Are you a hard gainer, please read!

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  • tflynn817
    tflynn817 Posts: 3 Member
    @psuLemon at 6 ft and 170 lbs w 3300 calories my weight stays the same. You're right that adding 900 Cal's would just turn into fat bc of how slowly muscle is gained. I was putting a future hypothetical out there.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,388 MFP Moderator
    tflynn817 wrote: »
    @psuLemon at 6 ft and 170 lbs w 3300 calories my weight stays the same. You're right that adding 900 Cal's would just turn into fat bc of how slowly muscle is gained. I was putting a future hypothetical out there.

    ok. 3600-3800 would be a sweet spot for you.
  • benpeterson210
    benpeterson210 Posts: 1 Member
    How do you tackle the bulking phase while simultaneously lowering high cholesterol?
  • comptonelizabeth
    comptonelizabeth Posts: 1,701 Member
    It depends on why it's high? Exercise can lower cholesterol. High cholesterol isn't always caused by diet but, you can still eat high calorie foods containing,for example, monounsaturated oils etc.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,388 MFP Moderator
    benpeterson210 wrote: »
    How do you tackle the bulking phase while simultaneously lowering high cholesterol?

    Whats your total profile look like? Because total cholesterol is not a great marker as high hdl will increase total cholesterol. Triglycerides and ldl are better indicators.

    But possible maintaining high amounts of fiber, largea amounts of MUFA/PUFA and limiting added sugar and SFA.
  • nswygert86
    nswygert86 Posts: 1 Member
    Wheelhouse15 wrote: »
    Yeah, no list is compelete without the pizza!

    I work for dominos lol
  • SeriousJak
    SeriousJak Posts: 1 Member
    Hey everyone! I'm new here and have been experimenting for the last month on the most convenient ways for me to intake calories and hit my goals. I'm not a huge eater and I've tried consuming all of my calories through solid food, but it just doesn't seem to be realistic for me to constantly prepare food with my schedule. But, I've been making my own mass gainer shakes that I drink before lunch and dinner have a few questions. As long as I'm hitting my calorie goals, does it matter if I drink a majority of them? Also, does it matter if I'm having so many calories all at once? Should they be split up more periodically throughout the day?

    (These mass gainer shakes I make add up to around 1500 calories per shake) I just put a hell of a ton of peanut butter, milk, and bananas in them.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,139 Member
    SeriousJak wrote: »
    Hey everyone! I'm new here and have been experimenting for the last month on the most convenient ways for me to intake calories and hit my goals. I'm not a huge eater and I've tried consuming all of my calories through solid food, but it just doesn't seem to be realistic for me to constantly prepare food with my schedule. But, I've been making my own mass gainer shakes that I drink before lunch and dinner have a few questions. As long as I'm hitting my calorie goals, does it matter if I drink a majority of them? Also, does it matter if I'm having so many calories all at once? Should they be split up more periodically throughout the day?

    (These mass gainer shakes I make add up to around 1500 calories per shake) I just put a hell of a ton of peanut butter, milk, and bananas in them.

    Calories are king, so yes this is ok provided you are hitting macros and micros
  • r_eruiz26
    r_eruiz26 Posts: 9 Member
    Awesome thread! Very helpful!
  • isaiah4031a
    isaiah4031a Posts: 206 Member
    Bump
  • Sofia_Garcia
    Sofia_Garcia Posts: 412 Member
    Really goood point and a bunch of good ideas! But have to say I'm a hard gainer is it high metabolism?!? Who knows! In my case was a sickness and although most people love all those gooddies and would be amazed to be told to eat all that I in my particular I love healthy food and wanna gain weight yes but eat healthy! Not a big fan of pizza, hamburgers, hate hh and all those goddies wonce in a wile yes I'm human right! Ahahah
    So in my case and it's how I fell it's almost like saying eat whatever and a lot and you'll be fine!
    I love fruits and veggies I'll take a blow of them instead of meet or pasta! Hate sauces and salad dressings! I like natural food I like felling the taste of every ingredient! I love food but what I love doesn't give me enough to gain so I'm in a stressful position where I do not know any to eat! If I eat what I like won't gain enough if I eat what you say I feel sick and it's an effort to shove it down!
    Is there any advice on good healthy food I can eat that will give me what I need and still make me happy eater!?

    Help !!!!!
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,388 MFP Moderator
    edited August 2017
    Sofia_Garcia wrote: »
    Really goood point and a bunch of good ideas! But have to say I'm a hard gainer is it high metabolism?!? Who knows! In my case was a sickness and although most people love all those gooddies and would be amazed to be told to eat all that I in my particular I love healthy food and wanna gain weight yes but eat healthy! Not a big fan of pizza, hamburgers, hate hh and all those goddies wonce in a wile yes I'm human right! Ahahah
    So in my case and it's how I fell it's almost like saying eat whatever and a lot and you'll be fine!
    I love fruits and veggies I'll take a blow of them instead of meet or pasta! Hate sauces and salad dressings! I like natural food I like felling the taste of every ingredient! I love food but what I love doesn't give me enough to gain so I'm in a stressful position where I do not know any to eat! If I eat what I like won't gain enough if I eat what you say I feel sick and it's an effort to shove it down!
    Is there any advice on good healthy food I can eat that will give me what I need and still make me happy eater!?

    Help !!!!!

    Healthy is getting adequate nutrients. Self imposed limitations can make it harder. I can tell you what I think is healthy, but your definition is going to be different. I'd still recommend getting adequate fruits/veggies because fiber is great for health, incorporate proteins (especially ones with higher levels of fat like fish, red meats, chicken with the skin), and healthy fats (nuts, avocado, etc...) to ensure your body is performing properly.

