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Five Snacks to Add to Your Grocery List
 
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-Substitute a Bagel + Cream Cheese Instead of a Slice of Bread?????????
 
-Whole Milk + High Calorie Cereal?????????
 
 
-Bacon????
 
Really?? You consider these HEALTHY bulking snacks??
 
A processed bagle?
 
A high caloris processed cereal filled with crap and sugar??
 
A greasy piece of bacon?
 
What happened to healthy non processed bulking foods like nut butters, dried fruit, oatmeal, brown rice, whole wheat bread and pasta, full fat cottage cheese and other cheese
Natural juice, healthy oils??? At least these are healthy
 
I don’t agree with your article AT ALL

a) what is unhealthy about bacon? i know you know better than to say it has saturated fat… or at least you SHOULD know. and peanut butter is a nut butter.

b) what is healthy about pasta, bread, and juice? those are all high calorie carb filled foods too. they’ll put weight around your midsection just the same as the other foods listed here, cause they are basically the same thing. how are breads any less processed than bagels? if it makes you feel better, just substitute a “whole grain bagel + cream cheese”, or “whole grain cereal”. you really think any of those things you said are healthier than the things i just listed? dried fruit is super high calorie and loaded with sugar. 

c) it is bulking. you don’t eat clean to bulk. you need to gain weight, and you do that by lifting heavy and eating more foods, foods with more carbs, and foods that you will retain as weight instead of simply burn as fuel and excrete. 

basically i think you are regurgitating the same outdated ideas about what is “healthy” and aren’t applying all the things that we have written about on this site. there is this preconcieved notion that all those things we listed are on opposite ends of the spectrum, when in fact there is a huge grey area and the details of the nutrition facts are more important than the idea of the food.

on top of that, as i said before, this is an article about BULKING. this isn’t really a healthy thing to do to your body regardless of what you are putting into it. either way you are gaining weight, and in order to gain weight quickly you must put on some fat (without some seriously dangerous meds helping at least). it’s impossible to builk at the levels he is inferring and only put on muscle, even eating all those “clean” foods that you listed. bulking is all about getting more calories than you are burning, and unless you are consuming high calorie foods, you won’t make the goal. add in the need for convenience due to the sheer amount of food you need to get in your gullet, and sometimes it requires eating foods that you don’t consider clean. that’s just the nature of bulking. 

have you ever tried to bulk up by 20-30 lbs before?

I still think their are better source of fat then bacon.. i would rather suggest healthy read meats
 
I still think Ezekiel bread, sprouted grain, or whole wheat bread is healthier then bagels
 
I still think low sugar non processed cereal is healthier then just ANY cereal
 
I still think that natural fruit juice (with no added sugar) is great for bulking and dried fruit (with no added sugar) is great to get more calories i
 
I know bulking is meant to add weight but you can add weight with healthy non processed food
 
Whole wheat pasta and brown rice is great for bulking… its not as processed as other foods you mentioned… I still stand by eating natural healthy foods no matter what…
 
I am shocked you would even suggest eating any high calorie cereal like fruit looks, pops, frosted flakes ect…
 
I think it’s important to gain good weight… not bad weight that can raise cholesterol and increase cardiovascular disease…
 
You can believe what you want but i have my own opinions
 

 
Whoa, stirring up some discussion! This is good. llulko, this is NOT meant for people who can gain weight easily! This is for people who are dead serious about gaining weight (in which case it can be VERY difficult). You say it is possible to gain weight by eating healthy - of course it is!!!! But to what extent??? I personally went from 200lbs to 300lbs within a matter of a year and a half…I would say that is big time bulking. I could NOT do it by eating 100% clean, but, for my goals I NEEDED the extra weight. Keeping my weight lower for “health” reasons was not an option. I had to meet my goals.
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I simply could NOT gain weight fast enough by eating a super clean, strict diet. Bodybuilders do that when they are right before a competition and they lose upwards of 30-40lbs!
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I Want to quote this from the introduction to the article:
 
“This article is going to discuss snacks that you can buy for in between your meals that great for gaining weight. These smaller meals between your main meals can make all the difference in the world… These are meant to be snacks, so, they are quick and ready to go type meals that can be eaten very quickly…”
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That answers many questions you have -
Ex:
You say you would rather suggest red meats over bacon:
 
You say whole wheat pasta and brown rice are great for bulking:
 
 - YES! They can be. Those are MEALS though, this article is 5 things to add to your grocery list for SNACKS, not meals.
 
