Must be hard gainer

[visionsect]

Man. I tell you all, I must be a very hard gainer. I have been upping my calories by quite a bit (healthy of course) not really counting them, but I have doubled my regular diet. I am also supplementing with CEE and protein shakes 2x a day. I was hanging right around 180 for forever. I have gained like 2-3 lbs in the past month or so. But I have never weighed in more than 185 in my life. I have been weight training for about 4 months now. I eat my healthy fats and carbs and still don't see a big gain. Any suggestions, or should I just be more patient?

 

[Double D]

How long you been working out?

I would be patient. Besdies post your workout in the training area. Let some people take a look at it make sure your not doing to much that prevents your from putting on any size.

 

[Seanp156]

You shouldn't really expect to gain more than 2-3lbs per month to be honest... Some of the will likely be fat as well. Also, you might want to start counting your cals, plus, how can you tell if you've doubled your regular diet if you're not counting cals?

 

[Double D]

^^Exactly^^

 

[tucker01]

Post your diet. And if you aren't counting calories, I can imagine you probably aren't eating as much as you think you are.

 

[visionsect]

You guys are probably right about me not eating enough. The way I can tell that I have doubled my regular diet is the fact that I am eating twice what I was before. For example: If I was eating one sandwich before, then I am eating two now....just an example. But, maybe I was eating way less to begin with, and now I am just a bit over normal. I tell you what though, I feel like I would be way over eating if I ate more than I do right now. Here's a run down of my daily diet

breakfast: 1cup of oats, honey, protein drink in 2% milk (30grams), and a banana.

snack: 1 carbsmart bar (18 grams of protein), some wheat thins

lunch: Grilled Chicken/Egg salad, 2 servings of Chocolate/ Vanilla milk, 1-2 yogurt cups, grapes.

Dinner: 1-2 Baked Chicken Breasts, baked beans, green beans, corn. Water to drink (all throughout the day). Usually 1-2 fruits of some kind after dinner (grapes, apple, plums, etc.) as my dessert.

Snack: Protein shake after workout (30+ grams).

Evening meal: 1 cup of oatmeal 2 tablespoons of flaxseeds in 2% milk, a handful of walnuts or pecans, water. Or a 1 natural peanutbutter (2 tbl spoons) sandwhich with a glass of 2% milk, and walnuts.
Before bed snack: Usually another protein shake before bed. This depends on how full I feel.

This is basically my usual. I am sure it needs a lot of tweaking.

 

[Double D]

You guys are probably right. The way I can tell that I have doubled my regular diet is the fact that I am eating twice what I was before. For example: If I was eating one sandwich before, then I am eating two now....just an example. But, maybe I was eating way less to begin with, and now I am just a bit over normal. I tell you what though, I feel like I would be way over eating if I ate more than I do right now. Here's a run down of my daily diet

breakfast: 1cup of oats, honey, protein drink in 2% milk (30grams), and a banana.

snack: 1 carbsmart bar (18 grams of protein), some wheat thins More protein here. Some kind of meat or something. Along with your good fats where are they? Sorry just trying to sound like Jodi and get to it before she does.

lunch: Grilled Chicken/Egg salad, 2 servings of Chocolate/ Vanilla milk, 1-2 yogurt cups, grapes. Oilive oil on your salad?

Dinner: 1-2 Baked Chicken Breasts, baked beans, green beans, corn. Water to drink (all throughout the day). Usually 1-2 fruits of some kind after dinner (grapes, apple, plums, etc.) as my dessert. Looks ok to me here

Snack: Protein shake after workout (30+ grams). Wheres your carbs right after your workout? Need them desperately here!

Evening meal: 1 cup of oatmeal 2 tablespoons of flaxseeds in 2% milk, a handful of walnuts or pecans, water. Or a 1 natural peanutbutter (2 tbl spoons) sandwhich with a glass of 2% milk, and walnuts.
Before bed snack: Usually another protein shake before bed. This depends on how full I feel.

This is basically my usual. I am sure it needs a lot of tweaking.

A little tweaking here and there. But my opinions in bold.

 

[visionsect]

Double D..thank you very very much. I will take your advice! I knew I needed some more stuff in there. Anymore suggestions from anyone would be greatly appreciated as well. Always good to hear points of view. And I bet the carbs after workout has probably had an effect on my not gaining weight quicker hasn't it?

 

[Double D]

Jodi is great with diet info, may want to give her a pm.

 

[tucker01]

You guys are probably right about me not eating enough. The way I can tell that I have doubled my regular diet is the fact that I am eating twice what I was before. For example: If I was eating one sandwich before, then I am eating two now....just an example. But, maybe I was eating way less to begin with, and now I am just a bit over normal. I tell you what though, I feel like I would be way over eating if I ate more than I do right now. Here's a run down of my daily diet

breakfast: 1cup of oats, honey, protein drink in 2% milk (30grams), and a banana.

snack: 1 carbsmart bar (18 grams of protein), some wheat thins

lunch: Grilled Chicken/Egg salad, 2 servings of Chocolate/ Vanilla milk, 1-2 yogurt cups, grapes.

