well let’s just see here, i’ve been lifting for 16 months. first 6 I went from 145ish to 175ish. The last 10 months, I’ve gone from 175 to 180, eating even more. How is it i’ve only gone up 5 lbs, and if I dropped off even a few calories from my usual 4,200 plus, I’d be lower than 175 in a heart beat.
I just don’t get how my gains have come to an almost complete dead stop in that long of time, regardless of all this food.
Well, you’ve put on 30 pounds so its going to be harder to add weight. As you get heavier you will need to eat more to gain more weight. 4200 cals is a fair amount of food, but if you have a bunch of mass on your frame, it isnt going to cut it. Also, you make gains faster in the beginning than when you have progressed.
How did you only gain 5 pounds in 10 months? You should have noticed that red flag 5 months into it and added some more food.
You made it sound like you are eating some astonoimical amount of food, and in reality it is only 4200 calories… try 4500 and see what happens. YOU might need 5,000 to grow.
[quote]lifter85 wrote:
well let’s just see here, i’ve been lifting for 16 months. first 6 I went from 145ish to 175ish. The last 10 months, I’ve gone from 175 to 180, eating even more. How is it i’ve only gone up 5 lbs, and if I dropped off even a few calories from my usual 4,200 plus, I’d be lower than 175 in a heart beat.
I just don’t get how my gains have come to an almost complete dead stop in that long of time, regardless of all this food.[/quote]
You seem so determined to see things negatively you’re only focussing on things that fit your theory of ‘its so unfair’ rather than dealing with what is.
Maybe youre not digesting food, maybe your not as determined in the gym. Have you now looked into digestion aids, training 3 times a week with an abbreviated program or are you too wrapped up in being frustrated and turning it into a self fulfilling prophecy?
as another skinny dood…it is pretty frusterating…most of what i do as far as eating is just trying to maintain my weight so i stop losing weight, its a very conscious effort just to maintain weight (and i’m still down 15 lbs after getting sick and having a bum shoulder)…
but for the tall skinny folk, i guess we never have to worry about cutting, which is nice,but after a little while,your body doesnt Want more muscle…it Wants to be more efficient and be nice and skinny…and its effort just to maintain what you’ve got, nevermind put on more…its complaining, but i know where hes coming from since i’m a similar way
(ps, before anyone says it, i’m quite allergic to dairy haha, but seriously)
[quote]Lonnie123 wrote:
lifter85 wrote:
Eat the poop to get the precious calories you are losing.
Seriously though, just because you are pooping a whole lot more doesnt mean you are losing calories.
[/quote]
This whole thread is slightly disgusting. haha
I find it amazing that there are people who struggle to eat enough just to maintain weight, let alone gain.
But then again, I’m not an ecto.
[quote]brian.m wrote:
as another skinny dood…it is pretty frusterating…most of what i do as far as eating is just trying to maintain my weight so i stop losing weight, its a very conscious effort just to maintain weight (and i’m still down 15 lbs after getting sick and having a bum shoulder)…
but for the tall skinny folk, i guess we never have to worry about cutting, which is nice,but after a little while,your body doesnt Want more muscle…it Wants to be more efficient and be nice and skinny…and its effort just to maintain what you’ve got, nevermind put on more…its complaining, but i know where hes coming from since i’m a similar way
(ps, before anyone says it, i’m quite allergic to dairy haha, but seriously)[/quote]
I recognise this from my own youth (teens and twenties), it was damn frustrating for sure but infact i could hardly ever get down over 3500 kcals in a day and should have had better discipline and food choices or i’d just feel sluggish and bloated whenever i tried.
I remember reading articles on BBers saying they were eating 8000+, i think one even claimed to be eating something well over 10 or 20 thousand a day and i used to think ‘what BS! theyd have have to be sitting on the toilet all day having endless food passed to them in one end and coming out the other!’
So i’m sympathetic but only to a point, that point is where the negativity borne of the frustration becomes the focal point, not the dealing with it.
I’ve been loosely following the thread with a mixture of amusement and a bit of awe-I find it fascinating that somebody is actually complaining about having a metabolism so darn fast that they seem to be unable to eat enough to overcome it and gain some weight.
I haven’t conducted any demographic censing session but I’m almost willing to bet about 90% of people would LOVE to have that “problem”-being able to eat as much as one wishes and not gaining any fat/weight…Anyhow, I agree with those who have posted that it is easy too ingest at least 4-5kcals a day with “clean” foods-it’s really not too difficult-Natty PB, EVOO, Nuts galore. If you’re on the AD/-the fatty foods that are required for that diet make it easy to pile up the kcal count. Even a few other “dirty” foods here and there would be alright at the right times to help jack up the count.
These ectomorphs get to enjoy all of that food with the knowledge that it is in fact a necessary amount/type of fuel to help them grow that “elusive” lean body mass. I’d say enjoy it now while young, because once one grows older, the ability to gain weight most likely won’t be a “problem”.
Just my humble opinion.
[quote]lifter85 wrote:
What makes you think I actually do this? I am quite 100% sure I eat better than you, so don’t be in awe anymore.[/quote]
Post your food logs for the last 30 days and we can compare.
The body is basically a giant furnace, food is fuel, excrement is the waste product. If you raise the fuel input, you’ll get more waste, however the percentage of waste versus the amount utilized for energy will not change, thus increasing your total energy balance.
If the total energy balance is greater than the energy expended then you’ll grow, the type of growth is determined by your workouts and meal timing.
Whenever you eat insulin is released into your bloodstream to deal with the uptake in blood glucose. It will fill your liver and muscles first, with any excess going to adipose tissue (fat).
By eating multiple times per day you raise your chances of the extra energy being deposited favorably. Yes, this will also increase your metabolism, which in your case is a bit of an undesirable side effect, but one easily compensated for by increasing the calorie density of your meals.
If you want to gain size you have to eat more calories than you burn (not necessarily more food volume), either decide that you want to grow and figure out how to make it happen, or decide that you really didn’t want it that much in the first place. I suggest going through the archives and reading everything ever posted by Professor X.
You’re the guy who eats 4 cups of oats and half a loaf of whole wheat bread every day, and then wonders why he craps so much, right?
If you keep adding calories to your diet you WILL gain weight. Not just crap more. In fact, if you replace half your carb calories with fat calories, you will crap LESS. And, you’ll have more room in your stomach. So you can add EVEN MORE calories, as needed.
You’re a former distance runner, you said, so when you want to add calories, you naturally think of carbing up. Maybe you’re reaching the point of diminishing returns with carbs. Cut back on the bread and oats (keep the veggies) except at breakfast, and around your workout. Replace those calories with fat cals. Also, eat MORE total calories than you’re eating right now. Try it for a month and see how it works.