i think im convinced i cant gain size

[Built]

i went and got some olive oil today, man that was a nasty shot, but i will do it. twice a day. hopefully that will start to help.

so new question i am eating about 2900 callories a day after my protien shakes and adding the 2 ounces of olive oil, so that makes 3380 callories, do you think i will see size gains on that over what i have been? or do i need to eat the 5k callories people here are talking about, cause i cant afford that!

You just went from 2500 calories a day to 3500 calories a day. You'll gain.

When you stop gaining, crank it up to 4000.

Etc.

Add in two tablespoons of peanut butter a day and you should be set for a bit. Its cheap and easy. Just eat a spoonful upon waking and before sleeping. It really depends on how fast you want to gain, jump up to 4500-5000 calories and you could gain almost 5 lbs a week, or you could stay around 3500-3800 and gain slower..

Yep, peanut butter is a hardgainer's friend, no doubt about that. Now, going from 2500 calories a day to 5000 calories a day may be a bit much at first - let's see what happens to our friend on 3500 for now. My money is on him making some nice gains. If not, he can always ease it up to 4000.

OK, here we go again.

Eat what you like. Forget about all the suggestions about what YOU should eat, IMHO.

I battled a hell others can not imagine. I was undiagnosed with Graves for a DECADE.

Now it is under control. I still need 4000 cal a day to maintain an intense metabolize and a steady weight. To gain weight I down large amounts of food others here would never touch. I like dark beers and cheese cake.

: )

Although most of you know me as a chronic dieter, I was a very skinny kid and I hated it - I remember forcing food down to the point of pain each and every time I ate trying to gain weight.

It didn't work - because I wasn't consistent.

To the OP, you can mix the olive oil into your shake if you prefer - you won't even taste it. You can also make your shakes with whipping cream and ice cream - full fat ice cream of course - there's no reason your food shouldn't taste delicious.

 

[Phineas]

Also, there are the little things for adding calories you don't think about...

-salad dressing (olive oil kind)
-pumpkin/sunflower seeds (in your salad)
-mayonnaise (oooo baby)
-margarine/butter
-avocado (salad, on chicken, in sandwiches, etc)
-cheese (sandwich, pasta, omlettes)

Foods like these we generally eat in smaller portions but they pack quite a few calories. However, they all have a lot more to offer, too.

 

[Merkaba]

I agree that 2500 is not alot. I can probably cut with that amount. But I'm 255. And yea, get the fats in.

 

[nova1970sb]

i know i say it every time i start a thread, but thank you guys so much for your help. i will keep you all posted!

and merkaba, in a totally non gay way, you look amazing. do you mind me asking what your diet consist of?

 

[Built]

Doesn't merkaba look awesome?

<beams>

 

[nova1970sb]

i thought i would post the changes my body has seen. i have grown muscle that is apparent, but maybe my weight really hasnt changed cause im changing muscle with fat? maybe from now on i will start seeing more gains in weight since my fat is down?

the first picture is the first night i started working out 4 months ago, the next few are from tonight.

 

[nova1970sb]

by the way i am just to lazy to take down the wall paper and butterfly picture, it is a temporary room for me. lol

 

[pitman]

by the way i am just to lazy to take down the wall paper and butterfly picture, it is a temporary room for me. lol

who the fuck is this roids 1 after doing a year on crack and guys ass's? this isn't a gay boys sight..this is for adult men ..ironmagazine.com..not wish i could lift ironmagazine.com.. got muscles...quit playing...captain fish licks with these funny pictures..lol

 

[nova1970sb]

who the fuck is this roids 1 after doing a year on crack and guys ass's? this isn't a gay boys sight..this is for adult men ..ironmagazine.com..not wish i could lift ironmagazine.com.. got muscles...quit playing...captain fish licks with these funny pictures..lol

sorry if i offended you, i was just posting pictures to hopefully get answers. body types are different and people here seem to be quite helpful with suggestions. however, the main reason i posted them was to see if i really need to eat all the more fatty foods, since i do have a good amount of fat still on me.

 

[pitman]

sorry if i offended you, i was just posting pictures to hopefully get answers. body types are different and people here seem to be quite helpful with suggestions. however, the main reason i posted them was to see if i really need to eat all the more fatty foods, since i do have a good amount of fat still on me.

i was just fuckin with you don't take it personal..your change is remarkable serious just hit them weights hard do the extra reps to add sum cardio.. but a huge diff...drive that nova now that small block chevy will move you now like a big block...!!!!

 

[nova1970sb]

i was just fuckin with you don't take it personal..your change is remarkable serious just hit them weights hard do the extra reps to add sum cardio.. but a huge diff...drive that nova now that small block chevy will move you now like a big block...!!!!

ohh ok, thats a relief. the small block i just built will eat up most big blocks!

 

[pitman]

ohh ok, thats a relieg. the small block i just built will eat up most big blocks!

awww , i wasnt saying all that stock big block with a 3500 stall look out bro !!!!

 

[nova1970sb]

you must have something big block powered?

 

[Hoglander]

I admit I was wrong. I thought you were lean and had been at it longer. Think "intensity" and time.

You cried wolf. You need to get your head in the game before you cry again, IMO.

 

[nova1970sb]

I admit I was wrong. I thought you were lean and had been at it longer. Think "intensity" and time.

