Weight Gain

[Lucifers_Ghost]

Hello everyone,

I realize this may be a strange place to ask this sort of question but most people on these boards are really friendly so I figured .. why not.

I am going to start at a gym in February (cant start sooner ... corporate membership only kicks in then). Right now I am rather slender at 6ft and about 165 lbs. I do have a fairly high metabolism but am very healthy. Last years physical showed no red flags (no cholesterol problems, etc, etc.).

My question is can anyone give me some general guidelines (in terms of a diet) that they would use for gaining weight while training. I dont want you to create a "menu" for me, just some tips. As well, would you recommend a "protein shake" or weight gain supplement of any kind?

For the record, Im not looking to become Mr. Universe. I am looking to get in shape again, get some good cardio (probably the most important aspect of any workout program), gain some weight/muscle to bring my weight to about 190 or so so I can fill out my frame a bit.

Anywho, any advice you all have would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks a bunch.
LG

[beavereater]

Gaining and losing weight will depend entirely on how dedicated you are. Gaining 30lbs of muscle shouldn't be hard, but it's not going to be just a few guidelines that will get you there...but here are a few anyways.

1.Track your calories. You can use www.fitday.com to do this. In order to gain or lose weight you need to know how many calories you need. Figure out how many calories you need in order to maintain your current weight. Then add 500 calories to that. If you don't gain weight, then you need to eat more.

2. Use a good routine. Don't just randomly use machines and weights. Here is a 3 day full body routine
. Any good routine will focus on compound lifts like squats, deadlifts and bench. Don't be a curl jockey! Remember that exercising your legs is important. That doesn't mean running or using the bike.

3. Cardio is great for the heart and lungs. It is not necessary for weight gain. It can, in fact, hinder your results. If you decide to do cardio then do 15 minutes or so AFTER you lift. Or you can do HIIT.
If you really want to run, then you'll need to add more calories to your diet.

4. A good diet is going to be the key to your weight gain. Get in 1.5 grams of protein per lbs of bodyweight. 0.5 grams of fat per lbs of bodyweight (Approx. 20 percent of that being saturated fats as they are important too). The rest of your calories can be made up of carbohydrates or more fat and protein. Some prefer to low carb it (Eating no more than 100 grams a day, most of that being before and after lifting weights.). It really depends on what makes you feel good and something you can live with. Water is also very important. I drink about 4 liters a day, more in the summer.

5. Supplements should be used as...supplements. This means you only need a protein shake or a meal replacement if you can't get enough protein in your diet or you can't eat a proper meal sometime during the day. I drink protein because I need the protein without all the calories that come with meat. I still eat whole foods though. It's all part of a proper diet, it doesn't replace the food entirely.

Hope this gets you started. Remember that you have to rest. Muscle grows outside the gym, not in the gym. On rest days stay active with a sport or something else, but be sure to rest properly.

[SquirrelDip]

Rub toilet paper on the body part you wish enlarged - this has worked wonders for my Ex, she's got the hugest ass I've seen.

[Xylob the Destroyer]

Rub toilet paper on the body part you wish enlarged - this has worked wonders for my Ex, she's got the hugest ass I've seen.

indeed, this method seems to have 'better' results with women though...

if your metabolism is too cranked, that weight gain shit won't do a damn thing for you. I know this from personal experience. when I was in high school I had 3 Joe Weider weight gain shakes a day, but I mixed 'em with ice cream as well as whole milk. ate ungodly (on the verge of disgustingly) HUGE meals at least 5 times a day and worked out at least 4 times a week.
didn't gain a fuckin' pound.... at least I was toned!

if only my metabolism would've stayed like it was when I was 16

[beavereater]

If you have trouble gaining weight, you need more calories. There will always come a point when your body HAS to gain weight regardless of your 'fast' metabolism...unless you have an over-active thyroid or something, then it might be harder. One of the best ways to add calories to your diet is to add olive oil to everything you eat. I put olive oil in my shakes and I don't even taste it. Add it to salads, meats, anything.

[Super Warrior]

Sheesh gaining is easy, losing is the hard part.

If you've got a fast metabolism keeping you thin, enjoy it and hope it continues.

Me? I diet, exercise, and lift weights 24/7. And have a hard time getting the weight to come off.

[beavereater]

What kind of routine do you have?

