Off-season success?

FutureFreak · Dec 26, 2005

I am pretty damn frustrated with my off-season diet. I always seem to tap out after 3 months or less when it comes to eating. Of course right after a contest its easy as hell to eat mass amounts of food due to super-compensation and deprivation. Once your body reaches homeostasis, the appetite digresses, the intracellular water switches to extracellular and fat deposits. I have been at that point for 2 or more months now, consuming mostly calorie packed liquid, because I can force that down easier. Whole food is optimal I know, but when im ready to vomit post workout the thought of food makes me sick. HOW DO OTHERS HAVE SUCCESSFUL off-season eating plans? Any tips would be great. My training is pretty damn good but the lack of appetite is probably short-changing my gains. Pre-contest I think I grow and lose fat simultaneously due to my robot-like lifestyle of meticulous meal and training times. I believe I am 5 lbs heavier than last year,same time.(maybe not as lean) HELP!

Homer · Dec 26, 2005

Well, you have hit upon a problem that seperates the BIG boys from the just plain large. The ability to eat large quanities of food every day and if not enjoy at least tolerate it is what keeps most of us from attaing the size we would like. Guys that have no trouble packing in the food day after day are the ones getting to 300lbs.

I was stuck at 205 for about a year when I was 24 or so and one day I spotted keith Whitley in the gym and I struck up a conversation and said "man I just can't gain any more weight." He says give me your daily diet.
So I detail it all out we add it up and its like 3500 cals. He starts laughing and says he eats that before noon EVERY day. So, I go back and add in an extra shake, added oatmeal to BF, switch to a more calorie dense MRP, and tossed in two PB&J sandwichs right before the gym, and threw in a bowl of ice cream at night post WO and got my cals up to 5000-5500. In short, in 6 months I was a lean 238. But, I HATE eating all that food. I can't fucking stand it some days. I took a year off of training to try and get the desire back to be hardcore but I am struggling at 39yo to find the same level of dedication I had 5-10 years ago.

big4nuthin · Dec 27, 2005

Well said

Homer said:
Well, you have hit upon a problem that seperates the BIG boys from the just plain large. The ability to eat large quanities of food every day and if not enjoy at least tolerate it is what keeps most of us from attaing the size we would like. Guys that have no trouble packing in the food day after day are the ones getting to 300lbs.

I was stuck at 205 for about a year when I was 24 or so and one day I spotted keith Whitley in the gym and I struck up a conversation and said "man I just can't gain any more weight." He says give me your daily diet.
So I detail it all out we add it up and its like 3500 cals. He starts laughing and says he eats that before noon EVERY day. So, I go back and add in an extra shake, added oatmeal to BF, switch to a more calorie dense MRP, and tossed in two PB&J sandwichs right before the gym, and threw in a bowl of ice cream at night post WO and got my cals up to 5000-5500. In short, in 6 months I was a lean 238. But, I HATE eating all that food. I can't fucking stand it some days. I took a year off of training to try and get the desire back to be hardcore but I am struggling at 39yo to find the same level of dedication I had 5-10 years ago.

I was doing so well until last week when relationship and holiday stress got the best of me. My cal intake was 1/2 of what it normally is and I lost 6 lbs just due to that. If you cant eat enough you wont grow. I do know of some guys that are just plain fortunate to eat like birds and look like rhino's. Lucky them.