Advice please. Need to gain, not loose weight.

gavnav12

Hello all. I'm after a bit of advice please. I'm 34, in reasonable shape. But could be fitter. At the moment I cycle 20 mile round trip to work 4 days a week, burning roughly 800 calories a time. I also work out at the gym, no cardio, just weights (nothing too crazy) and I eat a balanced diet, but if I fancy 5 beers and a pizza at the weekend I'm not gonna loose any sleep over it. I do not suit been slim, so what I want to do is not loose any weight, but in fact build a little. The problem is the calories i burn verses what eat leave me short quite often, defiantly not enough to to build. Practically, eating what I need to add weight is proving difficult whist eating healthy food and the protein I need... My question is this. Are protein shakes/meal replacement shakes an option I should consider? And if so what suggestions? Thanks for any advice you have. Gav

psuLemon

Since you are active.. you are going to have to eat big to get to a point where you can gain. Do you know how many calories you maintain at?

Essentially..

1. Figure out your maintenance calories and add 250 calories.
2. Lift 3x a week
3. Eat higher calorie foods (fatty cuts of meat, bagels, ice cream, nuts, eat peanut butter out of the jar (and yes I have done this), add oils to a lot of things, top foods with avocado, eggs, etc...)

gavnav12

Cheers for the response.
I maintain around the 3000 mark, with the level of excesise I do, and the odd days when I'm not watching what I eat.

I'm in the gym, Mon, Wed and Sat. So you would advise to eat more rather than adding a couple of shakes to get the extra I need?

psuLemon

gavnav12 wrote: »

Cheers for the response.
I maintain around the 3000 mark, with the level of excesise I do, and the odd days when I'm not watching what I eat.

I'm in the gym, Mon, Wed and Sat. So you would advise to eat more rather than adding a couple of shakes to get the extra I need?

I maintain at that level too and I prefer to eat my calories. It's really personal preference. If you want, you can add a post workout protein shake (maybe mix with chocolate milk) if you need a boost for calories (albeit nutrition timing isn't that important but its good to have some source of protein/carbs +/- 2 hours pre or post workout). Or you can add in some fats (nuts, nut butters, avocado). Personally, I cut with a higher carb diet with moderate protein, so when I transition to maintenance I add in fats. Or you can switch to higher fat cuts of meat (this is a good option is you struggle to get enough protein)

auddii

The answer is always to consume more calories. You could add a shake, but the thing that stood out to me was "healthy food"; you don't have to avoid foods that many people consider treats. If the majority of your food intake is whole foods, you're likely hitting all of your basic nutritional recommended levels; and there's not bonus points for being "extra healthy". So you could fill in with a bowl of ice cream or some cookies if you like.

Even if you want to not add those foods, there are plenty of "healthy" foods that are high calorie: milk, avocados, nuts/nut butters, granola, dried fruits, etc.

Shake versus extra foods is really going to be up to your personal preference. If you feel full and couldn't possibly eat more, maybe a shake would help. But, many people find shakes with a lot of calories rather filling. So another solution could be swapping out a lower calorie item in your meal plan with a higher calorie option.

Here's a good list of high calorie foods: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10142490/a-list-of-calorie-dense-foods

gavnav12

Nice one, cheers both for the advice.. I'm always gonna choose eating more over a shake, but time/work etc can get in the way. I'll see how I get on over a couple of months. If needs be I'll add a shake if I'm falling short on a busy day.