[ps2daddy]

Weight gain is something I do all too well

Very simplified version (actually complicated but fir the sake of a quick post)

Approx 3500 calaroies = 1 pound of weight gaining or loosing weight
protein protien protien
Dont eat too much fat
Work hard but dont overtrain 3-5 days of weights

I am trying to loose weight and maintain strength myself I lost 30 from last year and if I loose another 30 or so that would put me around 290lbs

I like to enter powerlifting and strongman contests

Just had a baby and caught a cold so I have been down for about 2-3 weeks now trying to get back into the swing of it and I havent really lost too much strength other than my bench has gone down 20 lbs since I I caught a cold and strained some muscles in my chest coughing

What is pretty funny to me is that when I go to competitions I am actually small to average size with a lot of my competitors

[SquirrelDip]

... Just had a baby ...

Congrats on the baby!

Having a baby will make workout and diet a bit more difficult to maintain. Good luck on all accounts.

[beavereater]

Dont eat too much fat

That's wrong. Fat is good for you. Fat DOES NOT go straight to your stomach, hips or thighs. Fat is very important. Fats are important for both gaining and losing weight in that they help promote testosterone production and partitioning. They also help control inflammation, and are used in the metabolism of fat-soluble micronutrients such as vitamins A, D, E and K. Fats can help or interfere with the metabolism of other fats, and eating fats with your veggies helps you get more nutrition out of them than if they were eaten without fat.

When it comes to fats, you want most of it to be mono or poly unstaturated fats and some saturated fats. No trans fats.

[zzyzzx]

My question is can anyone give me some general guidelines (in terms of a diet) that they would use for gaining weight while training.

Should be easy enough to eat more calories than you burn, I would think. If you do that enough, you should resemble these people soon enough:

[Lucifers_Ghost]

Thank you for all the replies people. I really appreciate it.

I have also been doing a lot of reading on this topic. The general consensus that I am seeing is 3000 - 3500 calories a day divided into small groups eaten every 3 hours. Sadly, I cant do that. I have a job that requires me to be out of the office and onsite with clients doing training and all that stuff. I cant be munching down on food during a training session.

So essentially, I would have to fit 3000 calories into 3 meals and a snack "before bed." I have a healthy appetite but Im not sure if I could get 1000 calories in at one meal. That seems like a lot.

I have been looking for some nutritional information to see the value of foods. From what I have found, pork seems to have the most calories (which is not what I would have expected). Which sucks cause I dont really like pork all that much. Guess Im gonna start liking it haha

[beavereater]

How are you getting those numbers? Don't use any online calculator or shitty website to determine your ideal calories.

As far as eating smaller meals, it doesn't mean actually sitting down with a fork and knife and digging into some meat everytime. You can have a protein shake (2 servings worth), add oats, all natural peanut butter and a couple tbps of olive oil, and milk if you like, and you have a shake that can be easily over 1000 calories. Not a problem at all. If you have trouble adding calories, olive oil is your friend.

The smaller more frequent meals is just a way to keep your metabolism going 'faster' but in the end, it really doesn't matter that much.

Pork is high in calories because of the fat. I'd stick with lean beef, you still get plenty of calories there.

[Lucifers_Ghost]

Thanks Beaver!!

You got any good/reliable links that you have used to sites offering up "sample menu's" and nutritional value of foods?

The ones I seem to have found are just what you referred to ... online calculators and sites from "self proclaimed" muscle enthusiasts.

As for meals, that shake thing isnt a bad idea. But from what I have seen, these "in between" meals every 3 hours are stuff like:

1 cup of strawberries
1/2 cup oats
3 ounces of hard cheese
2 slices of whole wheat bread

Thats all good and well. I would love to be able to eat that every few hours, but I just cant. Its not possible when I am in a room full of people teaching them accounting software or in a server room installing software. Even the shake idea still gets a tough. I guess making the shake at home, putting it in a thermos, then bring the oats and all that stuff and add it later ... then drink on a 15 minute break would work.

[Mylan23]

you want to gain? take some of my weight!

[gll99]

You can substitute for better foods but don't just add extra calories no matter what the source unless you increase the activity to burn them off, you will regret it in the long run.

Your age, family genetics, bone structure and muscle mass all play a role in your health.

You are fine at 165 pounds and adding weight won't make you healthier, just heavier. Later in life your feet and legs as well as your heart and other organs will benefit from the reduced weight. If your body has good vital signs why mess with it.

