Cannot gain weight

anbrutog

Hi folks ,

As the title suggests , I'm trying my damndest to put on weight/bulk up for the last 9-10months but going absolutely nowhere.
My weight currently stands at just under 12stone , my height is 6ft1.
Ideally would like to get up to around 14st.

I'll cut to the chase and start with a typical days diet..

Breakfast
=======

2-3 Bananas
Bowl of buckwheat flakes with almond milk
3-4 eggs
Pot of green tea

Snacks
======

Handful of nuts occasionally throughout morning / evening / night.
Possibly a banana or other fruit eg kiwis.

Lunch /Dinner ( pretty much the same )
=============================

Quinoa + 1 large breast of chicken OR large steak OR fillet of fish ( cod / sea bass etc ) + stir fry veg ( eg 1 pepper , 1 onion , 1 head of broccoli , garlic , ginger ) + large side salad ( spinach , rocket + tomatoes )

Few things to note ..
Im lactose intolerant so milk is a no no.
Also while I'm not intolorent, I'm trying my best to stay away from gluten / grains.

Ive stopped going to the gym in the last month as I simply dont have the time at the minute but I can dig out my routine if requested.
I honestly dont think its as relevant as I what I'm eating, though I could be wrong on that...

The green tea thing is what I'm wondering about. I do drink a fair bit of it alright , at least 2 pots , usually 3 which works out at 6-7 large cups ( cant get enough of the stuff! )
I've heard it quickens your metabolism , but does it do that extent where I literally can't put on anything??
I also do a fair bit of running ( I run usually about 6-8k 5 times a week ) and play 5 a side twice a week.

I've upped the ante on occasions and still got nowhere eg for around a month during the summer I was eating up to 5 chicken breasts a day , and at one stage I was eating in and around 10 eggs a day also.

My own take is that ..
- I need to lay off running for a while
- More carbs possibly ?? I'm thinking of replacing the quinoa with rice to see how I get on.
- Lay off the green tea ??

Would love your take on things.

AB

heno86

my opinion is too much cardio(7 times a week??) not nearly enough food and i wouldnt be entirely sure on how much of a metabolic increase the green tea would induce but i reckon you should tone it down..are you on the paleo diet?

anbrutog

heno86 wrote: »

my opinion is too much cardio(7 times a week??) not nearly enough food and i wouldnt be entirely sure on how much of a metabolic increase the green tea would induce but i reckon you should tone it down..are you on the paleo diet?

Hey heno86 ,

Cheers for the reply.

Cardio would be 5-6 days usually yeah. Sometimes six or more even, but usually five.
In terms of more food , I'm not sure how much more I can physically take!
My meals these days usually take two large plates to fill! Having said that of those two plates , at least half is veg and the other is 50-50 protein / carbs.

I wasnt familar with what the paleo diet is but after some research it would appear I'm pretty much on it. I basically like to eat as natural as possible and stay away from anything processed, which would co-incide with what the objectives of the paleo diet, to eat only what surrounded our ancestors way back when.

Having said I would be prepared to up my carb intake if that's whats required for me to bulk up a bit. I'm thinking of substituting quinoa for rice ( and more of it ) to see how I get on.

Duck's hoop

Eat rice and pasta. Even bread!

I'm very much a neophyte but think carbophobia won't help you swell up, especially w all that cardio.

I actively seek out calorie dense unprocessed foods. Eat more nuts and nut butters.

cmyk

Yep that sounds like a good idea. Use a calorie counter (fitday.com) for example to see how many calories you're eating everyday. What you are eating now looks pretty similar to my weight loss diet! You can either calorie count to get an idea of how much more you need to eat, or you can do it less scientifically...keep adding more food until the scales starts moving.

It's not the green tea, it's lack of calories and heavy lifting plus I'd knock the cardio back too, at least until you can get some more calories in.

Parsley

5-6 days a week cardio, not enough food. less cardio. more food and weights. whatever you can eat, or like eating, have more.

Hanley

You're simply not eating enough to gain weight at your current activity levels. No more, no less.

You either reduce activity levels, or increase the amount of food you're eating.

Are you naturally skinny?? People who are naturally skinny tend to increase subconscious activity levels to account for increased kcal intake.

Throwing an extra 4-5 chicken breasts onto your diet only really accounts for about an extra 400kcals daily - that's not really enough and they're relatively filling foods for a low amount of kcals.

Eat a jar of PB a day on top of everything you're eating, or 500+g beef. You'll gain weight.

To be honest, without actually tracking your calorie intake to see what you're taking in, as hard as you think you're trying, you're really not.

EDIT: and chances are, if you're not engaging in some form of resistance training, any weight you gain is just going to be fat.

anbrutog

Some interesting replies.

I've always followed the school of thought that to gain mass it needed to be done via lots of protein soley ( clean bulk ) rather than protein + plenty of carbs.

