Trying to Gain Weight, What's Wrong

Bigger Stronger Leaner Competitive Bodybuilding
1

ok, so a long time reader and first time poster…

just like to say, looove this site

can people help me out here,

ive been trying to gain weight for the past 12 months or so and Ihaven;t had much success.

when I was a kid, I was kinda chubby, so if you saw me walking down the street, I wouldn’t look skinny, just normal, maybe slightly chubby if I took my shirt off. never went to the gym, played a bit of tennis.

I am now 27, fairly short 169cm, joined the gym approximately, 3 years ago. I weighed 73kg, with a body fat of approx 28%, I power walked 9km 3-5 times per week, went to the gym 3-5 times per week, didn’t eat any bread/rice/pasta or alike for 12 months,
and got my bodyweight down to 58kg and bodyfat of about 13.5%.

Quite happy with the transformation,

then I focused on changing my goal to gaining weight, that is good weight ie muscle… now I don’t want to look like arnie but I would like to get as big and ripped as possible. During my training at times I have thought I could never do this because of genetics, my dad weighs 53kg when his diet is bad, 48kg when normal…

I now have a great trainer who trains more then I do, has a body which is unbeleivealbe, and is 50+ years old…

anyway, the problem I am having is that the weight I am at currently at 63kg, I would like maybe 70-75kg, but I have gained like 1-1.5kg max this year. Bodyfat approx 15%, my current trainer I have been with for the past 10 months, gives me new programs every 6-8 weeks, and I talk to him 2-3 times per week…

What could I possibly be doing wrong…

here are some basic facts of what I am doing.
DIET:
3-4 meals per day + 2 shakes per day
2-3 meals approx 300g meat + veges
1 meal usuaully breakfast cereal with yoghurt or similar
Binge drink ever 2nd weekend or so, so not a heavy drinker
I assume that I am getting 1.5g of protein per kg of bodyweight
diet may be lacking in calories, so I have begun to take 1 tsp of olive oil 2 times per day

TRAINING:
just about no cardio,
train hard 5-6 times per week…

do you experts have anything that is obviously wrong???

2

[quote]akumaslair wrote:
here are some basic facts of what I am doing.
DIET:
3-4 meals per day + 2 shakes per day
2-3 meals approx 300g meat + veges
1 meal usuaully breakfast cereal with yoghurt or similar
Binge drink ever 2nd weekend or so, so not a heavy drinker
I assume that I am getting 1.5g of protein per kg of bodyweight
diet may be lacking in calories, so I have begun to take 1 tsp of olive oil 2 times per day

do you experts have anything that is obviously wrong???
[/quote]

It is all in there. You aren’t eating that much and you don’t know how much protein you are getting. Why not have an omelet, with ham and veggies for breakfast? You can still have the yoghurt but you really need to eat something better than just cereal.

Next, track what you are eating for the next couple weeks and find out if you really are getting the 1.5g of protein per POUND. It is less (about half) per kg. Now, if you are really getting 300g of meat and it isn’t very fatty, you are getting enough protein. However, you should know.

Also, what types of carbs are you getting, what is your recovery like, etc.?

3

I agree with Arioch, you don’t actually know what you are eating do you?

what are you doing peri-workout?

Lay out a typical day of eating for us.

what does your training look like? (just curious)

4

binge drinking every 2 weeks is still too much drinking.

5

[quote]Stronghold wrote:
binge drinking every 2 weeks is still too much drinking.[/quote]

If by binge drinking you mean getting wrecked then that could be killing 3 to 5 days of optimal recovery each time. That may not be the whole answer though you are not 18 anymore and 27 is sneaking up on the age where this kind of thing can’t be gotten away with any more.

If you were doing a routine built on a foundation of big compound movements, eating 6 man sized meals of quality calories a day, including plenty of fat, and knocked off the drinking I don’t now how you would avoid making gains

6

ok… thanks everyone…

I forgot to add

for breakfast, I usuually have 6 eggs + a little bit of vegies.