Shape your muscles and improve your cardio if you want but try not to add too much weight as you do so.

See your doctor first and find out what he/she recommends.

[Super Warrior]

you want to gain? take some of my weight!

Yeah i'd be happy to donate about 60lbs too...

[ps2daddy]

Dont eat too much fat

That's wrong. Fat is good for you. Fat DOES NOT go straight to your stomach, hips or thighs. Fat is very important. Fats are important for both gaining and losing weight in that they help promote testosterone production and partitioning. They also help control inflammation, and are used in the metabolism of fat-soluble micronutrients such as vitamins A, D, E and K. Fats can help or interfere with the metabolism of other fats, and eating fats with your veggies helps you get more nutrition out of them than if they were eaten without fat.

When it comes to fats, you want most of it to be mono or poly unstaturated fats and some saturated fats. No trans fats.

Fat as pertaining to junk food do you think that is a good idea
Most people in general dont eat a lot of mono or poly unstaturated fats since they dont taste as good as the transfats and other saturated fats People first instinct is lost of french fries pizza and burgers
Also yes I know about fat soluble vitamins I have a degree in Chemical Engineering \biochemical enigneer

I was keeping it simple

[beavereater]

You are fine at 165 pounds and adding weight won't make you healthier, just heavier. Later in life your feet and legs as well as your heart and other organs will benefit from the reduced weight. If your body has good vital signs why mess with it.

Shape your muscles and improve your cardio if you want but try not to add too much weight as you do so.

See your doctor first and find out what he/she recommends.

I will disagree with you on this one as well. So long as the weight he puts on is healthy weight, he will be healthier and stronger. I could go on about all the advantages there are to more muscle, but here's just one: Take 2 people and put them in a car accident, one is 220lbs at 10 percent body fat, the other is 165lbs at 15 percent body fat, of the two, who will will likely be hurt the most (From the same crash) and who will heal faster?

Fat as pertaining to junk food do you think that is a good idea
Most people in general dont eat a lot of mono or poly unstaturated fats since they dont taste as good as the transfats and other saturated fats People first instinct is lost of french fries pizza and burgers
Also yes I know about fat soluble vitamins I have a degree in Chemical Engineering \biochemical enigneer

I was keeping it simple

No, trans fats are bad. Whether they taste better or not is up to you. I live my olive oil and sesame seed oil. Unfortunately, people assume that fat is bad. They think that by cutting all fat, or even a large portion of it out, will increase their health. This is just not true. So when someone says don't eat fat, I tell them that they are wrong, just choose the right fat. Knowing where to get healthy mono ploy unsaturated fats and healthy saturated fats is easy enough (Google). As for your degree, you're luck, but I doubt the OP knew the importance of fats, thus my remarks.

@OP

Sample menus are not good to go by. They are too general. Here's what I eat.

Breakfast:
2 whole eggs
4 egg whites
140 grams of lettuce
50 grams of broccoli
1 tbsp of olive oil
150 grams of low fat cottage cheese
150 grams of chicken

Lunch
150 grams of boiled sweet potatoes
200 grams of broiled sirloin steak
140 grams of lettuce
50 grams of broccoli
2 tbsp of sesame oil

Pre-workout shake
2 servings of whey protein
50 grams of oats.

Post-workout shake
2 servings of whey protein
80 grams of dextrose

Dinner
250 grams of broiled tuna
140 grams of shredded cabbage
140 grams of tomatoes
2 tbsp of olive oil

I leave myself about 150 calories for small stuff like sliced mushrooms on my salad, or some tofu...it all depends on the day. On days I don't go to the gym I don't have the post-workout shake so I either add those calories to my dinner or I have a bedtime snack. Here's how it breaks down.

3350 calories
131 grams of fat
185 grams of carbohydrates
361 of protein

That wouldn't include any calories I get from fish oil supplements or multi-vitamine etc.

If you are looking for an easy snack, you could also munch on some unsalted peanuts. They're pretty tasty...

[Xylob the Destroyer]

well beavereater, you certainly seem to be knowledgable on the subject....
just for record then, exactly what is the nutritional content in one serving of beaver??

[beavereater]

150 calories...the same as a twinkie, and just as tasty!

