Nutrition Nutrition Nutrition

Bigger Stronger Leaner
1

I cant seem to post anywhere else and I dont know where this should go.

So I have been very into nutrition lately. (about time right?)
I mean I used to try and log everything I ate on paper, but it was too hard. And going on to my computer and logging it was a pain. But myfitnesspal app with the barcode thingy has made it sooo easy!!!

So I log everything.
And I have some questions.

I weigh 128 lb.
using a calculator online, it told me I should eat around 2,374 a day just to maintain my weight. Add 500 to gain a pound. minus 500 grams to lose. Right?

  1. How accurate is this, because there are people my age, my height who eat the same amount as me and are quite fat. And they claim they are eating the same amount of calories as me so what gives?

  2. my goal use to just be to have 1 protein per pound of body weight, but im learning there is more. so after using the app for a few weeks I discovered that I actually go way over my fat amount. While many people used to tell me “Your skinny, have peanut butter!” But having it caused me to go over my fat intake for the day. I now only eat it if the end of the day has come and I still have some fat to intake. Was this smart of me or not?

  3. Is yogurt a good source of protein? Some say it adds fat to the body and should be avoided… there are only so much snacks with protein!

  4. Now my fat intake and protein intake are almost perfect and I get my protein from fish, chicken, and eggs, yogurt (still) and whey protein powder. Are there some quick snacks I can make to ensure I get it in? besides protein bars which are becoming costly.

  5. my biggest problem now actually is… carbs! I dont get enough. does that mean I can eat crap or I need more fruits and veggies?

  6. lastly sometimes I complete my fat, carb, and protein intake for the day but it says I still have some more calories to go!? what are those?! veggies?

im guessing I dont have to take this prescribed amount so seriously, but I am trying to learn how my body works and what I can do to help myself bulk up a bit.

2

  1. This is debatable. I like the explanation that a) fat tissue isn’t very metabolically active and therefore easy to maintain b) that’s what most fat people do, maintain their weight or sloooowly adding to it. It’s not like you need to eat a lot for that. Also, they may have a slower metabolism. Also, you don’t know how much they eat unless you follow them around 24/7.

  2. Don’t overcomplicate this. What you need most is CALORIES.

  3. Yes, if you’re fine with the additional carbs and fat. Otherwise - cottage cheese.

  4. Make your own protein bars. Also, don’t overanalyse this - CALORIES. Make sure you get enough protein but don’t become a scientist. This isn’t super hard, otherwise meatheads would have a better reputation.

  5. Oats, rice, rotatoes, milk. AND yogurt :wink:

  6. Anything. Whose recommendations are you following?

3
  1. whose recommendations?

well I had a personal trainer and he told me to read a book by some frank columbo dude… and he doesnt like yogurt and is crazy about certain stuff… but im not trying to be a body builder… just bulk up a bit.

  1. when you say I need calories, it sounds like you dont care if I eat lard… dont I want to gain lean muscle? Fat doesnt become muscle form what I have read. It needs to get burned and replaced with protein.
4

lastly, my personal trainer claimed that I realistically will gain 3 pounds of muscle per year.

Yet so many books and articles claim you can gain that in 1 month. And in high school when I tried to bulk I gained 15 pounds in 3 or 4 months (though not all of it was muscle…)

So whats true?

5

You joined this site in 2007? What did you get out of doing that?

Results are results, whether or not they fit into what a calculator says. If what you’re doing is causing things to go in the right direction, keep doing it. If they’re not, make some changes. It’s not really much harder than that.

General guidelines are going to be enough protein and calories to gain muscle and strength without gaining too much fat. For most people, that comes out to around 1+g protein per pound bodyweight, and however many calories it takes. Some people need 2000, some people need 4000. Figure out what works for you.

You’re not going to figure out what works for you online and in books; all you can get are ideas and advice.

Using a calculator or app on your phone may not be the best starting place.

6

Can we get your age and your activity level? Labor intensive job? Desk job?
As far as gaining muscle, 3 lbs per year is very general. How long have you been lifting?

7

[quote]shamguy4 wrote:

  1. whose recommendations?

well I had a personal trainer and he told me to read a book by some frank columbo dude… and he doesnt like yogurt and is crazy about certain stuff… but im not trying to be a body builder… just bulk up a bit.

