Gaining Weight

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Hi Guys,

I know this one is a dead horse, and I've done plenty of research, but thought I'd crowd-source a bit. I'm in a program to build muscle - and I'm eating pretty much constantly. I'm trying to get a lot of protein in. I'm around 3000 calories daily, and I'm about 5'11" at 190, so it should be right where I want to be to gain, but I'm paranoid I'm gaining fat quickly - it seems I've packed on 3-4 lbs in 2 weeks. Should I be worried? Any suggestions? I really want to try and gain 8-10 lbs of lean mass by april, but would rather not have too much extra fat to shed after.

Thanks in advance.
 

RockstarParkingDude

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its difficult to do two things at one time.

it's winter time. up your calories by 500 a day. one extra meal before bed - 3 eggs and a glass of milk. if you train properly - high intensity heavy weight avoid cardio, you can gain 10-15 pounds by march - the more protein the better. then during march you cut your weight. work low intensity high reps - it will harden your muscles and burn off some fat. change your diet a bit, cut down calories by about 1000, avoid carbs in quantity, and you can cut the last 8-10 pounds of fat in a month or so.

trying to do both at the same time is possible, but its more difficult and i think is a slower way of achieving the same thing.

watch your indicators too. a good indicator that you are bulking up right is that you wont see your abs as clearly, your shoulders will feel tighter in a shirt, your arms will get thicker, and your neck will get shorter. its also important when bulking to put extra focus on abs. bulk them up as much as any other muscle (3 sets decline situps with weights), and when you cut off the 8 pounds of fat you've accumulated you will be like... damn...
 
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Flanker6

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Make sure when you're eating constantly its always a full meal. I would cut out any snack foods. PB&J sandwiches are an excellent way to snack. Not too filling, delicious, high in protein, low in saturated fat. Make sure you're using more natural jelly and peanut butter, a lot of those jellies can be too sugary and the peanut butter can be too fatty. NO WHITE BREAD either. Wheat bread all the way, white bread is just wasted carbs. Milk is also your best friend. Good fats, protein, etc. At least a few glasses a day.
Make no mistake. Gaining weight is an expensive investment. Lots of protein shakes, food, etc.
Rockstar pretty much told you everything you need to know so I'll just expand. Make sure you don't take your legs for granted. Unless you're using steroids you'll have a hard time gaining only upper body weight. You should be doing at least 4 main exercises. Power cleans, bench press, squats, and deadlifts. You seem like you know enough about weights already so I'll just touch on some things in case you weren't aware. NO MACHINES. Try to stay away from them they do half the work for you. There are countless exercises you can do just with a squat rack. Don't be afraid to be there for an hour doing squats, lunges, cleans, curls, push press, shrugs, you name it. This may not mean a lot coming from a guy who hasn't worked out in a week :p but I've been there. I put on about 15 lbs in one summer just by being consistent, taking protein, and doing the right exercises. I know this seems a bit basic but I hope it helps!
 

Bjorn89

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Starting Strength Wiki

Do starting strength + keep your diet(I would highly suggest you to switch to paleo diet(primal blueprint) for general health reasons). If you really want to gain, keep eating the way you do and start GOMAD(gallon milk a day) for one month. Best way to pack alot of muscle(you'll fget fat aswell, but that will go away when you keep going to the gym and lifting heavy :))

check out Mark's Daily Apple

Also try to keep the lifting 45-60 minuten, like above keep free weights as your base of your work-out functional strength is much more important then being big! :)
 

Pegasus

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I suggest gaining more than 1 lb of new mass a week, will lead to significant fat gain if you are drug free. I am surprised you are gaining so much weight while only eating 3000 cal.
 

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Thank you everyone for your responses. All very helpful.

I suggest gaining more than 1 lb of new mass a week, will lead to significant fat gain if you are drug free. I am surprised you are gaining so much weight while only eating 3000 cal.

This does worry me as well. It seems like an awful lot. I'm also wondering if it's water weight from not drinking enough water, or from the creatine and BCAA supplementing.
 

shane_syndrome

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trust me you shouldn't gain a bunch of weight from creatine or amino acids , and honestly 3000 calories is nothing i'm smaller then you and eating more .
 

JonasKay

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So many factors! Rockstar is DEAD on. Don't worry about riding two horses at once. Bulk up first. Lean out second.

First question: How old are you? If you're in your teens or twenties, you're body will, more than likely, have a fast metabolism and be burning calories like a furnace. If your 30+ you're metabolism will probably be more "set" and can be harder to change. This will directly affect how many calories are burned, versus "stored".

Second question: I agree with Pegasus. Is 3000 calories just a random number that you've made up, or a goal that corresponds to your work-out regime? The problem with working out intensely (especially to build bulk) is that your body will naturally need more energy (calories) to function. It is very possible that your 3000 calories may not be enough and that you are literally "breaking even" -- again, this depends on how hard you are pushing it at the gym. You literally have to "over-eat" in the sense that you have to eat more calories than the body can process. HOWEVER, don't think of "over-eating" as "eating poorly." It's easy to reach 3000 calories/day eating fast food. Stick to good fats, lean meats, veggies, etc. Have AT LEAST 1/2 your body weight in protein per day (190 lbs ~ 95 g protein) on non-training days, and up to 190 g on your work-out days.

And I, personally, would avoid weight-gainers supplements. Just eat more...a lot more. Push yourself at the gym, but GET LOTS OF REST. You're body needs to recover!
 
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I'm 28 at 5'11". All the bmr calculators state that with my level of activity and stats, I should be burning around 2500 calories daily, so I thought 3000 was reasonable.

I'm not worried at this point about not gaining enough weight... Just that I seem to be gaining it too quickly. However, I think I made a mistake in calculating my daily intake, so I was more at 3500 than 3000.I still don't think that should account for how much I've gained in the last few weeks. In the last 3 or 4 week, I've balooned from 185 to 192 (measured today). The crappy scale says I'm at 18% body fat. I'm hoping to not get too much past that while gaining some lean mass.

I feel that the creatine and BCAAs are really helping in the gym. Definitely able to recover faster and push out a few more reps.

I'm trying to eat around 180 grams of protein daily, but not an easy task- even with supplementing additional protein (using Syntha - 6) three times daily. I've switched my lunch to a daily chicken salad (with oil and vinegar dressing) and hope this helps balance some of the nutrition.

I LOVE PBnJ - I have one every day (with flax bread).

Thanks again for all your help.
 

Pegasus

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The creatine could account for 4 lb or so of weight gain, as your muscles soak it up with water. This would account for the rapid weight gain. Be sure to keep weel hydrated.
While you should not expect to remain riped while gaining weight,lots of guys use bulking as an excuse to get fat.
Lots of fat guys in gyms, not wanting to lose their "size".