T Nation

I Can't Eat Enough

Beginners
#1

So I’m still new to training seriously and I’m looking for some advice. I’m currently sitting at around 155 lbs with 7.5% body fat. My diet isn’t amazing (obviously), but I’ve just been trying to use the basic principle of:

  1. eat big
  2. lift big
  3. get big

The only problem is, I don’t eat enough food, and I know it, especially for someone trying to bulk up. I have a really hard time trying to gain weight and I always have. I just don’t have the appetite for it. Whenever I roll out of bed in the morning, I eat three pancakes and I’m full.

I try to eat more, but honestly my stomach just doesn’t want it. Sometimes I’ll cram my face to the point where I feel like I’m about to vomit, but it seems counter-productive because then I’m not hungry at all for a long time.

I was just wondering if anyone has any tips for eating more food. Are there any supplements that I should look at for increasing my appetite or something else I should do? Thanks for any help.

#2

Have you heard of liquid meals? Ya know, put all your food in a blender, mix it with some milk, and viola!

Actually, I would take a couple scoops of whey protein, a couple bananas, some peanut butter, milk, and anything else you might want to add. This seems to work for me when I just can’t choke down another meal.

#3

Just try to get more calorie dense foods:
-almonds/walnuts
-natural Peanut butter

You can also make huge shakes:
1C whole Milk
2 scp whey protein
1 banana
2 tbsp natty PB
1/2C oatmeal

throw it in a blender, mix until it’s all a good consistency. I just came up with that off the top of my head, so do some research and read the link I posted.

good luck!

#4

i believe just as you train your muscles to grow, you must train to eat more. yes, force feed yourself if need be. eat on a schedule, and force the food if you arent hungry. i saw on some show about ‘compettive eaters’ a guy will eat like 5 pounds of grapes to get his stomach primed for the gorging the next day at a contest (i assume it expands it a bit). thats just an example that it is possible to train to eat bigger, not a recommendation to eat 5 pounds of grapes.

also, i dont know about others, but when im working out hard, im ravenous. maybe you arent training hard enough to ‘require’ a bigger appetite.

good luck and keep at it

#5

Try not eating shit like pancakes. It’s not just about eating big you have to eat smart. Go buy a shit ton of eggs.

#6

The shakes are a good idea. My recommendation for the oats is to blend them up to a fine powder first, that way you can just drink them down without realizing how much you are eating.

#7

Read this thread: http://www.T-Nation.com/free_online_forum/diet_performance_nutrition_supplements/best_supplement_for_mass

Especially laroyal’s post about the desiccated liver tablets. Maybe those could help you with apetite. I don’t know, I have never tried them and I personally have never had a problem with hunger.

Other than that just suck it up and eat more calorically dense clean foods like boyscout said. Things like: nuts and nut butters, add olive oil/coconut oil/macadamia nut oil to shakes and other food, put good cheese on everything (cheese whiz is NOT good cheese).

I also agree with upping training intensity - if your’e not sweating and starving a couple hours after you train your’e not working hard enough. Do work son!

#8

olive oil

#9

If you get full easily and don’t often feel like eating, you probably don’t have good digestion, and you might have magnesium deficiency.

Try betaine hcl/pepsin/gentian with each meal. This did wonders for my appetite when I was having issues with digestion of protein and fats.

Then take high absorption magnesium at bedtime.

Also, cardio helps rev up my appetite.

#10

Helping your absorption like andersons said may help.

Adding olive oil to shakes and everything also adds a lot of calories.

The easiest tip I have is associating things with eating–that’s how fat people get fat! Whenever I watch TV, I’m spooning peanut butter in my mouth. I can go through half a jar without noticing.

Almonds are my study food. When I’m studying, I’m constantly eating almonds.

#11

I would recommend 1tbsp of olive oil mixed in with your protein shakes (except post-workout), and 1 scoop of peanut butter with or after each solid meal.

Supposing 4 of the 6-8 meals you’re eating throughout the day are solid meals, and you add olive oil to one protein shake during the day, that is an extra 900 calories you’re getting in without even noticing.

You can also do 20-30 minutes of low intensity cardio before breakfast to increase your appetite throughout the day.

#12

I wish i had this problem…

#13

[quote]B rocK wrote:
olive oil[/quote]

We need a thread with videos of members taking shots of olive oil.

#14

I have 3 solutions for you.

#1 Count your calories! You need 18-20 x your bodyweight.

#2 Drink half your calories via gallon of milk. (no skim milk)

#3 Smoke weed every day.

#15

[quote]elano wrote:
I have 3 solutions for you.

#1 Count your calories! You need 18-20 x your bodyweight.

#2 Drink half your calories via gallon of milk. (no skim milk)

#3 Smoke weed every day.[/quote]

best. post.

#16

[quote]elano wrote:
I have 3 solutions for you.

#1 Count your calories! You need 18-20 x your bodyweight.

#2 Drink half your calories via gallon of milk. (no skim milk)

#3 Smoke weed every day.[/quote]

Skip #3 because that’s just going to make you lazy and not want to do anything except eat. Replace it with:

#3 Train earlier in the day (it helps rev up your metabolism and will make you hungrier the rest of the day so you will be able to eat more - at least that’s what happens to me!).

#17

[quote]mr popular wrote:
ing.

You can also do 20-30 minutes of low intensity cardio before breakfast to increase your appetite throughout the day.[/quote]

ditto, i’m always so much hungrier on the days where i do some low intensity cardio in the mornings before breakfast

#18

[quote]elano wrote:

#3 Smoke weed every day.[/quote]

lol i soooo want an elite bodybuilder to have this as one of his training secrets and tell it to the world, it would be hilarious

#19

Sounds like you don’t know a whole lot about good nutrition. Pancakes aren’t nutritious and make for a terrible breakfast. In general food that isn’t protein or fat is carbohydrates, and by the sounds of it most of your meals consist of carbohydrates… i would recommend a 40/30/30 diet.

#20

The kid is saying he can’t eat enough and you guys try to tell him how to eat a more restrictive diet because he has pancakes for breakfast?

Am I on the wrong website?

Did I accidentally wind up on Blood-Belching-Vaginas.com again?