You cried wolf. You need to get your head in the game before you cry again, IMO.

i wouldnt call 167 pounds quite lean. maybe 150 and less. so you do not think that these gains are minimal? just asking because they seem minimal to me for all the work i have been doing, and the time span. then again, i do not know how long it takes to develop larger muscles.

 

[jmorrison]

You are quite a bit leaner than before. You are not gaining weight because you are essentially cutting. Nothing wrong with that. I think the best advice I ever got here was to cut until 10% then bulk to 15% and repeat. I only made it to 12% on my first cut, but it gets easier.

This is just my opinion, but it appears that you are still somewhere around 20% BF. I would continue cutting for a little while until your abs are visible at least, THEN bulk. Summer is coming, and lower BF will make you look bigger and more fit anyway.

Good luck. Dont be discouraged, you have improved your composition remarkably. Just keep it up and stay dedicated.

 

[nova1970sb]

so if i should continue cutting should i put cardio back into my routine, i took it out 2 weeks ago

 

[jmorrison]

This is all subjective and relative to what I would do, so I can only answer this as of what I would do in your shoes. So that said, if it were me:

1. Cut to sub 15% before considering a bulk

2. Cardio would be fine, but I would stick with HIIT. May assist in keeping some muscle instead of running it off

3. 1.5g of protein per lb of lean body mass to help prevent muscle loss

4. Heavy resistance training to help prevent muscle loss.

Remember, cardio doesn't make you thin. Cardio really isnt a very good way to control calories. It is so much easier to control cals through diet. Cardio is not a bad thing at all, and in my opinion should be a part of everyones fitness routine, but only for cardio-vascular health and overall fitness, NOT for fat loss.

Built has some excellent articles on HIIT training on her site that could get you started on it. It worked really well for me.

Good luck.

 

[quark]

i went and got some olive oil today, man that was a nasty shot, but i will do it. twice a day. hopefully that will start to help.

You can add olive oil right to your shakes... you barley taste it. Try it once and see what you think!

 

[nova1970sb]

You can add olive oil right to your shakes... you barley taste it. Try it once and see what you think!

i did that this morning and last night, much better than the shot!

 

[ectomorph141]

The pics show quite a bit of positive progress in 4 months. Chest, arms, shoulders, and back have very nice improvement. Your bodyfat % is also lower. Cant see the legs so not sure how those are doing. I would suggest getting one of the tanita scales that show your bodyfat %. They are only around $30.00 from just about any local store. Plus make sure you are doing squats and dips. Those help to build mass very quick.

Also dont be afraid to mix your diet up a little bit. You said you are eating the same thing every day. Thats no fun at all. Substitute different types of food to keep the routine fun. Some chicken here, steak there, fish here, pork there. Mix it up. You have already bumped from 2,500 calories to 3,500 calories. So give that a week or 2 and you should see some gains. If not bump it to 4,000 like Built suggested.

 

[Merkaba]

Good job on the pics! And nothing wrong with a few flowers and butterflies.

Well those pics are from basically almost two years ago. Built was helping me then as well. I was doing PMSF at the time, in an emergency fashion to prep for my first show. Right now I'm almost doing it at this point. I'm doing 100g or so of carbs a day. I'm a little water logged and holding too much crap. I've been eating alot of chicken and veggies lately. Just trying to keep the protein up and carbs low. These are my two weaknesses. I'm not eating anything special. The shit we talk about on here every day.

 

[Archangel.]

well hell, everyone here has been really kind and helpful suggesting new things for me such as diet tips, and work out plans. but i am convinced that i just cant gain weight. when i started working out i weighed right around 170 pounds. i have been goin at it for about 4 months or so now, my lifts have gained quite a bit, for instance my bench press when i started was a weak 95 pounds and now im slightly over 200 pounds, same story with incline. and i am squating close to 250 pounds. but this morning when i got on the scale.....167.4!

i am eating alot more in my day and even when i wake up at night.
i am getting, according to fitday 2491 callories a day, 97.6 grams of fat, 184.4 grams of carbs, and 221.3 grams of protien.

do any supplements out there really work? i will not do steroids, i enjoy my liver.

It all comes down to calories in vs calories out.

 

[T_man]

Wow you're really seeing some results. Nothing to complain about there at all!

 

[Saney]

I think I would look totally Jacked if I stood next to Nova...

 

[nova1970sb]

gains already from upping food intake? i got on the scale this morning and weighed 171lbs! up 4 pounds!

 

[JayCutler]

well hell, everyone here has been really kind and helpful suggesting new things for me such as diet tips, and work out plans. but i am convinced that i just cant gain weight. when i started working out i weighed right around 170 pounds. i have been goin at it for about 4 months or so now, my lifts have gained quite a bit, for instance my bench press when i started was a weak 95 pounds and now im slightly over 200 pounds, same story with incline. and i am squating close to 250 pounds. but this morning when i got on the scale.....167.4!

i am eating alot more in my day and even when i wake up at night.
i am getting, according to fitday 2491 callories a day, 97.6 grams of fat, 184.4 grams of carbs, and 221.3 grams of protien.

do any supplements out there really work? i will not do steroids, i enjoy my liver.

sounds like you are making a lot of beginner mistakes.

2500 cals is what i use to cut. you arae not getting enough food.

stick to compound weights and whole food. you could be a hardgainer. i think this article is good for you:

Hardgainers: 8 Reasons Why You Aren't Gaining Weight | BulkHogan.com

that should clear up a lot of what you are asking imo.