How to gain weight

[Studude67]

I have been living in Korea for about 1 year now, trained with Korean Top Team mma gym for about 7 months but recently had to stop due to work commitments, with KTT we did alot of weight training and supplements were provided to us to enhance performance and results namely creatine and protein. Since i have stopped training there i have continued training traditional martial art kuk sool won, but i have lost alot of weight.. down to about 70kg.

My body weight often goes up and down and i cant get it up to where i want it, around 80kg, im around 73kg atm. I am currently taking protein shakes 2-3 times a day which contain 130calories, 2.5g of fat and 20g of protein. I often drink the shakes during the day without even training, is it still possible to gain that way? or should they always be taken before/after workouts?

ive got my training regime covered, but need some more advice on good supplements (also available in Korea) and foods that i should be eating to gain weight.

thanks

[CosmicFish]

Simple answer: don't use supplements to gain weight - use food.

* Eat plenty of clean healthy food spaced out every 2.5 - 3 hours, getting in a good 5 or 6 meals a day.

* Make sure you're getting in more calories than your body needs and you'll gain weight.

* Make sure you're lifting heavy weights 2-4 times a week and a good proportion of that weight will go on as muscle.

[L3vity]

Drink lots of water. First off, because it's rediculously good for you. Secondly, I find it much easier to drink lots of water when I'm eating (thick, sourdough pretzels are the best. I can down a glass of water per pretzel). Third, water is heavy. Fourfth, if you're going to be gaining weight, your body will want more water anyway.

[Studude67]

Simple answer: don't use supplements to gain weight - use food.

* Eat plenty of clean healthy food spaced out every 2.5 - 3 hours, getting in a good 5 or 6 meals a day.

* Make sure you're getting in more calories than your body needs and you'll gain weight.

* Make sure you're lifting heavy weights 2-4 times a week and a good proportion of that weight will go on as muscle.

I have followed your advice and so far it has been working well thanks! ive cut out the supplements completely, gorged myself on rice and other carbs, managed to squeeze in a good 5 meals a day and lift heavy weights every couple of days! cheers~

Oh and i also have been drinking plenty of water which has made a difference too!

[spirez]

Simple answer: don't use supplements to gain weight - use food.

* Eat plenty of clean healthy food spaced out every 2.5 - 3 hours, getting in a good 5 or 6 meals a day.

* Make sure you're getting in more calories than your body needs and you'll gain weight.

* Make sure you're lifting heavy weights 2-4 times a week and a good proportion of that weight will go on as muscle.

Nothing wrong with supplements if you are below your daily kcal requirements or even if you are deficient in a certain macro-nutrient. They're not evil, you know! The creatine supplementation can definitely aid in lean muscle mass building, i've seen the results for myself (Haussinger et al 1996; Kreider et al 1996; Clark 1997). If that's personal opinion then fair enough but telling others to drop them without any reasoning seems a little far-fetched to me.
Obviously, they are to supplement an already good diet and can have great effects.

And, well, if they're good enough for top nutritionist John Berardi they're certainly good enough for me ;)

http://www.johnberardi.com/articles/reviews/supplements.htm

This is an interesting article, especially the case study at the end with the scrawny 127lb bloke that put on a lot of lean mass (40lbs or so) in a relatively short time frame of a year:

http://www.johnberardi.com/articles/nutrition/g-flux.htm

No surprises that the general consensus of the article = eat more, and maybe more surprisingly, train more.

[CosmicFish]

True spriez, I'm not against supplements - I take a good few myself. However, the way I read the original post made it look as if Studude67 was relying heavily on supps to help him increase weight. IMO, the majority of any weight gain diet should come from food, with supps on top of that to make up any shortfalls.

E.g. When bulking, I use food to get my calories up to the level I want, but I use protein powder to ensure that I get at least 1g/lb BW.

So, Studude67 - to clarify, you don't need to drop supps completely, protein shakes can be very useful in ensuring you get enough protein in your diet. Just make sure that you use food primarily, then supplement with the supplements.

[bwhite55]

supplements are to be used along with a proper diet, not as a substitute. i'm with cosmicfish on this one. you should be getting the bulk of your intake from solid foods, and then supplementation on top of that is great.

[spirez]

supplements are to be used along with a proper diet, not as a substitute. i'm with cosmicfish on this one. you should be getting the bulk of your intake from solid foods, and then supplementation on top of that is great.

Is that not exactly what i said?

[bwhite55]

Is that not exactly what i said?

i dunno, it didn't seem like it. altho i did read it late at night when i was half asleep. haha.