 These are purely SNACK type foods that are quick and on the go. These are for BETWEEN your main meals in which you WOULD be eating your steak, brown rice, etc.
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llulko, you bring up some great points for someone looking to stay healthy. However, this bulking series is for people who are looking to bulk up to meet their fitness goals! Whether it is to add 20lbs to their frame or to bulk up to hit a bigger bench - these tips are for them! They are NOT for people looking to cut weight. If that were the case it’d definitely be called “Cutting 101.” And I do not mean that disrespectful whatsoever. I agree with you 100% that it is important to eat very clean IF YOUR GOAL IS TO BE HEALTY AND TO LOOK GREAT! For people looking to bulk that is rarely the case! They usually have PERFORMANCE based goals.
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I have a very unique background in regards to weight management. I was an All-American wrestler in high school (won state in Iowa). I began wrestling when I Was 4. I cut weight all 4 years of high school (senior year from 215lbs down to 189lbs). Then, I gained 111lbs of weight (75lbs muscle, 35lbs fat) over the next year and a half to bring me to 300lbs. I was training to try to qualify for WORLDS STRONGEST MAN. I placed 4th at a Pro-Am contest. I then cut all the way back down to 231lbs within 6 months, and, a year later I was down to 187lbs!!! Another 113 lbs lost.
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I am not saying that I am a know it all whatsoever on cutting/gaining weight. However, my athletic background with weight control as well as my B.S. in Exercise Science, ACE Cert, USAW - Sports Performance Cert, and Crossfit Level 1 Cert at least make me somewhat knowledgable on the subject for ATHLETES looking to improve their athletic performance and gain weight! I have also designed over 300 training programs for people looking to either lose weight or gain weight (as well as personal trained for numerous years).
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I only say this because I want to reiterate the fact that these are SNACKS for between your MAIN, SOLID meals of eggs, fish, chicken, tuna, steak, pasta, etc etc.
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Pete - that is exactly what I am saying. You completely got the point of the article and I really appreciate your thoughts and input on the matter. Tremendous information and great point about what people tihnk is “generally” healthy really is NOT!

At the very start of this video I am 189lbs. The first lift that I perform I weight approximately 285lbs.
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxjj6ro9TyQ
 
This is me a year and a half later @ 205lbs:
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ir_DDsqRNZg
 
More muscular than I Was before in high school  and way stronger - despite 100lbs of weight gain then 100lbs of weight lost…I bring this up because it CAN be done in a healthy manner IF you are smart and are training very hard. For people that are BULKING I assume that they are weight training very seriously. If they were not - then I would call it just getting FAT. FATTENING 101! Hahahahahha. So, I Assume they are training very seriously, inw hich case they will be burning more calories than 99% of normal people.

llulko and Pete,
 
I really appreciate the feedback and discussion! I just have a very big passion for weight manipulation and hope I never come off too strong! Great discussion so far.

Ya know, Jared, I think the fact that you went from 189lbs to 300lbs, then back down to 187lbs would make for a heck of a TRANSFORMATION STORY! HAha just saying! That is really pretty phenomenal and people may be very interested in reading about how you went about doing that, your weight training regimen, diet, results at meets, etc. Just a thought! Tremendous article by the way - great ideas for SNACKS!

