 8:30a - 2:00p, I work my internship M-F. Then, Monday and Tuesday I have night class, Wednesday night I have band practice. Thursday until Sunday night I have my nights open. I also try to get at least eight hours of sleep most nights of the week, so this means I go to bed around 10:30 and fall asleep around 11:00 or 11:30.

I find it hard to sit down and eat a large meal (~1000 calories). I have tried to fix this by eating periodically throughout the day. But then, at that point, I have no idea how much I have eaten. I make sure to eat at least three meals a day, but sometimes they just aren't enough. I drink about one or two gallons of milk per week to help increase caloric intake as well as get me some extra protien.

What strategies are you all taking in eating, and how do you make sure you have time to eat? I never realized that building mass required such an involvement. I've stuck with it for a couple months, and have noticed decent gains.

Cliffs:
* Not enough time in day to eat enough.
* How do you tackle eating enough with tight schedules?

 

[SociallyChallenged]

1) Make food the night before.
2) Take 10min to eat said meal.
3) Profit.

Drink more calories if you're really having trouble gaining mass. They don't work as much on hunger inhibition hormones so you can sneak in more calories without feeling so full.

 

[SKC]

Are you drinking whole milk, or at least 2%?
Do you have access to a microwave at your internship, and are you able to eat there?

If so, the following has worked well for me:
Sunday night: cook meals for most of the week, divide into portions (I've reused the plastic containers restaurants use for takeout, now mandated in San Francisco). Bring two or three containers per day, heat and eat. Drink protein shakes in between. My meals typically consist of a decent carb source (brown rice and sweet potatoes), protein (chicken/beef - easy to cook large portions in a pan) and vegetables (steamed/microwaved broccoli/cauliflower/spinach. Very quick and convenient, and a clean source of calories. I'll bring small power/builder bars as well if I get hungry between meals.

 

[warr666]

.....

 

[elitejp]

^I would cook those eggs first and then throw it into the blender. It will blend up just fine. However that shake looks a little low on the protein side...for me.

OP, Im assuming you naturally are skinny and prob can eat anything and stay skinny. My suggestion to up the calories and protein is to stop in at McD's and grab some double cheeseburgers. I dont think it will have any negative impact on you...but you be the judge. When I bulk, McD's is a very valid choice for me as i dont put on much fat. I need to really push myself to get all the food I need to eat eaten, and I enjoy dbl cheeseburgers so for me its a huge help. if the rest of your diet is fairly clean I personally dont worry too much about some high protein junk food.

 

[wahdangun]

to be honest I was just like you before, a skinny person, and I always busy with my work, but it all change because of tofu and soybar, I usually bring fried tofu or soybar to my work and eat it just like snack while I was working, and after work I eat a lot, 2-3 times before and after just 2 month I'm not a skinny guy anymore and please don't eat junk food just because you are skinny, I usually eat white rice because its have a lot simple carbs and healthier than bread

 

[SociallyChallenged]

to be honest I was just like you before, a skinny person, and I always busy with my work, but it all change because of tofu and soybar, I usually bring fried tofu or soybar to my work and eat it just like snack while I was working, and after work I eat a lot, 2-3 times before and after just 2 month I'm not a skinny guy anymore and please don't eat junk food just because you are skinny, I usually eat white rice because its have a lot simple carbs and healthier than bread

Tofu and soy are terrible choices for bulking. After 50g of protein from soy sources, the phytoestrogens can significantly affect your estrogen levels. On top of that, fried foods? Really? There are way better options (i.e. healthy fats - olive oil, avocado, seeds, nuts).

Also, white rice isn't any better for you than bread. And technically, it's probably less healthy for you due to its lack of fiber and vitamins/nutrients. At least wheat bread has some. If you want carbs, eat things like sweet potatoes, veggies, fruit, milk, etc. If you're doing that much cardio (which I doubt the OP is since he's trying to gain weight), then rice, noodles, and bread are fine. If not, they're not great sources for nutrition.

 

[wahdangun]

Tofu and soy are terrible choices for bulking. After 50g of protein from soy sources, the phytoestrogens can significantly affect your estrogen levels. On top of that, fried foods? Really? There are way better options (i.e. healthy fats - olive oil, avocado, seeds, nuts).

Also, white rice isn't any better for you than bread. And technically, it's probably less healthy for you due to its lack of fiber and vitamins/nutrients. At least wheat bread has some. If you want carbs, eat things like sweet potatoes, veggies, fruit, milk, etc. If you're doing that much cardio (which I doubt the OP is since he's trying to gain weight), then rice, noodles, and bread are fine. If not, they're not great sources for nutrition.

hmm are you sure? I love tofu, and I just give the op an example, usually if not fried I steam it with brown sugar, or I just boil it with garlic and ginger, and I have eat it since I was little, especially for breakfast, and I never have any health issue, I even try to exclusively eat it for almost a week without any problem what so ever.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

hmm are you sure? I love tofu, and I just give the op an example, usually if not fried I steam it with brown sugar, or I just boil it with garlic and ginger, and I have eat it since I was little, especially for breakfast, and I never have any health issue, I even try to exclusively eat it for almost a week without any problem what so ever.