I'm gong to try plenty of rice and peanut butter over the next month or so, Ill be sure to let you know how I get on

Mellor

anbrutog wrote: »

I've always followed the school of thought that to gain mass it needed to be done via lots of protein soley ( clean bulk ) rather than protein + plenty of carbs.

I'm gong to try plenty of rice and peanut butter over the next month or so, Ill be sure to let you know how I get on

That's not what a clean bulk is.

To build mass you nedd excess calories.
Trying to do this via protein only is a huge ask.

rubadub

cmyk wrote: »

What you are eating now looks pretty similar to my weight loss diet!

+1

Mellor wrote: »

To build mass you nedd excess calories.
Trying to do this via protein only is a huge ask.

Protein is very satisfying hunger wise, this is shown in several studies. So it is quite hard to eat a lot. I lost weight fairly easily without going hungry by having a high protein diet.

Mellor

rubadub wrote: »

+1


Protein is very satisfying hunger wise, this is shown in several studies. So it is quite hard to eat a lot. I lost weight fairly easily without going hungry by having a high protein diet.

At first I though you were disagreeing with me. Had to read it twice. i blame lack of sleep.
But yeah, fully agree. Trying to get in a calorie surplus from just protein in top of a regular diet sounds like such a pain in the ass.

Chicken+brown rice+peanut butter = Chicken Satay = protein/carbs/fats

SIX PACK

You should pig out on fast food for a few weeks drink premium beer & go on the Creatine & Stop eating Kiwis their just a laxative Imo :rolleyes:. your weight will defiantly increase rapidly to what you want.
Then you can start cutting & turn that fat into muscle just like Bodybuilding competitors do _My philosophies are tried and tested

G86

These things are usually pretty simple once you think about it, it's just that people are always searching for the 'holy grail' answer instead of looking at the facts in front of them.

You're trying to gain weight and yet you're running over 6k daily? Why? You need to choose your battles.

I don't know much about bulking etc., but even I can see that it boils down to the fact that you're moving too much and not eating enough.

So, move less, eat more.

Duck's hoop

SIX PACK wrote: »

turn that fat into muscle just like Bodybuilding competitors do

Bodybuilding alchemists?

Barry.Oglesby

One, simple, rule.

Never pass a McDonalds or a Burger King without eating, regardless of time of day or how long it has been since your last meal.

COH

Barry.Oglesby wrote: »

One, simple, rule.

Never pass a McDonalds or a Burger King without eating, regardless of time of day or how long it has been since your last meal.

Passing places burns gain-calories.. you don't want to go catabolic, just get them to deliver.

Barry.Oglesby

COH wrote: »

Passing places burns gain-calories.. you don't want to go catabolic, just get them to deliver.

I've tried that. Begging and pleading doesn't work. The only sensible alternative is the drive thru window.

billyhead

Op,

The only way I have found to gain weight is to eat even when your not hungry, double your portion size i.e 2 sambos instead of one and don't be totally against the odd takeaway or cheat meal.

Mellor

Barry.Oglesby wrote: »

I've tried that. Begging and pleading doesn't work. The only sensible alternative is the drive thru window.

I know of at least 1 McDonalds that delivers.

anbrutog

G86 wrote: »

These things are usually pretty simple once you think about it, it's just that people are always searching for the 'holy grail' answer instead of looking at the facts in front of them.

You're trying to gain weight and yet you're running over 6k daily? Why? You need to choose your battles.

I don't know much about bulking etc., but even I can see that it boils down to the fact that you're moving too much and not eating enough.

So, move less, eat more.

Hey G86 ,

Cheers for the advice but unfortunately its not that simple.
I play Gaelic so I have to stay aerboically fit as well as bulk up. So unfortunately, keeping the cardio up to some degree is necessary. Having said that its the off season now so I can ease up on it a bit. But generally , running is something that I have to keep doing.

Barry.Oglesby

Mellor wrote: »

I know of at least 1 McDonalds that delivers.

That's a public health issue.

Satanta

anbrutog wrote: »

Hey G86 ,

Cheers for the advice but unfortunately its not that simple.
I play Gaelic so I have to stay aerboically fit as well as bulk up. So unfortunately, keeping the cardio up to some degree is necessary. Having said that its the off season now so I can ease up on it a bit. But generally , running is something that I have to keep doing.

I train in the same gym as our county GAA football team. The training they are doing now in the off season is ludicrous seeing as their aim now is also to bulk up. There seems to be no chatting to their PT TBH. He has them doing hard cardio sessions 5 - 6 days as well as weights 3 times a week.

Personally I think you can stay aerobically fit by doing allot less cardio than that. You should be able to maintain a base fitness level over the winter and still be able to regain your in-season fitness level quickly enough during your pre-season next year. You dont have to stay match fit all year round.

I think G86's advice is pretty solid. Cut down on the cardio sessions to maintain base fitness. Then lift heavy 3 times a week and eat like a Viking.

