Gaining Muscle Mass but not fat

emsavluk

Hey guys,
So in the past year, I've dropped from a kinda pudgy but strong 5'7" 175 lbs to a currently trim, ripped and cut 131-134 lbs. In that time I severely cut grains out of my diet, which I credit for my weight and fat loss. But now, I want to gain weight. Im looking to gain about 15-20 lbs of muscle, while keeping my body fat under 10%. I've tried several programs to do this, however, I continue to lose .5-1 lbs per week. I'm currently a week into the MP45 program, which i follow the diet to the best of my ability, however, it only has me eating about 1500 calories per day. When I try to eat more, I usually can top out about 2100 per day, but i'm completely bloated and stuffed after that. I've since added grains back into my diet for pre and post workout purposes only, but I'm not seeing the results I want. I want to gain muscle, without losing my abs or cut look. As a former "fat kid" the thought of gaining fat from eating a caloric surplus terrifies me. Any tips on how to do this?

markjacobs1987

1500 calories is definitely too low, especially if you want to gain mass. You are at 2100 you say at max now so just ease your way into eating more calories and let your metabolism adjust. Try increasing by 100-200 calories every 2-3 weeks until you find the calorie amount that you can gain mass at (so 2200-2300 for you right now). The goal should be to gain .5-1 pound a week. If you aren't doing that then you should be eating more and that will get you to where you want. As for maintaining a low body fat it is completely normal to add some fat when building muscle and that is not a bad thing. After adding the muscle you want you will go into a cutting phase and lower calories to get the body fat back down. As of now though don't worry about body fat until you start building muscle and gaining some weight.

MityMax96

Hey guys,
So in the past year, I've dropped from a kinda pudgy but strong 5'7" 175 lbs to a currently trim, ripped and cut 131-134 lbs. In that time I severely cut grains out of my diet, which I credit for my weight and fat loss. But now, I want to gain weight. Im looking to gain about 15-20 lbs of muscle, while keeping my body fat under 10%. I've tried several programs to do this, however, I continue to lose .5-1 lbs per week. I'm currently a week into the MP45 program, which i follow the diet to the best of my ability, however, it only has me eating about 1500 calories per day. When I try to eat more, I usually can top out about 2100 per day, but i'm completely bloated and stuffed after that. I've since added grains back into my diet for pre and post workout purposes only, but I'm not seeing the results I want. I want to gain muscle, without losing my abs or cut look. As a former "fat kid" the thought of gaining fat from eating a caloric surplus terrifies me. Any tips on how to do this?

You are gonna have to up your calories.
If you have no set time line....

I would bump calories to 1800....go for a couple weeks, see how that does.
If you are not gaining weight, or staying steady...then bump another 200 calories.

I am doing my bulk now, and that is the route I took,
I went 2800
then 3000
then 3200
now at 3500....and that seems to be working.

Butrovich

Bump up the calories. You should be eating more calories than calories burned. If you want to go slowly, try 600 calories more than you burn. No matter how hard you try, you are going to add some fat as you gain muscle. There is no way around that. That is why most body builders have a "cutting" phase afterward to burn off or remove the gained fat.

JoRocka

. I want to gain muscle, without losing my abs or cut look. As a former "fat kid" the thought of gaining fat from eating a caloric surplus terrifies me. Any tips on how to do this?

you absolutely unequivocally cannot have both- you cannot bulk at this point and not put on some fat.

My tip to you is get over it and realize bulking is about confidence and committing to a long term goal.

You either want to get bigger or- you keep the definition you have at the size you have- there is no right answer- but you have to want one more than the other.

Also- you'll need to be eating more than 2000 calories a day. Probably closer to 23-2500- more if your a guy.

It's not uncontrollable gain- it's very specific- and you won't just get fat again- I know mentally it's difficult- but you won't- I promise.
And when it comes time to cut- the weight mostly falls off. You can do it- you just have to commit to one or the other!

SteveJWatson

Also - carbs are your friend when you are gaining. Work those grains back into your diet. Pasta, bread, breakfast cereal...

drepublic

Congrats on that weigtht loss. You'll soon discover you can burn fat much faster than you can gain muscle. The struggle is real! So you want to gain and that will not happen at 1500 calories. Find your breakeven caloric number and start eating at a surplus. Carbs will be in your future...I stick to white rice, sweet potatos and oatmeal, and change the source of carbs based on my workout time.

MP45 eh? Love the videos put out by Muscle Prodigy. Search for the one called "The Best Motivation" Good stuff!

You can do a clean bulk and lose fat along the way if you do it in a step function with additional cardio.