Gaining

I've really been taking a look at potentially starting up the intentional gain again. I'm definitely liking the idea of cutting loose some and I noticed it some when I intentionally cramming a few little Debbie Snack cakes tonight. I definitely get excited at the thought of finally giving myself permission to fatten up and the idea of just not caring about what anyone has to say is starting to seem a bit more attainable. I do worry a little bit over being able to remain physically active and health longer term (I don't mind being a bit unhealthy during the initial "blimping up" phase lol). Honestly, there is a bit of eroticism in the idea of my health markers taking a dip from what I'd be doing to myself 😅.

There is definitely still a part of me that worries a little bit about comments from friends and family (although that part has definitely gotten smaller). But overall, I feel like my concerns would be moreso outgrowing clothes and overall negative health impacts (in spite of the eroticism of both lol).

I actually recently had a Doctor's appointment and the doctor said that everything seemed good, so my next appointment should probably just be my next annual physical and I kind of thought it might be fun to show up for that appointment noticably larger 😳.

Enjoy the journey 🤩

Enjoy the journey! Wrestling with that psychological aspect is part of the journey and can be very rewarding.

I’m at a similar phase as what you’ve described and also want to be able to gain without putting my health in too much jeopardy. For the past few weeks I’ve been eating 5,000 calories a day but most of the excess is protein drinks (2 Chobani 20g protein drinks and 2 chocolate protein drinks/day), 2 cans of evaporated milk a day, and about 500 calories in desserts as a reward at the end of the day. All of that in addition to my normal diet of lean protein and lots of fruits/vegetables + working out. Figured I can cut out the less healthy liquid calories there if I want to slow down. It’s going pretty well and I’ve gained about 15 pounds in a month. Seems a little healthier to me than 5,000 calories of pure junk food, even though it’s still not super healthy (we’ll see how my labs come back at the next doctor visit lol). But you can definitely still become a big boy that way 😉