  1. when you say I need calories, it sounds like you dont care if I eat lard… dont I want to gain lean muscle? Fat doesnt become muscle form what I have read. It needs to get burned and replaced with protein.[/quote]

Whether you want to be a bodybuilder or not, the principles for beginner training and nutrition stay the same. I don’t mind yogurt, neither do many others.
I think you should eat healthy food, preferably. But I don’t care if, once your minimal protein, carb, and fat needs are met (protein for building muscle; carbs as primary fuel and for insulin levels; fats; for secondary fuel and your hormone levels) and you need more calories, where they come from if they’re healthy.

I’d always recommend carbs for a skinny guy if I have to make a recommendation, but again - once you have the minimal levels for all macros covered, fill the rest with any macro you prefer.
Also, you get fat by eating way too much. I don’t think that’s your issue.

[quote]shamguy4 wrote:
lastly, my personal trainer claimed that I realistically will gain 3 pounds of muscle per year.

Yet so many books and articles claim you can gain that in 1 month. And in high school when I tried to bulk I gained 15 pounds in 3 or 4 months (though not all of it was muscle…)

So whats true?[/quote]

Muscle gains are non-linear. As a beginner on a good program, you can gain way more than that. The more advanced you become, the more it slows down.

I’ll make this very clear to you: You could gain anywhere between 10-30 pounds of muscle before next summer if you haven’t gained a lot of weight from training yet, start to eat enough good food and get on a good program. As a beginner, you seriously transform yourself. Once you’ve done that, all the things you’ve read will slowly start to apply. However, until then, you’re really limiting yourself by overthinking details.

8

[quote]shamguy4 wrote:

I weigh 128 lb.
[/quote]
At how tall? 128 is small at almost any height but your height will help judge just how small.

Maybe, maybe not, there’s no way an online calculator can know everything necessary to make an accurate judgement

It’s not accurate, neither is the amount of calories the people you talk to claim to eat and is therefore meaningless.

1g of protein per pound is a good thing to aim for for sure but at 128lbs, you need to worry about calories first. Eat more, quit worrying about going over your fat intake.

Read the label, it’s on the side of the carton. Meat has protein, eggs have protein, milk has protein, protein shakes have protein, protein bars have protein, nuts have protein, there’s no shortage of foods that have protein.

See the above list. And just to repeat: your intake is not perfect, you weigh 128lbs. Eat more.

I agree with this, you need to eat more. No it doesn’t mean you can eat crap, although a little bit won’t hurt. Likewise more fruit and veg won’t hurt, 5-10 portions a day is a good range. If you need more calories (and you do), try rice, potatoes, the old classic gallon of milk a day. even bread or pasta after a hard training session. Just get more calories.

It’s food, eat some. As long as it’s not lard mixed with sugar, you should be fine

You hit the nail on the head. At your weight and for your goals, nutrition is not a science lesson, it’s about eating lots and lots of quality food.

9

[quote]shamguy4 wrote:

  1. whose recommendations?

well I had a personal trainer and he told me to read a book by some frank columbo dude… and he doesnt like yogurt and is crazy about certain stuff… but im not trying to be a body builder… just bulk up a bit.
[/quote]
If you think your personal trainer is right, then follow his advice but the fact that your on this forum suggests you’re not happy with his results. The rules for adding muscle stay the same no matter whether you want to label yourself a bodybuilder or not.

[quote]
2) when you say I need calories, it sounds like you dont care if I eat lard… dont I want to gain lean muscle? Fat doesnt become muscle form what I have read. It needs to get burned and replaced with protein.[/quote]
Protein becomes muscle, but it needs calories to make this happen. You aren’t eating enough calories. EAT MORE QUALITY CALORIES

10

[quote]shamguy4 wrote:
lastly, my personal trainer claimed that I realistically will gain 3 pounds of muscle per year.

Yet so many books and articles claim you can gain that in 1 month. And in high school when I tried to bulk I gained 15 pounds in 3 or 4 months (though not all of it was muscle…)

So whats true?[/quote]

Muscle gain depends on so many factors it’s impossible to put a number on it. 3 pounds of muscle for an advanced trainee with 10+ years training behind him might be fantastic. For a 128lb beginner it’s a sign that either his training is terrible or he ISN’T EATING ENOUGH. You want to know what’s a realistic number for your specific circumstances? Work hard and find out. Articles and trainers can be wrong, the mirror and the scales and the weight on the bar will never be wrong.

