My first guess is that you’re not getting in a true 3400 per day.
At 153lbs, your TDEE can’t be more than 2200-2400, unless you’re really hammering the cardio to you. A 500 cal surplus nets 1 lb per week; so you should easily be gaining weight at ~2900…certainly at 3400…and even more certainly at the start of a bulk.
The first 2 weeks of a bulk are the fastest 5 lbs you’ll ever gain. The initial increase in cals/carbs increases glycogen quickly and you put on weight very easily; it slows after that as you settle into your new macros.
So I should start making my own lunches and bringing them to school. Just like rice and chicken. Rice steak. Stuff like that . I’ve heard of that. And then I’ve had people tell me “as long as your eating enough it doesn’t matter what you eat you will see gains “
That is not really what I would consider tracking. Where are the food listings and macros? Do you just eat 3x a day? How much protein are you getting?
Yes, but again,
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I would do this with as many meals as possible: not just lunch. By chance, did you read any of the articles I linked you?
I think maybe just throw some patience at this. You probably don’t need to lift 5x a week and you definitely need to give it longer than a fortnight.
In addition to the great advice about grabbing better control over your variables, just relax a bit and get into the process. You’re not going to gain 22lbs without gaining one; this takes time.
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I did read the articles you sent tomorrow. I’m going to buy all the ingredients to prep for next week and I will do the meal preps.
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I’ll chip in as someone who is your height and was your weight at about your age (now got 20 years on you and more than a few lb).
You are skinny (I was and I hated it and still don’t love dropping weight now even if it’s legit just fat loss, it’s a psychological battle), this will take time and consistency. Someone above said something about only really needing 2.2-2.4k, they may be right in 90% of the population, but if you’re anything like me, they’re wrong here. You need as much as you need to move the scale, normal calculations do not necessarily apply to you.
You’ve got the shopping list and the food from above, great start, you need to meal prep and eat, consistently, every day, day in day out, month in month out…year in you get the picture in the span of 20 years I’ve gone from 150lb (starting weight) to 217 (heaviest but not quality) and happy sit around 210. That 60lb took a long, long time and a huge amount of food - I remember trying to grow from your stage and constantly feeling full, yet it being the next meal time. I’ve drank shots of EVOO, drank peanut butter, drank gallon of milk daily for years (until I got intolerant) got the nickname milky and something else related to nuts (100g+ per day, an easy 600 cals) I’ve thrown up, repeatedly, from force feeding, it was a running joke in my house when I was gaining that I’d get about 10 minutes into a meal and need to go poop to create space, I was literally just that full all the time.
Too much info I know, but just to give you an idea of what this will probably take you, if you are anything like me. 20 years later I can eat, really big, and it doesn’t phase me, I enjoy it, but it takes time and a huge amount of discomfort.
Training wise, I’d say you want to define your ideal, you mention 175, I’ll go out on a limb and say you won’t be satisfied once you get there. Are you chasing a bodybuilder physique or a particular look, or are you wanting strength, athleticism? I’d say at your age personally if be focused on building a really good base of strength, 5/3/1 programs for a year or two, but if you’re wanting physique goals, don’t also neglect the smaller stuff. My arms still suck but I never gave them enough love (chin ups and dips are not enough for us tall dudes), but don’t spend all your time on isolation work.
Don’t worry about trying to keep a 6 pack either (if you have one), you’ll easily lose weight when you need to (I still do even after 20 years).
Learn to really, really push the limits tagging @davemccright for advice here. Learn to do that consistently, eat consistently and get the rest, you will grow, but it takes time.
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Whole milk, the best “good weight” gainer out there. Ditch the Mickey D’s and other highly processed crap. Peanut butter ,banana, and honey sandwiches on multi-grain bread works well, too, along with other good protein, carb, and healthy fat options. I followed Arnold’s weight gain diet when I was 15 and went from 150 to 170.in a couple of years.
Thank you for tagging me! Yeah I think first and foremost, if your goal is getting bigger, you’ve got to be putting in the effort in the gym. You need to be training balls to the wall, trying to add weight or reps every session while keeping form the same or better. These hard sets are going to be what pushes the muscles to grow! I like to use dynamic double progression. So set a rep range, 8-12 is a pretty solid one and when you do your failure set, if you get less than 12 reps, stay at the same weight. If you get 12 or more reps, increase the weight next week and repeat that process. Your actual training Split doesn’t matter so much. Full body, upper/Lower, push/pull/legs and bro splits all work great as long as you progress and are recovering from session to session. I generally just like to use a given lift once a week, I think variety of exercises for a muscle group is valuable for building a well-rounded physique.
From there, be getting a ton of protein. Your approach to nutrition sucks right now. If you want to stick with some pre-packaged stuff for convenience, start buying canned salmon. I mean the full-sized cans like they sell green beans in. There’s about 100 grams of protein in one of those cans. There’s half your days protein. Pair that with some blueberries, pineapple and/or strawberries and a pack of Uncle Ben’s minute rice, and you’ve got a great nutritious, protein filled meal that has half your protein figured for the day. Go with 4-6 eggs for breakfast cooked in coconut oil with spinach and a glass of milk. Post-workout just have a double scoop protein shake mixed with whole milk and a banana and for dinner have some steak or chicken thighs cooked in the air fryer with some air fried potatoes cooked in olive oil. That is a super solid bulking diet that is very sustainable.
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