Gaining without Milk! Need advice!

[Paul McKirdy]

Hail coconut oil , I eat mine on ice cream.

And every time I see a squirrel make a vertical leap that appears to be four times or more its length, I know that having more nuts in my diet is nothing but a good thing.

[Blair Lowe]

I have been asked by my friend to help him as he wants to bulk up. He's 5'7 or 8 and 133 pounds or so. Vietnamese and can't drink milk. Tried to drink nonfat organic since our friend's philipino gf said that is easier for her, but apparently a no go either. He has not tried lactose-free yet or lactase caps.

My friend and I reccomended SS for him since it is simple and he is a noob to lifting. He'll probably join a gym to get access to weights since he lives at home and I don't think buying a cage and weights is an option. Hell, I don't even know what his diet is. He's pretty skinny and I would guess doesn't eat too much all in all unless it's a saturday night.

Would it be possible for him to calculate on the zone at a target weight, up the fat blocks and gain on this if the milk option doesn't work?

It doesn't seem he is opposed to drinking milk but just has problems with it. Looks like lactase caps could get expensive, but I'm not sure how much lactose-free milk costs. It looks like lactose free milk is available in all types.

I'm pretty sure even though he lives at home he is on a limited budget based on what I know his bills and hours are. Not sure if his parents would help him in his endeavor or not since if he went no milk gain route, it would mean lots of eating.

I, myself am not familiar with mass gain. Once upon a time before gymnastics I had dreams of under 200, but didn't eat for it properly in restrospect.

I did find this thread, besides some googling and searching at the CF board and SM. Don't know what T-nation has and I'm not familiar with BB forums at all.

[Allen Yeh]

If he is looking at gaining I don't know I would even bother with Zone at all. It sounds like he doesn't even do the basics of nutrition and the milk part isn't necessary it just helps a lot.

I mean he needs to start eating at least a base amount of calories before even considering the milk option anyway. The milk thing is in addition to everything else. I'd first get him eating just MORE and then worry about adding more calories. SS is great and if he is a noob he'll make great progress with it doing exactly as it's laid out.

Protein - At least 1 BW in grams
Carbs - At least 1.5 BW in grams - I'm guessing he doesn't have a problem with carbs since you didn't mention it.
Fat - At least with 1/2 BW in grams

That adds up to (2.5 * 133 *4) + (66 * 9) = ~2000 calories Then work up more fat with stuff like coconut milk, nut butters....etc

[ryan mac]

Originally Posted by Allen Yeh

Coconut milk can be your friend during this time.

What kind do you prefer?

Thanks.

[Allen Yeh]

You can get it from Asian groceries or I often pick it up at Trader Joes. Whatever is convenient.

[Mike ODonnell]

Originally Posted by Blair Lowe

I have been asked by my friend to help him as he wants to bulk up. He's 5'7 or 8 and 133 pounds or so.

Hell, I don't even know what his diet is. He's pretty skinny and I would guess doesn't eat too much all in all unless it's a saturday night.

There is no such thing as a hardgainer....just someone not eating enough. He only needs to lift a couple times a week...but he HAS to focus on eating more...otherwise he won't gain anything no matter how often he works out. The Zone shouldn't even be a concern....it should be a free forall with protein/fat on non-workout days....and protein/carbs on workout days.

This may also help: http://www.theiflife.com/2008/08/26/...aining-muscle/

[Blair Lowe]

Awesome. Teaching him the basic lifts will be the easy part. Since I only vaguely can guess at the diet, I'm sure that will be the hard part. Actually I'm sure that is the hardest part of gaining/cutting, etc.