How to bulk up?

[ono]

My typical diet is:

Breakfast: 3 crumpets or slices of toast or lg bowl of porridge
Lunch: Tuna pasta or tuna sandwich / apple
Mid afternoon: ham sandwich or bowl of cereal.
Tea: Chili con carne or spag bol or salmon with mash & veg or chicken casserole with mash & veg.
Sometimes I'll have an extra portion of tea at around 9pm.

I'm 6'3 and just shy of 12 stone. No matter what I do, I can't get above 12 stone.

Thanks for all the great helpful replies especially whothefisalice, I really appreciate it.

You are not going to bulk up eating meals like that, it is like anything else if you want results you have to put in the effort. When I was bulking up I would eat a half a grilled chicken (skin removed) and vegs for dinner and cottage cheese. A whole salmon for lunch with veg and a shake, 6 egg whites with deli meat for breakfast with half a loaf of whole wheat bread and 1.5 tsb of olive oil. In between I would be snacking on nuts , fruit and a can or tuna before my work out and before bed. Add the honey I put into my flask during my workouts and that was EVERY day.

This is the type of thing you will need to train yourself to do if you want to gain lean weight. Also reduce the cardio and increase heavy weights at low reps if you are gyming.

Let me know if I can help more.

Thanks. The problem is, you mention half a loaf of bread for breakfast. If I ate that much for one meal I would be physically sick. 3 slices of bread in one go is sometimes enough to give me stomach pains. I reckon I would need a reverse gastric band to eat the quantities you are talking about!!!

To be honest, Didactic is only trying to help, but that advice is genuinely insane.

Half a loaf of bread contains around 120g of carbohydrate. Probably more infact. That's an insane amount of carbohydrates to consume in one sitting. Even on a morning, when glycogen stores will be low.

To be honest, neither of your diets contain enough total carbohydrates to 'bulk up'. Didactic's is lopsided, in the sense that he eats far too many carbohydrates on a morning, but probably not enough after a workout or throughout the day (the half loaf of bread seems to be the only main source apart from fruit).

Also far too much protein. Protein cannot be stored in the body, so there's little point in consuming the amounts suggested by Didactic's diet plan.

A good starting point for you would be to aim for around 450g - 500g carbohydrate/ 150g-170g of protein and 70-80g of fat per day. Space these out as evenly as possible, eating 6 times per day.

 

[didactic]

I'm actually a man! :)

Thanks for the advice. I'll give it a whirl.

One last question:

Are too many carbs a big no-no?

I'm vegetarian you see, and I mainly eat fruit, bread (rye), oatmeal & soup - all full of carbs.

I dont get why a guy would want to be that small but if you are happy with it I will help. Carbs are fine just try and change your whites to browns and get as many from fruit. You do need fat or eventually your body will collapse, no matter how healthy you look/feel now. Also you cannot survive without fat so you are going to have to find a source for that too as this is the most important nutrient for muscle building.

Dont just stock up on carbs and leave everything else out you need a healthy balance. So if you refuse to eat fish, chicken eat nuts. But dont starve your body of anything that is dangerous and works short term.

 

[didactic]

To be honest, neither of your diets contain enough total carbohydrates to 'bulk up'. Didactic's is lopsided, in the sense that he eats far too many carbohydrates on a morning, but probably not enough after a workout or throughout the day (the half loaf of bread seems to be the only main source apart from fruit).

Also far too much protein. Protein cannot be stored in the body, so there's little point in consuming the amounts suggested by Didactic's diet plan.

A good starting point for you would be to aim for around 450g - 500g carbohydrate/ 150g-170g of protein and 70-80g of fat per day. Space these out as evenly as possible, eating 6 times per day.

Mine was an example of what I consumed during my bulking periods, I have been training for years so I am not starting from zero like he is. I can consume that easily and he needs that much protein if he is going to be pushing heavy to build his bulk.

He has a high metabolism so he needs to have more carbs but he can also get them from baked potatoes as the bread will be too heavy for him. He is tiny.

 

[ono]

To be honest, neither of your diets contain enough total carbohydrates to 'bulk up'. Didactic's is lopsided, in the sense that he eats far too many carbohydrates on a morning, but probably not enough after a workout or throughout the day (the half loaf of bread seems to be the only main source apart from fruit).