Dinner: 1-2 Baked Chicken Breasts, baked beans, green beans, corn. Water to drink (all throughout the day). Usually 1-2 fruits of some kind after dinner (grapes, apple, plums, etc.) as my dessert.

Snack: Protein shake after workout (30+ grams).

Evening meal: 1 cup of oatmeal 2 tablespoons of flaxseeds in 2% milk, a handful of walnuts or pecans, water. Or a 1 natural peanutbutter (2 tbl spoons) sandwhich with a glass of 2% milk, and walnuts.
Before bed snack: Usually another protein shake before bed. This depends on how full I feel.

This is basically my usual. I am sure it needs a lot of tweaking.

Figure out your total Cals. Looks a little on the low side to me. But hard to say.

 

[JimSnow]

Every darn time I step on the scales... it says 204.

I want to gain 1 pound a month. I've added at least daily 1000 calories in the last 2 weeks - and added a protein shake. 6-8 'intakes' daily, at least 25 grams protein each. We'll see. I'm about to start making 'superthick' barely viscous ungodly blender concoctions. Sometimes, it seems your body wants to stick at a certain weight and not move.

Mine is 204, darn it!

 

[visionsect]

Yeah Jim I hear ya! In highschool I was competing in mixed martial arts tournaments and only weighed 145-150. I come out of college weighing in at 185 with a little fat on my stomach. I had a terrible diet during that time. I graduated and felt terrible about losing my fully defined 6pack and toned body, and I am just now starting to see it back. I lost down to 175 during the first month or so of my past four months of weight training and cardio, but I am now back to 183, much more toned, and can almost see all of that 6 pack again. The only problem is keeping the beefing up going...haha.

 

[assassin]

Man. I tell you all, I must be a very hard gainer. I have been upping my calories by quite a bit (healthy of course) not really counting them, but I have doubled my regular diet. I am also supplementing with CEE and protein shakes 2x a day. I was hanging right around 180 for forever. I have gained like 2-3 lbs in the past month or so. But I have never weighed in more than 185 in my life. I have been weight training for about 4 months now. I eat my healthy fats and carbs and still don't see a big gain. Any suggestions, or should I just be more patient?

lol that's ok if you gained 3 lbs in a month ..more than that will be mostly fats.... http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.d...B023B6D28ECB102DFBD.hydra?id=1268956&pageNo=0

 

[vortrit]

Every darn time I step on the scales... it says 204.

I want to gain 1 pound a month. I've added at least daily 1000 calories in the last 2 weeks - and added a protein shake. 6-8 'intakes' daily, at least 25 grams protein each. We'll see. I'm about to start making 'superthick' barely viscous ungodly blender concoctions. Sometimes, it seems your body wants to stick at a certain weight and not move.

Mine is 204, darn it!

Same here at 175. I eat like a horse too.

 

[juggernaut]

theres a PH stack on the market that I used that put major gains on me in a month. It will be banned in my federation in December so I had to try it. Promagnon and tren X. This stuff kicks ass. I made no changes in my diet except adding more EFAs and some extra protein. I gained 11 lbs in a month. It does require a pct, and novadex xt fills that need perfectly. it is three weeks into my pct and even though I dropped some water, the size and the strength gains (which went thru the roof during the stack) are still there. Try it. I had no sides and from what I read about this product, it doesnt create major side effects.
After the stack and pct are complete, take a week off and just enjoy life.

 

[Double D]

Got a web site for this ^^^^

 

[juggernaut]

i got it off http://www.discountanabolics.com/ but you can find this stuff anywhere. Make sure you buy something for liver care just for care's sake. I also purchased saw palmetto at CVS and a fat burner to use right after the cycle was finished which is a good idea. Start the novedex xt the moment the stack is finished. I'm taking 2 caps with rosea at night (for lowering cortisol) with my fat protein shake (1 tbsp flax, 2 scoops protein, a tsp fiber and peanut butter). Oh and use CEE. Preferably allthewhey's or ironmag's own brand.

 

[tucker01]

lol that's ok if you gained 3 lbs in a month ..more than that will be mostly fats.... http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.d...B023B6D28ECB102DFBD.hydra?id=1268956&pageNo=0

You have to not be so text book with everything, not every single application of muscle growth applies to everyone the same. Remember he is a newbie to weight training and he is using creatine. It could easily be some water from the excess cals and some rention from the creatine. As well he could possibly make some decent gains in muscle cause he is relatively new to training. Not everything is cut and paste.

 

[juggernaut]

I agree with Ian

 

[Double D]

You have to not be so text book with everything, not every single application of muscle growth applies to everyone the same. Remember he is a newbie to weight training and he is using creatine. It could easily be some water from the excess cals and some rention from the creatine. As well he could possibly make some decent gains in muscle cause he is relatively new to training. Not everything is cut and paste.

I think the saying here would be "Different strokes for different folks!"

 

[visionsect]

I would say the gain has certainly been in muscle. I thought it was my return to weight training that made this muscle gain so rapid. I have toned up a great deal, my biceps are larger than they have ever been, and I am feeling great. I picked up some fish oil today to supplement along with my CEE and protein.

