Gaining mass

[greg419]

I'm new here my name is Greg. I'm 30 years old I weight about 145. I started lifting just over two years ago, at that time my weight was about 125/130. My goal is about 155 160 around 10/12 percent body fat. My current body fat is in the 10 to 15 range. I maintain at about 2700 calories. Currently eating about 3000 at a c45 p35 f20 split. I use Sunday as a cheat for lunch and dinner. I lift 4 to 5 times a week in the 6 to 12 rep range depending on the muscle I'm training legs every 2nd or 3rd workout. cardio usually 3 times a week for 10 minutes. The problem is after about 2 weeks on surplus I feel so full I can hardly stomach my dinner. And it gets to the point I just feel full for a day or two and I usually loose the pound or two that I've gained in a few days because I have a hard time eating maintenance. Any suggested advice on what I'm doing wrong?

 

[Russianiv]

you have to keep eating. can't stop. your body will adjust

 

[AntM1564]

If you're feeling full, try some different things.

One, eat more fats. Olive oil, almonds, nuts, etc. All of those things are very calorie dense and do not normally fill me up like protein or carb sources.

Two, more liquids. Milk and even make your own weight gainer. You just put protein powder, oats, peanut butter, whatever you like in a blender. Easy way to get a lot of calories in without feeling super full.

 

[greg419]

thanks for the replies

 

[greg419]

Does anyone have as better recommendation for a macro percentage when bulking?

 

[R1balla]

Does anyone have as better recommendation for a macro percentage when bulking?

I like to stick to 30% protein, 50% carbs, 20% fats when bulking but that's me. Some people have adjusted that to fit how they like.

 

[booneman77]

You can lower the protein to .8g/lb of lean body mass and fill the rest with carbs and fats.

Fats will be the best cals for volume for sure. Oils and nuts.

Adding some more cardio might help to stimulate your appetite as well, just be sure to offset the additional burnt cals with more easy cals. Adding oils to a shake or a shake in the middle of the night can be easy extra cals

 

[R1balla]

I know I said this in another thread that was similar to this one, but milk is my best friend when bulking. A gallon of whole milk has over 2,000 calories. I'm not saying to drink a gallon a day, but even 1/4 of a gallon a day is 500 calories.

 

[jg2039]

The problem is after about 2 weeks on surplus I feel so full I can hardly stomach my dinner. And it gets to the point I just feel full for a day or two and I usually loose the pound or two that I've gained in a few days because I have a hard time eating maintenance. Any suggested advice on what I'm doing wrong?

Fair warning: I have a naturally fast metabolism, so take all my advice with that in mind. I can only speak to my personal experience of gaining weight.

That sounds to me like you may just be cycling food weight and glycogen and not gaining substantial mass. How are your lifts progressing?

If you're getting full, favor calorie-dense foods. Eat ground beef over chicken. Add heavy whipping cream, peanut butter or coconut oil (melt it in the microwave first to aid mixability) to your protein shakes, and mix them in whole milk if you don't have problems with lactose. Drink juice instead of diet soda. If you're eating eggs, use the whole egg and add some cream cheese or regular cheese to them, whatever you can stomach. If you eat cottage cheese, add peanut butter to it. It's not politically-correct, but if the bulk of your food is wholesome, being "dirty" to fill out the extra calories may be your most realistic option. Train everything hard, and honestly the rest is going to come down to things like your hormone levels and genetics. I favor 3 solid meals a day, 2 protein shakes with whatever I want in them and then I fill the rest of the calories with whatever I need.

Monitor your bodyfat to track what your diet is doing to your body composition along the way. What works for me may make you a fat, bloated mess with digestive issues.

Consider adding a bit of fiber to your diet. Natural foods are best of course, but if you can't fit those in for whatever reason, start with a fiber powder or something like FiberOne bars.

Does anyone have as better recommendation for a macro percentage when bulking?

Your protein intake is high. I personally prefer this type of high protein intake from personal experimentation, because I've noticed significant gym performance benefits. However, I also use a spreadsheet to track my weight fluctuations from week to week relative to my caloric intake.

What I've noticed after months of doing this is that if my protein intake is high, my "TDEE" shoots up a lot. In other words, if more of my calories come from protein, I have to eat more calories than "suggested" (from additional carbs and fats) to compensate. Try this gradually and see if it works for you.

