12 Weeks to Put on Some Weight

[MrMatt]

I started working out, and I was trying to figure out a diet that worked for me, so my weight went down a bit.

Not to sound like a dick, with any of this, but you need to hear it:

1. You're doing something wrong. Aim for something like a pound per week. You've barely gained any weight at all, hell water retention or a log of shit in your intestines could account for the pound or so you've gained in a month. You haven't gained an ounce probably. You are WELL within the margin of error for natural daily weight fluctuations.

2. When you said earlier that you want to stay 'lean' you meant have no discernible muscle mass and remain at the weight you're now at, then by all means keep avoiding carbs. Simply put; if you're eating carbs AND working out, then they're not going to get stored as fat. They'll be used by your muscle cells as glycogen for energy purposes. I think you're mistaking real-life carbs for what retards screaming on TV about getting fat call carbs. "NGGGGGHHHUUUH CARBS ARE EEEEVILLL UUUUUGH". If you're trying to gain weight & muscle mass they're one of your best friends actually. The fat loss sticky at the top of the forum has a lot of great tips that can apply even if you're not trying to lose weight.

4A. If you're worried about carbs, consider this: My last bulk I went from about 178 to 215, that's almost 40 lbs. I went from about 8% bf (14 lbs fat) to about 13% bf (~27 lbs fat). So I gained 27 lbs. of muscle, and about 13 lbs. in fat. Over my entire body you couldn't really notice THAT much of a difference, heck my abs were still visible, but that may be on account of genetics. Anyway, the upshot of this all is that on this bulk I was taking in 5,000 calories per day. 5,000. About 1400 were from protein (350g/day), around 1700 were from fat (~185g/day) and the rest was from carbs, so about 1900 calories per day. And I'm only 5' 10". If you're 6' 2" you could probably get to 4000 per day, take in less carbs, more protein & fat, and barely accumulate any bf at all.



3. If you want to actually gain weight, post your diet here, someone can plug it into fitday and see how many calories you're actually taking in. 1.5 lbs. of ground beef isn't bad to have in there. If it's ultra lean though you're not getting many calories from it. Among other things I'm eating roughly 9 oz. of tuna, and around 8 oz. of skinless chicken breast (cheap & great source of protein) per day, and I'm cutting. Post what you eat, when, and how much. There's an interesting phenomenon where people trying to gain weight overestimate the amount of calories they're taking in. People trying to lose weight underestimate how many calories they're consuming. You're probably at the former rather than the latter phase.

4. From your pics you look no different than you did a month ago. Not an ounce more of mass, not a shred of additional definition. Post your routine or what you're doing at the gym as well. Something is awry, and most likely it's your diet.


Again, this isn't to be a dick, but in order to improve you have to figure out what it is you're doing wrong

 

[Daniel_Kemp]

Not to sound like a dick, with any of this, but you need to hear it:

1. You're doing something wrong. Aim for something like a pound per week. You've barely gained any weight at all, hell water retention or a log of shit in your intestines could account for the pound or so you've gained in a month. You haven't gained an ounce probably. You are WELL within the margin of error for natural daily weight fluctuations.

2. When you said earlier that you want to stay 'lean' you meant have no discernible muscle mass and remain at the weight you're now at, then by all means keep avoiding carbs. Simply put; if you're eating carbs AND working out, then they're not going to get stored as fat. They'll be used by your muscle cells as glycogen for energy purposes. I think you're mistaking real-life carbs for what retards screaming on TV about getting fat call carbs. "NGGGGGHHHUUUH CARBS ARE EEEEVILLL UUUUUGH". If you're trying to gain weight & muscle mass they're one of your best friends actually. The fat loss sticky at the top of the forum has a lot of great tips that can apply even if you're not trying to lose weight.

4A. If you're worried about carbs, consider this: My last bulk I went from about 178 to 215, that's almost 40 lbs. I went from about 8% bf (14 lbs fat) to about 13% bf (~27 lbs fat). So I gained 27 lbs. of muscle, and about 13 lbs. in fat. Over my entire body you couldn't really notice THAT much of a difference, heck my abs were still visible, but that may be on account of genetics. Anyway, the upshot of this all is that on this bulk I was taking in 5,000 calories per day. 5,000. About 1400 were from protein (350g/day), around 1700 were from fat (~185g/day) and the rest was from carbs, so about 1900 calories per day. And I'm only 5' 10". If you're 6' 2" you could probably get to 4000 per day, take in less carbs, more protein & fat, and barely accumulate any bf at all.



