[Rodney King]

I drove by this place yesterday and have resolved to accompish this feat on April 12th, 2004 (My birthday). I need some strategy help. Which course do you eat first? How to prepare yourself in the weeks and days leading up to the event, etc. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[CindyDawg]

I saw a bill board in Houston about this last week. Want some of us freepers that will be in the area to come cheer you on?

[PatrickHenry]

Are you allowed to throw up during the meal? That would help a lot. It's how the Romans handled their banquets.

"I can eat 50 eggs."
-- Cool Hand Luke

[Atlas Sneezed]

Practice chewing. It will make it easier on your gut if all is well-chewed. (And use your knife to cut tiny slices, carefully cut across the grain.)

Practice eating 3-4-pound steaks leading up to the event.

Also, ask yourself WHY?

[strela]

I drove by this place yesterday and have resolved to accompish this feat on April 12th, 2004 (My birthday). I need some strategy help. Which course do you eat first? How to prepare yourself in the weeks and days leading up to the event, etc.

I did it, back in 1989 (and have the certificate around here somewhere to prove it).

My tips:

- Eat little or nothing the week before you go.

- Drink only from one small glass of tea with no ice during the meal - just enough liquid to keep you from choking if a piece of meat gets stuck in your throat.

- Don't add any extra butter, sour cream, or chives to the baked potato. (You have to eat all the trimmings too).

- Don't try to eat the whole thing in the first 10 minutes. You get an hour to do it - use as much of the hour as you can.

- Eat the food that will pack most densely in your stomach first and leave the steak for last. (Cut-up pieces of steak take up a lot more room in your stomach, and if you eat it first, you'll feel fuller).

[ConservativeMan55]

Drink A LOT of WATER!!!!

[Atlas Sneezed]

The top sirloin cut gets dried out fast, so order it rare.

[Joe_October]

Eat the first 71 ounces quickly and savor the last ounce.

Sorry, Best I can do.

There's a place in Vegas and Salt Lake and a few other places called Leatherby's. They offer a sundae that if you can eat it they put your name on the wall. I've always wanted to do that.

On top of the shear bulk of it, you gotta' deal with hyperthermia. Ain't America Great!

[Southack]

Our Boy Scout troop stopped at the Big Texan on our way back from Philmont Scount Ranch.

We'd been eating a few survival foods and climbing mountains for our 90 mile, two week hike, so by the time we reached the Big Texan, we were about as humanly hungry as healthy adults could get.

I finished 36 ounces, and I'm a big guy.

The 72 ounce steak is just too much!

[RoseofTexas]

GOOD LUCK!! I witnessed a brave soul take on the mighty 72oz. steak there and FAILED! The food there is WONDERFUL and a great time was had by all watching this poor guy trying REAL hard to eat the WHOLE THING! And he wasn't a small dude either!

[harrowup]

...resolved to accompish this feat on April 12th, 2004 (My birthday).

I have you marked in the calendar and wish to extend a warm welcome to the Panhandle and the City of Amarillo which boasts some of the greatest architectual gems from the golden days of the Art Deco movement and the boom days when oil, wheat and cotton joined the vast herds of cattle...from whence comes your challenge...

When we are in town we frequently take visitors to the Big Texan which actively supports the local boosters. Anyway, while I've never attempted the feat, we have been there when others have. What the secret is I don't know but it wouldn't hurt to stretch your stomach for a few days before the event by drinking lots of water, getting a good night's sleep and plan to sit down at whatever time you are normally eating your most filling meal of the day.

And remember, it isn't 4.5 #s of beef you are consuming but 18 Quarter Pounders ...without the buns...If I hear of any good tips before your visit I'll pass them on to you, but in any case, best wishes and good luck...what's your lipid profile, by the way?

Oh, I almost forgot. Texans cheer like crazy when a fella wins and are far too mannered to jeer when he fails...but the silence is almost worse...and on the way down from center stage...where the table is placed in the middle of the dining room...nobody says anything at all to the guy...at least that is the way I've seen it three times in five years.

[jackbill]

Let me get this straight. You pay $50, eat a 72 oz. steak and all you get is a lousy T-shirt?

Several years ago, a restaurant on Cape Cod offered a 64 oz. steak and if you ate it, it was free.

[JoeSixPack1]

I did it once. Tried it twice.

Eat fast.

Get as much as you can down your throat before your stomach knows it's there.

[Pukin Dog]

Get this stuff, take a couple pills right before you go in, and then take two more right after you leave the place. Otherwise, you will be plugged like a dam for over a week. The enzymes will start the digestive process before you finish the food, giving you more room in your stomach as you go.

[skinkinthegrass]

I drove by this place yesterday and have resolved to accompish this feat on April 12th, 2004 (My birthday). I need some strategy help. Which course do you eat first? How to prepare yourself in the weeks and days leading up to the event, etc. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

hehehe..Stop Watching The History Channel...America Eats... :))

The Food Channel...The Best in...Grillin' w/ Bobby Faye :))

Both very Fine Channels...back to the issue, post #3 sounds good & small amount of water. :))

[old-ager]

" If you get sick (its been know to happen) the contest is over, period."

Saving time and money ... getting sick just thinking about it!

[Rebelbase]

Hungry for a snack?

[MrsEmmaPeel]

Good Lord! 72 onces! I just had a steak dinner. My size was 6 onces and it was more than enough for me. Wish you luck - I certainly won't be competing against you!

[FreedomCalls]

[crz]

Proof that the bigger the meat the more the women enjoy.

[Rebelbase]

Rent the movie "Great Outdoors". John Candy performed this feat...don't remember if the made it all the way or not.