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I can't seem to eat enough. I'm not gaining any weight on the scale but I'm pushing good weight in the gym and continue to get stronger. I'm 5'10'' and weigh 170-175lbs. The heaviest I've been is 182 and then immediately dropped back to 175ish. I always hit the gym hard and eat fairly clean without killing myself to do so. Problem is I only get 30 minutes for lunch and I don't have a job where I can sit at a desk and graze out of a snack drawer. I counted calories for a few days and seem to average around 2000-2200. Anybody have any good, quick, snack ideas that I can inhale in only a few moments so as not to fall behind at work, or any good affordably priced RTD's or bars?
Random BS:
Bench: 120lbs dumbbells
Squat: 225ish (I don't get crazy with it after seeing some family members go through multiple back surgeries, so I rep like crazy and go heavy on other movements, same with deadlift)
Bent over rows: 100lbs dumbbells
I'd post a pic, but I don't want to be that guy unless the request is made lol.
At your height and weight you'd need to be looking at around 3000+ calories a day to make decent gains.
Your resting metabolic rate (the amount of calories you would burn if you stayed in bed all day) would be around 1700-1800 calories a day so if you're mixing working out in with that then you'd probably be burning around 2200 calories a day or more.
when I'm bulking I usually have 3 protein shakes a day with 500mls whole milk and 2 scoops of protein which ends up being 500 calories per shake so I get 1500 calories per day from those alone and the rest from whole food
I'm fairly up and up on nutrition (had a couple classes and read about it a bit). I'm not a fan of almonds but I do like peanuts, so I bought a metric ton recently. 1 handful = ~150 cals, so I'm trying to get a handful every time I go into the kitchen. So that will definitely help. Man, I wish I could get 3k cals daily over 5 or so meals but its not likely to become reality any time soon. I'm still scratching my head at how I continue to gain strength on such a low intake.
Yeah, 3k+ calories / day. Eat 4-5+ times a day, supplement it with protein shakes.
I use to be about the same size (back in the day) and I was consuming 4-5k calories a day doing super circuit workouts. I bulked up so fast [in a good way] a lot of people thought i was using steroids or something.
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When was the last time you tried something new?
OP--your goal should be to eat 6-7 meals per day if possible. It's too bad you don't like almonds, they are filled with good fats, I always have a small handfull of them with each RTD everyday.
I like the Pure Protein bars--32 grms of protein and around 280 cals. They also make a small bar that's 20 grams of protein and around 200 call or so.
Bagels, you should try them, (whole wheat of course), great compact/easy to eat source of carbs.
I like the Myoplex RTDs and each 4 pack alos comes with a coupon for $4 of the next two packs so that's a nice little bonus. Alot of folks also like the Muscle Milk RTDs. I think they're ok, alittle to sugary tasting for me, but that just might have been the particular flavor.
Try and get one gram of protein per pound of bodyweight per day split up among your meals. make sure each meal has high protein moderate good fats and moderate carbs. Depending on your activity level, adjust the carbs up or down.
I've found that alot of times, my strenght will go up before my weight, so if for instance my bench jumps up 10 pounds after a plateau, my weight might be the same but then a couple weeks later, seems like overnight I gain a couple pounds . Anyway, hope some of this helps, just keep at man.
If you're working out a lot, a decent rule-of-thumb is 20 calories per pound of bodyweight for gaining, 10 for cutting/maintaining. i.e. if you want to push your weight up to a solid 200, you'll need to eat around 4000 calories per day of good quality food. Not snacky crappy food.
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I've been this weight since I was only pushing up 80lbs dumbbells on bench. I'm in the gym 4 days a week, for about an hour to 1.5hrs per day, depending on how many people get in my way. It's just so frustrating that my schedule prohibits me from eating. Most all the calories I do get are clean, lots of chicken, whole grains, lots of fiber and omegas, etc.
I've been this weight since I was only pushing up 80lbs dumbbells on bench. I'm in the gym 4 days a week, for about an hour to 1.5hrs per day, depending on how many people get in my way. It's just so frustrating that my schedule prohibits me from eating. Most all the calories I do get are clean, lots of chicken, whole grains, lots of fiber and omegas, etc.
ummm, proly cause he is 5'10" and 175lbs. who wants to be skinny??
OP, what about your schedule doesnt permit you to eat properly?? if you give a basic break down of your day, it might help in making suggestions. list your daily routine, from the time you wake up. and list times with it.
I'm not trying to become a giant by any means, but I would like a solid 10lbs or so. Maybe I'm bigger than I give myself credit for (however I seriously doubt it.) If you (GodZilla) are asking if I want to compete, power lift, persue athletic endeavors, etc, well, its a little bit vanity and to get better at other athletic hobbies (don't really compete, per se). Not to mention, getting in the gym and releasing my frustrations on myself and the weights just plain feels good, and keeps me sane.