3. If you want to actually gain weight, post your diet here, someone can plug it into fitday and see how many calories you're actually taking in. 1.5 lbs. of ground beef isn't bad to have in there. If it's ultra lean though you're not getting many calories from it. Among other things I'm eating roughly 9 oz. of tuna, and around 8 oz. of skinless chicken breast (cheap & great source of protein) per day, and I'm cutting. Post what you eat, when, and how much. There's an interesting phenomenon where people trying to gain weight overestimate the amount of calories they're taking in. People trying to lose weight underestimate how many calories they're consuming. You're probably at the former rather than the latter phase.

4. From your pics you look no different than you did a month ago. Not an ounce more of mass, not a shred of additional definition. Post your routine or what you're doing at the gym as well. Something is awry, and most likely it's your diet.


Again, this isn't to be a dick, but in order to improve you have to figure out what it is you're doing wrong

Hi MrMatt,

Right now I'm just looking to put on some weight to make my uncle, and doctors happy.

Recently I've been eating about 1000 grams of beef, 12 eggs and 250 ml of heavy cream each day.

I'm also taking supplements like dessicated liver, amino acids, vitamin C, RNA, iron, vitamin E, omega oil, wheat germ oil, Betaine HCL, and digestive enzymes.

I do upper body one day, lower body the next day, and then rest one day. I walk about an hour a day too.

Technique and nutrition are what I'm focusing on right now. I think I got the nutrition part OK (for lean muscle gaining) for now, but I still have to work on my workout technique.

Thanks MrMatt.

Daniel Kemp

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Hi MrMatt,

Right now I'm just looking to put on some weight to make my uncle, and doctors happy.

Recently I've been eating about 1000 grams of beef, 12 eggs and 250 ml of heavy cream each day.

I'm also taking supplements like dessicated liver, amino acids, vitamin C, RNA, iron, vitamin E, omega oil, wheat germ oil, Betaine HCL, and digestive enzymes.

I do upper body one day, lower body the next day, and then rest one day. I walk about an hour a day too.

Technique and nutrition are what I'm focusing on right now. I think I got the nutrition part OK (for lean muscle gaining) for now, but I still have to work on my workout technique.

Thanks MrMatt.

Daniel Kemp

If your nutrition were in line, do you think your weight would be stagnating like it is? If you were eating enough, your weight would increase no matter what. You need to quit micromanaging, eat a lot of food, and drink a lot of milk. That's it. No more excuses. No more talk of "lean muscle gain." If you gain muscle, you gain muscle. If you gain fat, you gain fat. You can cut fat and retain the muscle - it's that easy.

 

[jlee]

Daniel_Kemp - I started at 144.5lb last week. I'll race you to 170.

 

[mizzou]

Weight gain is largely a genetic issue. It's terribly difficult for some priest to gain or hold weight handsome goes vice versa. You are obviously built like a bean pole so that's never going to change without some serious dedication.
I am about 6 foot, weighed 160 at a low point in my life . Was only eating 1 big meal a day and it was just difficult flying experience that when normally I'm a bulky person. I dedicatedmyself to gaining weight slowly once I hit 160 and it took a really long damn time to finally get my body used to increase in food intake. I'm talking a matter of years where the first year was alot of small fluctuation and the next year saw solid gains. Only problem is now I'm jot stopping and I'm getting close to 200 which is more then I want.

Anyway, be patient and stay focused, but be careful what you wish for. For weight gain I recommend drinking lots of water and eating every meal with lots of snacks. Water intake will help increase stomach size over time I think and will help you wolf down more food.

 

[kalrith]

Nothing wrong with a slow bulk. Alan Aragon calls it culking. It's described like a gradual recomp over a period of years.

