In theory, bulking seems like it would be incredibly easy and – more importantly – lots of fun. The reality, though, is that eating all those extra calories that you need to gain weight can be an overwhelming, time-consuming and expensive venture.
Just to put this into perspective, consider this:
An average-sized guy might need to eat close to 3000 calories each day to gain any noticeable weight. That averages out to about 95oz of chicken breast each day.
The solution, then, is to drink your calories. But how?
Know Your Numbers
Whether you're going to be eating or drinking your calories to achieve your weight gain goal, you need to exactly how much you're supposed to be eating every day. And for that, you'll need to do some math. Sorry.
First, you need to calculate you Basal Metabolic Rate – the amount of calories that you spend just being alive.
To do that, use whichever formula is appropriate for you:
Women: BMR = 655 + (4.35 x weight in pounds) + (4.7 x height in inches) - (4.7 x age in years)
Men: BMR = 66 + (6.23 x weight in pounds) + (12.7 x height in inches) - (6.8 x age in years)
But, you don't sit around all day doing nothing. And everything that you do burns calories. So, we need to account for that.
This number is known as the Total Daily Energy Expenditure and is calculated by multiplying your BMR by one of the following activity factors:
Sedentary (little or no exercise): 1.2
Lightly active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week): 1.375
Moderately active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week): 1.55
Very active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week): 1.725
Extra active (very hard exercise/sports & physical job or 2x training): 1.9
The resulting number is the amount of calories that you need to eat every day just to maintain your current weight. Which isn't what you want.
So, take your TDEE and add 10 percent. That's the amount of calories you need to eat every day to gain weight.
Milking It
Now that you know your caloric needs, the next step is actually eating that much. And, as mentioned, that can be a real challenge.
Because liquids are, well... liquid, it's much easier to drink high-calorie beverages than it is to eat the same amount of fuel.
Milk – whether from cows or coconuts – is a great way to easily add calories to your regular routine. That same drink can also be bulked up with the use of nut butters and other additives.
While any protein powder is also an easy way to add nutrition and calories to your liquid snack, it's important to choose wisely.
A clean mass gainer, like Naked Mass, is exactly what you need. Rather than just one source of protein, Naked Mass uses both fast-acting whey and slow casein to give you a steady stream of protein over several hours.
Plus, Naked Mass contains quality carbs that will help you gain weight while also keeping your energy levels up throughout the day.