Anybody trying to GAIN weight?

codymham

Hi I'm new to the community, just got the iPhone app and I'm using it to track my calorie intake along with strength training. Wondering if anyone here is in the same boat, would love to add a few friends to help motivate and give advice and such.
-Cody

Oompa_Loompa

Oh how i wish i needed to gain weight lol

wiggleroom

Um. No. :noway:

But I know there are some MFP users who are -- keep looking and you're sure to find someone!

AnneGenevieveS

defintely not me.. but I saw this girl post on the boards last week about trying to gain


kimmiesvogan


Send her a message.

codymham

Thanks Anne. I will send her a message.

And thanks you other ladies too. Good luck to you guys on your fitness journey .

bmontgomery87

AYYY bro.

Yeah I'm trying to gain. If you need any help shoot me a message.

codymham

Sweet dude!! I sent you a friend request.

bmontgomery87

Sounds good.

How much are you eating everyday?
Whats your training looking like?

codymham

Eating 2800 calories a day.
I'm mostly doing arms and chest, I'm happy with my abs and legs and I ride my bike about 5 miles a day to and from work. Got any tips for me? Seems like no matter what I'm not gaining weight. I work as a chef so I'm on my feet all day moving around. Im thinking of starting this shake called "pure mass" which has 1000 calories a pop. Right now I'm drinking an ensure WITH every meal and getting 80g protein a day

bmontgomery87

Eating 2800 calories a day.
I'm mostly doing arms and chest, I'm happy with my abs and legs and I ride my bike about 5 miles a day to and from work. Got any tips for me? Seems like no matter what I'm not gaining weight. I work as a chef so I'm on my feet all day moving around. Im thinking of starting this shake called "pure mass" which has 1000 calories a pop. Right now I'm drinking an ensure WITH every meal and getting 80g protein a day

Up your protein. 2800 cals a day and only 80 grams from protein? Shoot for double that. I'm at 2700 cals a day right now and I get over 200 grams a day and that seems to help.

Also work your legs even if you're happy with them. You need to work your whole body, it grows better that way. And I've read it raises your test when you work legs. Dunno how much of that is true, but you're gonna grow more if you squat and work all your muscles.

Pure Mass is one option, but you're better off just upping your protein and buying a whey powder. Most weight gainers have cheap ingredients but cost a lot. When you could just down a protein shake with a cup of oats and get a similar effect.

End6ame

Eating 2800 calories a day.
I'm mostly doing arms and chest, I'm happy with my abs and legs and I ride my bike about 5 miles a day to and from work. Got any tips for me? Seems like no matter what I'm not gaining weight. I work as a chef so I'm on my feet all day moving around. Im thinking of starting this shake called "pure mass" which has 1000 calories a pop. Right now I'm drinking an ensure WITH every meal and getting 80g protein a day

East more! around 3500 calories I would say (not knowing your info) and lift HEAVY with exercises like squats and deadlifts. Work up to a high percentage (80-90%) of your 1 RM.

I am still cutting, but plan on bulking when I get down to 16% BF.

bmontgomery87

I am still cutting, but plan on bulking when I get down to 16% BF.

soo much more fun.
I love eating lots of food. I'm about to bump up to 3000 or so. Trying to work up gradually until summer is almost over, then i'll get to 4000 or so.

I cut for 3-4 weeks in feb and hated it. Luckily I was close to where I wanted to be, so I just needed to drop 3-4 pounds to be happy and ready to start bulking.

codymham

Wow!!!! 4000 calories?? How do you manage to eat that much? I guess I'm gonna try to up my calorie intake even more.

End6ame

Wow!!!! 4000 calories?? How do you manage to eat that much? I guess I'm gonna try to up my calorie intake even more.

Whole milk, is you friend.

hpsnickers1

Wow!!!! 4000 calories?? How do you manage to eat that much? I guess I'm gonna try to up my calorie intake even more.

Whole milk, is you friend.

Love the quote in your signature. It is so true here on MFP

End6ame

Love the quote in your signature. It is so true here on MFP

HAHA... That is why I put it there... I get so annoyed with people sometimes.

bmontgomery87

Agreed.
Starting strength is a great program.
Mark really knows his stuff.


4000 cals is tough, thats why I bump mine up gradually. I hate whole milk. But I can get 3k cals without much trouble. So another 2 protein shakes with milk and peanut butter and oats should do it.

SaraTonin

I'm trying to gain! There are a lot of girls with eating disorders on here, but I have only found ONE other girl who is actually trying to gain and isn't anorexic.

There are quite a few boys.