I bolded the important part. If the OP wants to "slow bulk" or "lean bulk," it'll take him a few years to gain an appreciable amount of muscle mass that he could gain in months if he ate 4k+ calories per day and did a solid strength-building routine like SS or Stronglifts.

In other words if you bulked for 3 months and then cut for 3 months, you'd be in a much better place than if you did a "slow bulk" for 6 months or possibly even 12+ months.

 

[MJinZ]

I bolded the important part. If the OP wants to "slow bulk" or "lean bulk," it'll take him a few years to gain an appreciable amount of muscle mass that he could gain in months if he ate 4k+ calories per day and did a solid strength-building routine like SS or Stronglifts.

In other words if you bulked for 3 months and then cut for 3 months, you'd be in a much better place than if you did a "slow bulk" for 6 months or possibly even 12+ months.

Disagree...

Looking and staying fit is a lifestyle.

Just like losing a ton of fat in a short amount of time is fine, but STAYING that way for the rest of your life is the goal.

I would never eat a shitload and bulk and cut. I just eat normally and get stronger and lose fat gradually, but maintain the look effortlessly.

This may not be possible for some people though based on body and genetics.

 

[kalrith]

Disagree...

Looking and staying fit is a lifestyle.

Just like losing a ton of fat in a short amount of time is fine, but STAYING that way for the rest of your life is the goal.

I would never eat a shitload and bulk and cut. I just eat normally and get stronger and lose fat gradually, but maintain the look effortlessly.

This may not be possible for some people though based on body and genetics.

I agree that there are some reasons for not wanting to bulk and then cut. However, the OP made a thread titled "12 weeks to put on some weight." Unless "some weight" means "1-2 pounds," he's not going to reach that goal trying to do a clean bulk.

 

[MJinZ]

I agree that there are some reasons for not wanting to bulk and then cut. However, the OP made a thread titled "12 weeks to put on some weight." Unless "some weight" means "1-2 pounds," he's not going to reach that goal trying to do a clean bulk.

Yes, I was only disagreeing about "being in a better place after 3 or 6 months".

 

[kalrith]

Yes, I was only disagreeing about "being in a better place after 3 or 6 months".

OK. I should've ended that statement with something like "in light of your goal of short-term weight gain" or something like that. I didn't intend it to sound like a blanket statement for everyone.

Obviously people have different goals, and my statement was intended to apply to those like the OP with the goal of short-term weight gain. In light of that goal, he'd be in a better place if he gained 30 lbs. in 3 months and then cut several of those pounds in the following 3 months, rather than gaining something like 5-10 pounds gradually over the next 6 months.

AFAIK, he didn't put a specific goal of weight gain, so if he does only want to gain 5 pounds, then some of my statements would be moot.

 

[MrMatt]

Hi MrMatt,

Right now I'm just looking to put on some weight to make my uncle, and doctors happy.

Recently I've been eating about 1000 grams of beef, 12 eggs and 250 ml of heavy cream each day.

I'm also taking supplements like dessicated liver, amino acids, vitamin C, RNA, iron, vitamin E, omega oil, wheat germ oil, Betaine HCL, and digestive enzymes.

I do upper body one day, lower body the next day, and then rest one day. I walk about an hour a day too.

Technique and nutrition are what I'm focusing on right now. I think I got the nutrition part OK (for lean muscle gaining) for now, but I still have to work on my workout technique.

Thanks MrMatt.

Daniel Kemp

What I'm confused about though is the fact that you haven't gained an ounce of weight. You also are not any more 'defined' nor have you built any muscle mass in the last month or so. I don't think this is a troll thread, but I'm just confused by your seeming satisfaction with having made 0 progress. Also why are you taking all those supplements? If you're eating right about 90% of those should be unnecessary, unless you have some sort of condition. Is what you posted in reply to me your entire diet, or is there more?

 

[M0oG0oGaiPan]

What I'm confused about though is the fact that you haven't gained an ounce of weight. You also are not any more 'defined' nor have you built any muscle mass in the last month or so. I don't think this is a troll thread, but I'm just confused by your seeming satisfaction with having made 0 progress. Also why are you taking all those supplements? If you're eating right about 90% of those should be unnecessary, unless you have some sort of condition. Is what you posted in reply to me your entire diet, or is there more?

