My body is clearly crying out for more food. My workouts, and my job, have me burning a ton of calories and honestly I don’t think I’m replenishing them enough.
I’m gaining some muscle with heavy weightlifting, but my overall weight isn’t changing much and I’m frequently hungry. (I’m 6’1 and currently weigh 180# – trying to gain at least 10 more pounds).
Eating pretty clean, too. Plenty of lean protein (eggs, lean meat, fish, milk), high-quality protein shakes, fruits, vegetables, nuts. Healthy carbs and fats. I don’t eat junk food, try to limit fried food and sweets, and have almost no alcohol these days. Lots of water.
How can I put on some extra weight without getting a beer belly? I’m 57, so I know I have to be very careful here (although I know guys much younger than me who seem to be putting on beer bellies overnight.)
Is it just a matter of eating more of what I’m already eating?
And yes, I do plenty of ab and core work too.
Any advice is appreciated…
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You mentioned lean meat. Maybe give some fattier cuts of red meat a try for a bit (Ribeye).
Easy way to add some extra calories but remain clean eating.
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Just add a little at a time and assess. You won’t get fat overnight, so you can pull back when you stop liking what you see.
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I’m 50. I think the approach is to keep up activities that don’t allow for a beer gut: sprints, jumps, calisthenics and the like. I’m a big believer in the body adapting to efficiently perform the activities we’re demanding it to do, so do activities that can be done most efficiently without a beer belly.
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This may be an unpopular opinion but you’re fit and trim and way above what most of your cohorts achieved. If you have your training and nutrition dialed in as an experienced athlete, gaining mass can actually be very hard! I knew a young pro athlete who was elated when he finally gained a measly 3 lbs over the course of a year.
You need to up the calories at all costs while upping quality volume on the other side while juggling life, stress and health with your other limbs.
I’d say if you are at maintenance calories now, but want to gain 10 lbs, but also have it not be much fat, that increasing calories through adding in protein is probably a good idea. If you were to add 200 kcal only through protein (50 grams of protein), that very little would go to fat.
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