How I ate 5,000+ clean (IMO) calories....my best offseason

[Flex500]

@danieltx threads are my favorites with the food so as I was cleaning out our basement I find my old notebook with training, drugs, etc (I log everything) to what I believe was my most productive offseason. I was around 36 here (almost 42 now)

The attached picture I was 252 at 5'8" this is the peak I reached over that winter. It was the largest I ever got while being in "ok" shape. I made it to 272 eating like a moron in my 20's and put on quite a bit of fat. This produced my best physique, my best bloodwork (by far), and strongest in the gym. I was on 400 test / 200 EQ here for about 6 months straight. No GH, no peptides, no orals, and no switching compounds or dose. I still prefer the taste of ground bison and usually eat 2 pounds a day.

Meal 1:
8 pasture raised eggs
4-8 ounces bison
1-2 cups blueberries

Meal 2:
2-3 large yellow potatoes
16 ounce strip steak
1 cup strawberries or blueberries

Meal 3 (usually post workout)
16 ounce ground bison
one whole onion cooked
garlic cloves cooked
arugula cooked
Pineapple, watermelon, usually 30+ ounces of fruit

Meal 4 (last of day...always hungry at night)
16 ounces 90% ground bison
2-3 ounces raw milk cheese
1-2 cup of dark berries/assorted
3 pieces dark chocolate
1-2 serving pecans, mac nuts, or other
1-2 servings dates

Saturday nights I ate "whatever". Cookies, donuts, etc.

Daily Totals
Calories; ~5,000
Carbs: ~240
Protein ~380
Fat ~290

I wrote down everything...but wish I took more pictures

I'll follow this post with training. And as an FYI I don't think this is some amazing physique and this isn't a "this is the way" post. This is literally for entertainment purposes only. I had some weird "mental block" about trying to never go over 500mgs of drugs so this was quite high for me.

 

[Flex500]

Training was 3x a week for about 30-45 minutes each. Legs, push, pull. I didn't log as much with training. It was HIT type training. I really didn't write down much so don't have a lot to share, just wrote down the base workouts. I think I logged each workout and progression in notebooks I threw away. I'm looking for them though. I got super strong during this period and would live to find the numbers but think I threw those notebooks away. The outline is below. Usually a saturday, monday, wednesday cadence.

Legs:
Ham Curls 1 set to failure
Leg Ext 1 set to failure
Squat or Leg press 1 set to failure
Calves 1 set to failure.

CH/SH
In DB or BB press: 1 set to failure 12+ reps and 1 set to failure with heavier weight 6-8 reps
Fly movement: 1 set to failure
Maching press: 1 set to failure
1 shoulder movement OHP or side laterals 1 set to falure
Rear delt: 1 set to failure

Back
Any rowing movement: higher rep 1 set to failure
Deadlift or rack pull 1 set to failure
Pulldown movement 1 set to failure
Tri pressdowns s/s dips 1 set to failure
Any curl 1 set to failure

 

[aHarness]

I cannot imagine the cost of all that bison. Any specific reason you opted for it, and what cut did you usually do? Besides the 90% specific meal

 

[Flex500]

I cannot imagine the cost of all that bison. Any specific reason you opted for it, and what cut did you usually do? Besides the 90% specific meal

I loved it. It was just the taste. Even now, I love it. The cost was REALLY high. I didn't eat out at all and this was generally how my family ate. I also starting make "good money" a few years before this and we leave very frugally. I mean we have a $1,400 house payment and no car payments. All that is to say it makes spending $$ on food easier.

 

[3BILLS]

Thanks for sharing bro

@luki7788 is the gold standard when it comes to consuming calories. Absolute machine

 

[Flex500]

Thanks for sharing bro

@luki7788 is the gold standard when it comes to consuming calories. Absolute machine

Yeah i wasn't anywhere near some of these guys doing 6,000-7,000+.

 

[3BILLS]

Yeah i wasn't anywhere near some of these guys doing 6,000-7,000+.

Ya bro.

I can't believe how he keeps his diet that tight while consuming that amount.

Pb and banana sandwiches are my idea of clean eating

 

[Swifto]

Fat seems high (for me), but whatever you feel works with your body.

When I've gone over 5k cals, I have kept fats low (60-80g) and increased carbs significantly.

If bloods and performance is good, then that's what counts.

 

[Flex500]

Fat seems high (for me), but whatever you feel works with your body.

When I've gone over 5k cals, I have kept fats low (60-80g) and increased carbs significantly.

If bloods and performance is good, then that's what counts.

It's definitely not the norm for most, especially on a higher drug load. That was around the time I started to gravitate to higher fat, less carbs and really cut out all oats, grains, breads, wheats etc. This was the highest my HDL ever got 65 and my triglycerides were very low ~60...now they are ~30. Inflammation and insulin sensitivity were great. If I could do it again, I probably would have removed the carbs even more and the seeds/nuts and added avocado, salmon, etc.

I don't really know or understand the dynamics when the drugs and bodybuilding lifestyle get to the extreme and adding a high fat diet to that equation. For me I just saw all around health, wellbeing, and digestion radically improve when animal fat was higher and removed all ultra processed food (well, except saturday nights which really is more of an EOW or once a month thing) and the grains, breads, oats, etc.

