Skinny Bastard Help Eating Lots

Diet and Nutrition
1

Hey, I’m 6’5", 194 pounds, at around 12% bodyfat. .

Today I looked in the mirror and realized I’m still incredibly skinny.

Background information. I used to be a big guy. Muscular, sure, but a good bit of fat on top of that. I was at around 285 pounds at my highest and played guard on the offensive line in high school football. Generally just a really big dude.

Following that, I got sick of being a really big dude (read: fat) and started running. I got down to 190, and was now a really skinny dude. Then through a combination of continued exercise and medications that didn’t work out too well(FUCK STRATTERA) I wound up at 165 pounds. At this point I was heroine addict skinny. SO, after going through that fun span of time I’ve gotten my shit somewhat together and am back up to where I am now.

Somewhere along the line I met up with a nutritionist who I’ve been working with for the past year to get me back to where I need to be in the healthiest way possible. So I eat clean, and I eat a relative large amount. On the order of 3000 calories a day at 50% carb, 30% protein, and 20% fat. I don’t drink soda or beverages with calories, and I dont binge out on ice cream/cake/pie/buffalo wings, whatever. My diet is damn near ideal.

However, I still remain at the skinny state of 194 pounds. Mirrors let you see what you want to see, until you join a gym, stand beside the guy helping you out, and realize that what the hell, I’m not looking as good as I thought I was.

So as of today, I realized that what I’m doing simply is not doing the job. I need, rather, I want, to get bigger and start looking not like the fat guy I used to be, but with clean eating and good training to be the lean, muscular guy I’ve always wanted to be.

I got my metabolism tested recent using a machine that measures oxygen absorbed by the muscles and whatnot, and it has determined by REE to be around 2400-2500 calories per day. I give that as a range because I can’t find the sheet of paper. So T-Nation, I know I need to eat. I know I need to just fuckin’ eat, and just lift heavy shit till the day is done. I, however, also want to just fuckin’ eat right and lift right. Want to give me some tips?

I’m thinking of testing things out at 3500 calories for a couple of weeks, or maybe just going for broke and going to 4000, but I don’t want to gain the unneccessary body fat. I know the concept of a clean bulk around here is a little bit of a controversy, but I got a bottle of HRX and intend to take a minimal dose as I go along, as well as Methoxy-7. Think I’m doing things right to start off with?

2

Do a search for John Berardi’s massive eating articles.
His book “Scrawny to Brawny” is very good.

3

Except for protein powders and MRPs, I doubt that any amount of supplementation will help you gain weight. You really just need to eat more. There are lots of posts and articles that deal with tricks for eating more. I can’t remember all of them, but Berardi’s articles, as mentioned above, are a good place to start.

From the info you provided, an easy first step would be to drink calorie-dense liquids instead of water. That will add an easy bunch of calories.

In any case, a clean bulk is difficult to do if you don’t already have a fast metabolism. Do you keep a food log?

4

I’ve got the Fitday program on my computer and use that to track things some days to keep myself in check. I don’t mean I’m against consuming things like protein shakes and the like, I’m just not a fan of pure sugar kinds of drinks. I’ve become a fan of Metabolic Drive recently, and I’m using that for protein supplementation.

5

It sounds like you know what you need to do. You need to eat more. And don’t worry about not “cheating” all the time. If you want to put on some serious size, it will be detrimental for you to be anal about cheat foods.

And if you are gaining bodyfat at a rate that is too quick for your muscle growth, you can always rethink things and sort that out. You’re not gonna get fat overnight and you’ll realize it long before you do. But don’t think that gaining muscle is going to come with no fat gain, that way takes entirely too long for most people who are not genetically blessed or using steroids.

Good luck and come check back in a few months to let us know how it’s going.

-MAtt

6

3500, man? I was only 171 or so, and I’ve been hitting 3700-4200 cals a day to gain some weight. I’ve put on about 11 pounds since May 20th. 3500 may be good for you, but I’m a lot smaler and I’m eating more.

7

I am 6’5" myself and used to weigh about the same as you when I first started weightlifting. I had always eaten pretty well but never put on any weight, just maintained it.
One trick I felt helped me out was having a protein shake in the middle of the night. I would wake up at around 3-4am and have the shake, it contained around 60g protein, 60-80g carbs. It was a great way for me to get an extra meal in without feeling stuffed all the time. I would also eat about 5-6 meals a day.
It worked really well for me and I gained about 25lbs in just over 10 weeks with very little fat gain.
I think that at your height and weight 3500cal is a little low. I would aim for at least 4000cal straight up for about a 3-4 weeks and see how things go.
Follow JB’s 7 Rules and don’t worry about indulging in a nice big healthy burger or homemade pizza once in a while.

8

First off, consider yourself as lucky; you already weigh in at close to 200.