He's made a change a change to his diet. He's started to work out regularly. He might even be gaining strength. I think you're skewing his personal fitness goals with that of your own. Who says he has to revert back to his previous lifestyle after the 12 weeks are over? He could take what he learns from this cycle and use that knowledge for another 12 week cycle.

 

[KoolDrew]

He's made a change a change to his diet. He's started to work out regularly. He might even be gaining strength. I think you're skewing his personal fitness goals with that of your own. Who says he has to revert back to his previous lifestyle after the 12 weeks are over? He could take what he learns from this cycle and use that knowledge for another 12 week cycle.

Uhh... the title of the topic is "12 Weeks to Put on Some Weight" The fact is he's hasn't added any weight at all, despite it being the OP's goal.

 

[skace]

He may need to eat more, he may not. Something important to note is that he isn't really in a bad place. Sure, he is skinny, however he is also fit and all of his pictures are a terrible unflattering posture. I keep waiting for a pic where he stands up straight and claims improvement because I guarantee he'd look better in a normal photo.

IMO, if I was in his shape, I wouldn't get fat just for the sake of adding muscle, that seems incredibly counter-productive to me. What if he gets a shitload of stretch marks through a quick bulk? Stretch marks never disappear, so congrats on permanently damaging your skin.

If I were you, I'd focus on my lifts and my lifts alone. Are you increasing weight? Are you improving? If so everything is fine and the results will come when they come. However, if your lifts aren't improving and you are constantly tired, sleep and food are really the first 2 things you should be looking at. I won't just tell you to eat more though, I'd also look at what you eat.

 

[M0oG0oGaiPan]

Uhh... the title of the topic is "12 Weeks to Put on Some Weight" The fact is he's hasn't added any weight at all, despite it being the OP's goal.

He's on the upside. He has 7 weeks to go. He started out too low at the beginning but he said he was working up on calories. So he adjusted his diet and started gaining after losing some weight. Maybe it's the change in food types that caused the initial weight loss. Could have been water retention.

 

[coreyb]

I'm already 220 from 160 and I'll put more weight on this week then you will in the next 3. There's absolutely something wrong with a slow bulk, especially when you are as small as the OP. He looks like a emaciated long distance runner and could easily put on 30 lbs and still be considered skinny.

Start eating and training like a man already!

 

[HomerX]

I'm already 220 from 160 and I'll put more weight on this week then you will in the next 3. There's absolutely something wrong with a slow bulk, especially when you are as small as the OP. He looks like a emaciated long distance runner and could easily put on 30 lbs and still be considered skinny.

Start eating and training like a man already!

And you surely have a nice sixpack and defined muscles! not?

You know some people have different goals... Getting BIG is not everybodys dream...

Some people prefer a more athletic build...

I always "slow bulked" and surely i made no BIG improvements like 20 lbs in 4 Weeks etc.. but that isn't my goal...

I know that i could achive huge mass gains through eating a ton but i prefer to keep my BF in the 6-7% range.

The OP seems to prefer the same "slow bulk" with little BF% gains... If he continues to add 1 lbs every Week he will see some nice improvements in a few months...

 

[jlee]

And you surely have a nice sixpack and defined muscles! not?

You know some people have different goals... Getting BIG is not everybodys dream...

Some people prefer a more athletic build...

I always "slow bulked" and surely i made no BIG improvements like 20 lbs in 4 Weeks etc.. but that isn't my goal...

I know that i could achive huge mass gains through eating a ton but i prefer to keep my BF in the 6-7% range.

The OP seems to prefer the same "slow bulk" with little BF% gains... If he continues to add 1 lbs every Week he will see some nice improvements in a few months...

Maybe it's just me, but "12 weeks to put on some weight" doesn't mean "1lb after a month". If he continues at this rate, sure - but as someone mentioned earlier, one incident of 1lb extra isn't nearly enough to demonstrate actual gain. Now if it keeps climbing, sure.

 

[HomerX]

Maybe it's just me, but "12 weeks to put on some weight" doesn't mean "1lb after a month". If he continues at this rate, sure - but as someone mentioned earlier, one incident of 1lb extra isn't nearly enough to demonstrate actual gain. Now if it keeps climbing, sure.