Edit: If you're talking about the beaver that walks and eat's trees, the 146 calories for 100 gram serving, apparently.

[Xylob the Destroyer]

Edit: If you're talking about the beaver that walks and eat's trees, the 146 calories for 100 gram serving, apparently.

why in hell would I eat a giant rodent?!?!

[JimmyJoeBob]

Edit: If you're talking about the beaver that walks and eat's trees, the 146 calories for 100 gram serving, apparently.

why in hell would I eat a giant rodent?!?!

I'm sorry but eating a Beaver is not even registered in the food chain. It has 0 calories and takes a shorter time to bring to boil than most. It takes longer to get the breast of the animal to the proper temp than the Beaver, therefore I suggest you spend more time with the Beaver than did Ward and June Cleaver.

[beavereater]

Edit: If you're talking about the beaver that walks and eat's trees, the 146 calories for 100 gram serving, apparently.

why in hell would I eat a giant rodent?!?!

I wouldn't...you asked so I looked it up.

[northcat_8]

2.5 grams of protein per Kg of body weight is what the physiology professor in college recommended. Was also what the fitness and nutrition professor recommended.

If you're wanting to gain size, then I suggest some supplements, EAS Whey protein is good (chocolate). If you want to go nuts and have some money then I suggest Cell-Tech...it's great, but get the fruit punch flavor. Cell-Tech contains just about everything you need, protein, amino-acids, creatine, etc. It's good stuff.

And remember kids, if you want to get big, you have to lift big.

You're not going to gain size running on the treadmill, find the bench, find the squat rack, find the shoulder press machine, etc. Don't spend all your time doing curls, work the big muscle groups hard, twice a week or so and vary your workout weekly.

Other supplements for protein are tuna, peanut butter, turkey, egg whites, etc.

12 oz curls will put the weight on you too...that's the diet plan I'm on right now...24 oz curls on the way home from work, 12 oz'ers when I get home.

May not make me stronger but does make my wife prettier.

...by the way...what's up all?

[SquirrelDip]

@northcat_8 : Glad to see ya stopping by! As for what's up - not so much personally, it's been quite some time since I've pissed anyone off.

As for VHOT - all pretty calm, few regulars still stopping by and a few new faces over the last year.

How's by yourself? Still teaching? Killed anyone yet?

[northcat_8]

it's been quite some time since I've pissed anyone off.

now where's the fun in that?

How's by yourself? Still teaching? Killed anyone yet?

I'm good. Still working at a high school...not sure you can call it "teaching", our kids are very low educationally, but we battling the ignorance of America's youth everyday. My classes almost all hate me. They don't really, it's just because I make them do. I don't even listen to any excuses or any of that other BS...and hey, what do you know...they can learn! who would have thunk it

Haven't killed anyone yet...it's been close a few times. I've been threatened to be killed or technically speaking "to have my n*g*a ass f'd up"... ...in case you didn't figure, I'm in a dominantly black, inner city HS now. All that over me not listening to a kid who was late for class with out a pass. Oh well, he told me his dad would be in, I told him I would be here.

I better watch that, one of these days someone will show up and shoot me.

[SquirrelDip]

Teaching inner city... I don't envy you. This has to be one of the most frustrating jobs on the planet - even with the best intentions and you'll be gettin' 'yer n*g*a ass f'd up.

I've often wanted to look into teaching - but this would be a middle-class urban-canuck school... Just a tad bit of difference to where you ass is.

Hope you have a chance to stick around - this site needs a bit of shit stirring...

[Lucifers_Ghost]

*UPDATE*

Just to let you all know that I was going to the gym from Jan (membership started early) to end of April. Stopped the gym for a short time but kept up with biking, swimming and summer sports. Started again in July. I started the gym at 165 and am now at 174. My little tummy pouch is almost gone and has been replaced with abs (who knew they were under there, eh?). I havent gotten much "bigger" in terms of body mass (9 pounds on a 6ft frame isnt all that much) but everything is toning up pretty well.

Thanks again for everyones help and suggestions. Obviously, they have been helpful

LG

[Xylob the Destroyer]

building muscle can be difficult depending on your genetics.
each muscle in your body already "knows" how big it can get.
Once a muscle reaches it's maximum size it will never get larger, but it can still get stronger.

You may get to the point where you can pump just as much weight as those freak show body builders but never be anywhere near as big as them....