My weight training is Mon/Tues-(Wed off)-Thurs/Fri-(Weekend off). It's a push pull separation deal. I have posted my regime in the training forum and had it critiqued already by cowpimp and a few others. I feel I am on the right track as far as that goes. Guess I will be patient and see what happens. My goal by next summer is to look pretty ripped and shapely for the carribean seas. That gives me quite a while so I think I make it happen.

 

[assassin]

You have to not be so text book with everything, not every single application of muscle growth applies to everyone the same. Remember he is a newbie to weight training and he is using creatine. It could easily be some water from the excess cals and some rention from the creatine. As well he could possibly make some decent gains in muscle cause he is relatively new to training. Not everything is cut and paste.

I agree .... yeah you are right but I wanted to put a general statement wich has exeptions and special cases , being a newbie is one of them .. I just forgot to ask him about if he is still a beginner or what..

 

[visionsect]

Assassin...I don't think it's any big deal. You meant no harm. I used to be a hardcore exerciser back in the day, but I was also young and immature, which probably explains why I quit working out for so long and am finally getting back in shape again. So in this sense, yes, I am definitely a newbie. I am slowly learning what real weight lifting and real diet is all about, and how it effects my body.

I have already accomplished more in the past four months than I ever did when I was young and stupid. I am a martial artisit, so I am not looking to be able to bench a 1000 pounds or be able to lift a truck like the Hulk. I want to be fit, fast, powerful, and look good doing it..haha!

 

[Double D]

juggernaut...whats your freaking problem eh? Have I shown you any for form of friggin' disrespect? I think not. If you don't want to read the post then don't read it, but don't come at me with your elite member BS and try to stomp around like some a**hole with a bad attitude...got it? I have better things to do with my time than deal with pricks. Oh...and I am sure you'll have some smarta** reply and I really don't care what you say...so why bother. Why are people suck pricks anymore?

Yes I agree that type of attitude needs to be left in open chat. Serious thread definitly going wrong here.

 

[MyK]

I would say the gain has certainly been in muscle. I thought it was my return to weight training that made this muscle gain so rapid. I have toned up a great deal, my biceps are larger than they have ever been, and I am feeling great. I picked up some fish oil today to supplement along with my CEE and protein.

My weight training is Mon/Tues-(Wed off)-Thurs/Fri-(Weekend off). It's a push pull separation deal. I have posted my regime in the training forum and had it critiqued already by cowpimp and a few others. I feel I am on the right track as far as that goes. Guess I will be patient and see what happens. My goal by next summer is to look pretty ripped and shapely for the carribean seas. That gives me quite a while so I think I make it happen.

how about your RI's, cycles, and periodization, have you put together a full program or just a routine???

 

[visionsect]

Thank you Double D. Hey MyK, I have actually started to work on some cycling. I know we have to mix it up a quite a bit in order to keep seeing the gains. I have been reading a ton on this. And my RI's are about 60-90 seconds between sets right now. I guess my routine is slowly making its way into the title of program.

 

[Trouble]

At four months, you should stick with your training routine for the present (until at least you're headed into month 6-7). Diet needs to be logged (fitday.com) and daily macro breakdown should be included in your training log. You have almost no vegetables in your diet. Thats part of your problem. You also may need to add fiber to your diet. A start would be to slow down the transit of foods in your gut with vegetables, adding olive oil and other healthy fats (mentioned earlier in this thread) and by adding grain fiber, as bran (rice or oat) to your shakes. Axe the bar, add a shake PLUS some sort of solid fiber and a vegatable. Add carbs as indicated after your workout, it will help recovery. too.

Diet doe need some work. I looked at your photos; you're undergoing recomposition, about what you might expect. Making nice progress for just 4 months in training.

I don't think you're a hardgainer per se. You look like a lean meso (meso with some ecto) who needs to boost calories. Hope you're doing regular cardio. Make sure your sleep quality is sound (between 10pm-6am, breakfast before 7am). No sleeping in on weekends past 7:30am.

You need as meal between lunch and dinner - you burn cals quickly. Add in a protein and carb combination, preferrably with veggies as well.

If you're not using a daily multi-vitamin/multimineral, add one.

 

[juggernaut]

Yes I agree that type of attitude needs to be left in open chat. Serious thread definitly going wrong here.

ooooooh this is a serious thread. Ok. Thank you for telling me that. I'll be mature now. Really thanks.

 

[visionsect]

Well I must reiterate my statement from earlier. I suppose some people never learn how to grow up and act like educated and decently respectable human beings. What a crock.

Well since fools do not deserve mention, I have broken my own rules and must now move on to comment on the "real" post that was made by Trouble. I appreciate the advice. I will start throwing in a lot more veggies. I neglected to mention that I do eat broccoli and carrots as snacks throughout the day. I usually eat them both in the raw. I still need to increase my veggie intake though. I also appreciate you critiquing my photos. I will take all the info you supplied and use it accordingly.

 

[Double D]

ooooooh this is a serious thread. Ok. Thank you for telling me that. I'll be mature now. Really thanks.

Just saying keep it in open chat.