G86

anbrutog wrote: »

Hey G86 ,

Cheers for the advice but unfortunately its not that simple.
I play Gaelic so I have to stay aerboically fit as well as bulk up. So unfortunately, keeping the cardio up to some degree is necessary. Having said that its the off season now so I can ease up on it a bit. But generally , running is something that I have to keep doing.

I get that, but you can stay aerobically fit without running 6k every day.

dynamot

Just eat your standard diet and then at the end of the day, try a weight gainer shake. I'd recommend IDS smart gainer. 2 scoops of that with 2 tablespoons of peanut butter and water (because you are lactose intolerant) is ~ 800 kcals. It means you don't feel uncomfortably full during the day and the fact that you have it at night means you're less likely to work it off.

jive

100ml of olive oil = ~900 calories


just sayin'

jmvane15

it sounds like that'll do the trick. I think that is a great eating schedule.

deadlybuzzman

out of curiosity anyone know how many cals in a battered mars bar and in a greasy half pounder and hell, say a large chips too. Saturday is cheat meal day

nice_guy80

anbrutog wrote: »

Hey G86 ,

Cheers for the advice but unfortunately its not that simple.
I play Gaelic so I have to stay aerboically fit as well as bulk up. So unfortunately, keeping the cardio up to some degree is necessary. Having said that its the off season now so I can ease up on it a bit. But generally , running is something that I have to keep doing.

no it's not
you just need to maintain your baseline of fitness - try some cycling, rowing, cross trainer, swimming.
play some squash, handball, racquetball, tennis, astro turf, basketball,
Cut back on the hard running (save your body/legs/knees for the actual season!)
Do a circuit class

You can implement a good weights mini circuit in the gym that will keep your heartrate up, improve your core strength and add some bulk (with lots of correct eating and recovery)

K09

SIX PACK wrote: »

You should pig out on fast food for a few weeks drink premium beer & go on the Creatine & Stop eating Kiwis their just a laxative Imo :rolleyes:. your weight will defiantly increase rapidly to what you want.
Then you can start cutting & turn that fat into muscle just like Bodybuilding competitors do _My philosophies are tried and tested

Really!!?? I am looking to build up as well. So does it matter if I eat crap food - pizza, chips, etc? Will I not just put on fat???

Hanley

K09 wrote: »

Really!!?? I am looking to build up as well. So does it matter if I eat crap food - pizza, chips, etc? Will I not just put on fat???

He's a troll. Ignore every single one of his posts.

Owen_S

Squats and milk?

Barry.Oglesby

Do the YOCAD diet. Tried and tested worldwide.

Shane Fitz

Barry.Oglesby wrote: »

Do the YOCAD diet. Tried and tested worldwide.

We're metric now, so shouldn't you change that to MOCAD?

Barry.Oglesby

Shane Fitz wrote: »

We're metric now, so shouldn't you change that to MOCAD?

We were Metric when I was born! YOCAD is old skool.

Barry.Oglesby

25 links from google search to my blog for the YOCAD diet. Finally my creation has caught on. Expect to see young men in gym dressing rooms everywhere shaking with their buddies to get their YOCAD on.

Hanley

Barry.Oglesby wrote: »

25 links from google search to my blog for the YOCAD diet. Finally my creation has caught on. Expect to see young men in gym dressing rooms everywhere shaking with their buddies to get their YOCAD on.

YOCAD literally changed my life.

Serlokas

The wrong thing you do is large portions several times a day. You should be eating somewhere 5 times a day, if possible more. As you have a big bunch in one go your body takes only as much as it needs at the time, all other you just leave in the toilet. In other words, try fill a 100l water tank with an overflow pipe with 200l of water. there still be 100l of water while the rest will overflow.
5 times a day around 600kcal per meal will do you fine.

* whole grain snack bars (calories and protein)
* Nutella or peanut butter (same as above)
* yogurt is easily consumed calories

No carbonated drinks! and a lot of fluids. Normal human intake 2-3l of fluid.

Transform

Serlokas wrote: »

The wrong thing you do is large portions several times a day. You should be eating somewhere 5 times a day, if possible more. As you have a big bunch in one go your body takes only as much as it needs at the time, all other you just leave in the toilet. In other words, try fill a 100l water tank with an overflow pipe with 200l of water. there still be 100l of water while the rest will overflow.
5 times a day around 600kcal per meal will do you fine.

* whole grain snack bars (calories and protein)
* Nutella or peanut butter (same as above)
* yogurt is easily consumed calories

No carbonated drinks! and a lot of fluids. Normal human intake 2-3l of fluid.

???

Spunge

jive wrote: »

100ml of olive oil = ~900 calories


just sayin'

is this actually a reasonable idea ?

RebelBOK

It`s very very simple. If a person wants to lose weight they eat less and move more. If a person wants to gain weight the opposite is true. Its far from bloody special diets and routines our fathers were raised on and alot of them are twice the men we`ll ever be.