Sorry to reply again - but I am just SHOCKED at your ability to manipulate your weight like that. I mean you gained OVER 1/3 of your bodyweight, then lost OVER 1/3 of your bodyweight again! All within a period of 2.5 years. That is UNBELIEVABLE! I bet you got strong as a bull when you were gaining all that weight huh? What was it like cutting that weight? What made you decide to drop the weight? Did you continue to lift throughout?

- why are they healthier than bacon in your opinion, and what is a “healthy red meat” that isn’t bacon?

- you can find whole wheat and sprouted grain bagels. what makes bread healthier than a bagel? they’re both made of processed wheat…

- juice and dried fruit are problematic if you are anti-sugar, specifically because they have such high amounts of sugar without even adding more, and without fiber to mediate the effects.

- the problem with trying to use “healthy non-processed foods” to gain weight, is that they have fiber and higher amounts of fat and protein that stimulate things like the satiety hormone PYY, which causes you to not want to eat anymore because you are full. if you are full and don’t eat enough, you won’t eat enough calories to gain weight. gaining weight, and losing/maintaining weight are two completely different processes and require different methods.

- whole wheat and brown rice are indeed just as processed as the other foods. there are subtle changes and differences in the foods, but sometimes it is nothing mroe than brown food coloring. falling into the trap of buying foods labeled with “whole wheat”, “whole grain”, etc can get you nowhere if you don’t know what to look for when you are buying the food, or how to read the label. there are plenty of “whole wheat breads” out there that have absolutely no more fiber or nutrients than white breads. processing isn’t an issue cause they are all “processed”. the color doesn’t make a difference in a vast majority of the cases. i’m not saying you can’t find better foods, but those very general statements you are making are misleading.

i am not suggesting you eat those things, but Jared has a point, which he did express in his article and which he addressed in his posts right here. you can have your own opinions, but we’re trying to help people with different goals than you have.

Jared… you brought up some great points and i understand where you are coming from. You are right… you are talking about snack foods on the go so it kind of makes sense…
 
Pete i still think there are healthy versions of some processed food like “healthy” breads (Ezekiel bread, sprouted grain ect) as apposed to bagels, white bread ect
 
I do see your point that most of these foods have high fiber content which causes people to get fuller… that is a great point to bring up.
 
Jared speaks from experience so i can’t argue his outcomes… however i do questions how healthy it is to fluctuate in weight in those extreme measures.   
 
Pete i know there is a lot of gimmicky foods claiming to be healthy whole wheat, high fiber ect… i am not talking about those foods… i am sure an educated fitness enthusiast can dictate what is heavily processed or not by our nature of reading labels and understating ingredients.
 
As far as red meat i think a nice filet or other lean red meat is healthier then a slab of fatty bacon… however i see were you are coming from about getting more calories in without the full factor.
 
I guess i just don’t agree with the whole bulking idea… i don’t think its healthy and i don’t recommend it… i would recommend doing a SLOW bulk… not gaining 100lb in 6-12 months… that is just CRAZY..
 
If it’s for your career and athletic purposes then that is another story… i just personally don’t think it’s healthy

oh it’s definitely not a healthy thing to do. putting on that much weight, including all the fat you’ll gain with it, isn’t good for you. there is a reason your body resists it and likes to stay at a certain level of equilibrium. i never said it’s a healthy thing to do, but in order to accomplish it, just as with any other goal, sometimes you have to go to extremes. this is a performance based goal, not a health one. 

Very well said Pete. It is obviously not healthy, and I don’t tihnk Jared would even recommend THAT much weight gain/loss in such a short amount of time…?

oh ok.. well that should have been stated in the article.. i was arguing that those foods listed were not healthy and there are better options.. i was not saying that it woudl not pack on the pounds.. i see your point now..
 
well i still dont agree with it because of health purposes but i understand the goal know

 
We are saying that gaining 100lbs in a short period of time is not healthy! However, for a hard gainer, gaining 5-10lbs CAN be done healthy. The goal itself is performance based - so sometimes the techniques and ways to achieve it might not be conventional.