I’m 6’4’'. When I started training when I was already 19 years old, I weighed in at a measily 147!!! that is skinny!

I don’t know what everyone else told you, but you need alot more than 3,000 cals a day. That’s what I eat now while cutting!

The usual suspects: natural peanut butter, MRP’s, beef, mixed nuts, steak burritos, etc…

9

Carbon,
Wow, those are some big swings in bodyweight. Sounds like your on the right track, and the right place.

Someone already mentioned JB’s massive eating, that thing rocks! Start there.

At 6"5, I’d say a base would be 5k calories. You didn’t say how big you want to get, but at that height you’ve got a ton of muscle to feed.

Simple bulking tips?

One gallon of milk per day.

6 pack of bagles with peanut butter

2 chicken breasts

one dozen eggs/egg whites

minimum of 2 big shakes

one fast food meal per day

Combine all of those with 3 big meals throughout the day and you have a BIG day. You need to be training smart and hard on this much, but it will put on the lbs. Also check out the pound-o-week diet here on the nation. Good luck

Monopoly

10

Buffalo wings, if baked and not deep fried, are pretty damn clean food. the sauce is just cayenne pepper and vinegar etc. Chicken wings are protein and great monounsaturated fat sources. Plus they are cheap as shit. Fear not the fat. fear the sugary sauces and “low-fat” dressings.

-chris

11

[quote]Monopoly19 wrote:
Carbon,
Wow, those are some big swings in bodyweight. Sounds like your on the right track, and the right place.

Someone already mentioned JB’s massive eating, that thing rocks! Start there.

At 6"5, I’d say a base would be 5k calories. You didn’t say how big you want to get, but at that height you’ve got a ton of muscle to feed.

Simple bulking tips?

One gallon of milk per day.

6 pack of bagles with peanut butter

2 chicken breasts

one dozen eggs/egg whites

minimum of 2 big shakes

one fast food meal per day

Combine all of those with 3 big meals throughout the day and you have a BIG day. You need to be training smart and hard on this much, but it will put on the lbs. Also check out the pound-o-week diet here on the nation. Good luck

Monopoly[/quote]

JB actually used the “bagel trick” and a gallon of weight gainer whey throughout the day. It’s looks like a good trick. It would put me to sleep to eat like one bagel let alone 6. And I’d puke if i drank that much milk. But for getting huge I bet it works like a hot damn.

Hit the cottage cheese too.

-chris

12

there was an article a while back about getting moviestars to gain weight, someone (Berardi maybe) said he used to fill a gallon jug w/protein, and eat bagels w/peanut butter all day in between meals, could be a good resource for ideas

13

Here’s my bulking tip:

Don’t fear the buffalo wings.

Embrace the buffalo wings.

When I get a plate of buffalo wings I like to put my face near them and sharply inhale, making my eyes water with intense joy.

I then eat them until there are no more.

That is all.

14

Your calories are low but boost them slowly. 98% of T-Nationers will say “Just fucking eat man” which is true but do so by steadily eating an additional 500 calories a day for 2 weeks before boosting again.

A gain phase is for gaining muscle. Do it steadily and consistantly. If your only taking in 3,000 calories it will be very easy to get 3,500 clean calories. The only people who have to worry about cheating to meet their caloric needs are Sumo’s and NFL lineman. Easy does it.

15

instead of water…drink olive oil

16

I’m going up to 3500 to begin with, as per reccommendations here and from the Massive Eating articles. Concentrating on the major movements, just to get the main muscle groups up to snuff, I’ll do specialization much later.

I’m sticking with a 40/30/30 macronutrient ratio, and having the FFB thing going on I’m just going to take a low dose of HRX to help keep myself from exploding, even at the seemingly low caloric intake. I seriously doubt it will hinder my progress at all.

17

[quote]allNatural wrote:
instead of water…drink olive oil[/quote]

hahaha

18

I’ve been at 3500 at two weeks, seen some decent strength gains, and I think at this point it might be wise to increase the caloris intake by a bit, I’m thinking to 37-3800.

Anyway, here a few numbers.

Weight(this morning): 202

Bench: 165x1 Max (Don’t laugh, this is progress)
Leg Press: I did 260 for 12 reps easy, the gym trainer had me stop there. Tomorrow I’m going to get a max.

Actually these numbers suck ass and aren’t thorough in the least. I’ll get something better tomorrow.

I am noticing improvements though. Keeping up with a little cardio and my times have been decreasing there for the same distance. Little fat gain if any noted, this leads me to believe the caloric increase would be appropriate.

19

[quote]allNatural wrote:
instead of water…drink olive oil[/quote]

And instead of chewing gum,chew on chocolate balls.

20

[quote]Cthulhu wrote:
allNatural wrote:
instead of water…drink olive oil

And instead of chewing gum,chew on chocolate balls.[/quote]