Putting on weight

[jparkin]

Ugh, 6'3 and 150lbs...

Eating lots of eggs tuna and bread, protein shakes, cereals and oatmeal, big dinners with lots of meat, and of course, plenty of beers.

Been working out 2-3 days a week for months now, taking creadex (some form of creatine, I ain't no scientist) for the last month.

I just can't gain weight, even the bad kind. It sounds like I'm a sure thing for getting the call April, so May would be leaving. Im going to be stepping everything up and really just stuffing my face with everything I can get my hands on. It's not as easy as it sounds, but there is some great advice in this post and I'll keep y'all posted.

I've played quite a bit of rugby with guys who go hard core with the creatine as part of their diet. I asked my dad (who's a GP) if creatine is a worthwhile supplement, and he told me that it is only noticeably effective when taken while you are close to your peak strength level (ie. > 95%). Even at that level, he told me it is effective at increasing your muscle mass by at most 2%. A high protein diet (which you seem to have) is much more effective at adding weight when combined with a properly designed training schedule. The reason I'm pointing this out is that I've seen way too many people waste $50 a month on a supplement that is unnecessary unless you are at the very top of your game and are desperate for that 2%. Too often it turns out to be a big waste of money.
Jonathan

edit: spelling

 

[Wilamanjaro]

thanks jonathan, I can definitely FEEL the creatine ie. more reps, kinda bloated.. but I am really only going for mass. I'm stepping the protein shakes up to 2 scoops per shake and an extra tuna sandwich during the day. i guess this is what my eating looks like:

breakfast. 3 creatine pills, litre of water, 3 eggs, toast, oatmeal and cereal if i'm still able to eat.

sandwich and cookies and coffee when i get to work.

lunch is usually a&w or other mall food. i work near a mall.

get off work have another sandwich, some cereal, protein shake.

dinner is usually brown rice or potatoes, chicken or pasta, milk and bread. more creatine pills.

I fart alot though haha, i think everything gets burned up so fast, if i'm not working out I dont do much but it's actually a little ridiculous how gassy i can get. my body is weird. I will check back in each month with results...

February 8. 153lbs.

 

[Jarnhamar]

Try cutting out coffee
The caffeine in coffee speeds up your metabolism.  Caffeine is one of the leading ingredients in most things aimed at making you loose weight. One coffee a day is an assload of caffeine to have floating around your system.

You'll probably need to eat a near uncomfortable amount of protien to bust through your plateau and start gaining mass.

Body builders can intake In upwards of 4000 calories a day, gotta make sure you do it right and don't turn into a fatty

 

[Jimmy_D]

I was having the same issues until i had my back surgery, Now I find it much harder to maintain the weight and keep it at balance. But at least it get me to the gym 5 days a week for an hour min.

 

[kenmnuggas]

Eyeballing that diet, it looks like you're pushing MAYBE 2500 calories/day. If you're looking to put on weight you'll need to probably add AT LEAST another 500 or so, though I'd guess closer to 1500.
Also, cut out the A&W. It's tasty but it's not food.

 

[jparkin]

Eyeballing that diet, it looks like you're pushing MAYBE 2500 calories/day. If you're looking to put on weight you'll need to probably add AT LEAST another 500 or so, though I'd guess closer to 1500.
Also, cut out the A&W. It's tasty but it's not food.

kenmnuggus brings up another important point: no matter how much protein you consume, if your body doesn't have enough calories to burn, it starts decomposing the protein for energy. You want your body burning calories and keeping protein, not burning protein and keeping calories. That's why protein is best taken with food high in calories. Having been 6'2 and 165, I know what it's like to work like hell to put on weight. Its taken me a year to get from 165 to 180.

 

[Haletown]

6' 225lb

But I am not gaining weight, I am just experiencing a biological adaptation to living in a cold, northern climate.

I'm not getting fatter, I am evolving.

That's my story and I am sticking to it.   

 

[OldSolduer]

6' 225lb

But I am not gaining weight, I am just experiencing a biological adaptation to living in a cold, northern climate.

