I need some weight..any suggestions?

[In_vinciBle]

hi, i currently lift three days a week and i have done this for about 4 months now...it seems im at a stand still and my weight is staying the same..for my body size 140 lbs i eat alot and very healthy ..i just wondered if anyone has had any further experience with the problem and succeded ..if so please give any tips or suggestions

[tex04]

Try taking a protein drink. I use Mega Whey Extreme. It has 60 grams of protein. The idea is to eat at least 1 - 1.5 grams of protein per pound. You should see some gains. It was the same for me until I took this protein shake. I was about 153 forever, and now I am seeing gains almost every week. I'm now about 165 and I've been on the stuff for about a month. It doesn't taste bad either. There are also different flavors.

[Morris]

Could you tell me why you would want to gain weight?

[kenny555]

gaining weight will only slow you down on runs and place excess stress on your joints. im not saying dont lift and get stronger but dont try to add too much weight.

[In_vinciBle]

sure... I play football ..im only sixteen and i came upon the sight which i found a fitness forum and i thought some people might know some tips ive maye never heard of

[wonderfokinman]

freakygrowth.com site seems kind of flaky but wade knows what hes talking about.

[In_vinciBle]

thanks ... ill check into that

[cfog3291]

So drinking protein and eating protein will add weight? I better stop drinking protein then. I thought it just helped build strong muscles and reduce body fat.

[In_vinciBle]

well it depends on what kind your drinking ....some protein will give you a big frame and some repairs and builds new muscle, well actually thats what protein is for but some types do it in a different way so your not adding a bnunch of fat like for example track runners dont want something that is gunna give em 20 pounds but a football player might benefit from this...you just have to look what kind your taking and if you go to GNC or a store like that and ask the person there they will tell you the best brand to get for all purposes

[snow85]

In_vinciBle & Crew--

you have to watch the amount of protein you eat-- it's very hard on your kidneys. the kind of protein that will help you build muscle is ANIMAL protein-- meat, milk, cheese, eggs, fish. this can also raise your cholesterol to an unsafe level, even if you've never had a problem with cholesterol before.


In_vinciBle-- why do you want to gain weight? is this for football? try drinking a meal replacement shake, (ensure, slimfast-- believe it or not, EAS, whatever), between meals, twice a day.


drinking protein, eating protien, snorting protein, will only increase your weight if you are exercising to increase weight. if you're exercising to cut weight, it will help you do that too. the key is to ingest it in the right amounts for your goal.

[In_vinciBle]

so your saying that slimfast ..which i thought was used do lose weight will help me gain weight ...i guess it seems believable but i dont quite understand how re[lacing a meal with slimfast would give me weight .. i mean ive never looked at the label and i dont know whats in any of these meal replacements but .....could you explain how that might work


with respect,
Smith

[snow85]

yes--

those are meal replacement drinks. if you're not using them to actually replace meals, but rather in addition to meals, you're going to be taking in more calories than you're going to burn. instead of literally eating all day long, you're going to be getting additional calories in smaller amountsthan if you added two big macs per day, and what's more, you won't be gaining weight through empty calories that your body will treat like fat.

make sense?

-S

[Tougher]

There's a lot of talk about protein here and yes, protein is essential (1 - 1.5 g/lb), but don't forget that if you're burning more calories than you are taking in, you are not going to gain much weight no matter how much protein you eat. Eat lean and limit sugar if you don't want to pack on fat, but don't limit carbs such as rice and whole grain pastas. If you are going to use meal replacement drinks, look for the sugar content on the label. Carbs are a huge requirement for building muscle, especially if you are doing a lot of cardio as well. You sound like you're pretty lean so I'm guessing you're not worried about burning fat and cutting up. In that case, you want to make sure that your body as enough energy available so that you are not breaking down muscle. Your body uses carbs for energy more readily than protein. You should be able to easily get enough protein through chicken, beef, fish, etc. Save the protein shakes for days where you don't have much prep time and for when you put on the weight and need the additional protein. I've been training for over 10 years now and could go on for pages if you get me started on this, so I'll leave it at that for now.

