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How does a skinny guy gain weight safely (and on lo-carb diet?)

moxsum

New member
Hi guys.. im kinda new here..

Anyway, I dont do much training in the gym, but I do a lot of martial arts and occasionally kettlebells..

Long story short, i went through a ton of stress this past year and have been having what i believe are symptoms of messed up hormones and adrenals.. and just the past couple weeks some new symptoms (not sweating as much as normal, dry mouth, muscle twitching, muscle weakness).. went to the doc and my labs didnt show anything drastically wrong.


Anyway, I have been swtiching to a low carb diet (which i could cause me yo lose some weight).. and ive lost some weight, which is not good for me, I was around 127 before, now im down to 120. Ideally I would weigh 135 of pure muscle.. I was getting close to it before, but then something changed in my body and ive got all this dryness/weight loss which isnt good. And ive been drinking plenty of water.. Not sure if its stress or what.. my electrolytes came back within normal ranges aswell..

Anyway. Is it possible for my to pack on bulk without eating lots of carbs? Ive stopped eating white flour/wheat/dairy.. but am eating a fair amount of meat/veggies/greens/brown rice.

I need to pack on some weight though.. how can I do it!! help out a skinny guy!
 
Why are you low carbing? All forms of the low carb diet are designed to drop fat (lose weight), including keto.
 
135? Are you 4'9"? Or maybe female?

If you wanna gain weight, eat more. Simple as that. Low carb can actually help in some respect - leaves more room in your gut for calorie dense fat.

Load up on coconut oil, EVOO, avocadoes, bacon, good imported cheeses, nuts, greek yogurt, fatty fish.
 
Lol.. no im not a female..

and right now im more like 120 pounds LOL! and im 5 8" or 5 9".. 23 years old..

Ive just always been skinny naturally and had a really fast metabolism. I can eat loads of food and its still hard to gain weight.. its much easier for me to lose weight then to gain weight.. I have to work really hard to pack on pounds.

Why am I on a low carb diet? .. well.. I had a few symptoms that suggested diabetes.. so i tested my blood sugar, and it seemed to go abnormally high AFTER meals, but my fasting glucose always was normal.. and I tested my Ha1c or whatever and it was 5.3 which is "normal" .. none the less this scared me and i decided to stop eating white flour.. also trying to stop eating sugar and wheat.. oh and dairy.. i think ive been having some food allergies and im trying to find the right diet for me..

Ofcourse carbs like pasta and dairy are great for gaining weight.. so without those my job will be even more difficult.

However I believe a low carb diet is generally more healthy anyway.. White flour isnt good for anyone. My diet right now consists of meat (beef, turkey, chicken) some fish (mostly salmon, occasionally halibut,etc.) some eggs.. avocadoes.. lots of veggies and salad.

Then i work out a few times a week, and not at the gym.. doing martial arts which is more anaerobic / cardio type training which makes it more difficult to gain pure muscle/weight.

I guess another part of the problem is ive also been eating less (duhh!).. BECAUSE I believe its not healthy to eat more food before your previous meal has digested properly. When you do that, your body never has a chance to digest everything thats coming in and it pushes the undigested food down your digestive system to make room for the new food coming in.

So I guess im trying to eat 3-4 meals a day, Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Late night snack.. and get enough food to gain weight/muscle.

Not really into the "weight gainer" shakes and stuff.. seems like its mostly chemicals and crap anyway.

I like the idea of coconut oil though.. is that a good way to gain? I know its really good for you anyway.. and I should eat more avocados.. I love them and they are a great source of healthy fats.

I do still eat some bad carbs every now and then.. as a treat.. but I try to stay away from them in general.. ive been eating a lot of brown rice lately.. its almost become my staple food.

What makes my metabolism so fast and someone elses so slow? How come my body burns through everything I put into it.. and then there are fat people who seem to gain weight so easily.. How can I slow my metabolism down a bit and make my body more anabolic.
 
ur righ white flours and enriched grains are bad so stay away from them, but your levels are normal and u dont have diabetes so there is no reason to be afraid of the carbs.... eat lots of oats, brown rice, etc. very minimally pocsessed whole foods. Also you may think you are eating alot but usually that is not the case, sometimes u gotta eat when your not hungry and your body will eventually adapt. Also...... if u want to gain muscle weight ur gonna have to lift, u aren't gonna gain much muscle mass from doing mostly cardio type activities.
 
