Eat More Food

Some people eat to live, and some people live to eat. Whether you want to eat more for enjoyment, competition, or to build muscle, you need to learn to do it safely to maintain good health. Building the capacity of your stomach is like working out any muscle, and it requires some planning and smarts to do it right.

Steps

Eating More in One Sitting

1. Always eat breakfast. It's a common misconception that you need to keep your stomach empty if you want to eat more, and in fact this can't be further from the truth. Starting your day with fruits, whole grains, or lean protein is an excellent way to kick your metabolism into gear, meaning you'll be hungrier later in the day, meaning you'll be ready to eat more later in the day.
   • A recent study found that the morbidly obese are more likely to skip meals earlier in the day. There's no connection between skipping meals earlier in the day and weight loss. Don't ever starve yourself.
2. Eat standing up. Competitive eaters eat standing up for a reason. When you eat sitting down, pressure is put on your stomach by your other organs, and it won't expand as much as when you're standing. It's also uncomfortable. The stomach can hold quite a bit of food when you stretch your torso out to it's longest, which happens in the standing position.
3. Wear comfortable, loose-fitting clothes. Those sweatpants you get out on holidays? Smart move. Wearing comfortable clothes is an essential part of eating more and remaining comfortable while you do it. Your stomach does, in fact, expand as you eat, and tight shirts and slacks restrict its ability to do some comfortably. If you want to eat more, wear the clothes that will allow it.
4. Eat foods that contain monosodium glutamate (MSG). Monosodium glutamate is a naturally-occurring compound that's artificially added to many foods to give it flavor. One side effect of MSG is that it stimulates insulin response, effectively lowering your blood-sugar levels and making your body think that it needs to eat more to bring those levels back up.
   • MSG is found in lots of packaged and prepared foods, like ramen noodles, potato and tortilla chips, canned vegetables and soups, and processed meats.
   • MSG is a controversial ingredient, often derided for its connection to obesity and linked by some people to health effects as diverse as chest pains and facial numbness. While studies report that there's no actual connection between the additive and these symptoms, it's still a controversial substance.
5. Drink a moderate amount of alcohol or soda with meals. Aside from the fact that sugary sodas and alcoholic beverages complement meals quite well, the sugars in sodas and boozes of all sorts cause insulin spikes that trick your body into thinking that you want to eat more food.
   • Commercial sodas contain lots of refined sugar, and the body needs to produce more insulin to process refined white sugars, resulting in a similar insulin response to that of MSG. Your body will think you need to eat more food. Diet soda, which contains aspartame, likewise results in a similar effect.
   • Aside from the inhibition-lowering effects of alcohol, which can cause you to eat calorie-rich foods you may normally avoid, the sugars in alcohol can have a similar effect, lowering serotonin levels and increasing your insulin response, causing hunger.
   • Carbonated beverages are filling, which means that if you drink a lot of beer or soda with a meal, you'll get more full faster, leaving less room for food. Aim for about half a soda, to get the same insulin spike, without the filling effect.
6. Avoid mustard. If you're trying to eat a lot of food, it's important to avoid consuming certain condiments, the contents of which can irritate your stomach and esophagus, making it more difficult to eat a larger quantity of food. Mustard is made of ground mustard seed, a potent member of the brassica family, and vinegar, both of which will slow your hunger and metabolism.
   • It's also good to avoid any other vinegar-based, spicy condiments, like bbq sauce, hot sauce, Sriracha, and other peppery dips or toppings.