Surf, I don't see how we've jumped the shark here. Elaborate? I'm not attention whoring by any means, if you're proposing that due to the posting of the picture. I thought it may be helpful to show what we're working with, as I'm not a complete phasmid despite the anemic caloric intake, and I'm not a fatty trying to vigorously shed pounds. I've browsed this forum for a bit and there are guys here far more "jacked"/"swole" than myself, so if I've come here to one up anyone, then it was a miserable failure, and why would I want that? Maybe you are postulating jumping the shark because I posted the pic without request. If so, sorry to offend you.
The main problem with my schedule is the 8 hour work day and 30 minute lunch. Typically, I don't get any additional breaks so it's hard get in any other quality meals/snacks. During my days off, obviously I don't have any issues maintaining a proper caloric intake and can usually hit 3500+ depending on how busy I keep myself. My work schedule is rather hectic, either 8-4:30, or 12:30-9. If I'm out around 430 I'm in the gym at 7. If I'm in at 12:30, I'm at the gym at 9:30. If my days off fall during a workout day, then I just go whenever I feel like it, but typically mid morning.
The main problem with my schedule is the 8 hour work day and 30 minute lunch. Typically, I don't get any additional breaks so it's hard get in any other quality meals/snacks. During my days off, obviously I don't have any issues maintaining a proper caloric intake and can usually hit 3500+ depending on how busy I keep myself. My work schedule is rather hectic, either 8-4:30, or 12:30-9. If I'm out around 430 I'm in the gym at 7. If I'm in at 12:30, I'm at the gym at 9:30. If my days off fall during a workout day, then I just go whenever I feel like it, but typically mid morning.
ok this a bit of information. but youre still not giving me much to work with here. what do you do for work?? although you dont have any breaks, there may still be opportunity to add calories on the run. MRP bars are easy enough to keep in your desk, and eat throughout the day.
and regardless of the 8 hour work day, you should still have no problem getting your calories in. you can get up and eat a meal for breakfast, eat a meal at your scheduled lunch, then a meal after work before the gym, and another meal post workout. thats 4 solid meals, not optimal, but quite capable of ingesting over 3000cals. and we havent even figured out where you can sneak in extra calories yet.
like i said, give us a break down of your day. and what youre doing for work exactly.
I work retail (ugh) so I'm constantly dealing with people.
If I go in at 8:
Up at 7, shower, eat, etc. (breakfast is around 350 cals)
At work by 8
Lunch around 1:30-2 (around 600 cal)
Off at 4:30
At home I eat around 5:30 (5-600 cal)
In the gym at 7
PWO Shake (around 500cal)
If I go in at 12:30 its about the same, except gym time is moved to morning.
The few snacks I have at home probably get me up to around 2200-2300. I also don't want to take into more than I can process at once and gain the wrong kind of mass.
At work, I always have my hands in something. If it's not a customer issue, it's an employee issue, especially since we are pretty much forced to be understaffed.
I work retail (ugh) so I'm constantly dealing with people.
If I go in at 8:
Up at 7, shower, eat, etc. (breakfast is around 350 cals)
At work by 8
Lunch around 1:30-2 (around 600 cal)
Off at 4:30
At home I eat around 5:30 (5-600 cal)
In the gym at 7
PWO Shake (around 500cal)
If I go in at 12:30 its about the same, except gym time is moved to morning.
The few snacks I have at home probably get me up to around 2200-2300. I also don't want to take into more than I can process at once and gain the wrong kind of mass.
At work, I always have my hands in something. If it's not a customer issue, it's an employee issue, especially since we are pretty much forced to be understaffed.
Way too much time between breakfast and lunch. As I said above, you probably need a good 1000 cal more to gain. If you eat high quality food, you'll be a whole lot less likely to gain "the wrong kind of weight".
Since you're working out relatively hard and not gaining any weight, it only stands to reason that you're not eating enough. By your body type, I'd say you've probably got a medium metabolism. I gained a buttload of weight in college by drinking a LOT of lowfat milk. Surprisingly, I didn't gain much fat.
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Oh yeah, I guzzle 1% milk like crazy. It's just hard to get my meals closer together, and I don't want to sit down and gorge on a 1500cal meal because well, that won't be helping me any. There may be room to add a hundred or so at each meal. There's gotta be a way. I'll figure it out. News at 11 .
I had a retail job at a dept store as a summer job once in college. Same type of schedule, I used to go quickly eat a protein bar in the bathroom to get in a couple extra meals since I only got the 30 min lunch break. I hope they let you go to the bathroom??
although what most people wont put into consideration is genetics. this is how your body is your strong enough have decent definition and are healthy (from what has been typed) what else could you ask for? 10lbs of muscle is no easy task....
all i'm saying is that not everyone is built the same and from what it seems ur body is fine right now ur gaining muscle and have mass, there is not much else you can ask for.
some people will be 6'4" 240lbs when they start working out and others will be 5'10" 175lbs. its just the way you were born
Can't get enough food...
. Anyway, hope some of this helps, just keep at man.