Nate makes a great point IMO - you don't have to cut out all carbs; continuing to eat those that are healthy can really help.

I favor a low-ish carb diet, but I still have beans, oat bran, berries, grapefruit and similar foods - I'll even have brown rice or quinoa post-workout sometimes.

You don't need to eat 6 times a day to gain weight. I've actually had more success with both gaining and losing weight with only 3-4 meals. I've also had a lot of success with intermittent fasting, which would help with your blood sugar, but is by no means mandatory.

As for the coconut oil - absolutely it will help you gain weight. On my last bulk I was packing in 60-70g of healthy fats every meal (~250g total every day) and made steady, mostly lean progress.
 
Wouldn't most people in the world love to have your "problem" . . .

Most people have to lose lard by the tub before they can start eating again, carefully, to pack on muscle.

All you have to do is lift heavy and eat whatever you want man, get out of here with that weak problem . . .
 
Man the way you explained your lifestyle, exercise, and diet is a recipe to be skinny lol.

If you're gonna lo carb it, you're gonna have to compensate with lots of fats and proteins. Lay off chicken and fish and jump on the beef bandwagon. Eat fatty meats, fatty foods, and get carbs LOW ON THE GLYCEMIC INDEX there is no point to cut them out!! You are making you're job a million times tougher on your body, and your mental well being by dropping carbs. You're not gonna feel to energetic to kick some a$$ in karate. Unless you're strictly keto.

Your diet looks great for staying healthy, not so great for packing on mass. Beef, low glycemic carbs, and lots of protein. If you don't mind putting on fat get a weight gainer instead of protein. I used a weight gainer instead of protein along with creatine and blew up a while ago when I was a "hardgainer" at 150 pounds.

You know why I was a hard gainer?? I was eating fruits, veggies, chicken, and tuna thinking eating healthy is how you put on weight and muscle. WRONG. Eat beef, lots and lots of fatty meats. WORKOUT. You have to work out for your muscles to grow.

Don't worry about eating healthy right now dude. You're 23 years old. You can afford to go on a 6 month splurge of fatness and it won't hurt you at all lol.

So, get on creatine, start working out, eat lots of beef anytime you can over other meats, eat meat with every meal at least 4-6, and have a weight gainer or protein shake in between meals. You're eating way too healthy right now bro. I told myself I'd be eating the way you are permanently when I'm 35-40 lol.
 
moxsum said:
Ive just always been skinny naturally and had a really fast metabolism. I can eat loads of food and its still hard to gain weight.. its much easier for me to lose weight then to gain weight.. I have to work really hard to pack on pounds..
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Unless you have health issues like diabetes you WILL gain weight if you take in more calories than you burn in a day. The body does not throw calories away.

Yes unprocessed/whole foods are the 'healthier' choice however they are also lower calorie. Go to a low carb diet and getting enough calories gets even harder.

So just like others have said you have to eat more but you have to make sure that you are getting the calories - you can't just fill up on salad and lean cuts of meat. IMO a lot of hardgainers are that way because of a healthier/active lifestyle and a smaller appetite.

I would recommend doing some basic calorie counting; you don't have to follow it strictly but you will get a much better idea of what your needs are and what you need to be eating.
 
everybody says "dude im eating all i can". man when i was 16 i thought i was too. but one will only know what its like to eat good is when your day revolves around your next meal and training time. track ur diet and see if ur getting over 4k cals. if u eat over 3500 cals then u may truly have a problem. but i doubt u cant gain wait while eating 4k cals and 250g of protein a day. also, if u wanna gain weight, drink as much whole milk in a day as u can, but dont go over a gallon. i even think a gal is too high but thats just me.
 
I can tell you off the bat you're not eating enough. Eating enough produces gains. period
 
The reason you cant gain weight is....YOU. You don't lift weights, you dont eat often enough, you dont eat carbs, and you dont take in calories. Nothing we can tell you will help you, other than to say the diet and workout program you are will PROHIBIT growth. Simple as that.