Yes, I should stop binge drinking. I don’t get trashed or anything but the odd time I do…

Ill get a breakdown of food in the next few days.

with the meat I am eating its usually either
skin free chicken thigh fillets, (a little skin is on there but I try and take as much off) and beef

carbs: I am eating just standard vegies, Not a huge variety but lettuce, brocolli, tomato, cucumber, celery etc.

carbs: i am eating approximately the equivalent to 2 slices of bread/1 bowl of rice say twice every 3 days.

Could my overall calorie intake be too low???

7

[quote]akumaslair wrote:

Could my overall calorie intake be too low???[/quote]

Yes.

8

[quote]Scott M wrote:
akumaslair wrote:

Could my overall calorie intake be too low???

Yes.[/quote]

This is in no way aimed at this guy in particular, but why is it that people have absolutely no trouble whatever believing that food will get them fat, but have to be struck by lightning to be persuaded that food will get them big?

You cannot, ever, under any circumstances, even with drugs, grow beyond your diet. You can, however join the elite group of dedicated trainees who leave their testicle on the gym floor every time, but never seem to really progress because they refuse to eat in the fear of 5 adipose cells accumulating around their navel.

9

It’s hard to pinpoint where this mentality comes from. I see a problem in seeing only “after” pictures and no “befores” of bodybuilders. A thread a few days ago I posted a picture of Trey Brewer ar 18-19 years old with a 300 lb brute lineman type physique and then his 230ish on stage pictures. People only see that stage picture and don’t realize that it took that big time eating and heavy iron lifting that got him the 300 lb physique to have earned then 230 lb stage physique.

Lot’s of people want their physique today, or hell yesterday, and it’s hard to convince people that there the way to get there isn’t really sexy or flashy. Get really strong on big exercises, eat a lot, and that’s about it. That’s a pretty tough sell haha. Oh well some people get it and put in the effort.

10

[quote]Tiribulus wrote:
Scott M wrote:
akumaslair wrote:

Could my overall calorie intake be too low???

Yes.

This is in no way aimed at this guy in particular, but why is it that people have absolutely no trouble whatever believing that food will get them fat, but have to be struck by lightning to be persuaded that food will get them big?

You cannot, ever, under any circumstances, even with drugs, grow beyond your diet. You can, however join the elite group of dedicated trainees who leave their testicle on the gym floor every time, but never seem to really progress because they refuse to eat in the fear of 5 adipose cells accumulating around their navel.[/quote]

sorry I don’t get it,

are you saying that a lot of people are scared of eating as they think it will make them fat…

I eat a lot and will increase it more, (if I can afford it) to meet/reach/achieve my goal.

it seems that my calorie intake is a bit low, so I have started drinking 1 tsp of olive oil 2-3 times a day,

are there any other foods that are high in calories, and I assume that they should be low in sat fats, sugars… would this be a goer??

11

I skipped the last portion of the post about having a trainer for 10 months and you’ve only gained 1-1.5 kgs. Are you paying this guy?

12

do you use Surge?

i don’t know if you do, but i’ve gained 15 lbs since i started using Surge… that was 4 months ago… other than that my diet has remained the same… up until a week ago i didn’t use any other supplements… i work out more, but thats mostly because Surge allows me to recover faster.

13

If you’re eating good food overall there is nothing to fear from some saturated fat. SOME saturated fat. Drinking lard is probably not a good idea, but whole eggs, some chicken thighs and a burger or juicy steak will boost the cals and some saturated fat is good for you. Again assuming you’re also eating fish/fish oils and your EVOO along with greens/veggies and SOME fruit.

Also, like Scott is implying (strongly) in 10 months as a young noob you could have gained 20 lean pounds (maybe more) without a lot of fanfare. Your trainer may be good at trimming down housewives, but he doesn’t sound like he has much experience and or knowledge on how to help somebody grow beyond average. Could be wrong, maybe you weren’t clear enough about what you were after.

EDIT: Oh yeah. Yes, it seems the better part of the western world has developed an inadvertent mental block against eating like grown men along with a mysterious allergy to sporting a physique that exceeds the Sears underwear ads.