11

[quote]dagill2 wrote:

[quote]shamguy4 wrote:
lastly, my personal trainer claimed that I realistically will gain 3 pounds of muscle per year.

Yet so many books and articles claim you can gain that in 1 month. And in high school when I tried to bulk I gained 15 pounds in 3 or 4 months (though not all of it was muscle…)

So whats true?[/quote]

Muscle gain depends on so many factors it’s impossible to put a number on it. 3 pounds of muscle for an advanced trainee with 10+ years training behind him might be fantastic. For a 128lb beginner it’s a sign that either his training is terrible or he ISN’T EATING ENOUGH. You want to know what’s a realistic number for your specific circumstances? Work hard and find out. Articles and trainers can be wrong, the mirror and the scales and the weight on the bar will never be wrong.
[/quote]

BEST POST lol

12

[quote]dagill2 wrote:

[quote]shamguy4 wrote:

  1. lastly sometimes I complete my fat, carb, and protein intake for the day but it says I still have some more calories to go!? what are those?! veggies?
    [/quote]
    It’s food, eat some. As long as it’s not lard mixed with sugar, you should be fine

[/quote]

I like you man

13

Your personal trainer sounds like a bit of a goof. Theres no reason that you can’t be 170+ lbs by this time next year. Putting arbitrary limits on yourself is the last thing you should be doing at this stage of your development. Also I wouldn’t use a macro-tracking app if I were in your shoes (although I do use one personally), but if you insist on it or you think it will help you, don’t just follow the guidelines that it provides. As an underweight, young, weight-training male, those guidelines are not tailored to you at all.

14

  1. You weight 125lbs fucking eat man. All of it. Eat steaks and chicken as often as possible and as much you can afford. Do the same thing with Rice, Potatoes, Oats, Pasta and Peanut Butter.

  2. You weight 125lbs fucking eat man. All of it. Eat steaks and chicken as often as possible and as much you can afford. Do the same thing with Rice, Potatoes, Oats, Pasta and Peanut Butter.

  3. You weight 125lbs fucking eat man. All of it. Eat steaks and chicken as often as possible and as much you can afford. Do the same thing with Rice, Potatoes, Oats, Pasta and Peanut Butter.

  4. You weight 125lbs fucking eat man. All of it. Eat steaks and chicken as often as possible and as much you can afford. Do the same thing with Rice, Potatoes, Oats, Pasta and Peanut Butter.

  5. You weight 125lbs fucking eat man. All of it. Eat steaks and chicken as often as possible and as much you can afford. Do the same thing with Rice, Potatoes, Oats, Pasta and Peanut Butter.

  6. You weight 125lbs fucking eat man. All of it. Eat steaks and chicken as often as possible and as much you can afford. Do the same thing with Rice, Potatoes, Oats, Pasta and Peanut Butter.

15

  1. You weight 125lbs fucking eat man. All of it. Eat steaks and chicken as often as possible and as much you can afford. Do the same thing with Rice, Potatoes, Oats, Pasta and Peanut Butter.

  2. You weight 125lbs fucking eat man. All of it. Eat steaks and chicken as often as possible and as much you can afford. Do the same thing with Rice, Potatoes, Oats, Pasta and Peanut Butter.

  3. You do not talk about Fight Club.

  4. You weight 125lbs fucking eat man. All of it. Eat steaks and chicken as often as possible and as much you can afford. Do the same thing with Rice, Potatoes, Oats, Pasta and Peanut Butter.

16

[quote]Reed wrote:
1.
…
6.
…
[/quote]

Which point seems most important to you?

17

[quote]nighthawkz wrote:

[quote]Reed wrote:
1.
…
6.
…
[/quote]

Which point seems most important to you?
[/quote]

If I was forced to choose… I’d say 3.

18

[quote]Reed wrote:
If I was forced to choose… I’d say 3.[/quote]

A fine choice, good sir.

19

[quote]dagill2 wrote:

It’s food, eat some. As long as it’s not lard mixed with sugar, you should be fine

[/quote]

Most people DON’T know:
That’s the recipe for the angel filling in your donuts, ladylocks, or piped on top of your pastry.

Most people DO know:
It tastes fantastic.