Now leave me alone while I feast on a loaf of white bread...and about 8 chicken breasts.
 
cowboy007 said:
The reason you cant gain weight is....YOU. You don't lift weights, you dont eat often enough, you dont eat carbs, and you dont take in calories. Nothing we can tell you will help you, other than to say the diet and workout program you are will PROHIBIT growth. Simple as that.

Now leave me alone while I feast on a loaf of white bread...and about 8 chicken breasts.
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WHITE wheat bread right? LMAO
 
You need to stop thinking so much and just man up and eat. You're too small to have theories
 
Protein Protein Protein! In your case i would try and consume 1gram or protein per body wight, so make your daily diet no less than 120 grams or protein this can easy be done by protein shakes and foods...chicken, steak..etc..
 
how bout before bashing he posts his diet, then let the games begin.

bro, if i were you,

force feed yourself, your going to absorb the nutrients. your going to gain weight if you lift and eat right,

huge HOMEMADE gainer shake in the morning, banana strawberry whole milk (i use lactaid whole milk or almond milk), 1/5 scoops protein powder, ice, 1 cup oats, 2 tablespoon PB. not only amazing, but good calories.

if you must get low fat icecream, and put it in your shakes post workout with your protein.
 
You guys are funny.

My diets been changing a lot the past few months.. I went vegan for a month, then switched back to full on meat lol.

Right now, I eat a lot of;

Brown Rice
Chicken, Turkey
Some Beef
Some Fish (salmon mostly)
Some eggs
Some Quinoa
Avocadoes
Vegetables
Salad
Beans
Some nuts
Occasionally some potatoes

Then a few health supplements and lots of water. Thats it. I just bought some coconut oil.. and ive been eating a bit more carbs.. some potatoes.. For a long time I was eating tons of fruit, but lately i barely eat any as its so high in sugar.

Guess I need to eat some more meat, complex carbs.. maybe some almond butter.. hmm .. its hard when I dont wanna eat wheat/flour.. means its hard to find good bread to spread things like almost butter on. I feel like I need more fiber.. I feel like too much meat makes me constipated sometimes! lol

I know I need to eat more.. But you have to understand, im just naturally a skinny ass mofo.. Seems like some guys just naturally are stronger then me :( lol
 
moxsum said:
You guys are funny.

My diets been changing a lot the past few months.. I went vegan for a month, then switched back to full on meat lol.

Right now, I eat a lot of;

Brown Rice
Chicken, Turkey
Some Beef
Some Fish (salmon mostly)
Some eggs
Some Quinoa
Avocadoes
Vegetables
Salad
Beans
Some nuts
Occasionally some potatoes

Then a few health supplements and lots of water. Thats it. I just bought some coconut oil.. and ive been eating a bit more carbs.. some potatoes.. For a long time I was eating tons of fruit, but lately i barely eat any as its so high in sugar.

Guess I need to eat some more meat, complex carbs.. maybe some almond butter.. hmm .. its hard when I dont wanna eat wheat/flour.. means its hard to find good bread to spread things like almost butter on. I feel like I need more fiber.. I feel like too much meat makes me constipated sometimes! lol

I know I need to eat more.. But you have to understand, im just naturally a skinny ass mofo.. Seems like some guys just naturally are stronger then me :( lol
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what your eating looks good but we dont have any quantities listed. do you weight your food?

bro ive worked with kids your size and helped them attain a good healthy weight naturally. with little to no fat gain. youll be able to do it.
 
"seems like some guys are naturally stronger than me"

DUDE - Grow some BALLS!

There will always be guys stronger than you. But its a personal battle. And you can't be afraid to gain a little fat around the edges.

18 months ago I could barely bench 60Kg. Now I can do 10 reps of 60Kg, and I can do a single rep of 85Kg.

Now there are a lot of guys who warm up with my max lift! But I don't care because I have improved.

These guys all got good advice, eat BIG, lift BIG, sleep lots, and you will grow.

You gotta get out there and do it. It will work - just have faith in yourself and the good advice you got.
 
CrazyBassGuy said:
"seems like some guys are naturally stronger than me"

DUDE - Grow some BALLS!

There will always be guys stronger than you. But its a personal battle. And you can't be afraid to gain a little fat around the edges.