 

[greg419]

I feel that you are correct in I'm only mostly gaining food weight my body fat according to my scale fluctuates from 15 to 18 percent. I'm not sure that is correct in the percentage but I use it as a guage to know which direction I'm going. I started at about 138 pounds with decent abs now I'm stalled at about 145 with soft abs.

My lifts are progressing slowly. I don't track my lifted weight workout for workout but I know what I typically squat and how many reps I can squeeze out.If I get 8 to 10 I add weight. I do that with most lifts except smaller muscles like calves and I shoot for more reps. I feel like I have put on some size in my legs and arms just by the way my clothes are fitting.

I'm currently eating 3 meals a day with snacks often between. mostly whole food. I only use protein powder on occasion when I'm having trouble getting my protein number with a meal prep I've arranged for the week. I've added calories so I'm up to about 3250_3500 a day. I have started eating a few more healthy fatty snacks between meals to hopefully add some excess calories each day.

2 years ago I dirty bulked up to about 160 but my diet was not in check and I didn't like the way I looked. I'm just trying to avoid that happening again because I had to lose a majority of the weight I gained to get decently lean again.

Thanks for the replies I've made some changes according to your guys suggestions and I'm going to see how it works over the next couple weeks

 

[jg2039]

I feel that you are correct in I'm only mostly gaining food weight my body fat according to my scale fluctuates from 15 to 18 percent. I'm not sure that is correct in the percentage but I use it as a guage to know which direction I'm going. I started at about 138 pounds with decent abs now I'm stalled at about 145 with soft abs.

My lifts are progressing slowly. I don't track my lifted weight workout for workout but I know what I typically squat and how many reps I can squeeze out.If I get 8 to 10 I add weight. I do that with most lifts except smaller muscles like calves and I shoot for more reps. I feel like I have put on some size in my legs and arms just by the way my clothes are fitting.

Yeah if it's what I'm thinking of, those scales use a low-grade electrical pulse to measure bodyfat and it's highly variable based on things such as hydration. It's exceedingly unlikely you are actually fluctuating 3% bodyfat in a short period of time on a regular basis. Use a tape test (easiest), or skinfold calipers (requires you to learn how to use them properly). That said, 15-18% bodyfat is pretty high, and contradicts your claim above of 10-15%...it's hard to make a recommendation without knowing that to some degree of accuracy.

In general, it's unlikely you're going to look your shredded best while you bulk. I burn weight quickly and I still look "soft" when eating in excess. I'm not saying you should bloat up like pufferfish of course.

Make sure your workouts are intense, complete and you are focused on progression. Find the program that works for you but challenges you, stick to it and add reps/weight to everything. If you can't add weight, add reps until you can add weight. I looked like I'd been on a diet of cigarettes and Diet Coke when I first started lifting, and the one thing has always made me look better is workout volume, intensity and frequency coupled with enough food. Inversely, the times I have looked my absolute worst have been when I've maintained the same diet but done some low frequency 3-4 day a week split, or done extremely intense workouts but didn't push myself to eat enough.

I'm currently eating 3 meals a day with snacks often between. mostly whole food. I only use protein powder on occasion when I'm having trouble getting my protein number with a meal prep I've arranged for the week. I've added calories so I'm up to about 3250_3500 a day. I have started eating a few more healthy fatty snacks between meals to hopefully add some excess calories each day.

2 years ago I dirty bulked up to about 160 but my diet was not in check and I didn't like the way I looked. I'm just trying to avoid that happening again because I had to lose a majority of the weight I gained to get decently lean again.

Make sure you're counting calories (MyFitnessPal, for example) and weighing food. If you get enough protein (it sounds like you are if what you're saying is true) and your workouts are intense and frequent, you're doing what you should.

