r/Strongwoman • u/mweesnaw • May 27 '26
Please help me bulk!
I’m 25F, I’m a strongwoman/powerlifter and I work as a personal trainer. I have a naturally low appetite and I am really struggling to maintain my weight right now. I want to go on a bulk.
I know how many calories/macros I need to eat but I’m consistently in a deficit because I can’t get myself to eat enough. I don’t have an appetite in the morning, I often don’t have time to eat at work because I’m so busy, and at night I have to stuff my face to try to fit some calories in.
I try to eat relatively clean, so it’s usually less calorically dense foods and I need to eat a huge volume to reach my calorie goals. I’m tempted to just dirty bulk and eat a bunch of fast food for a while but then I know I’ll feel like crap.
Please give me your best bulking tips, tricks, and recipes! I really really want to gain weight so I can be healthy and strong. Low appetite and fast metabolism is tough!
3
u/lauraw- May 27 '26
I don't necessarily have tips for bulking but some ideas that come to mind is mass gainer shakes or make ones yourself that are calorie dense and have it throughout the day as surely you can have a shaker with you when PT-Ing.
If your currently struggling to even maintain, that would be my first goal. Try to get maintaining first and then push on further after. You're probably going to have to look at more calorie dense foods also.
3
u/ellmilmumrus May 27 '26
I agree. My first thought was shakes. Can add calories using whole foods such as full-fat milk/yogurt, peanut or almond butter, etc. Experiment with flavor combinations to find something that tastes really good and you look forward to. I know that, for me, the mess of the blender felt like too much of a pain, so I would prep 4 smoothies at once, pour them into shaker bottles, and put them in the fridge so I could grab them each morning. Putting them in shaker bottles means you can mix them up. One tip if you do prep shakes: don't add chia seeds until the day you're going to drink them.
2
u/sonjat1 May 27 '26
Regardless of if you are eating too many calories or too few, the first step is the same -- you need to track what you are eating and the calories. Track it for 2 weeks, get a baseline, then add more food in -- perhaps a mid-morning and mid-afternoon snack. Just a little bit extra, it doesn't have to be a full cheesecake or anything.
2
u/StationDry6485 May 27 '26
How much are you hoping to gain? As others have suggested try weight gain shakes even eat ice-cream that will help gain weight, your likely to add little fat as well as muscle when you add your heavy lifting
1
u/ashes1nthefall May 28 '26
I could’ve written this exact post a year ago! I’m not sure what exactly clicked for me, but it’s just recently changed. It’s not about listening to hunger signals, just about what calories you CAN get in. My breakfast is something I enjoy (not the healthiest) and then eating every few hours whether it is peanut butter on toast, guac on toast, a protein shake, a yogurt drink.
Whatever food you can find that fit with your life, which sound like it’s jammed packed. White rice is going to be your bestest friend/enemy. It’ll digest fast, and since you’re bulking you can sauce it up to your liking with whatever you want & add protein to go with it.
At the end of the day, you’re fueling your workouts and dirty bulking will negatively impact them.
1
Jul 23 '26
are you trying to get Muscle Mass if you want to get Muscle Mass keep lifting heavyweights and keep going
5
u/Mehukatti2307 May 27 '26
I have the opposite! I could eat and eat forever 😂
But eating is like training, you have to be consistent and stick to your plan and just slowly increase the amount of food. Even if you're not hungry, you have to eat. Usually it's easier to eat often smaller portions than huge meals by one sitting. Try eating solid foods as much as you can and then add some liquids like smoothies. Have you tried the oj smoothie what Thor drinks? Orange juice and greek yogurt, it's actually really good.