18 months ago I could barely bench 60Kg. Now I can do 10 reps of 60Kg, and I can do a single rep of 85Kg.

Now there are a lot of guys who warm up with my max lift! But I don't care because I have improved.

These guys all got good advice, eat BIG, lift BIG, sleep lots, and you will grow.

You gotta get out there and do it. It will work - just have faith in yourself and the good advice you got.
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Amen

There will always be someone faster and stronger. Always someone bigger. You shouldn't compare yourself to what you wanna be like, you should set realistic goals and bust ass in the gym to get there, and do everything that goes with it as far as diet and rest.

If you have expectations, you will set yourself up for failure. Instead, look at the road ahead as a means of progress. Eat, eat, and eat. Gain that weight, put that iron up and don't worry about the rest... After all that;s why there's bulking and cutting
 
Have you seen someone to get to the bottom of your anorexia? No kidding. You seem to have some major issues that need some professional help.
 
Amen--
Unrealistic goals, avoidance of 'bad foods', inconsistent beliefs concerning food, etc.
I hate to play dime store psychologist--but the OP may want to take a look 'inside' as to what is really going on concerning their relationship with their body and with food.
 
cowboy007 said:
Why are you low carbing? All forms of the low carb diet are designed to drop fat (lose weight), including keto.
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That's a pretty false statement.

You will gain mass if your total calories are over your daily needs. Surplus calories = net gain.

A CKD can be used for weight loss or gain, cutting, recomping or bulking. Also look into the anabolic diet.

Manipulating insulin sensitivity is a great tool when bulking or cutting.
 
OP - your food choices look great, really healthy, you just need to track your calorie intake and make sure you are eating enough for the weight you are going for.. IE: A lot more than you are eating now. Be diligent about tracking your calories and macros and be consistent.
 
I know you cant hear me but Im playing a violin for you right now. I used to be really skinny too. So what you need to do is start drinking weight gain shakes. I used to drink one called muscle juice you can probably find it at GNC it tastes great and its about 800 calories for one 16oz shake. Drink those 3 times a day and lift. Dont forget to eat your other meals too.
 
Dude I weighed 125 on a good day when I started, now I'm at 155-160. I'm not huge by any means or anywhere close to where I wanna be, but it's a big difference from where I
was. If u really wanna get bigger, you will make it happen no matter what. Don't let yourself make excuses. Lift heavy, eat everything you see (you won't put on much fat with our body type) and listen to these guys that have already done it and are willing to pass on their wisdom. It won't come overnight, it's all about determination and dedication!
 
"orthorexia nervosa" look it up

OP you need to stop making excuses and do work. Why ask peeps for advice if you do not plan on using it?

Secret Recipe For Muscle Gain
1. Lift heavy stuff
2. Eat a ton
3. Rest
4. Repeat steps 1-3, until desired musculature is achieved.

P.S- don't share this SECRET recipe with anyone
 
Man this is a scary thread. I hate to be the ahole here, but it sounds to mr like a serious eating disorder rather than someone nutritionally ignorant.

At 5''8-9 and 120, it's virtually impossible for you to be anything other than frail. Your bones and organs weigh about 100lbs. Seriously.

So I'll tell you something everyone else should have....seek professional help before you kill yourself. No flame. Dead serious. Very scary.
 
moxsum said:
Hi guys.. im kinda new here..

Anyway, I dont do much training in the gym, but I do a lot of martial arts and occasionally kettlebells..

Long story short, i went through a ton of stress this past year and have been having what i believe are symptoms of messed up hormones and adrenals.. and just the past couple weeks some new symptoms (not sweating as much as normal, dry mouth, muscle twitching, muscle weakness).. went to the doc and my labs didnt show anything drastically wrong.


Anyway, I have been swtiching to a low carb diet (which i could cause me yo lose some weight).. and ive lost some weight, which is not good for me, I was around 127 before, now im down to 120. Ideally I would weigh 135 of pure muscle.. I was getting close to it before, but then something changed in my body and ive got all this dryness/weight loss which isnt good. And ive been drinking plenty of water.. Not sure if its stress or what.. my electrolytes came back within normal ranges aswell..

Anyway. Is it possible for my to pack on bulk without eating lots of carbs? Ive stopped eating white flour/wheat/dairy.. but am eating a fair amount of meat/veggies/greens/brown rice.