 

[greg419]

I agree I think I need to invest in a set of calipers and learn how to use them. What is a tape test? I agree that my scale is not accurate. It can fluctuate 3 percent in the same day. I was just trying to use it to tell which direction I am heading but I'm questioning of its accuracy even for that I do use fitness pal and plan my meals in advance. I avoid most drinks besides water and milk and juice occasionally an energy drink on a tough day at work. Haven't had a soda in about 18 months

 

[jg2039]

I agree I think I need to invest in a set of calipers and learn how to use them. What is a tape test? I agree that my scale is not accurate. It can fluctuate 3 percent in the same day. I was just trying to use it to tell which direction I am heading but I'm questioning of its accuracy even for that I do use fitness pal and plan my meals in advance. I avoid most drinks besides water and milk and juice occasionally an energy drink on a tough day at work. Haven't had a soda in about 18 months

You measure your neck, waist, height and weight and it gives you a fairly good ballpark of your bodyfat, especially if you weight and measure yourself at the same time of day every time you check it. You punch those numbers into a calculator (I don't have enough posts to give you a link, but Google "US Navy Bodyfat Calculator" to see an example). You can use a standard tailor's tape, or one of the specialty devices that makes measuring yourself easier. Either way, it's pretty straightforward and more reliable than the electrical method.

People typically have more trouble with calipers because it's easier to use them incorrectly.

 

[greg419]

According to the navy tape test I'm 13% body fat so my scale is definitely way off I'll just be using that for pounds from now on.

 

[Smont]

I didn't read the whole thread but just eat more. Everyone has a food they love and cant get enough of, find yours and eat

 

[ericos_bob]

high/low calorie days did the trick for me for gaining weight. I have a fast metabolism. In the past people told me to just eat more. Well I[d force down 5000 calories a day and I could not get over 180lb at 5'11. All i was doing was pooping like crazy and felt bloated all the time. My body would quickly adapt to the surplus. I can get away with eating far less overall if i spike calories. 3500 cals has put me up to 200lbs without feeling bloated all the time. Shoot for a weekly total above maintenance and don't be afraid to have some low cal days between especially on days you feel particularly bloated. In my experience a few low cal days is also great for stimulating appetite. Also so long as your getting stronger consistently that's what is important. Taking measurements every couple months will tell you where you're at without having to measure bodyfat.

 

[Eldthursar]

I completely understand where you're coming from. I have a very fast metabolism but a slow digestive throughput. There's a few things I've done that have helped me out. The first big thing I did that helped was starting my day with a good digestive enzyme supplement. I noticed that helped get food moving through my gut a lot faster. That and a very small intake of supplemental fiber. But you have to be careful with how much fiber because if you overdo it the fiber itself will start to add bulk to your digestive load and it takes a while to clear. If you want to get real crazy you can supplement betaine hcl. That will really speed up your digestive throughput. Ive experimented with it before but I can't say I really recommend it because it can cause heartburn that feels like swallowing a glowing hot fire poker and definitely could probably cause ulcers but that nuclear option does exist just so you know. I've also experimented with Apetimin which is a combination of vitamins and most significantly an antihistamine called cyproheptadine which won't cure the bloating but it will make you hungry enough to just not care. It can probably also tranquilize a horse so there's a trade there.

As far as diet, as others have mentioned you can roll down the protein a bit. Protein has a big digestive load for very few calories.

 

[b0bbYboy]

I have found that I have more appetite throughout the day if I workout in the morning.

 

[greg419]

I've changed my macros around and stopped sweating the macro split so much and focused more on my calorie intake. Getting in at least 3500 calories and on heavy lifting days . If I'm hungry I eat more still trying to keep it relatively clean. I'm up to 155 at my most recent weigh in. I wish I could work out in the morning during the week but I have a demanding job and 3 young boys to keep fed so I have to stick with weeknights. I do want to eat more on the weekend when I do get in early. Thanks for all the suggestions I think I was just sweating the macro split too much and eating more protein than I could digest at my calorie number.

 

[fitfreak_CP]

The biggest thing is to make sure your in a caloric surplus obviously. But you never want to just gain water weight and fat. It is very demanding on your body. Macro split is good but it is also about calories in and calories out. So if your eating more then you burn your obviously going to gain weight. But you don't want to add a lot of extra fat.

 

[JCR97]

You can lower the protein to .8g/lb of lean body mass and fill the rest with carbs and fats.

Fats will be the best cals for volume for sure. Oils and nuts.

Adding some more cardio might help to stimulate your appetite as well, just be sure to offset the additional burnt cals with more easy cals. Adding oils to a shake or a shake in the middle of the night can be easy extra cals

This im Pretty sure dexter blade Jackson said he did cardio after a workout and it made him hungry