Skinny bodies support group

Well, don't be so hard on you. I am 60 kgs(~130-132 lbs) and 1.75 (~5'9''), but my body fat percentage is somewhere at 10%. I hit the gym hard, and when I don't, I do cardio. My muscles are pretty visible, so DO NOT OVEREAT! Shaking off fat is not easy. I used to be 90 kgs( ~198-200 lbs) and looked like one of those kids that you see having a table for themselves at McDonalds. What you should do is lift and cardio, and don't exceed MFP's recommended calorie intake (don't forget to add burned calories FROM CARDIO). Also, try to do a 2000-2200 calorie intake with a 50-20-30 macros plan (proteins/carbs/fats). By the way, you can't "turn" fat into muscle, it doesn't work like that. You need positive nitrogen balance to grow muscle, but you can still lose fat while gaining muscle. I suggest you watch Jeff Cavaliere's Youtube videos, he goes by the name of his brand, ATHLEAN.

You shouldn't take HGH unless you can't grow without it, and trust me, you can! I do take supplements, but nutrition is the number one deciding factor of gaining weight. I take 5 grams of Creapure Creatine per day for the extra reps in the gym and supplement with whey protein (I personally use Impact Whey Protein) whenever I can't reach my goal. I eat A LOT of protein, my diet is currently at an intake of 2000-2200 calories, and I try to keep protein at about 40% of that (240-ish grams per day) and NEVER consume more than 40-50 grams of sugar-like macros per day. Most of my carb intake comes from whole grain unprocessed cereals. For example, I have a very tasty homemade oatmeal for about 200 calories and 40 grams of carbs. Also, cardio helps with reducing body fat a lot, just don't overdo it.

Ri0t801 wrote: »

Update on my incredibly slow progress gaining weight. If I can recall things right, I started off at around 135lbs at 6'1'' (which is stick thin in my opinion) still pretty skinny, I am now at 161lbs. My trick? Well, honestly it's not cut and dry. I've had countless setbacks in many different ways, i.e. Financially, etc.
I mean, a few points of this process stick out in my mind about how I gained. Hydration is huge. I also, during times that allow me to, will eat 3 meals a day. I will eat until I cannot take another bite, then take another bite. Along with 2 or 3 shakes. I like the Atkins meal replacement shakes because they have 1g of sugar.
I really haven't worked out at all but, plan on hitting the gym 3-4 times a week starting soon. From the looks of it, most, if not all my gains have been in the form of fat. I do not believe it's unhealthy fat but I need to start a plan of action to turn that into muscle. Tbc... comments/questions appreciated gain on!

If you struggle to get enough calories, there are a myriad of techniques that can be used; particularly, you can swap out low calorie/high volume foods for high calorie/low volume foods.

What is important during bulking is calories. How large your surplus is, genetics, and training will drive what your fat/muscle ratio is. Things like sugar or "clean" calories are a misnomer when it comes to bulking. Sugar is actually very beneficial during a bulk. Carbs/Sugar will spike insulin. Insulin (along with Leucine & mechanical stress) will activate mTOR with will drive muscle protein synthesis; additionally, carbs will prevent protein degradation. Now, this isn't saying that you should eat a bunch of junk food because you still want adequate nutrition and you still to balance satiety, but you certainly can add sugar/carbs to a balanced diet within a bulk. Personally, I tend to add a fat (since I am already cutting at 250g of carbs) since fat is very cheap.

Protein requirements. Too many people put a ton of stock in protein. You do not need or will not benefit from a ridiculous amount of protein. In general, the maximum benefit of protein will come to around 1.5-2.2g/kg of body weight (~ .7 - 1g of protein/lb of weight). Excessive protein will convert to glucose through glucenogenesis.

You don't need any supplements or anabolic steroids. If you do take a supplement, the most effective ones are creatine and caffeine; even then, they only work on about 70% of the population.

Ri0t801 wrote: »

Thanks for the insight.
What do you think about Human Growth Hormone and other supplements like that?

HGH is NOT a supplement it is a powerful drug. The general recommendation would be not to take PED especially not as a new lifter who has a lot of natural gains to make. I would never counsel anyone to take a potentially dangerous drug, especially in the heavy dosages that bodybuilders and strength athletes tend to take. Best to stay away from steroids, HGH, SARMS and peptides unless you really want to become a lab rat.