I need to pack on some weight though.. how can I do it!! help out a skinny guy!
Click to expand...

drop the low carb diet and get on a bulking diet at your weight theres no reason to do a low carb diet its only going to hurt you and make gaining weight harder.milk,weight gainer,creatine,hamburger,steak,cheese,the list could go on.also adapt a bulking workout routine heavy weight low reps.

ps.some of you guys should be ashamed with some of the comments you've made completely uncalled for and unnecessary.
 
dude i hate to say it but i htink these guys are right........ i had about the same problem and i was put in the hospital and foudn out my kidneys were failing and a numer of other issues.... i was in teh hospital for 2 weeks and have permanent damage from it. MY testosterone levels are now extremely low and i may have to go on TRT soon at the age of 20. Start eating, if ur afraid of fat gain its winter, worry about it in the summer. Trust me youll be alot healtheir. I am now 150 and feel alot beter, and can't wait to put on more weight..... if you wanna get big yo know how to do it, so do it.
 
haha...ignorance! research is your best bet if you dont listen to anyones advice then id recommend you see a registered dietican bro and if thats not workin for ya then look at your training you might need to switch it up...
 
Hey brother, I wrestled varsity at 119lbs in high school. I ran cross country and track as well. I was healthy as a horse, could run 12 miles without breaking a sweat. I ran about 50 miles per week on average. I'm 5'9" or 10 as well. Let me tell you right now, that is not healthy. You want to be more like 150 for the "perfect" healthy body at that height.

What you need to do is just eat. Stop eating lean meat, go get yourself some 70/30 ground beef and eat a pound a day. I love me some whole wheat hamburger helper.

Bulking shakes containing chemicals? Make your own!

Here is mine:
3 eggs
2 cups whole milk
2 cups oats
1 tbsp PB
1 banana
1 scoop protein

That is about 1200 calories with a damn good macro, lots of protein and healthy carbs, lots of healthy fat. I make another before I go to bed that is 2 cups cottage cheese, 2 cups milk, 2 cups greek yogurt with about the same macros. I am getting in about 4-4500 cals per day, and have went from 150 lbs last year to 190 right this second. The hitch is I have only been on a solid diet for 2 months now. I eat those two shakes every day, and then I eat whatever I want throughout the day, chili, stew, sandwiches, ice cream, beef, cheese, etc.

You want to be big you need to eat everything, and lots of it. Our lifestyle does not even come close to what people traditionally think as "healthy" My best friend is a vegetarian, he calls me crazy for eating so much meat all the time. We wrestled on new years eve and he is still complaining about being sore. Hes skinny as heck and will probably have a lot of problems some day.

We work harder and way more than your average joe who needs a 2K cal diet every day, we are going to consume way more and way different things than Betty who wants to lose 20 lbs for new years or Jim who wants to get in shape.

My current goal is to reach 210lbs 10% BF. I am going to eat everything I can find until I hit 210, and then I am going to worry about the healthy aspect and fine tuning things, I have a six pack AND love handles, so what?
 
2 cups cottage cheese, 2 cups milk, 2 cups greek yogurt ..... blended as a shake? What do you add for flavor?

I couldn't imagine what the texture of this would feel like, or the taste. It would be like eating tasteless casein protein. But whatever it takes to grow.. that's the bottom line!!
 
Drink olive oil. I promise this will make you gain weight. When I say drink I mean by the glass if you need to.
 
MM11 said:
Drink olive oil. I promise this will make you gain weight. When I say drink I mean by the glass if you need to.
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drinking shots of evoo is great... but don't make the mistake of using regular evoo, get the light stuff unless you want a nasty burning aftertaste
 
I fear that you don't have the right mentality to gain weight currently. You have to want it more then anything else out there when you are a hard gainer. I am a hard gainer also and I want to bulk more then anything, which seperates us. I eat and eat and eat more and try to keep it relatively healthy, but I do have my days. You need to either become an animal and throw this weak, small, overthinking, mentality away or become a ballerina. All this advice in the world won't help until you wake up one day and stop overthinking and get to eating. You are tall enough where you could pack on some lbs.
 
looking for an update from the OP. this thread is interesting because it reminds me (a little) of my stats back in the beginning (hard gainer at 6'1" and 130lb, aka too lazy to eat and staying up all night).

hows your diet now? can you post your cal target and macros?
hows training? any numbers progressing through the weeks?
what does your sleep schedule look like?

