Help! I cant gain weight!

[Ken051099]

Hey guys im new to this site and im in desperate need of advice. Im 145 lbs 5'10" and 17 years old. Ive been "bodybuidling" for about 1 year now and have only gained 10 pounds. Ive tried changing my diet, workout plans, and workout frequency and i cant break 145 for the life of me. I considered trying SARMS but quickly realized this was not the road to go. Any advice you guys have to help me gain some muscle is greatly appreciated.

 

[Woody]

How much are you eating? And what are you eating?

You probably have a super fast metabolism + burn extra calories when you workout.

Do you have trouble feeling hungry or trouble eating a lot? I would slowly start to eat more and you should add weight.

Good job on not turning to SARMS/AAS. Too young and too new

 

[Ken051099]

I try to eat 5 meals a day a usual day consists of this.
Meal 1: mass gainer shake consists of 2 scoops mass gainer, half cup of oats, peanut butter, and whole milk

Meal 2: school lunch. Usually a chicken sandwich with some fries

Meal 3: a peanut butter sandwich and a can of chili before i go to the gym

Meal 4: a whey protein shake for post workout and usually some chicken and pasta

Meal 5: maybe a peanut butter sandwich and ice cream to hold me over till the next morning

Is this enough food? Should i encorporate more?

 

[EasyEJL]

pick an app or website, and count your calories every day for a couple weeks, measure your foods to be more accurate. What your meal plan above looks like it could be anywhere from 1800 calories to 4000 calories. How much peanut butter on each sandwich, what kind of bread, what is the whey shake made with, does the chicken + pasta have sauce and/or how much is each serving , etc.

If you've been struggling for a year to gain weight "maybe" or "usually" on your meal plan doesn't really work. it has to be a meal PLAN, not a meal suggestion. It's the only way to really nail it down if you're having issues adding weight. At the very least, you need to measure it so you can see "at 2800 calories a day, I didn't gain anything over a month" and then figure out how to get more

I get that at 17 its hard because of having to deal with mostly what your parents buy foodwise, but even so. I don't see a vegetable in there at all, some of what may make it harder is a lack of some of the vitamins, minerals, micronutrients, etc.

 

[Woody]

You should add some fruits and veggies if you can. Micronutrients are important and often overlooked. As far as calories - I have no idea how much you are eating but I can say if you aren't gaining weight you should add more food. It doesn't need to be drastic. Maybe some PB and oats to your post workout shake and some berries or other fruit with your last meal. Start there and if that's still not working, add more.

If you consume more calories than you burn (caloric surplus) you will gain weight. Right now, you're either burning more than you eat or about breaking even.

 

[Ken051099]

pick an app or website, and count your calories every day for a couple weeks, measure your foods to be more accurate. What your meal plan above looks like it could be anywhere from 1800 calories to 4000 calories. How much peanut butter on each sandwich, what kind of bread, what is the whey shake made with, does the chicken + pasta have sauce and/or how much is each serving , etc.

If you've been struggling for a year to gain weight "maybe" or "usually" on your meal plan doesn't really work. it has to be a meal PLAN, not a meal suggestion. It's the only way to really nail it down if you're having issues adding weight. At the very least, you need to measure it so you can see "at 2800 calories a day, I didn't gain anything over a month" and then figure out how to get more

I get that at 17 its hard because of having to deal with mostly what your parents buy foodwise, but even so. I don't see a vegetable in there at all, some of what may make it harder is a lack of some of the vitamins, minerals, micronutrients, etc.

Thanks for the advice. I will definitley try to track my calories more strictly and play atound with my diet and try to fine tune it. Would a multi vitamin and greens supplement be good if i couldnt get fruits and veggies in my diet?

 

[polarcat]

You're not eating enough. Watch some rich piana videos.

 

[Ken051099]

You're not eating enough. Watch some rich piana videos.

Isnt he just some guy that takes steroids? Are you sure he could help me even though he didnt go natural?

 

[EasyEJL]

Thanks for the advice. I will definitley try to track my calories more strictly and play atound with my diet and try to fine tune it. Would a multi vitamin and greens supplement be good if i couldnt get fruits and veggies in my diet?

It's better than nothing

 

[Woody]

Thanks for the advice. I will definitley try to track my calories more strictly and play atound with my diet and try to fine tune it. Would a multi vitamin and greens supplement be good if i couldnt get fruits and veggies in my diet?

Yes, if you can't get fruit and veggies then that is the way to go. They can't replace fruits and veggies but like was said, better than nothing

 

[georgetown]

Bring food to school eat protein bars, snack on pretzels, pb & j, your metabolism is so fast at your age eat what you like man and enjoy it

 

[MarenghiJuice]

If you're not gaining weight, you're not eating enough its as simple as that. Also, I'd reccomend digestive enzymes, massively helpful if bulking.