[In_vinciBle]

ya i understand the whole fact about taking in more calories than im burning ...but taking a potein shake ..your not getting a lot of calories ...so even if i was tho.. i run and lift so its not like im going to get fat...it should turn into muscle. But it does make sense i guess..cause your right you wouldnt want to use meal replacements ontop of regular meals but ... the protein shake i drink has only 110 ten calories so thats like and extra 200 calories a day....

[mtgman]

but taking a potein shake ..your not getting a lot of calories ...

Try something like Muscle Milk. It's a protein shake that has 348 calories per shake. You drink two of those a day and that's almost 700 extra calories a day (yes, I know, I'm a mathematical genius). They do have a good bit of fat, but if you're doing enough cardio you'll be fine. Plus Muscle Milk is the best tasting of all the protein sups I've tried.

[minitex]

Hey im in a sim/ predicament im bout six foot one 170 and am some where between 11 and 15 percent body fat, while adding a lil bit of muscle would be good i always add fat to basicaly what im lookin for is a way to cut my body fat down to less than ten percent

[mtgman]

Clean diet (no junk food/sodas etc.) and cardio to cut body fat.

[Payne_3000]

The way to gain weight is to eat peanutbutter and tunafish, some people might not like tuna but its all protein, just eat one can a day and 4 meals a day, you need more calories then you usually get a day plus the protein, to go straight to your muscles.


short intense workouts will breakdown muscle plus burn the fat you dont need.

cardio, jog hills,steps,pushups stuff like that.

like mtgman said:

Clean diet (no junk food/sodas etc.) and cardio to cut body fat.




Payne

[Burner1]

Forget four meals a day..Try seven or eight a day...Split your daily protein intake over the day. I'm not going to go into the how much and all that. I've typed that so many times. I would rather slam my left nut in a car door than go through all that again. Lift hard and intense. Keep your running to a minimum. I'm not say eliminate it completely. Just don't be running your a$$ off. You'll burn up the calories you need. Get plenty of sleep. Best thing I can tell you to do some reading. Knowledge is the key to understand and understanding is the key to success. In whatever your goal is...Do some research and find what works for you!

[vladnedelea]

eat about every two or three hours ...make sure that each of your meal contains protein , carbs and fats (not animal fats but fats like peanuts , flax oil , olive oil etc.
Just taking in protein doesn't really help , try combining it with the other types of foods ...they all serve a purpose in your body
+try a home made protein shakes like this one : http://www.muscletalk.co.uk/m_1645636/mpage_1/key_/tm.htm It may be too many calories for some but if you want to build muscle it's a good recepie. I've been using it for about as week along with heavy lifting / eating and no cardio for the moment (acl/mcl ligaments torn) and i've seen some good results .
PS. Try getting most of your carbs from fruits

[lelee28]

Did you realize that the last post was almost 1 year ago?

[dominic7471]

you wanna gain weight? eat my moms cooking.... im 16 6 ft. 3 and 145lbs.....

[mtgman]

you wanna gain weight? eat my moms cooking.... im 16 6 ft. 3 and 145lbs.....

Dude, 6'3 145lbs???? Sounds like you need to have seconds and thirds of your moms cooking.

[snow85]

haha, right? @ 6'3", 180 is thin.

dude, maybe you should skip mom's and go to mcdonalds.

[GeoDeal]

Yes. Eat less food & exercise more.

[dominic7471]

yeah... we're italian so "food is love"

[mtgman]

Yes. Eat less food & exercise more.

Huh? He said he needed to GAIN weight.

[jaredmt]

im 6'0 and 140 lbs. problem with me is i've tried all the weight gaining and protein drinks and all they do is make me loose my appetite and then i wont be able to eat for a really long time after i drink it.

lately i've been lifting 3 times a week and tryin to eat big meals about every 3 hours. (and adding up to 4 or maybe 5 meals a day). i usually gain weight gradually but then there's always that one day in the week where im unable to get near food for like 8 hours straight and then i drop a crap load of weight. is there any other ideas? or high calorie drinks that dont kill your appetite?

