As a reminder, Holy Bulk is an experiment in diet and lifestyle designed to help us gain lean, fat-free mass — the right way. We theorize, test, assess, and adapt. It’s a dynamic system, always evolving toward its final form.

🗂️ Starter Pack Download

To make things easy, I’ve put together a starter food list you can download and use right away.
👉 [Click here to access]

Nutrition and Weight Gain

When bulking, most people get stuck for the same reasons. This all can easily be fixed with a structured food intake and proper planning. To understand better, I’ve created a hierarchy that clearly outlines the most limiting factors to growth.

• Side A (Macro): external & structural factors

• Side B (Micro): internal & biochemical factors

From other sources, you’ll simply hear about “hormones”. It is a loaded word — but in our world, it’s not complicated.

In this context, hormones =

• Appetite regulation

• Muscle protein synthesis (thyroid)

• Motivation & drive (dopamine/testosterone)

• Stress response (cortisol)

That is all part of Side B. The good news? Fixing Side B takes care of most of Side A (except budget — for that, make more money 😅). Once A and B are fixed, you have no brakes on your growth. We will tackle this through nutrition and nutrient density.

🧪 The Reasoning Behind the Diet

If you followed the fat loss phase with sugar dieting and sugar fasts, the foods I present here are simply a logical continuation. These foods are selected to directly address and support Side B, and by extension, Side A.

Why the following foods?

Foods of the Holy Bulk are all fully digestible, pro-thyroid, low in endotoxin, and easy to partition toward muscle gain. They refill liver glycogen, stabilize blood sugar, and support digestion without bloating or feeding gut bacteria. This gives us skinny guys the ability to eat more, train harder, and recover faster — while protecting gut health, hormonal balance, and appetite drive. They’re also repeatable, affordable in bulk, and simple to prep — making it easier to stick to the plan day after day, without falling off or breaking the budget.

Without going too deep just yet, these are also staple foods that are locally grown and available year-round in most countries — making them reliable choices in terms of both locality and seasonality.

Core Foods of the Holy Bulk 1.0

🍊 Pulp-Free Orange Juice

Liver fuel + potassium hit. Fast-digesting sugar for glycogen repletion and stress reduction — zero bloat. Essential for thyroid and muscle metabolism. To drink with salt.

🥛 A2 or Lactose-Free Skim Milk

Protein + sugar without the gut stress. Easy to digest, affordable, and rich in calcium, B-vitamins, and complete protein. Great for shakes or sipping.

🍚 White Rice

Clean, residue-free starch. Lectin-free, fully digestible. Perfect for glycogen refill, and cheap to batch cook. Salt to taste.

🥩 Lean Grass-Fed Beef

High-quality protein, iron, zinc, and creatine — supports testosterone, dopamine, and recovery. Lean cuts = better macro control.

🥥 Coconut Oil

Saturated fat for absorbing fat-soluble vitamins (A/D/E/K2), bile flow support, and antifungal properties. We only need a spoonful.

🥚 Pastured Eggs

Nature’s multivitamin. Yolks give us retinol, choline, cholesterol, and usable fat for hormones. Use whole eggs or yolks separately in starch-free meals.

💪 Whey Protein Isolate

High-leucine, low-lactose protein booster. Pairs perfectly with OJ, honey, or rice. Clean, fast-digesting, and easy on the gut. Make sure to get a high-quality one that’s free of additives and poor artificial sweeteners.

🔍 Nutritional Coverage: Why This Diet Works Long-Term

Any extreme diet can work short-term. But over time, if you’re low in carbs, fats, or protein — or missing key vitamins — you’ll break down.

• Too low fat = poor hormone regulation

• Too low carb = poor hormone production

• Too low protein = stalled muscle growth

• Vitamin/mineral deficiencies = system-wide breakdown

The Holy Bulk aims to maximize performance while avoiding deficiencies. Use Cronometer to track and troubleshoot based on your personal intake.

📊 Cronometer Overview

My theoretical maintenance: 3,470 kcal/day.

As stated in Issue #6, my daily macro goals are:

• Protein: ~217g

• Carbs: ~521g

• Fats: ~58g

• Total: ~3,473 kcal/day

🥣 My Current Daily Intake

You can adjust quantities to match your own goals and macro targets.

🧪 Micronutrient Snapshot

Thanks to this setup, almost everything looks great.

One area to focus on: Vitamin K and Vitamin E — they often fall short with simple food lists.

We’ll cover targeted supplements for these in one of the next issue.

Processed Foods?

To no one’s surprise (I think), the diet is mostly whole, single-ingredient foods. Is there place for more in the Holy Bulk? Yes, there is.

I have a very specific list of “clean” junk foods that support adherence and still respect the system. I’ll reveal it in a future drop. Trust me — you’ll be surprised.

That’s it for today!

Any questions? As usual, just shoot.

Until next time.

Train hard. Eat harder.
— Sainté