Weight Gainers

[StevenD]

I'm new to both weight lifting (1 month on free weights, 6 months total) and to this site (just reading posts for a couple months). I work out 4 times per week. I'm 5' 10" about 146 lbs, and I think it is safe to say that I have a fairly high metabolism. Most people in daily and at the gym tell me I'm the kind of guy that "can eat anything". My problem is this. My normal diet is in the 1000-1200 calorie per day range. Absolutely pigging out for me might not hit much higher than 1500 calories per day. Obviously, with my metabolism, this is not a combination lends itself to gaining alot of muscle. I want to change that.

I have tried and will continue to try to eat more. My diet is getting progressively cleaner. For me, it's an evolutionary process not a revolutionary one. It is currently nowhere near as well calculated or as disciplined as the diets many of you have posted. As soon as I can get to UPS on Monday, I will start taking Optimum Nutrition 100% Whey twice a day to supplement protein intake. Btw, I appreciate the recommendations made on this forum. I found the variety of available brands dizzying. Thanks to y'all, my choices narrowed quickly and was even directed to a web site where I can get it cheap.

Given the nature of my job, I dont have the option to eat 5 or 6 meals of regular food, and even with the moderate increase in the amount of food I eat, I already feel full most of the day anyway. I am considering using some kind of weight gainer to supplement what I am already doing to give my body the extra calories it needs to build muscle. I ran a search on these forums and didn't get much info on the subject, so I would welcome any thoughts and/or specific recommendations on brands.

[Lee J B]

A good weight gainer powder that I know a few people use around my area is called N-Large, the amount of calories per scoop are massive. Supplement with this a couple of times a day it might helpa little, most weight gainers are just a waste of time though IMO, all need be done is eat as much as possible of good food. As for your 'always full' feeling I would reccommend that you didnt eat so much in one meal and spaced them out say every 2 hours... but it sounds as if that would be hard for you to do ?

Hope that helps

[StevenD]

Thanks for the reply. Yes, eating every couple of hours would be hard to do for most the day. From about 7:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., I am either at work or stuck in traffic. The best I can do is lunch and maybe a quick shake mid-morning and mid-afternoon. Stopping to eat anything significant outside of lunch is out of the question. My current meal schedule is breakfast, lunch, after-work/pre-workout snack, post-workout dinner. I plan to add a protein shake immediately after the workout and at some other part of the day. When I haven't decided. My thinking is to take what I've already got and use a weight gainer to bump up my caloric intake by 1000 or so a day.

[Lee J B]

Sounds like a good idea you have. Try and get a couple shakes in.. one in the morning and mid afternoon just for that constant protein supply

[Fudomyo]

Hell, I'd weigh 146 lbs if I ate 1000-1200 calories. I don't think metabolism has d*ck to do with it.

I eat 1300 calories in the 5 hrs around my workout.

Fudo

[StevenD]

There was a time in my life when I consumed alot of fast food and most foods that are decidedly unclean, pushing my calories alot higher than they are now. Still, I've never broken 150. The big difference in the last few months is that some of my weight has shifted from fat to muscle.

Now that I am looking into this more closely, I realize that one of the consequences of taking in all the protein from food, protein shakes, and weight gainers is that I am going to have to drink sooooo much water. I should have been drinking quite alot before this. I just didn't realize how much.

Fudomyo....Please don't take this the wrong way, but do you spend half of your spare time eating? What's your food/supplement budget like? I won't mind if you don't want to get into all that, but these are things I have often wondered reading the posts on these forums. Thanks.

-Steven D.

[mustang GT]

A lot of people don't like weight gainers, but I guess in your case, you should go with that. To gain weight, you gotta eat a lot. I know it;s hard for you to do cause of your job, but maybe you should bring little snacks along with you. Even if your metabolism is fast, if you take your bodyweight, multiply it by 12, plus 1,500 calories, most likely you will gain weight.

[StevenD]

At 3250 calories, I have little doubt Mustang. Having read several more posts by Fudo and cursor, I have a clearer understanding of the challenges facing me. 1) I must be more precise in the quantities, composition, and timing of what I eat. 2) I must find the time and inclination to eat that quantity of food. 3) I must figure out a way to be able to afford the food. 4) Discipline. I love all of the things that just not so good for me....My pizza addiction comes to mind. To be sure, my diet is considerably better than it was 6 months ago, and all of the changes that I have made are of the kind I can sustain indefinitely. But, what Fudo and cursor discuss is on a whole new level from anything that I had previously considered.

[Jnkyrd Dog]

You simply need more clean calories. I recommend taking in 2500-3500/day at your weight (and guesstimated metabolic rate).

I have the same metobolic rate as you seem to have and the only way I was able to gain was to add whey protein to my diet. I have a shake between meals during the day and one JUST before bed. The one just before bed I add some flaxseed oil to help slow digestion.

There are many places to get protein, I simply go to Walgreen's when they have a 2 for 1 special and get a couple kilos of whey protein.

I was at #165 (lean and ripped) with 6% body fat (BF) and now I am at #200 (massive and ripped) with 10% BF. It will work for you too.

Good luck.

[StevenD]

Picked up a 5 lb. tub of Optimum Nutrition 100% Whey on Monday, Junkyard. Will look into the flaxseed oil.