I'm not getting fatter, I am evolving.

That's my story and I am sticking to it.   

Hear hear sir!! I salute thee!!

Being heavy can have its drawbacks. Be careful what you wish for.

 

[MJP]

6' 225lb

But I am not gaining weight, I am just experiencing a biological adaptation to living in a cold, northern climate.

I'm not getting fatter, I am evolving.

That's my story and I am sticking to it.   

Ohhh Lamarkism at work.

 

[Wilamanjaro]

Was a little upset about my current job hiring even MORE auxillary people, but the one guy is actually really cool, he's a body builder or something and he turned me onto some useful information.

The Protein shakes I have been taking are about 280 calories per shake, and 2 or 3 shakes a day. He tells me it's calories what I want at this point.

So here's what I'm starting to use...

http://www.nutrabolics.com/product-detail-page-8-mass-fusiontrade.html

each shake is 1,540 calories and 2 a day. haha. "if you don't gain weight using this, it ain't happening."

For those of you looking to gain weight I suggest this stuff.

 

[TheHead]

Was a little upset about my current job hiring even MORE auxillary people, but the one guy is actually really cool, he's a body builder or something and he turned me onto some useful information.

The Protein shakes I have been taking are about 280 calories per shake, and 2 or 3 shakes a day. He tells me it's calories what I want at this point.

So here's what I'm starting to use...

http://www.nutrabolics.com/product-detail-page-8-mass-fusiontrade.html

each shake is 1,540 calories and 2 a day. haha. "if you don't gain weight using this, it ain't happening."

For those of you looking to gain weight I suggest this stuff.

  That's the mass gainer that I take when I'm bulking, great stuff . If you're a hard gainer like myself and want to even add more calories throw a few table spoons of olive oil and a cup of dry oats in it. 

 

[Josh_Robertson]

thanks jonathan, I can definitely FEEL the creatine ie. more reps, kinda bloated.. but I am really only going for mass. I'm stepping the protein shakes up to 2 scoops per shake and an extra tuna sandwich during the day. i guess this is what my eating looks like:

breakfast. 3 creatine pills, litre of water, 3 eggs, toast, oatmeal and cereal if i'm still able to eat.

sandwich and cookies and coffee when i get to work.

lunch is usually a&w or other mall food. i work near a mall.

get off work have another sandwich, some cereal, protein shake.

dinner is usually brown rice or potatoes, chicken or pasta, milk and bread. more creatine pills.

I fart alot though haha, i think everything gets burned up so fast, if i'm not working out I dont do much but it's actually a little ridiculous how gassy i can get. my body is weird. I will check back in each month with results...

February 8. 153lbs.

I would say you aren't eating nearly enough,

My current diet is this:

Breakfast - 6 Eggs (2 whole 4 without the yokes), whole wheat toast and oatmeal if I can stomach it.

Pre-workout - piece of fruit

During workout - One scoop of Size On and 2 scoops of Hammer HEED http://www.hammernutrition.com/products/heed.he.html http://www.gasparinutrition.com/products/sizeon-max-performance/

Post workout - 2 scoops of Mutant Mass protein shake http://www.iammutant.com/products/mutantmass_nutritionalfacts.php mixed with some Veggie Greens mix and Flaxseed Oil.

Lunch - Chicken or Fish with veg and brow rice or potato

Afternoon Snack - More Fruit usually with no fat yogurt and a handful of nuts

Dinner - More chicken or fish with veg and rice ect. sometimes pasta.

Before bed - 1 more scoop of Size On and sometimes another protein shake if I haven't eaten enough.

-------------------------------------

On that diet I've gone from an light but athletic 175lbs to 210lbs in not quite a year.

Bench is currently at 225lbs for 8 reps, squat 335lbs for 12 reps

So I would say by all accounts it's working... my new goal is to work on improving my cardio and endurance.