Soy is an ok source of nutrition in general, especially if you're a vegetarian. In large quantities though, ehh, it's questionable. No matter what, there are better food choices. Fried, laced with brown sugar - you can find something else that you don't have to add nasty things to. That in itself would probably make you healthier.

On top of that, this isn't about health in a macroscopic light. It's about health on the microscopic level. Both the oils (likely vegetable oil) and the sugar affect things like cholesterol levels, which sum up over a lifetime.

 

[wahdangun]

Soy is an ok source of nutrition in general, especially if you're a vegetarian. In large quantities though, ehh, it's questionable. No matter what, there are better food choices. Fried, laced with brown sugar - you can find something else that you don't have to add nasty things to. That in itself would probably make you healthier.

On top of that, this isn't about health in a macroscopic light. It's about health on the microscopic level. Both the oils (likely vegetable oil) and the sugar affect things like cholesterol levels, which sum up over a lifetime.

ok thanks a lot,

so do you think I must reduce my soy consumetion?

Btw how about soy milkl ? Is there any health issue in it? Because its really a high protein drink its even higher than cow milk, its have 12 gram protein per serving vs just 4 gram per serving in cow milk, and I like to drink it in the night

 

[SociallyChallenged]

ok thanks a lot,

so do you think I must reduce my soy consumetion?

Btw how about soy milkl ? Is there any health issue in it? Because its really a high protein drink its even higher than cow milk, its have 12 gram protein per serving vs just 4 gram per serving in cow milk, and I like to drink it in the night

There's debate about how good soy is for you, especially if you're trying to bulk. Do whatever you're comfortable with, but I don't really eat anything made from soy or soy products.

 

[Saint Nick]

You will get over 1000 calories per drink. And you should still feel hungry.

It takes me 3-5min to toss everything in, 15-25sec to blend.

I like this, actually. I sort of like weird drinks with tons of stuff mixed into them...so it might be kind of enjoyable, too. Great idea, will definitely try this out soon...

OP, Im assuming you naturally are skinny and prob can eat anything and stay skinny. My suggestion to up the calories and protein is to stop in at McD's and grab some double cheeseburgers. I dont think it will have any negative impact on you...but you be the judge. When I bulk, McD's is a very valid choice for me as i dont put on much fat. I need to really push myself to get all the food I need to eat eaten, and I enjoy dbl cheeseburgers so for me its a huge help. if the rest of your diet is fairly clean I personally dont worry too much about some high protein junk food.

I thought fast food was full of fats and carbs that are unnecessary? I know you need some saturated fat, but aren't these loaded with saturated fats?

 

[elitejp]

A dbl cheeseburger prob is full of sat fats i dont feel like checking but ive always assumed it was. But this is how I look at it. Im not someone who gets fat, I get lean. The less activity I do the less working out i do the smaller I get. So i like to stay active, i push myself in the gym...do tons of walking and eat clean most of the day. But for me I sometimes find it extremely difficult to conveniently eat healthy food and to swallow it down when im already not that hungry (when trying to put on weight). But in view of trying to up my calories and have any kind of appetite for that meal sometimes I think a couple dbl cheeseburgers are very useful. Yes you get high fat, but you also get a good amount of protein and only a small amount of carbs. ...Ok i just checked for a single dbl cheese you have 25g of protein, 23g of fat (11g sat), and 34g of carbs for a total of 440calories. So in reading your bio your worse off than me. Im 6' and currently 188lbs. Due to starting my own business and about 6 months of barely ever getting into the gym I lost close to 15-20lbs and am now just starting to gain it back. (im also oversees so i dont always get to eat the foods i crave, nor is there a mc'ds here) Im not naturally big, but ive learned how to bulk and at my heaviest and strongest I got up to 217. And it wasnt by eating extremely clean. My gut got bigger but as soon as I went back to eating normal and not force feeding myself i slowly started dropping the fat without even trying. Thats just my body type and im assuming you are the same way. In fact your doing more cardio than I have done in years. I needed to get to 4500cals a day to see progress and it was a huge hassle but i did i, and my muscles grew. So yes for you I, would recommend eating dbl cheeseburgers, but im also assuming that you like the taste of them. I do like those burgers and you can always eat more of what you like to eat, not to mention they only cost me a $1 per burger, I dont know if its still that way. So "for me" paying 2 dollars for a meal that provided 50g of protein and 880 cal was a huge help for me to gain muscle. With all the cardio you are doing and your body genetics/metabolism i highly highly doubt your body wont be able to adequately handle some extra fat. (just dont buy shakes or fries when your ordering the burgers...all that extra carbs and sugars would wreak havoc, and would definately cause you to put on some unwanted weight when your already on a high calorie diet)

 

[M0oG0oGaiPan]

peanuts are easy. Calorie dense and cheap. I'd weigh them out though. They're easy to overeat. I think 28g is about 160 calories.