AM can make a difference in your life when you have an open mind and get away from your comfort zone.
 
Look, I am 5'9 and just gained 7 lbs in muscle. I have a fast metabolism. If I can do then anyone can do it.
To the op: Eat a cup of brown rice. Some french toast. Roast beef. Lasagna. Meat loaf and swordfish or salmon with some tuna thrown in. This kind of stuff helped me to gain weight.

Also get into squatting, dumbell flyes, and pullups. These things will put bulk on you. If you really need help with gaining weight add boost shakes.
 
cutting out carbs is just plain stupid for an ectomorph (naturally skinny guy) carb O-HYDRATE, they transport nutrients to the muscle and volumize it, you need them. I have no idea why people will go from a 300 gram/day carb diet to just depleting them altogether, makes no sense to do anything that drastic to your physique overnight
 
Ive made great gains on the past without even using supplements in the past on a strict low carb diet.

You just have to eat more, aim for 2grams of protein per pound of body weight and get lots of fats from almonds and avocados. Eat clean and solid fresh meat, whole omega eggs, ect..

Also...skip all cardio, 100%, sleep 8 hours a day and lift heavy.

Also, it wont happen overnight naturally, you need to be on 1, 2, and 3 year programs. Success comes with consistency.
 
If you are trying to gain weight, and lose weight extremely easy... why are you worrying about your diet right now? just eat, and get fat. you will obviously not be your low BF percent anymore, but being slightly heavy is NOT unhealthy... there is a difference between what body builders strive for, and what you need to gain muscle and be optimually healthy. Put on some weight, dont worry about bread or fats or anything. eat steak and chicken and peanut butter and shakes and cheezits and ice cream and a gallon of whole milk a day. get plump, turn into a little chubbster. You may have to force feed yourself to even gain a pound the way you describe your metabolism. once you get up to about 145 or 150, start to cut back on your bad carbs, like you were before, limit your diet to about 1000 about deficit to start, and start to work harder than ever in the gym. slowly bump your diet down about 100 cals every week until you start to see slow but steady weight loss, and since you lose weight so easily, you will start to shed that fat, revealing the several pounds of muscle you put on while working your tail off in the gym. its classic bulk/cut. which should be AMAZING for you, since you lose weight so easy. for me, and many other guys, its easy to put on weight, but it feels next to impossible to cut. It takes me three months to cut what it takes two weeks to put on. consider yourself lucky. now please go eat, stop worrying about your diet, shovel food into your mouth, and get FAT.

if someone says thats wrong, okay. everyone does things differently, and there are pros out there who know alot more than me. but I have put on 45 pounds over the past year, and then cut 10+ more everyday off to get where I am. I was 145 benching 135, squating barely 225, and deadlifting wasnt even in the picture. Im 179 right now, bench 285x3, squat in the upper 300s (deep, not half reps) and deadlift over 500 for one rep.

If I can go from being skinny and unmuscular, to where I have come today, so can you. It takes alot of hard work and devotion, but you can do it.
 
Oh, and do deads. will help you so so much, with weight gain and other body parts/exercises
 
Hey man I had ur problem...
Similar stats:
5'7
Started at 130
22 yrs old

Everyone on here is right
Eat
Eat and
Eat.

Ive been eating 3.5k - 4k calories/day

After 3 months im at 145
Im sure theres some fat in there but if your metabolism is like mine(lose 5lbs almost overnight)
Fat should shedd quickly during a cutting cycle.

Invest in protein better then weight gainers imo
 
ax1 said:
Ive made great gains on the past without even using supplements in the past on a strict low carb diet.

You just have to eat more, aim for 2grams of protein per pound of body weight and get lots of fats from almonds and avocados. Eat clean and solid fresh meat, whole omega eggs, ect..

Also...skip all cardio, 100%, sleep 8 hours a day and lift heavy.

Also, it wont happen overnight naturally, you need to be on 1, 2, and 3 year programs. Success comes with consistency.
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:goodpost:
 
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