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Thread: Bulking with Peanut Butter

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2020
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    Default Bulking with Peanut Butter

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    Hi Guys, I'm 17 years old, 6'4 180lbs, started at 170lbs. I'm new to the forum, and started the program 3 weeks ago! It went well for the first week, and I made myself the worst smoothies just to get calories in me. Then lockdown came a week ago in South Africa because of Corona. Now I dont have a gym, but I improvised with sandbags, which I like alot actually. But my motivation to keep making those smoothies went out the window. They were very healthy smoothies and so on, but I would gag just thinking about them. I made them because I am a plumbing apprentice and don't have time to make big meals and time enough to actually eat them. So since lockdown I started eating peanut butter, and its the easiest way to get protein and calories in me, I could easily eat 3000 cals worth of peanut butter per day, which is awesome! Just thought I would share my experience with you guys, and other skinny guys thinking of doing the program...

    Just so you know, I tried milk, but since a young age I would get ear infections and throat infections from more than a cup a day, even from raw milk.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2018
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    599

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    Ah, the fabled JOPAD diet. I think the problem might be that typical peanut butter has at least 2x fat vs protein. So 3000 cals of peanut butter would be like 120g protein, which is not enough. And it would be over 300g of fat.

    Santana might have more accurate numbers, and might be able to figure a way to fit this into an overall solid diet. For me, it would be moot, as I could not eat that much peanut butter more than once. And I like peanut butter. If this is possible to do, however, you are the right guy to do it.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Aug 2013
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    This is a low reward approach IMO other than it tastes really damned good. 2x as much fat as protein as jfsully said and not the best amino acid profile. I know we need calories but the quality of those calories and macro breakdown will determine which way you skew the weight gain.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jun 2019
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    Sounds like it can't be good but I don't have any science to support it.

    From a high level, as a human being you are the pinnacle of millions of years of evolution. Where on that evolutionary timeline did humans get adapted to live on just peanut butter?

    Plus all peanut butter is not the same...for the cheaper peanut butters they generally remove the peanut oil and replace it with hydrogenated vegetable oils and other junk.... again, I don't know for sure it's bad, but is it good?

    If you need smoothies why not make with them with a more varied mix of foods... say a cup of blueberries, a cup of whole milk kefir, a few scoops of whey protein, some honey, some water, a handfull of spinach... or maybe a tablespoon of peanut butter...but not just peanut butter...

  5. #5
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    What is the outcome you are aiming for? If survival is the outcome, well of course you can "live" off peanut butter. If maximizing training performance under the barbell is your goal, it's going to take a lot of peanut butter to accumulate enough carbohydrates and by then most people will gain appreciable amounts of body fat. Lastly, the cheap stuff (e.g. Jif) is pretty tasty but, sure, it has trace amounts of sugar but since it is mixed with fat and protein it is difficult to say whether this would contribute to impaired glucose tolerance. They no longer contain trans fats due to the regulatory changes. What I will say is that when I eat Jif I feel that same lack of satisfaction that I feel when I eat candy, cereal, or any other food that contains added sugar whereas I tend to get full faster off of organic. Thus, I'd argue that the main negative to "regular" peanut butter is that you may be more likely to overconsume it.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Apr 2020
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    You can certainly use peanut butter, but I wouldn’t use it as a sole source by any means. I make my own pre/post training shakes that usually consist of

    1 cup plain dry old fashioned oatmeal
    1 frozen banana
    1 spoonful peanut butter-probably comes out to 2-3 TBS
    Ice-however much for a moderately thick consistency
    1.5-2 cups whole milk
    1 cup dry milk powder
    Might add spinach and/or blueberries depending on what I want

  7. #7
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    Feb 2020
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    Hi guys, thanks for all the replies. I do understand its not the best nutrition, but I do supplement my diet with 50 grams of raw whey protein per day as well as plenty of meat, the peanut butter is mainly for the calories not as much for the protein, also, I am real skinny so body fat doesn't really bother me much. This is also a short lived 'bulk' just to give me a headstart before getting back to the real weights after quarantine, sandbags aren't my favorite :-) My aim is to get to 200lbs and taking it slower from there. So far so good and no side effects yet!
    Leon Kruger

  8. #8
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    Give us an update when you hit 200 lb. Make sure that your numbers on the bar justify it.

  9. #9
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    Feb 2020
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    Quote Originally Posted by Robert Santana View Post
    Give us an update when you hit 200 lb. Make sure that your numbers on the bar justify it.
    I love that you said that!

  10. #10
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    Feb 2020
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    starting strength coach development program
    Thanks Guys! Will definitely give an update!
    Leon Kruger

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