(I have posted my workout routine further up in this thread if anyone is interested, has lots of nutrition advice in there also)

 

[The_Falcon]

GOMAD (plus heavy squats and deadlifts) google it.  No expensive powders needed.

 

[Wilamanjaro]

Is GOMAD for real??

I've gained between 3 and 4 pounds over the last month and a half using "mass fusion" gainer. 6"3, 156lbs. now

Maybe I will try this GOMAD thing.

 

[MJP]

Is GOMAD for real??

I've gained between 3 and 4 pounds over the last month and a half using "mass fusion" gainer. 6"3, 156lbs. now

Maybe I will try this GOMAD thing.

GOMAD is very real and effective.

 

[roadrunner60]

I wish i could drop 20lbs for my runs lol.
But if you wana gain muscle mass just drop the dumbbell flys and bycep curls thats for beach muscle. Start eating 3500-4000 calories a day, no less then 3000. Have a lean source of protein daily like chicken or a steak. And make 90% of your work outs power workouts aka combine workouts for us footballers, such as deadlifts, sqauts, bench press incline and standard, hang cleans, snatchpulls, and core exercises. Work thos in with good cardio and youll gain muscle mass like crazy garanteed. Watch youtube vids on correct technique because if you mess up on these youll mess yourself right up. On one hand, dont gain too much, im 5'9" 220lbs and wish i could drop 20 for the runs as it feels like im lugging a midgit around past 2k but i didnt forsee the cf back in my football days, so find a happy medium.

 

[roadrunner60]

And for gods sake dont use creatine. All it does is allow you to sqweeze out 2-3,more repps because it hydrates your muscles by taking water meant for other body parts from your kidneys and will ruin your kidneys man im telling you. Go get some BSN nutrients like cellmass

 

[lethalLemon]

I wish i could drop 20lbs for my runs lol.
But if you wana gain muscle mass just drop the dumbbell flys and bycep curls thats for beach muscle. Start eating 3500-4000 calories a day, no less then 3000. Have a lean source of protein daily like chicken or a steak. And make 90% of your work outs power workouts aka combine workouts for us footballers, such as deadlifts, sqauts, bench press incline and standard, hang cleans, snatchpulls, and core exercises. Work thos in with good cardio and youll gain muscle mass like crazy garanteed. Watch youtube vids on correct technique because if you mess up on these youll mess yourself right up. On one hand, dont gain too much, im 5'9" 220lbs and wish i could drop 20 for the runs as it feels like im lugging a midgit around past 2k but i didnt forsee the cf back in my football days, so find a happy medium.

Calories don't count for anything. As long as your physical output/calorie use is greater than your caloric input; you'll drop weight like crazy. I lived in Vernon BC and during the summer I would drink probably 12 litres a day and worked on an orchard. In the 40+ Celsius heat and no other exercise other than working on the orchard (easy manual labour, no heavy lifting, short periods of walking), I dropped 60 lbs in mass.

 

[roadrunner60]

I know and this guy wants to gain mass. Thats why i said eat 3500-4000 calories a day. No one can burn that meny calories a day unless your ronnie coleman

 

[Jarnhamar]

4000 calories a day. That takes a lot of discipline not to turn into a raging fatty.

Most advice seems to be to really gain mass you need to get a little chubby first then cut it down into muscle.

You could do it the hard way.

HyperFX before a work out. (Yea you'll have to smuggle it in from the US and it gives you flush. Lips burn, ears and skin itch)
http://reviews.bodybuilding.com/BSN/Hyper_FX

Work out.
Cardio (3-4 times a week)
5 minute walk, 5 minute jog, 5 minute OMFG theres a demon behind me speed

Weights
Whatever. I'll do weights 5 days out of 7.  (Chest, legs,rest,shoudlers,arms,back,rest)

Two scoops myofusion after
http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/gn/myofusion.html
1 scoop creatine
http://reviews.bodybuilding.com/AllMax_Nutrition/Micronized_Creatine_Monohydrate/

You *might* loose some fat weight but soon you'll slowly start to build lean hard muscle. You'll sacrifice some mass for strength