    This thread isn't just about eating dirty foods. It's about strategies to eat healthy foods and adding additional calories from calorie dense/low satiating foods to ensure you are hitting target calories. In the end, if you dont' hit calorie levels, you will never gain. In the end, the biggest drivers for health (metabolic markers) are weight/body composition, activity level and genetics. Foods can augment that, but even then it's limited.

    Overall, you are the type of person I made this thread for. You have a lot of limitations on foods and don't want to eat other foods because you have perceptions of what is healthy and not. All those foods on the first page do have nutritional value...some more than others, but all can be incorporated in a very healthy diet.


    Look at fats (avocado, nuts, butters, oils); concentrate on high sugar fruits, legumes and starches; and add in high quality meats/fish that contains fat and protein such as dark fish, chicken with skin, duck, bison, etc..

    There are also several links at the bottom to sites with recipes.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    craigaronoff1 wrote: »
    Looks like a recipe for getting fat! I would be afraid that it would be impossible to cut back down later. Lots of unclean junky foods listed. I am not sure this is the best advise.

    you need a calorie surplus to gain weight (muscle and fat). how else do you think you build muscle?
  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
    craigaronoff1 wrote: »
    Looks like a recipe for getting fat! I would be afraid that it would be impossible to cut back down later. Lots of unclean junky foods listed. I am not sure this is the best advise.

    Too high a surplus and inadequate training will make you gain fat. Less nutritious food in moderation is fine and can help people reach their cal goals to get into a surplus, especially those that have a very high cal goal. Putting restrictions on what you can/can't eat is unnecessary. If you struggle to eat and are always too full and don't hit your calories, you will not gain.. I've seen people stuck at square one for years (yes years) because of this mentality.
  • comptonelizabeth
    comptonelizabeth Posts: 1,701 Member
    craigaronoff1 wrote: »
    Looks like a recipe for getting fat! I would be afraid that it would be impossible to cut back down later. Lots of unclean junky foods listed. I am not sure this is the best advise.

    No one is saying,eat these foods exclusively. You can add them to your normal diet if you like. That's what I did and is how I gained weight for the first time in years. These foods won't make you fat unless you eat a big surplus- of anything.
    The reason I was never able to gain weight is that I was fixated on having to eat "healthy "food. By which I mean fruit,vegetables,whole grains etc etc. Not only was I unable to eat enough of these things to gain weight (I have a small appetite and get full very quickly) ,it also made me ill (I suffer from ibd) Once I'd dropped the notion that I had to eat 3 meals a day consisting of complex carbs and vegetables,and switched to more frequent,smaller meals which included many of the foods listed above as well as fruit,vegetables etc,I finally gained weight. An added bonus is that my appetite has improved.
  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,728 Member
    donkey9512 wrote: »
    Looks like a recipe for getting fat! I would be afraid that it would be impossible to cut back down later. Lots of unclean junky foods listed. I am not sure this is the best advise.

    You understand this is the weight gain discussion right?? Getting bigger is the goal.
  • donkey9512
    donkey9512 Posts: 60 Member
    edited August 2017
    stanmann571 wrote: »
    donkey9512 wrote: »
    Looks like a recipe for getting fat! I would be afraid that it would be impossible to cut back down later. Lots of unclean junky foods listed. I am not sure this is the best advise.

    You understand this is the weight gain discussion right?? Getting bigger is the goal.

    Of course I understand that. My point is that it is too easy to overdo junk food and get fat. Replace the word junk food with, say, certain highly processed foods with low nutrient content and empty calories. It's easier to say junk food.

    Instead of eating McDonalds Bigmac I would prefer to have an avodado which is calorie dense and not processed. You can easily get 3500 calories in one meal at McDonalds. I was once everyday eating fast food even though I was a hard gainer. The term 'hard gainer' refers to hard gaining lean mass. I guarantee if you are not reasonable and eat junk food any hard gainer will be a fast fat gainer. Then they'll spend the next two years dieting down to cut and find they've gained no muscle, or worse, they'll achieve the dreaded skinny-fat physique! I think some restrictions or mindfulness is needed.

    I'm not saying don't ever eat junk. I eat junk sometimes because I enjoy it! Life is too short. I would not purposely replace healthy eating habits just to hit a caloric surplus. I guess adding some calorie dense foods like steak, pasta, pizza are perfect.

    So I suppose I would modify my stance and just say that we maybe should be careful with empty calories. Someone above in the thread said wisely that muscle is slow to build but fat is quick to accumulate.
  • donkey9512
    donkey9512 Posts: 60 Member
    edited August 2017
    comptonelizabeth wrote: »
    craigaronoff1 wrote: »
    Looks like a recipe for getting fat! I would be afraid that it would be impossible to cut back down later. Lots of unclean junky foods listed. I am not sure this is the best advise.

    No one is saying,eat these foods exclusively. You can add them to your normal diet if you like. That's what I did and is how I gained weight for the first time in years. These foods won't make you fat unless you eat a big surplus- of anything.
    The reason I was never able to gain weight is that I was fixated on having to eat "healthy "food. By which I mean fruit,vegetables,whole grains etc etc. Not only was I unable to eat enough of these things to gain weight (I have a small appetite and get full very quickly) ,it also made me ill (I suffer from ibd) Once I'd dropped the notion that I had to eat 3 meals a day consisting of complex carbs and vegetables,and switched to more frequent,smaller meals which included many of the foods listed above as well as fruit,vegetables etc,I finally gained weight. An added bonus is that my appetite has improved.

    I agree. I too have IBD and I lost 10 lbs in 3 weeks. Too many fibrous foods and vegetables can make you feel too full with low calories. It's also a lot of stress on the digestive track for someone with IBD.

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