Eating to Bulk Up

1. Calculate your body-mass index (BMI) first. If you're trying to bulk up because you're too lean, or you're trying to gain muscle, it's important to make sure your body is ready for gaining weight in the healthiest possible way. Just because you "look skinny" doesn't mean you have a BMI that's optimal for weight gain, and you might be doing yourself an unhealthy disservice by trying to gain before you get into shape. While it's best to visit a nutritionist first, you can measure your BMI yourself with the following calculation::
   • Your weight in kg (or weight in pounds divided by about 2.2), divided by
   • Your height in meters squared
   • If your BMI is between 18.5 and 24.9, you're at a low-normal body weight, which means you can safely gain weight, with the proper nutrition and guidance.
2. Calculate the necessary caloric intake for building muscle. Muscle can only be built when you create a calorie surplus, then work out in targeted ways to promote muscle growth in your body. The difference between gaining muscle and gaining fat requires that you calculate how many calories you'll need to eat to gain muscle effectively, and making sure you eat the right kinds of foods. To calculate the amount of calories you'll need:
   • Multiply your bodyweight in pounds by 20. This is the amount of calories you'll need to eat on days that you work out, to gain muscle.
3. Calculate your protein needs. If you want to build muscle and gain weight, it's absolutely essential that you take in enough protein to promote muscle growth. Without the proper amount of protein, you can do damage to your muscles by over-exerting them. To find out how much lean protein you'll need, multiply your bodyweight in pounds by about 1.5 to find out the number of grams of protein you'll need to consume in a day.
   • Make friends with chicken and peanut butter. Lean in fat, but high in protein, these are easy-to-eat and widely available ways of making sure that you get enough protein in your diet.
4. Drink whey protein shakes between meals. An extremely common way of bulking up and gaining muscle mass after workouts is to use a protein supplement to stimulate muscle growth. Protein whey powders are widely available, which allow you to mix up smoothies to get added nutrients, vitamins, and added protein into one easy-to-drink concoction.
   • Protein shakes are notoriously not very tasty, so it's helpful to incorporate whey powder into smoothies including yoghurt, bananas, strawberries, and other tasty fruits, so you're not just slugging down what amounts to protein wallpaper paste. If it tastes better, you'll be much more likely to use it.
5. Eat low-glycemic slow-digesting carbohydrates. You should be eating about twice your weight (lbs.) in carbohydrates (grams) on days that you work out, and those carbs should consist primarily of low-glycemic carbohydrates. That means whole grains, like rolled oats, and fresh fruits, and sweet potatoes. Avoid refined wheat flour.
6. Stimulate testosterone production by eating fat. Athletes who build muscle typically eat more monosaturated and saturated fats, which increase testosterone levels, in turn helping muscle growth. You should typically be eating about half your body weight (pounds) in good fats during your work out days.
   • One of the best ways to do this is drinking milk. It's easy to take down, even if you're not feeling hungry, and an excellent way to get more fat into your diet. Drink a glass of milk three times a day when you work out.
7. Develop your lifting or training regimen. All this calorie intake will just translate into fat unless you're lifting and workout out vigorously along with your calorie surplus. Make sure you develop a healthy work-out routine tailored to your interests and goals for muscle gain.
   • Typically, on days that you'll work out, you'll add a hefty pre- and post-workout meal to your regular three-meal-a-day regimen. To eat the proper number of calories on your off-days, simply skip these meals.
8. Take a fiber supplement. If you're going to be increasing the amount of lean protein and carbs that you eat in a day, it's also very important that you take a fiber supplement to keep your gastro-intestinal tract functioning regularly. Gaining weight effectively can be somewhat uncomfortable without one.

Eating Competitively

1. Build up your stomach capacity slowly. Anyone who's ever been inspired to down as many franks as possible by the Nathan's Hot Dog competition has come up against a quick and harsh reality: you can't eat that many hot dogs without preparation. The stomach is a muscle like any other. It needs training and recovery, otherwise you risk injury. If you want to increase your stomach's capacity, take it slow.
   • According to some studies, the average human stomach holds about 1.5 liters before becoming nauseated, but can hold between 3-5 liters if trained properly.
   • It is possible to rupture your stomach if you eat too much too quickly, but it's extremely uncommon and rare. You'll usually vomit before you risk a stomach tear or other physical problems.
2. Train with water. The healthiest way of training and expanding your stomach capacity is not with food, but with water. Competitive eaters are able to drink as much as a gallon of water at a time, in less than 20 minutes. This increases the stomach's capacity and carries relatively little health impact, compared with eating lots of food at once.
   • Start slow, increasing the number of glasses of water you drink in a day incrementally, then increasing the speed at which you consume the water you drink. It's usually recommended to drink as many as eight glasses of water in a day to begin with, so start there and gradually build up your capacity.
3. Wet your food. Water serves a purpose during eating competitions, as well as during your training. While dunking a hot dog bun in water might not seem that appetizing, it helps to break down the food before you put it into your mouth, making it much easier to swallow and start digesting. The faster you get it down, the more you'll be able to eat, and water helps this process.
   • Don't drink too much of the water while you're eating. While it's ok to use some water to help lubricate the food, don't gulp it to quench your thirst, or you'll be taking up valuable real estate in your stomach.
4. Train with cruciferous vegetables. Two or three times a week, competitive eater Yasir Salem steams as many as eight pounds of broccoli and cauliflower for a training meal. These vegetables are bland, high in vitamins, and will move through your digestive tract quickly, making them ideal for stretching your stomach easily, combined with a large amount of water.
   • For an added bonus, add a large amount of sauerkraut. Fermented cabbage has probiotic properties that will help keep your intestinal flora in balance, making it an ideal food for competitive eaters.
5. Chew gum to strengthen your jaw muscles. Competitive eaters will regularly chew up to six pieces of gum at once, to strengthen jaw muscles and make sure their eating instrument is in good working order. As important as your stomach is to your ability to eat more food, it won't do any good if you can't chew that food quickly and efficiently.
   • Check out this article article for neck and jaw strengthening exercises you can incorporate into your routine.
6. Do lots of cardiovascular exercise. Ever notice how competitive eaters are generally lean and mean? That's because they're in shape. Contrary to what you might expect, the ability to eat a lot comes from a lot more than a big appetite. Hard training and good cardio are an essential part of being able to eat food quickly and competitively.
   • Read this article article for good tips about cardiovascular health.
   • Good breathing is necessary for competitive eaters, as well. Do breathing exercises to make sure you can breathe effectively while you're cramming that food in.
7. Specialize. Not all competitive eaters are alike. Hot dog champions need to train in completely different ways, for completely different amounts, than does a bacon-eating champion, a chili eating champion, or an oyster eating champion. Knowing the specifics of your food of choice will allow you to prepare more specifically.
   • Major League Eating is the US national organization that governs competitive eating. Check out their website to learn more about joining up and competing.
   • It's very important to meet with a health professional, dietician, or biofeedback specialist to come up with a health and training regimen for the food you hope to consume to keep your body working for you, instead of against you.

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