Also far too much protein. Protein cannot be stored in the body, so there's little point in consuming the amounts suggested by Didactic's diet plan.

A good starting point for you would be to aim for around 450g - 500g carbohydrate/ 150g-170g of protein and 70-80g of fat per day. Space these out as evenly as possible, eating 6 times per day.

Mine was an example of what I consumed during my bulking periods, I have been training for years so I am not starting from zero like he is. I can consume that easily and he needs that much protein if he is going to be pushing heavy to build his bulk.

He has a high metabolism so he needs to have more carbs but he can also get them from baked potatoes as the bread will be too heavy for him. He is tiny.

A 12 stone man does not need 300g of protein per day, which is roughly what your diet equates to. If he's going to be pushing heavy, then it's carbohydrates that he needs. Pushing heavy will deplete his glycogen stores. That excess of protein will more than likely make him feel too full, which in turn will make it difficult for him to consume anywhere near enough carbohydrates to 'bulk up'.

Around half of that amount of protein will either be excreted out, or converted to energy. Bit of a waste really.

 

[didactic]

A 12 stone man does not need 300g of protein per day, which is roughly what your diet equates to. If he's going to be pushing heavy, then it's carbohydrates that he needs. Pushing heavy will deplete his glycogen stores. That excess of protein will more than likely make him feel too full, which in turn will make it difficult for him to consume anywhere near enough carbohydrates to 'bulk up'.

Around half of that amount of protein will either be excreted out, or converted to energy. Bit of a waste really.

I think you are missing the point of this entire thread, you are using the logic that this is normal 12 stone man. These guys are complaining that they suffer from high metabolism which means they have to ingest more to get the same results as a normal person.

Why would he not be able to consume enough carbs if he replaces the bread for brown rice or baked potatoes?. If he is getting his proteins from fish/chicken lean meat he will not fill up that easily. He will also get energy from the honey which will allow him to finish his workouts easily. He is doing low reps at heavy weights that will not burn him out at all.

Simple fact if you do not eat you do not grow.

 

[Wheelsy]

JotL... Have you done what I suggested?

As someone who has gained just under 20kg in the last six months, I'm trying to help.

You have to get the calories in. Whether that's going to town on cheeseburgers (not chips, zero nutrition whatsoever), or as I suggested, three protein shakes a day in addition to what you're eating.

Once you get that sorted, start lifting.

People say the hardest thing about going to the gym is getting through the door. But its not. The first time is fine.

It's the second and third and fourth time when your muscles aren't used to the movements and they ache like all hell, and you feel you can't lift a finger/walk. Getting through that bit is tough.

But you start to get addicted to the sensation and addicted numbers ticking over on the scales. It will het easier.

 

[ono]

A 12 stone man does not need 300g of protein per day, which is roughly what your diet equates to. If he's going to be pushing heavy, then it's carbohydrates that he needs. Pushing heavy will deplete his glycogen stores. That excess of protein will more than likely make him feel too full, which in turn will make it difficult for him to consume anywhere near enough carbohydrates to 'bulk up'.

Around half of that amount of protein will either be excreted out, or converted to energy. Bit of a waste really.

I think you are missing the point of this entire thread, you are using the logic that this is normal 12 stone man. These guys are complaining that they suffer from high metabolism which means they have to ingest more to get the same results as a normal person.

Why would he not be able to consume enough carbs if he replaces the bread for brown rice or baked potatoes?. If he is getting his proteins from fish/chicken lean meat he will not fill up that easily. He will also get energy from the honey which will allow him to finish his workouts easily. He is doing low reps at heavy weights that will not burn him out at all.

Simple fact if you do not eat you do not grow.

It doesn't matter. You're suggesting that he eats an amount of protein which is quite ridiculous. What benefit would this have?

Top and bottom of it is, he needs to lift weights. To be able to get results from lifting weights he needs to steadily increase the load on a week by week or month by month basis to enable.

Before that, he needs to fuel his sessions. To do this, he must eat a lot of carbohydrates. Your point about a weights session not 'burning him out at all' is a bizarre one. An intense weights session depletes the average man of around half of his stored glycogen (glycogen is converted to glucose to enable him to function). This is assuming his glycogen levels were optimal in the first place.

If he doesn't continue to consume a large amount of carbohydrates, his glycogen stores will have reduced on a session by session basis. The less glycogen you have stored in your muscle cells, the more protein is broken down and converted into fuel. This is detrimental to gaining weight.

