Okay, I realize there are a number of "thin guy trying to gain weight" threads. I have taken the information contained within those threads (basically, intake lots and lots of calories) and tried to use it in my diet, but am having some problems. To give an idea of my body type. I am not freakishly skinny, I would just say thin. Regardless, I am the type of person who used to dine on 2 fast food meals per day and a snack in the afternoon then dinner and ice cream. Never gained any noticable weight (i wasn't weighing myself, but I ate like that for quite a long time, with no visual change). Reverting back to the first paragraph, I cannot seem to intake enough calories a day to keep gaining weight. Before I started weight training and my new diet (about a month ago), I weighed in at 130. The first week I simply ate healthier than previously; when I went to weigh myself after this, I found I had lost 4 pounds (down to 126, how depressing...), then the second week I started eating a hefty amount of food (I think on average I was eating like, 3700+ calories a day). Well, at the end of that week (or perhaps the middle of the 3rd week), I had gained back 5 pounds, so I was now at 131. Since that weighing, I have slowed down my calories intake by about 1000 calories, give or take. As a result, I have now lost 1 pound, I am currently at an even 130. The reason for that was I could not keep eating all the food I did, I felt full all the time, which is not fun. I was wondering if there are certain foods that just help you gain weight, or just have a bunch of calories in them. Hopefully too, the food wouldn't be expensive (i.e. almonds = expensive. $4 for a 10oz can that is gone in 2 days). When I was taking in the 3700+ calories, this is what I was eating: ----------------------------------- Breakfast - Carnation Instant Breakfast shake (1 pack CIB, 1 cup ice cream, half/half ~ 400 calories); Plain Oatmeal (2 packets ~ 200 calories); Orange Juice (1 cup ~ 110 calories); In total ~ 710 calories for breakfast Mid-Morning snack - 1 Bagel with cream cheese and jelly ~ 350 calories Lunch - PB & J Sandwhich (lots of jelly + peanut butter ~ 300 calories); Protein smoothie thing (strawberries, pineapple, water, honey, protein powder, 1/2 banana, sugar. ~ 650 calories) Snack - 2 Frozen Chimichangas ( w/ sour cream ~ 800 calories) Dinner - w/e my mom made, or if not that, a frozen pizza or tv dinner, ranging anywhere from 300-750 calories generally. Dessert - Milkshake (1 cup whipping cream, 3 tablespoons chocolate syrup, 1.5 cups ice cream ~ 1100 calories). And for 4 days I had 5oz of almonds per day, which was something like another 850 calories per day ----------------------------------- So basically for that week I would take in anywhere between 3700-5000 calories. Now, for obvious reasons I stopped drinking the milkshake at night, because to be honest, I don't want to have a heart attack when I am 30. I also only drink the morning shake thingy on days that I workout (3 times/week), see previous reason. My dinner is still the same, my lunch is about the same (I'm getting lazy on making the smoothie). I no longer eat the almonds because they are expensive to purchase in that quantity. For breakfast I generally have oatmeal and oranje juice now. No more bagels, ran out. So now I would say I eat ~ 2400+ calories a day. So once again, my problem is that it is impossible to keep up the calorie intake that I had for that one week, not only because my body didn't like eating that much, but also because my wallet didn't like it either. Are there any foods you guys know of that are high in calories, and aren't as bad for you as say.... cream? (i.e. my morning and night shakes) and don't totally rid your wallet of the green stuff? Or any other tips on being able to eat a lot of food w/o feeling full all day? Any advice is appreciated. (As a side note, I have noticed an incredible small difference in my muscle definition in my arms after working at for maybe 2 to 3 times a week. I currently do medium weight with medium reps. What would be better for me? Average weight and lots of reps? Or heavy weight and little reps? I have gotten wind that I should do the latter) Thanks for stickin with the long post.
Eat Steak and eggs in the mourning! With wheat toast,You sound like you need more protien and carbs! from solid food and veggy`s, Eat a lot of Bannans and whey Protien shakes, along with a solid diet, stay away from soy products!!! you might need to burn one too. bsash
throw away all of that frozen yogurt and ice cream crap. Buy chicken breast and tuna cans for that. As for complex carbs: rice, pasta, potatoes, oatmeal, etc. Smaller meals and more of them is the key. For little extra cash get some good quality protein powder. It will take some time for your body to get use to new regime, but once it does you'll see a difference. As for training, there are some really good posts here, as well as on t-nation.com, bodybuilding.com etc SEARCH!!
Use a good crash weight gainer. Somthing that delivers about 800 cals a serving, you can get 80 or so servings for about $60.
They call it crash weight gainer because you gain a whole load of fat, and not a whole lot of anything else. They're pure sugar, avoid at all costs.
I second that ^. Don't touch the weight gainers, they will just make you fat, I know from experience. A good protien powder will better suit your needs.
Healthy fats are crucial, carry around a container of nuts/seeds with you, thats easily an extra 1000+ calories a day. Sunflower kernels, almonds, etc
OOOOO Toasted almonds with cayanne. Yum! Concentrate on healthy foods and lean protiens. Things like yams, sweet potatoes, dark green veggies, tuna, chicken breast, and get a good whey powder. Eat until you're full, and eat often. DO NOT GORGE!
I dont think he should be eating lean proteins. Lean meat makes you full without much calories. The foods you listed are for people trying to maintain/lose weight. Eat fat rich proteins. Cheese helps a lot.
Some ideas of slowing down metabolism. Most people would love to be like that! Even tho, you would probably like to gain muscle rather than the build up of fat. If your body can take in Creatine powder that would be great. It will increase your body mass, if your body accepts it, unlike my body can't take in powders, and shakes. So rather I eat Spinach and such and such. An option #2, is to not exercise as much. Not meaning to do not any, but to slow down the metabolism a bit, a small bit. An option #3, but careful with this one or you do not have to try it, but this is another choice, to not eat as much for a longer period, your body would adjust by not taking in as much food. But to limit yourself, at around an intake of 3000 calories, per day. Your metabolism would progress slower and eventually process the fuel or energy but not as fast, as if you were eatting a lot.
how long have u been weight training? that's the question i have to ask. it actually takes a while to gain weight from weight training, especially for skinny guys like us. when i started weight training i was 137. now i'm 150. it actually too me about 6 months to get to 145. then i got injured and took 2 months off & went back to 137-140. then i healed after 2 months and started again, and 4 months later i was at 155, from a combination of eating a lot, and working many muscle groups in my body. what i find most helpful in gaining weight is adding squats and deadlifts into your program. your quads are the biggest muscles of your body, and working them would give u a bigger weight gain. also, because squats work many muscles, not just the quads, but also your lower back and glutes, you could potentially have a huge weight gain. remember to do the most compound exercises (squats, deadlifts, bench press, pullups, overhead press) to work a greater number of muscles, therefore, gaining more overall muscle mass. also, whenever i do squats and deadlifts, i get really hungry, and taht just makes me eat more .
Forgot about your weight. If you put on 5lbs in a week then it wasn't muscle, it was fat and water. As long as your strength is going up, then don't make yourself sick by cramming food down. Your bodytype won't allow you to do this anyway.
For the protein , Try chicken , tuna and for carbs , eat oats/porridge for breakfast that will keep you feeling full till lunch , and pasta , boiled potatoes and plenty of fruit&Veg ! these words of wisdom was brought to you in part by Grizzlygrime
OOOOH, Never thought of that, it's an alien concept to me. But it would be effective. Who's begging the question?
also, i noticed taht ur not really eating that much meat. meat is what gives you muscles. i eat so much meat, it's equal to 3 steaks a day. sometimes i have more than that. just an idea.
