Weight gain

I'm trying to gain weight but afraid I'll gain fat and not muscle

Replies

  • Becca539
    Becca539 Posts: 15
    Hey :)

    I just read this - http://freedomhunger.blogspot.com.au/2013/01/fear-of-weight-gain-revealed.html

    I honestly from the bottom of my heart understand about the fat. It's actually not going to be fat. At a healthy weight, you'll be exactly that healthy, you won't be fat, I tell myself this everyday - trying to make a mantra about it.

    Looking at your food diary, I can see you aren't even getting the extreme low amount of caloric intake. This is counteractive because one it slows down your metabolism and inhibits loss anyhow but besides that, you are starving your body. You're starving your brain of glucose meaning you can't think probably. You are starving your muscles, protein, carbohydrates, nutrients and that is bad for you.

    What will happen is that as you gain the weight back and allow yourself the nutrients you need through eating in a surplus, your body, your individual cells can start to repair themselves. Your skin cells with gain more vitamins, it will glow, your hair will receive it's need fats and oils so it becomes strong and silky. Your ribs will be covered with necessary fats and muscles, you will gain strength but more importantly gain energy.

    Your body knows what it wants, what it needs, it will put the weight where it needs it. As you gain the weight you will see that it is going to where it needs. But you have to take the first step. After that you can decide but first we need to make the choice to eat the surplus, to commit to your health and future. After that, after you are in the healthy weight range, you can then worry about the toning.

    If you are adamant about some exercise, lift and lift heavy. Heavy enough that you can do a MAX of 8 reps. This will ensure you aren't burning those needed calories but allow you to gain weight through muscles growth. Ensure you eat back any lost calories through it. Do this only once a week to start off with and have protein (bricks) and the carbs (workers) to aid in the muscle repair and growth.

    Sorry for the essay.
    Bec :)
  • caesar164
    caesar164 Posts: 312 Member
    You should lift weights... You could always make a deal with the devil... right Lucifer?
  • donyellemoniquex3
    donyellemoniquex3 Posts: 2,384 Member
    Open your diary.
  • JesterMFP
    JesterMFP Posts: 3,596 Member
    Could you add a little context? People post on the "gaining weight" board for different reasons, so it can be helpful for us to know what your situation is. For example, some people are here because they are recovering from eating disorders. Others because they just want to be more muscular. People in the former category might need to gain a little fat, even if they really don't want to. I personally would feel more comfortable giving advice knowing more where you're coming from. :smile:
  • lucifer639
    lucifer639 Posts: 9
    So my calorie intake is too low? Should i aim for 3000 calories a day? Thank you
  • lucifer639
    lucifer639 Posts: 9
    Haha:D
  • lucifer639
    lucifer639 Posts: 9
    Im sorry in just new to this. Im bearly getting the hang of it. Still confusing though, but ill try my best to be more speciefic next time.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,992 Member
    To gain muscle you have to damage it so it can rebuild bigger and stronger. So progressive overload along with a moderate surplus.
    Just note that along with any muscle gain, there will be fat gain too. It may not be that noticeable though if your surplus isn't too high.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • lucifer639
    lucifer639 Posts: 9
    To gain muscle you have to damage it so it can rebuild bigger and stronger. So progressive overload along with a moderate surplus.
    Just note that along with any muscle gain, there will be fat gain too. It may not be that noticeable though if your surplus isn't too high.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    What a surplus ? I'm new to this I'm sorry
  • kdeaux1959
    kdeaux1959 Posts: 2,675 Member
    1. You WILL gain some fat on a calorie surplus which is necessary to gain muscle. That is why you do a bulk and cut.

    2. To minimize fat gain while bulking eat at a slight surplus, focus on protein, and lift heavy... That will help with the muscle gains. Eating at a large surplus will promote muscle gain but also additional fat gain. Fat gain will happen but at a slower rate.

    3. When you get to a comfortable point in your bulking, start focusing on a cut which is to reduce your intake to lose weight again... Continue the strength training during this process to minimize muscle loss... Yes, you will lose muscle too but at a slower rate because of the weight training. Also continue to go a little heavy on the protein during this process but eat at a calorie deficit to promote fat loss.

    4. Repeat the cycle until you achieve what you are looking for.
  • lucifer639
    lucifer639 Posts: 9
    Could you add a little context? People post on the "gaining weight" board for different reasons, so it can be helpful for us to know what your situation is. For example, some people are here because they are recovering from eating disorders. Others because they just want to be more muscular. People in the former category might need to gain a little fat, even if they really don't want to. I personally would feel more comfortable giving advice knowing more where you're coming from. :smile:
    I'm sorry I'm new to this. Have no idea how it works but I thing I'm getting the hang of it. Ok so I'm 5'8 I used to weight 145lb 2 months ago. Til I got this program called 21 day fix thinking it was gonna help me get rid of my belly fat and tone up. My coach said it would work,( coach from beachbody)she told me to hit the 1200 calorie intake so I did. Well i lost 15 pounds,my family started noticing and started getting concerned of how thin I was getting. Bragged about how I should be eating more, that I look unhealthy, even call me a walking stick;( so I talked to my coach again she said to hit the 2000 calories. I want to gain all my weight back but don't want to get fatter from my midsection!! I workout a lot!! I don't know how the macro and calorie thing work on here. I want to gain muscle but go back to how I used to weight:)
  • lucifer639
    lucifer639 Posts: 9
    You should lift weights... You could always make a deal with the devil... right Lucifer?
    Haha maybe I should;)
  • lucifer639
    lucifer639 Posts: 9
    1. You WILL gain some fat on a calorie surplus which is necessary to gain muscle. That is why you do a bulk and cut.

    2. To minimize fat gain while bulking eat at a slight surplus, focus on protein, and lift heavy... That will help with the muscle gains. Eating at a large surplus will promote muscle gain but also additional fat gain. Fat gain will happen but at a slower rate.

    3. When you get to a comfortable point in your bulking, start focusing on a cut which is to reduce your intake to lose weight again... Continue the strength training during this process to minimize muscle loss... Yes, you will lose muscle too but at a slower rate because of the weight training. Also continue to go a little heavy on the protein during this process but eat at a calorie deficit to promote fat loss.

    4. Repeat the cycle until you achieve what you are looking for.
    Thank you for the advise:) I'm trying to aim for 3000 calls but it's too much food haha so I'm aiming for 2750 cals. I'm honestly not caring about fat anymore I just want to gain my 15 pds back :D
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    if you are struggling with too much- add in your ice cream- oreo's and smoothies and beer and pizza and bagels.

    Seriously- don't sweat it if it isn't "clean" or "healthy" all that crap goes out the window when it comes to bulking- you could have the 'cleanest' foods trying to bulk and hit all macro's perfectly and it means diddly squat if you aren't in surplus.

    eat all the things!!!!
  • SeanAdlen
    SeanAdlen Posts: 3
    Hi Lucifer - if you're wanting to gain weight, you should be looking at an extra 500 calories per day or 3500 per week minimum on top of your basal metabolic rate. If you don't know how fast or slow your metabolism is, try and find someone that can do a body composition analysis for you.