[snow85]

jaredmt--

try 7-8 meals a day, small ones.

don't weigh yourself every day. if you can't eat for 8 hours, that's not good-- not for anyone-- but life happens. the kind of calories that you're consuming matter. coke is a high calorie drink that will make you gain weight, but not in the way that you want.

search this site to see what you come up with. we have this conversation a lot with high school kids who are naturally tall and thin.

[jmjennings]

this question is specifically for snow85 -- i keep coming across your nutrition and fitness comments, and it's obvious you REALLY know yer stuff.

i've been stuck at 6'1", 150 # for 30 years [i'm 46]. i'm pretty fit -- i run marathons and usually place in my age group. but i'm trying to boost my upper-body fitness because i may be going on active duty soon. i got stew smith's book and made slow but steady gains: i'm at 20 pullups, 76 pushups and 84 situps [up from 12, 42 and 62 when i started several months ago]. i have not, however, gained a single pound.

i'm shooting for 100 pushups, 100 situps and 25 pullups. i am not particularly interested in putting on weight, i just want to get stronger. but clearly, at some point, my performance gains will be restricted by my failure to add muscle mass. i always assumed this was genetic or something; then i hear i'm supposed to be eating about three times as much protein a day as i'm accustomed to. i guess it's a wonder i've done as well as i have.

the conventional wisdom among this forum's users seems to be that people working out hard to build strength should eat at least one, and possibly up to two grams of protein per pound of body weight per day. so in the last couple of weeks, i've modified my diet to get between 150 and 200 g/day of protein. as recommended, i split it up into 6 small meals or snacks, and try not to neglect other food groups.

sorry to be so long-winded, here are my questions: in a [much] earlier post on this thread, you mentioned you have to be careful how much protein you consume, since too much is bad for your kidneys. so: how much is too much? i have NO medical problems or issues, but -- since i'm 20 or 30 years older than most of those seeking your advice -- might it not make sense for me to be even more careful? just how much protein do i need?

left a msg for my doc, but haven't heard back; in fact i doubt she knows. i have hundreds of pages of text and diagrams on renal physiology in my medical references, but none of it addresses those questions specifically. thanks !

[Fish4Life]

If you wanna gain weight then I would cut down on the running a little. From the way it sounds with you running marathons that means lots of weekly running to stay in shape. Running is good, don't get me wrong but what happens is it leans out the muscle which is not bad in fact that is what you want for a runner but to bulk up a little you don't want to lean out the muscle as much.

So...

1. I would cut down on running but still include it in your work out

2. Life heavy weight 3 days a week, 3-5 reps for 3-4 sets on your big muscle groups...quads, back, chest...

3. Protein intake is vital...I don't use any supplements I eat chicken breasts, tuna, drink milk, whole eggs and whites along with veggies and fruits.

This worked very well for me. It might not for you. Everybody is different. But I used to weigh 140 in high school now I'm 26 and weigh 190 and am 6'1. That is with about 10-11% body fat. Also, the older you are, the harder it is to put on muscle weight in most cases. My gains were impressive between 18 and 21 but now my gains have pretty much peaked. Good luck to you and mix it up.

[montstar]

muscle doesnt float and requires more oxygen, lean and mean is what you want

[1fastmex]

I was a d1 college athlete at the university of arizona.... I found out a mix of supplements that keep me absolutley lean but gained size and even bettered my athleticism... my suggestion would always be number 1 is diet..... for supplements protien and to be honest get a good glutamine.. glutamine really took my physique to another level... and ure recovery will b e much faster... cause it was crucial that i kept gaining on my athleticsim and nothing would weigh me down I was a college sprinter... a pre work out supplement that is phenominal is NO explode... it is a mix of creatine glutamine and a large does of caffiene and arginine.... with NO explode and ure going to get all the supplements that keep ure muscles growing but in my case i found out the caffiene still kept me very lean body fat percentage and this supplemnt advanced my athletisim my tremedous ammounts..... THis worked for me very well but all people are different.... soo I hope everything works out

1 fast mex

[wvtadpole11]

A little fat is ok for BUD/S and is recommended. With the *** kicking your gonna get, it wouldn't hurt to have some reserves. It will also insulate you in the water. There was a guy from my area that blacked out from hypothermia and rang out, but didn't even remember doing it. He was a strong, physical guy with a Kung Fu grip, but had no body fat. Good Luck.