14

whats Surge, never heard of it.

also, I am not paying the trainer, he actually owns the gym I go to and he seriously knows what he is talking about, in the industry for 30+ years, has at least 3-4 body builders both M and F, I believe they come first in every competition they enter…

so I have started drinking olive oil, I have been told that milk is high in calories, should I drink a bit more milk as well, I do get a fair bit of meat at the moment…

however, should I be wary of the saturated fat intake…

15

[quote]akumaslair wrote:
whats Surge, never heard of it.

also, I am not paying the trainer, he actually owns the gym I go to and he seriously knows what he is talking about, in the industry for 30+ years, has at least 3-4 body builders both M and F, I believe they come first in every competition they enter…

so I have started drinking olive oil, I have been told that milk is high in calories, should I drink a bit more milk as well, I do get a fair bit of meat at the moment…

however, should I be wary of the saturated fat intake…[/quote]

OK, going to say this one again, if you don’t know how much you are eating, and how much you need to maintain, we can’t tell you to eat more. From what we have read, it appears you need to eat more or your workout sucks. We just don’t know.

If you want to know about eating more, do a search on massive eating. Also, figure out how much you eat (with regards to calories). Then, post a sample workout and we can give you tips. Until then, it is all speculation which may or may not actually help you.

16

[quote]Stronghold wrote:
binge drinking every 2 weeks is still too much drinking.[/quote]

Not really, unless you are training for a show. That won’t derail your efforts. Alcohol isn’t that bad for you.
Life’s about balance, there’s more to life than lifting and eating, but not much more.
What you will notice as you get older is this, your alcohol consumption is directly proportional to how many kids you have.
So, what does this mean? When you think you’ve found the right girl, RUN! :slight_smile:

17

You need to keep a food log. At least for a couple months. Write down everything you eat, specifically.

We asked you to give us a typical day of eating and you told us what types of foods you eat. Not what you have typically eaten in the past few days.

Give us a day out of your log, and we’ll help further.

It’s hard to asses without detailed info.

And, about the drinking, binge drinking at all is probably bad. A drink or two every once in a while, not so bad, binge drinking is going to fuck up your system for a little while regardless of how often.

18

Anyone who has ever told me they eat a “fair bit” of meat or food in general usually gags or says BULLSHIT! when I tell them how much I eat in a typical training day.

The trainer might know what he’s talking about, but the trainee isn’t holding up his end of the bargain.

Try this hyper scientific method of gaining weight.

For 5 meals a day get an average sized plate and fill 50% of it with lean red meat. Fill 40% of it with vegetables and 10% of it with nuts and or fish oil caps.

For 2 meals a day drink 50-75 grams of protein powder and put in 2 tbsp olive oil.

Drink 1/2 gallon of milk(your choice of what kind) with meals.

Train at least 1 big compound lift per bodypart. Train to add 50-100 lbs on those big lifts on each bodypart. Report back in 6 months.

19

If i ate like some posters who cant gain weight say the eat, i’d be growing!

And i have a faster than average metabolism and am over 6’ tall with a slim build.

I just can’t believe these guys actually consistently eat what they say they do

You see, akumaslair, youre saying that you eat 6 eggs for breakfast and nearly 1kg of meat a day plus 2 shakes and vegetables but cant gain weight.

Bet you could if you left the skin on the meat and drank some milk. Don’t fear fat. The extra calories you need are easily met by adding a little of the good stuff.

By the way, are you mixing ‘fat free’ protein shakes into water? What’s the point of that!

If you can eat all this and still not gain weight then either your metablism is on overload or your digestive system must be very inefficient.

20

ok…

this is my typical diet.

I do this roughly 12 days of the fortnight, sometimes on the weekend, I skip few meals.

Meal 1: 6 egg whites + herbal tea/juice + a bit of salad
Meal 2: Protein Shake within 15 minutes of training
Meal 3: 300-350g of chicken/Beef + salad/veges
Meal 4: 300-350g of chicken/Beef + salad/veges
Meal 5: Protein Shake
Meal 6: 300-350g of chicken/Beef + salad/veges OR bowl of cereal with milk/yoghurt depending on how I feel and what food is availalbe.

I don’t snack at all, so don’t eat chocolate/sweets very often, don’t drink the sugary softdrinks, the odd diet softdrink…

thats about it…