First Bulk Disaster · Optimal Living

First Bulk Disaster

My first bulk was crazy. I thought the goal was to eat as much as possible all the time. At one point I even tried GOMAD which is drinking a gallon of milk a day.

I was crushing 4 Big Macs in one sitting, eating whole Costco pizzas, finishing boxes of cereal in one go, and taking 8 to 16 scoops of protein powder a day with 30 eggs daily.

At night I would hit Jack in the Box or McDonald’s at midnight and order way too much food. My wife’s family started calling me the garbage disposal because they gave me all the leftovers instead of throwing them away. I always ate them. 🍕

My clothes got really tight. I had to stop wearing mediums and smalls which I wore my whole life. I switched to large shirts to hide the bloat.

My stomach grew fast but my arms and chest still looked fine so it was this weird strong but soft look. I was sweating after meals, taking naps all the time, and still eating more.

The wild part is this was at the start of my lifting about 8 years ago. After only 5 months of training two full body workouts a week and eating like this I hit these numbers:

- Deadlift: 405 × 7

- Squat: 315 × 8

- Bench: 225 × 11

- Pull ups: 18 bodyweight

- Dips: 135 × 3 at 180 lbs

- Weighted Pull up: 45 × 5 at 180 lbs

Every workout I felt like a beast. People even asked me if I was on steroids and they were serious. I felt super strong.

Later I started tracking calories but I messed that up too because I was not weighing food. Once I bought a food scale it was like unlocking cheat codes.

That is when I learned:

- A small surplus is better than a dirty bulk.

- Eating everything does not mean more muscle. It just means more fat.

- Weighing food matters a lot.

Looking back it was a disaster but also pretty funny. I got strong, learned a lot, and kept the nickname Garbage Disposal 😂.

Photos: before & after my bulk. 👇🏽

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