[snow85]

this question is specifically for snow85 --

i saw this, and i am thinking....

fret not, i will get back to you.

[maphic]

Drink cyto gainer. 2-3 times a day with whole milk. i was 118 pounds and i shot up to 126 in under 2 weeks. you can buy Cyto Gainer at GNC.

[Illmaxic]

sure... I play football ..im only sixteen and i came upon the sight which i found a fitness forum and i thought some people might know some tips ive maye never heard of

You have the answer to your question right there. You are only sixteen my friend. I am only 19 and i weigh 175 lbs. But guess what I weighed 9 months ago and for most of my high school tenure... 140 lbs. It comes with age, your body is maturing and gaining weight happens pretty naturally as I found out first hand. But like others have said, it doesn't hurt to work out and eat healthy, that's all you need. As Popeye said, "I yam what I yam" ha

[sam7596]

when i was in high school i ran track and cross country for three years and was a fairly thin individual, during my senior year track season, i started lifting weights and let off the distance running and gained ALOT of muscle, i went from weight around 140 and 5 ft 9 in in jan 06, to being 170 5 ft 9 in now in sept 07

my weight gain hasn't affected my PT but only helped it, i can do 32 pullups, 110 pushups, 160 situps, under 9 1.5 mile (not sure what exact time is but as of now i did a one mile in 5:30 ish) but my swim is horrible around 11:00 and im dead tired after it

my dillemma is i can still run very fast, i was running a 4:45 mile in high school and now i can still run about 5:30, without any speed work, this is just from what I do for PT and Boat Crew at my NROTC unit

so gaining weight isn't a problem with running, UNTIL you get in the water

I can't float for ****!! Any suggestions? And any help on my swimming would be great

I don't undestand how I can run like hell, PST time is under 9, and my USMC PFT should be under 18 now, last time i was 18:30; but i can't swim distance or sprints for ****

I need a swim workout that will kick my *** but bring my sidestroke or CSS down to below 10 quickly, im willing to hit the pool 4-5 days a week

and floating, any suggestions on that would be helpful and treading water

[snow85]

sam,

obviously you've never been a swimmer, so you've never heard the phrase "swimmers can run but runners can't swim." it's true.

swimming is a total body workout, and utilizes much more oxygen than running. your heart and lungs aren't conditioned to swim. swimming a mile, for example, is MUCH more difficult than running a mile. in fact, a 15 min mi. swim is an olympic time. if you had to pick one and do it forever, swimming would be the way to go. the only way to swim faster, like running, is to do sprint workouts in the pool.

that 4:45 mile isn't going to matter at BUD/S, unless you can run a million of them in a row. in cammies. and boots. soaking wet.

furthermore, floating has nothing to do with anything other than body fat and fluid in your body. you don't need to be able to float. you just need to practice treading water and get good at it.

either do the BUD/S workout challenge thing posted on this site, or get stew smith's stuff. and when you do it, do it all.

[snow85]

jennings, did you hear back from your doc?

i do have ideas for you, but need the weekend to write them. for now, cut back on that protein.

as i'm sure you know, a protein-diet will make your cholesterol skyrocket and possibly increase your blood pressure. then there's the plaque plagued arteries to contend with....

-s-

[jmjennings]

thanks snow, will do. take yer time, there's no urgency at all.

i tracked my doc down yesterday. she concurs with you: said it was her understanding that even big guys like her husband -- who's probably 6'1" and a solid 190# -- should need no more than 70 g of protein a day, even on a demanding workout regimen. it turns out she was into competitive bodybuilding back in her twenties! so she's got some experiential basis for her views.

we also discussed HOW i was getting the protein. even at 150 g /day, i have done a pretty good job of avoiding too much cholesterol and saturated fat. my main sources are pink salmon [80 g/day of protein], one or two protein shakes [20-40 g/day protein], skinless chicken breast [30 g/day protein], and most days about a quart of either skim or one-percent milk [32 g/day]. the shakes each have 9 g fat, but it's almost all from [unsaturated] soybean oil.