Would love to be friends with more people trying to get in shape and gain muscle mass!

bmontgomery87

Would be glad to help!! Always looking for fitness minded people who are striving for better body composition and not just losing weight.

kimmiesvogan

I'm thinking I would be one of those women that is trying to gain but isn't anorexic. My problem is genetics and a very high metabolism. Been tiny all my life and it's cause some issues, like with trying to conceive, my BF is so low that my hormones and such get a little whacky. maybe a bit much info, but that's most of my motivation right now. My husband and I have been trying for over a year with no success.

I've started weight training with a friend of mine and go about 5 days a week, so going to the gym isn't much of a problem for me. My main problem is getting enough calories. Being on a limited budget doesn't help much so i've been looking for budget friendly ways of adding caolries. Peanut butter snacks, canned tuna. I've never been a big eater so I've had to just do small meals/snacks more often.

Always looking for tips and advise.

End6ame

I'm thinking I would be one of those women that is trying to gain but isn't anorexic. My problem is genetics and a very high metabolism. Been tiny all my life and it's cause some issues, like with trying to conceive, my BF is so low that my hormones and such get a little whacky. maybe a bit much info, but that's most of my motivation right now. My husband and I have been trying for over a year with no success.

I've started weight training with a friend of mine and go about 5 days a week, so going to the gym isn't much of a problem for me. My main problem is getting enough calories. Being on a limited budget doesn't help much so i've been looking for budget friendly ways of adding caolries. Peanut butter snacks, canned tuna. I've never been a big eater so I've had to just do small meals/snacks more often.

Always looking for tips and advise.

Two suggestions for you. First is junk food it is cheap and high in calories. if you are trying to gain you don't have to eat clean. Gain the weight then diet to cut the fat. You should be left with a net gain in muscle mass if you are training properly.

Secondly is an option known as GOMAD (Gallon of <whole> Milk A Day) that is 2400 extra calories per day. this WILL ad muscle, again if you are training properly. more info on this option here:

http://stronglifts.com/gomad-milk-squats-gallon-gain-weight/

bmontgomery87

oh lawd. the gomad is brutal. I can't imagine a girl doing that.


I did about a half gallon a day for a while. Seemed to help a little. As far as the junk food goes, I like to bulk slowly and cleanly. I know you can get by with eating cheap crappy food, but I feel better in general if I eat good stuff. If someone can eat mcd's everyday and bulk and achieve their goals, more power to em. I'd feel like crap if I did it tho.

End6ame

As far as the junk food goes, I like to bulk slowly and cleanly. I know you can get by with eating cheap crappy food, but I feel better in general if I eat good stuff. If someone can eat mcd's everyday and bulk and achieve their goals, more power to em. I'd feel like crap if I did it tho.

I agree, but twinkles are cheaper than turkey and salmon.

SaraTonin

^^ Yeah, I've tried the fast food thing... It did not help me gain weight. Just headaches. Protein shakes, on the other hand, seem to work.

bmontgomery87

^^spice up the protein shakes with protein and oats and PB. easy cals.

kimmiesvogan

Any other ideas for budget friendly high cal snacks/meals??

SaraTonin

I do a lot of rice, loaded baked potatoes, oatmeal, chicken breasts, tuna, pastas, and stir fry. Money is the main reason I got too skinny!

codymham

Wow! Lots of great tips. Today is my first day at 2800 calories and I've got a 1000 left. Ate a huge breakfast and lunch, did some reps at home and biked to work. Hitting the gym after for a tougher workout and feeling great so far. Thanks again for the tips guys. Gonna try gomad.

Side note: anybody tried p90x?

schnarfo

add me if you like im also trying to gain

Angela4Health

I could give you some of this baby weight I'm holding onto unvoluntarily LOL

cacrat

P90X is a good workout, however, it is not really for those that want to gain mass. It is a HIIT program designed to cut fat while trying to keep muscle mass. Stick with a VERY heavy workout plan of 2 or 3 times a week. As far as your diet, first find out what your maintenence calories are. Meaning the calories needed to not gain or lose weight. From there, you can add as many calories as you want to gain the amount of weight you want. For example, my maint, is ~2000cal. If I wanted to gain a pound a week, I'd have to eat 2500cal a day. Recognize this weight is not going to all be muscle. As has been said, you can then cut down to your desired weight. Rinse and repeat. As far as macronutrients, get at least 1g/lb of body weight for protein. I'd even say 1.5g/lb would be better. Protein builds muscle, if you're working out hard, you'll need as much muscle building blocks as possible. After that, it won't matter much where you get your calories from.