His goal is not very precise...

Reading his posts i got the impression that his "real" goal is not reaching a certain weight but looking more muscular/defined.

I'm not saying that his diet/training is good or bad but at least he makes some progress in the last weeks.
If this trend continues he will gain ~5-10 lbs after 12 Weeks which is "some weight". At the End of the Year he could achive ~15-30 lbs of mostly lean muscle mass which will certainly give him a much more muscular look...

A massive Bulk has some advantages and i understand that someone who shoots for maximum strength/size gains prefers a bulk/cut cycle, but a lot of people will be able to reach their (aesthetic) goals with a slow Bulk without the hassle of overeating during the bulk and micromanaging the food during the cut.

And i know a lot of people in my gym who bulk up but forget to cut the fat afterwards
Reaching a really low lvl of BF% is nothing that can be easily done in 2-3 months if you bulked up like crazy..
If somebody is statisfied with a BF% of ~15% then OK, going up to 20 or 25% during the Bulk won't change much but going from 5% to 15% will make you cry everytime you look into a mirror

Cutting from 25% to 15% is also easier compared to going from 15% to 5%...


Nothing against bulking! but it really isn't always necessary or benefical to shoot for maximum weight gains in a short amount of time

 

[MrMatt]

He's on the upside. He has 7 weeks to go. He started out too low at the beginning but he said he was working up on calories. So he adjusted his diet and started gaining after losing some weight. Maybe it's the change in food types that caused the initial weight loss. Could have been water retention.

But he's not gaining; that's my point. Weight can vary by a couple pounds over the course of the day. He's still well within the margin of error from his starting point. I'm not trying to shit on him, but he hasn't gained an ounce in 5 weeks probably. It's not a slow bulk he's on, any gain could be from water retention, shit in his intestines, etc. So he's 5 weeks in and hasn't gained a pound.

 

[kalrith]

But he's not gaining; that's my point. Weight can vary by a couple pounds over the course of the day. He's still well within the margin of error from his starting point. I'm not trying to shit on him, but he hasn't gained an ounce in 5 weeks probably. It's not a slow bulk he's on, any gain could be from water retention, shit in his intestines, etc. So he's 5 weeks in and hasn't gained a pound.

I think he meant he's on the upside from when he was 160 lbs. on May 29. He is right back where he started, but he initially lost 5 lbs. Hopefully he really is gaining and will continue to do so.

What would be really great are some specific goals. It's easy to hit the goal of "put on some weight." He's reached that goal by gaining 0.8 lbs . If his goal were to put on 5 lbs. in 12 weeks compared to putting on 25 lbs. in 12 weeks, then that's a huge difference in our recommendations.

 

[MrMatt]

IMO, if I was in his shape, I wouldn't get fat just for the sake of adding muscle, that seems incredibly counter-productive to me. What if he gets a shitload of stretch marks through a quick bulk? Stretch marks never disappear, so congrats on permanently damaging your skin.

.

Bulking does NOT mean you get fat. There are multiple ways to bulk, and plenty of them involve not gaining a metric shit-ton of fat. he could easily put on 12 lbs. in 12 weeks and have virtually none of it be fat. Stretch marks are easy to prevent, so that's not an excuse.

 

[skace]

I never said bulking meant you get fat. I was talking about "quick bulking" and of course it correlates with fat or you would never need to cut. Is it really any surprise that a quick bulk requires a cut cycle after it? You are basically increasing your calories (in some cases by a shit ton) and doing roughly the same amount of work. Alllll those unspent calories go somewhere and they don't all magically turn into muscle no matter how badly you want them to.

And last I checked, the best way to avoid stretch marks was to avoid sudden weight gain and make gradual changes.

That's not to say 12lbs in 12weeks is ridiculous either but some of the other numbers thrown around this thread have been a bit ridiculous. I still believe he should focus on his lifts instead of hyper-analyzing his weight numbers and trying to make judgment calls from them.

 

[coreyb]

the guy is deathly skinny for his height, that's why some people are pushing for some REAL weight gain for him.

 

[Xcobra]

Just eat 4K+ Kcal and be done with it. Jesus.