What I Would Do If I Were Hardcore Gaining Weight
The following is most relevant to a skinny guy who is trying to add some mass and muscle to his frame. The older you are, the more different the weight gain guidelines would be (i.e. a little more clean), but most of you are young anyway. Here’s what I would do.
1. I’d designate alternate weeks as chicken fried steak (CFS) and chili week. Luckily there are good recipes for both (see respective links). If you make plenty on Saturday or Sunday, then you’ll have it throughout the week. This is the best plan, because you don’t have to worry about making food throughout the week. Whether you are a student, working, or just lazy, making the majority of your week’s food all at once is going to work best.
2. I would ALWAYS make fried biscuits with the CFS and corn bread with the chili. The first time I had fried biscuits was the first time Gant invited me over for CFS, and it’s a perfect combo. Just get the easy-make biscuits and put the biscuits in some grease and pull them out after they are browned. Dip or cover them with gravy. Aside from having a delicious addition to your meal, the biscuits/bread will ensure you get extra calories and the carbohydrates for mass gaining. I shouldn’t have to repeat this, but if you’re older or already a bigger or fatter guy, then you won’t need as much. Skinny guys should eat until they are uncomfortable. If you regurgitate your meal, you ate a tad too much.
3. I would make corn bread as a staple too. When you have breakfast, I’m already assuming you’re having plenty of eggs and bacon (and cooking the eggs in the bacon grease). After this, take your already made corn bread, put a bit of butter in the pan, and then re-cook each side of your corn bread in the butter. This will make a slightly crisp and buttery exterior to the piece of corn bread that complements the bacon extremely well.
4. I would cook some other kind of meat throughout the week as well. A pot roast can break up the monotony and even add a third addition to your meal rotation. Ground beef, sirloin tips, and chicken cutlets can all be made in large quantities and stored. I name meats like this because if you’re young, busy, and possibly single, you won’t want to take a lot of time building your food. Prepare lots of another type of meat so that you aren’t eating CFS or chili three times a day.
5. I would make mashed potatoes a staple to the diet. Adding mashed potatoes to your meat mill will ensure you get yet another complete meal. Sure, you can have vegetables with this, but when aiming for mass you’re gonna try and get big hearty meals. When I was going through a linear progression and trying to gain weight I didn’t always get complete meals nor did I build easy meals such as these. I recommend you do because the quality of food will make you enjoy the process much more.
6. This is another thing I shouldn’t have to say, but I have a feeling it needs to be said. If you’re eating “clean” for the sake of aesthetics or health, treat yourself once in a while to an awesome meal. Being kinda weird about what you eat is all right, but being really fucking weird is really fucking weird. If you think you think you catch a cold from a hunny bun, you’re taking it a little far. Gant once said something along the lines of, “If you’re getting knocked out by a happy meal, you’re just not that elite.” Not only is drinking beer while watching football okay, but it’s going to be necessary to make sure you aren’t insane.
Those are just a few things I came up with as I was frying some corn bread this morning. For those of you who have already gone through this process (or those of you who still are), feel free to share any interesting/helpful tidbits. My aim here was to focus on ease and cost effectiveness. Some of you would argue that getting dollar fastfood hamburgers is a solid idea, but I never really cared for that approach (that isn’t to say I didn’t opt for fast food, but only in a pinch).