 

[Ken051099]

If your not gaining weight, your not eating enough its as simple as that. Also I'd reccomend digestive enzymes, massively helpful if bulking.

What is a digestive enzyme?

 

[polarcat]

Isnt he just some guy that takes steroids? Are you sure he could help me even though he didnt go natural?

Just some guy that takes steroids? Smh. The joke there is that rich yells at people because they complain about not getting bigger because their not eating enough. Which is true for everyone regardless of steroids or not.

 

[kenpoengineer]

What is a digestive enzyme?

Digestive enzymes are essentially beneficial bacteria in capsule form. I use NOW Digestive Enzymes. This helps build your intestinal bacteria levels to help you digest food and extract maximum nutrition.

I recommend the app called My Macros + to track food macros. Also go to a website called IIFYM dot com.

 

[Epolis13]

You gotta eat till you gain. It's literally that simple. Keep eating. Eat high cal foods, too. Peanut butter/nut butters, coconut/olive oil, oats, whole milk, pizza, ice cream....

 

[jonny21]

I try to eat 5 meals a day a usual day consists of this.
Meal 1: mass gainer shake consists of 2 scoops mass gainer, half cup of oats, peanut butter, and whole milk

Meal 2: school lunch. Usually a chicken sandwich with some fries

Meal 3: a peanut butter sandwich and a can of chili before i go to the gym

Meal 4: a whey protein shake for post workout and usually some chicken and pasta

Meal 5: maybe a peanut butter sandwich and ice cream to hold me over till the next morning

Is this enough food? Should i encorporate more?

You need more food.

Maybe that meal 1 is something you can bottle and take to school and eat another meal for breakfast, maybe a couple of slices of whole grain wheat toast and a few eggs with some milk.

If that is your pre-workout meal, makes sure its at least an hour before and eat it with chocolate milk or protein shake.

Add chocolate syrup to your post workout shake, better insulin spike and will help load cells with glycogen and protein synthesis

Set your alarm for 2am and have another shake ready for quick consumption and back to sleep.

 

[cholito]

Just eat more calories, if you still not gaining, eat more calories hahaha

 

[EasyEJL]

Just eat more calories, if you still not gaining, eat more calories hahaha

in the end, that really is it. You'll eventually find that spot where you gain. But tracking helps you actually know how many calories you are taking in

 

[way2leann]

I'd agree with jonny21

 

[CJNator]

Best thing to do it find calorie dense food, something small yet that packs a calorie punch. Nut for example or cookies. Also eat whenever you can when you can, tracking helps a lot but sometimes not tracking help too (depending on the person). Lifting wise don't do high volume, try out some 5x5 training. The only difference is that you burn more calories due to high volume which is why many claim it helps change their composition via hypertrophy,with strength comes hypertrophy same unless and unless you're on steroids then hypertrophy is key. Progression overload is key when lifting.

 

[Joe12]

I have a hard time pounding in the food, but I can kill a shake. Check out the post I just put up on how to make an 850 calorie homemade bulking shake!

http://anabolicminds.com/forum/bulking/282909-850-calorie-homemade.html

 

[clk]

I try to eat 5 meals a day a usual day consists of this.
Meal 1: mass gainer shake consists of 2 scoops mass gainer, half cup of oats, peanut butter, and whole milk

Meal 2: school lunch. Usually a chicken sandwich with some fries

Meal 3: a peanut butter sandwich and a can of chili before i go to the gym

Meal 4: a whey protein shake for post workout and usually some chicken and pasta

Meal 5: maybe a peanut butter sandwich and ice cream to hold me over till the next morning

Is this enough food? Should i encorporate more?

This isn't enough food. If you take the shakes out of this, it's about what I eat in 1 sitting. If you want to gain weight, you have to think of eating as you do your sets. Do you give up a rep when you start to burn or get tired? No. You push a little harder and get the rep or set. Same as eating. You're young and your body is destroying calories right now. You will need to eat a serious amount of food to get any mass to stick. I guarantee you the whole body building mantra of numerous tiny meals a day is going to get you nowhere. You need to be eating a good 10oz of dead animals every couple hours with a load of carbs. Snacking on trail mix and adding coconut oil to your shakes is a good way to up your calories. Also, anyone can eat a lot for a day. The secret is to do this day after day, week after week and month after month.

 

[clk]

Also, stay away from Sarms and aas in general. Testosterone levels of a 17 year old man is already through the roof. You're basically on a test cycle already... just naturally.

 

[THE MONSTAR]

If you "cant gain weight" you simply aren't eating enough. I don't say this to put you down at all, I say this to help. I started at your age at around the same weight, 155lbs. It has taken me 10 years to get to 285 lbs. The key is consistency and stuffing your face. Don't be concerned with fat gain, eat as much as you can. If you want to get freaky big you have to put in the work...