I'm not into the bodybuilding thing anymore but it's only gotten better removing the seeds, nuts, and vegetables (I know, a bit extreme).

But yes...it is a little weird for most I'd agree.

 

[PRorER]

that sounds like a super tasty diet, might have to give it a try but I tend to operate best on moderate fats (somewhere between 125-175g a day unless I’m cutting). 5’8” 252lbs you must have been huge, very impressive

 

[Neuro1234]

Thanks for sharing and taking the time to write it up. I am fascinated by how people’s genetics allow them to operate outside the “norms” with great success.

 

[danieltx]

Excellent post - these threads are what really teach guys how to maximize their physique.

 

[need4tren]

That’s so much fat and such little carbs lol. My training wouldn’t be great but I’m glad you enjoy it and works for you

 

[dany23x]

That’s so much fat and such little carbs lol. My training wouldn’t be great but I’m glad you enjoy it and works for you

with this amount of fat my gallbladder says goodbye to me after the 1st meal

but bodybuilding is beautiful because there is not only one way, what works for me does not work for you and vice versa

I know many guys over 100/110Kg, PRO and non-PRO who have become it with diets of 100/150g both in Off season, and in cut however 80/100 fats always constant, my body works on carbohydrates, and having eaten all my life without fats now I can no longer digest and tolerate them, I remember in the past when I tried to eat almond butter, oil, eggs in medium-high quotas, I did not eat for 12 hours and I felt terrible with nausea vomiting

 

[Flex500]

Excellent post - these threads are what really teach guys how to maximize their physique.

thanks! It's fun to see different people do things different ways with different body types, looks, etc. I love threads that show how people ate, trained, etc. at current or different times in their journey.

 

[Flex500]

That’s so much fat and such little carbs lol. My training wouldn’t be great but I’m glad you enjoy it and works for you

it is a lot...that's for sure! I do really well with what is naturally in animal fat specifically. I also feel well in the immediate if I go very high carbs and almost no fat, but blood work quickly gets wonky and for a guy that is closer to natural than on drugs (I'm nowhere natural that's a joke) high fat seems to work better for me. I used to eat higher fat but not as much animal fat and that was not as well tolerated.

 

[Flex500]

with this amount of fat my gallbladder says goodbye to me after the 1st meal

but bodybuilding is beautiful because there is not only one way, what works for me does not work for you and vice versa

I know many guys over 100/110Kg, PRO and non-PRO who have become it with diets of 100/150g both in Off season, and in cut however 80/100 fats always constant, my body works on carbohydrates, and having eaten all my life without fats now I can no longer digest and tolerate them, I remember in the past when I tried to eat almond butter, oil, eggs in medium-high quotas, I did not eat for 12 hours and I felt terrible with nausea vomiting

Interesting, I actually had some of that too years back. I went nuts at first. When I dialed it back to just a steak in a meal and just ate until full with what was naturally in the animal fat that seemed to be the right fit for me. The huge amount of purposeful extra fat thing never sat well in my stomach.

 

[Flex500]

And yes this was expensive...still is but only about 60% of this food amount now...although a lot more inflation compared to 2017!

 

[control]

I'm just tripping out about that whole onion post workout...

 

[st114]

@danieltx threads are my favorites with the food so as I was cleaning out our basement I find my old notebook with training, drugs, etc (I log everything) to what I believe was my most productive offseason. I was around 36 here (almost 42 now)

The attached picture I was 252 at 5'8" this is the peak I reached over that winter. It was the largest I ever got while being in "ok" shape. I made it to 272 eating like a moron in my 20's and put on quite a bit of fat. This produced my best physique, my best bloodwork (by far), and strongest in the gym. I was on 400 test / 200 EQ here for about 6 months straight. No GH, no peptides, no orals, and no switching compounds or dose. I still prefer the taste of ground bison and usually eat 2 pounds a day.

Meal 1:
8 pasture raised eggs
4-8 ounces bison
1-2 cups blueberries

Meal 2:
2-3 large yellow potatoes
16 ounce strip steak
1 cup strawberries or blueberries

Meal 3 (usually post workout)
16 ounce ground bison
one whole onion cooked
garlic cloves cooked
arugula cooked
Pineapple, watermelon, usually 30+ ounces of fruit

Meal 4 (last of day...always hungry at night)
16 ounces 90% ground bison
2-3 ounces raw milk cheese
1-2 cup of dark berries/assorted
3 pieces dark chocolate
1-2 serving pecans, mac nuts, or other
1-2 servings dates

Saturday nights I ate "whatever". Cookies, donuts, etc.

Daily Totals
Calories; ~5,000
Carbs: ~240
Protein ~380
Fat ~290

I wrote down everything...but wish I took more pictures

I'll follow this post with training. And as an FYI I don't think this is some amazing physique and this isn't a "this is the way" post. This is literally for entertainment purposes only. I had some weird "mental block" about trying to never go over 500mgs of drugs so this was quite high for me.

View attachment 204570

Good stuff man, very similar to the choices I make in foods. I ate only Bison for years and I truly think it makes me stronger lol. Now I switch between Bison and Ribeyes as my protein source. But I’m in a very similar financial situation as you, good money and my mortgage is 1100 and I don’t eat out