Help me GAIN weight!

[Rifleman_04]

TL;DR You have to eat a lot more and lift harder and heavier to put on weight. You're probably like me - it is hard for you to gain weight and it probably seems like your body refuses to budge despite how much food you're putting back.

Ten years ago I was 160-165. Decently strong, ripped, but not big (I'm 5'10"). I started doing more powerlifting (and later, strongman) style work in the gym and had to start eating more (including increasing my protein intake by... a lot, to say the least - protein shakes and whole milk) to keep up with recovery. My lifts shot up but it took two years to gain 20 pounds - and that 20 pounds came on almost overnight, as if my body was finally responding to the increased demand from the heavy weights.

From there I gained weight in spurts, 20 pounds every couple of years, as my lifts continued to climb, until about 2020. I've been sitting at around 240 since then.

I say all that to drive home the point that your body is resistant to change and you will have to force it to put on muscle (you'll gain some body fat along the way, it's natural) to accommodate your level of activity.

I never have measured macros exactly, but with the protein shakes i have been as high as 200 grams a day (not counting whole meals and the milk itself).

That’s awesome looks like our experiences and methods were very similar.

[jstone]

If you are looking to gain weight, but are not eating enough carbs you are converting a lot of the protein you are consuming to glycogen. One mistake made often is what you are basing your numbers on. if you weight 200 pounds but only have 150 pounds of lean mass and you do you calculations based on 200 you will gain more fat. You only need to feed your lean mass, not your body fat.

First thing you need to do is estimate you BF levels, and then base your macros around lean mass. The most important thing you can do is find a carb source that is not fruit. If you are able to eat enough carbs your body will no longer have to convert protein to glycogen. Try quinoa, oatmeal, steel cut oat, rice cereal (hot or cold), or bagels.

since your not gaining weight your not eating enough, or you may have an insulin sensitivity issue that needs to be resolved before moving forward. Your timeline left is not enough time to put on tissue, you could easily gain 5 pounds in that time frame, but it would be water and glycogen.

most people approach gaining weight backwards. they start wherever they are (generally fat or skinny fat) and try to gain weight then cut. The problem with this approach is most people's diets is not the greatest, they have insulin sensitivity issues. They begin to eat a bunch of food and gain weight, but they gain mostly fat. You are much better off dieting hard for 12 to 16 weeks, get bodyfat down to 12% or less, preferably less if possible, and during this period deplete your glycogen stores near the end. You do this by eating very low carb, and depletion workouts. Once this is done begin to add the calories and carbs back in while upping the intensity of the workouts. This will help to put on lean mass, and you do not need to cut after.

Once you gain muscle its important to hold onto it for a while before going into a cut. Once you put on muscle you need to sustain it so you do not lose it while cutting. everyone talks about gaining .5 to 1 pound per week, your not going to put on that amount of weight in tissue weekly.

If your serious about gaining weight find a carb source you can eat daily, and multiple times daily. People put to much emphasis on protein, and forget carbs. If you consume enough carbs your liver will not convert protein to glycogen allowing the protein to be used for building muscle.

macros based on information you have provided to start, i took as much as i could from waht you posted to make it personalized. Definately will need some tweaks, normally fats would be lower and I would increas carbs and protein slightly. macros 303grams of carbs, 168 grams of protein, and 105 grams of fat. this should come out to 2837 calories daily. These numbers are done considering 15% body fat, and roughly 150 pounds of lean mass.

If the bodyfat is way off adjust accordingly, but if your training, and recovery are on point a diet of this nature will allow you to make changes to your physique, if you see no difference you can slowly increase the calories until you do. You need to weigh your food and track everything so you know what is happening. If you are going to diet after 4 weeks like suggested in this post regardless just start now, you will not gain any tissue. If this is for an event maintain the diet through the event and then begin attempting to add muscle when you can dedicate at a minimum of 16 weeks.

[Red*Lion]

Any updates OP?

[Scorpion]

That’s awesome looks like our experiences and methods were very similar.

Absolutely, I just read back and realized that. That is the way to do it. Trying to count everything exactly is a recipe for frustration.

[TheNewbie]

You have to eat big to grow. You will likely gain some body fat even if you are trying to "eat clean". You may also need to give up any desire to have "abs" if you priority is size and strength. I am not saying it cannot be done without sacrificing size and strength, but I'll take strength any day over visible beach quality abs.


It's all a trade off. A couple of years ago I got up to 180+. At 5ft 4in, I was pretty chubby, but decently strong (for a little fella....nothing too crazy for many people). Now I am down to 165, and while I may have a lost a little strength, I feel a lot better. However, I am not sure that I would be as strong as I am now, at my current weight, without getting a little bigger first.


It's like anything, trial and error, and the more you do it, the better you get at it.


As I get closer to 40, I am happy with my current lifts, but there is sill part of me that always wants more.