so i've kept my intake of fat and cholesterol under the RDA ... but her main concern, like mine, was the impact on my kidneys of doubling or tripling my customary protein intake. my doc suggested, if i seemed to be getting good results from more protein than 70 g/day, that i get urine dipsticks from the hospital lab and check my pee daily for protein. she said: 'when, or if you start spilling protein in your urine, cut back on the protein intake 10 percent at a time til you stop.'

most of my somewhat cursory research online seems to support the idea that, if your kidneys are unhealthy to begin with, a protein-rich diet will make matters worse. but there doesn't seem to be any hard data out there on how much protein HEALTHY kidneys can withstand.

i guess that's because with america's epidemic high blood pressure and type II diabetes -- both of which, as you know, cause renal failure -- nobody has time or money to study healthy kidneys. but i will keep surfing for data. meanwhile, i'm still looking fwd to yer findings on the matter. many thx -- jj

[snow85]

one of my concerns is that once you damage your kidneys by trying to force them to process too much protein, you can't go back. the catch is that early on, you won't even know you're doing it, because it's not something that you can see, like blood in the urine, or feel, like extreme lower back pain. so you don't want to send yourself into, what is essentially premature renal failure, especially if you don't have a familial history of that sort of thing.

but again, i'll get back to you with a "legitimate" post later on. =)

[sam7596]

thanks snow,

i see what you're saying about swimming

ive got stew smith's stuff, i can do all the PT and running but the swimming really is a mental **** for me bc i can fly through all the other PT but when i swim it just downs me, know what i mean?

so you think i should just start sprinting 50s until i get my endurance up?

and where is this BUDs workout challenge or w/e?

[jmjennings]

snow -- [and all others following this thread, esp BUD/S aspirants]:

about an hour after i read your last post, on 9/5, my copy of 'the navy SEAL nutrition guide' arrived in the mail. i had to settle for an earlier edition, a used 1994 printing from amazon, because the NSC shop was sold out of the latest.

it's a great little guide, very straightforwardly written. it has a workbook, fill-in-the-blanks format in some places, wherever you are required to calculate your individual nutrition needs. the authors' credentials are also very impressive: all have a background in clinical nutrition research, and all are athletes.

page 20 is headed, 'how much protein should i eat?'

below, the text reads as follows: 'many people eat 150 to 200 grams of protein each day which is more protein than is actually needed by the body. protein needs are determined by age, body weight and activity level. many athletes think that if they eat more protein their muscles will get larger, but this is not true. excess calories from protein can be converted to fat and stored. additionally, the liver and kidneys are put under a lot of strain when processing large quantities of protein.'

below that is a table:

'grams of protein per pound of body weight'

activity level: protein factor:

low to moderate ---------- 0.5 grams
endurance training -------- 0.6 - 0.8 grams
stength/weight training --- 0.6 - 0.8 grams

the text then notes, 'suppose you are 175 lb and are training to be a SEAL. then you are "in training" for sure -- both endurance and strength training. your protein needs would be 0.6 to 0.8 grams per pound of body weight, as shown in the figure above.' note that the authors DON'T believe that, just because SEALs engage in both strength and endurance training, they require more protein than if they were concentrating on just one or the other.

this, of course, is much less than the 1-2 g per pound body weight figure used by most gym rats. for me, at 150 #, it means 90-120 grams/day of protein ... not 150-300. note also that this is an OFFICIAL guide, published by the 'uniformed services university of the health sciences,' and bears the seal of the naval special warfare command on the cover.

chapters 9 and 10, which cover nutritional demands for endurance and strength training, go into a little more detail. chapter 10 debunks 'the high protein myth' with a brief explanation of muscle composition and how the body metabolizes excess protein, and gives more detail on 'concerns with very high protein intakes' ... including additional fluid demands/dehydration, kidney damage and possibly high blood pressure, diarrhea and amino acid imbalances.

obviously, when it's available, i will buy the latest edition. if anybody following this thread already has a copy, i'd like to hear whether the authors have changed their minds about protein requirements since 1994.