Protein is required to repair damaged muscle tissue. Just not in the large quantities you've suggested in this thread.

It's pretty much the other way round. His carbohydrate to protein ratio should be around 4:1.

 

[didactic]

It doesn't matter. You're suggesting that he eats an amount of protein which is quite ridiculous. What benefit would this have?

Top and bottom of it is, he needs to lift weights. To be able to get results from lifting weights he needs to steadily increase the load on a week by week or month by month basis to enable.

Before that, he needs to fuel his sessions. To do this, he must eat a lot of carbohydrates. Your point about a weights session not 'burning him out at all' is a bizarre one. An intense weights session depletes the average man of around half of his stored glycogen (glycogen is converted to glucose to enable him to function). This is assuming his glycogen levels were optimal in the first place.

If he doesn't continue to consume a large amount of carbohydrates, his glycogen stores will have reduced on a session by session basis. The less glycogen you have stored in your muscle cells, the more protein is broken down and converted into fuel. This is detrimental to gaining weight.

Protein is required to repair damaged muscle tissue. Just not in the large quantities you've suggested in this thread.

It's pretty much the other way round. His carbohydrate to protein ratio should be around 4:1.

But thats because you are eliminating the carbs when I am including them. Why are you leaving out the carbs?. Instead of bread he can have brown rice or potatoes and get his carbs from there. Not to mention the fruits he will be eating as well as the veg. I dont get your argument?.

Im off for a run and then to the gym. I know what makes sence I do it myself.

 

[california blue]

Re: How to gain weight healthily?

My metabolism is such that whatever I eat I can't seem to put on weight. I'm skinny and I want to bulk up, but I want to do it the healthy way. I don't like the idea of supplements because they seem unnatural to me and I don't want to put any undue strain on my body. I'm in my early 30's by the way. Some stomach problems mean I would struggle to simply double my meal sizes.

Is there a foolproof healthy way to bulk up? Do I need to get myself down the gym to do this? Wouldn't know where to start!

Supplements are a fantastic way of gaining healthy weight as long as you use the right supplements. They will also help you obtain the vitamins and minerals your diet currently lacks. A word of warning though if you do use things such as protein shakes etc you will need to go to the gym as they are packed with calories.

I was in exactly the same boat as you in terms of my metabolism at 6ft i weighed 140lbs and seemingly couldn't gain any mass at all. 3 protein shakes a day, 2 amino acid tablets and vital vitamins helped me gain 25lbs in a year with a strict workout plan and diet. I now compete on the UK MMA Amateur circuit. If you need any detailed help just pop a PM over and i'll try and help if you are serious about gaining healthy weight.

what's your your diet if you dont mind me asking...cheers

 

[ono]

It doesn't matter. You're suggesting that he eats an amount of protein which is quite ridiculous. What benefit would this have?

Top and bottom of it is, he needs to lift weights. To be able to get results from lifting weights he needs to steadily increase the load on a week by week or month by month basis to enable.

Before that, he needs to fuel his sessions. To do this, he must eat a lot of carbohydrates. Your point about a weights session not 'burning him out at all' is a bizarre one. An intense weights session depletes the average man of around half of his stored glycogen (glycogen is converted to glucose to enable him to function). This is assuming his glycogen levels were optimal in the first place.

If he doesn't continue to consume a large amount of carbohydrates, his glycogen stores will have reduced on a session by session basis. The less glycogen you have stored in your muscle cells, the more protein is broken down and converted into fuel. This is detrimental to gaining weight.

Protein is required to repair damaged muscle tissue. Just not in the large quantities you've suggested in this thread.

It's pretty much the other way round. His carbohydrate to protein ratio should be around 4:1.

But thats because you are eliminating the carbs when I am including them. Why are you leaving out the carbs?. Instead of bread he can have brown rice or potatoes and get his carbs from there. Not to mention the fruits he will be eating as well as the veg. I dont get your argument?.

Im off for a run and then to the gym. I know what makes sence I do it myself.

No, i know you're including them, but the diet plan you gave seemed to be really protein heavy.. I was stating the importance of carbohydrates aswell, as they are often over-looked.

Enjoy your run anyway. Don't forget to replenish your glycogen levels afterwards.