Weight gain time frame...

[Mr. Mystery]

I'm 6'1", and 145 lb.

I have been lifting now for about 2 months, and eating very well. Lots of Tuna, probably on average about 250 g of protein every day just from tuna.

When I started I weighed 135 lb. so I've gained 10 lbs. in 2 months, and I am just now barely seeing results in my size, but I have gotten a little stonger.

I recently started taking protein shakes at least twice a day and after every workout.

Problem, I am impatient, should I expect to only gain maybe 5 lbs a month, is that normal for my body frame? Is there anyway to speed up the weight gaining process?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Mr. Mystery

 

[JohnnyVegas]

A couple things. First off, you don't want to gain too much too quickly, it's unhealthy. Second, you're a small guy and you won't be gaining size quickly since you're not built that way. Third, patience is a virtue, it's a beautiful thing, and I wish we all had a little more of it (myself included). Just take it one step at a time, sounds like you're doing a good job and keep up the hard work. It will pay off with more time and effort.

 

[Big N]

I think 5 lbs per month is the maximum you would want to gain. If you gain 10 lbs per month, there is going to be so much fat that, during your cutting phase, you will probably end up losing a lot of muscle. Personally, I shoot for about 4 lbs per month or so.

Second, youre eating over 8 6oz cans of tuna every day? That might be unhealthy, man. Look for some beef, chicken, cottage cheese, whey, or milk for other sources of protein.

 

[Mr. Mystery]

Thanks for the reassurance fellas!

Big N,

I was eating nothing but tuna because I thought it was the best source of protein, besides that I was eating lots of peanut butter too.

A friend of mine that is working on getting certified for personal training told me about a boxer friend of his that eats nothing but tuna and peanut butter to bulk.

I will start mixing eggs, ham and turkey in there also.

Any other suggestions?

Mr. Mystery

 

[Ofus]

I like baked chicken breasts (no skin). They have lots of protein, not much fat, and they taste a whole lot better than canned tuna to me. If you like peanut butter, you should try all-natural peanut butter. Supposedly it's better for you than regular PB, and it tastes better also IMO.

 

[LionFox]

I started about 6 months ago. Gone from 125 lbs to 152 at the moment..

My diet isn't the best, but here's what I do..

I try to eat at least 5 meals a day.. Depend on how my days goes (how busy at work I am and daily activities) it can be a little as 4 or as much as 7.

I eat tuna, but only by itself dipped in Hines 57 sauce.. Makes it good!

I eat a lot of roasted skinless chicken, Swanson and Health Choice frozen dinners are actually a good way to go. Fairly high calories, high protein, more fat than there should be, but for us skinny guys, it's probably ok.

I still eat fast food on my lunch break..

I eat a lot of steak, will often bring one home after work to cook..

The Balance protein bars.. expensive, but excellent snack..

Drinks lots of water, and protein/ or weight gain shakes..

At gym.. Train heavy for at least an hour, and work the abs every session.. Purchased the encyclopedia on modern bodybuilding by Arnold. Invalueable resource.

I've had pretty decent results, but as I've grown in experience with what to work on at the gym and what to eat, I expect better results..

Rome wasn't built in a day..

 

[Big N]

Mr. Mystery:

I am very surprised you were able to get those results without eating any significant sources of carbs. Might want to check around Diesel's guide to bulking. Also run a search for "grocery list" on this site and/or www.bodybuilding.com.

"Tuna is the best source of protein." It's really hard to make a blanket generalization about which protein is the best. Tuna has its advantages and its disadvantages. It is certainly cheap (although whey protein bought online is cheaper). It is a good source of omega-3s fatty acids (these can actually help you burn fat). It also has mercury. Now, I don't want to scare you or anything, but mercury is certainly bad for you. Eating 3-4 cans per day is probably safe, but if you're eating 8-9 you might be stretching it (although I have heard of bodybuilders who have eaten 8-9 for years with no adverse effects). Tuna is also a slow-digesting protein, which can either be a good attribute or a drawback depending on the time of day. A general rule is, after workouts you want the fastest-digesting protein possible. At any other time, slow-digesting proteins like tuna are fantastic.

Anyways, all this was the long way of saying that you might want to diversify your meals a little bit. Throw in a few hundred grams of carbs. Throw in some milk, cheese, and other meat. Look around on the internet for some good ideas from other bodybuildiers. Keep the peanut butter (although if you really want to get hardcore you should go with natural pb. If you read the ingredients of regular pb, you'll see why).

 

[Mr. Mystery]

Thanks for all the tips guys! I really appreciate it.

I'm gonna start drinking more milk, I already eat lots of sandwiches with either ham or chicken, and I just picked up some cottage cheese yesterday at the grocery store (gotta force myself to eat it though).

Big N,
I don't know how I managed to gain so much weight in only two months, I did eat other things besides tuna, but I did eat alot of tuna. I'm gonna start eating lots of cottage cheese now also, along with the others I stated above.

LionFox,
I'm gonna have to try the healthy choice meals! I never thought they would be a good sorce of protein and be quick to make, thanks for the suggestion.

Ofus,
I have heard that too much peanut butter is bad, but if that all-natural stuff is better I'll give it a try.

Mr. Mystery

 

[flava]

you know what really worked well for me is to drink a quart of milk a day. it really helps alot. also eat lots of salmon because it has a vital nutriet called omega-3 fatty acid which helps synthesis insulin, something very crucial to bodybuilding

 

[jwhite17]

Mr. Mystery,
Try egg whites or make some hard boiled eggs(don't eat the yolk). It's an excellent source of protein.

 

[Komodo]

Their is abook called Train,Eat,Grow by Steve Holman that can help you out I think you can find it at www.ironmanmagazine.com
you might want to check out www.dragondoor.com as well.

 

[SuSHI]

Egg whites have protain?

Shouldn't the yolk have more protain?

 

[KiLLer]

Originally posted by SuSHI
Egg whites have protain?

Shouldn't the yolk have more protain?

No, egg whites have protein. It's spelled PROTEIN not PROTAIN.

 

[K-Daddy]

First I wanna say, Mr. Mystery, if you're naturally very skinny, 10 lbs in 2 months is GREAT. Really, there are lots of skinny guys that stay skinny because they're too lazy to eat enough. You're doing a great job.

My only advice as far as eating goes is to eat a lot of calorie-dense food like peanut butter, flaxseeds/flaxseed oil, etc. Sounds like you've got your protein down. Be sure to get in a lot of good fat as it's one of the best things to boost your testosterone levels.

For eggs, I think I remember reading that the yolk has half the protein and all the fat of an egg...or something like that. I could be way off on the fat but I think that's correct about the protein. Either way, you want mass...eat the whole thing (just not the shell).

And finally, search on bodybuilding.com for "wardog recipe" ...You should get wardog's recipe for making your own VERY nutrient-dense protein bars that are perfect for bulking (and very tasty). There are also lots of posts on there about making your own weight gainer shakes that aren't so freaking high in high GI carbs like most are.

 

[Ofus]

Mr. Mystery, do you know about how many calories are you eating per day?

 

[Mr. Mystery]

Ofus:
I don't know how many calories I eat a day...

I really have only been concentrating on protein intake. I guess I should probably put some more focus on the rest of my diet as well.

K-Daddy:
Thanks for the pointers, I'll have to run over there and pick up a few recipes defineltly.

Also, I've heard alot about egg yolk being bad for you, but fuk it, I eat the whole egg. I don't eat too much egg though, I usually have 5 eggs scrambled for breakfast. Thats all the eggs I eat all day, and I don't think that its that much of a source of protein, what is it like 6 g protein per egg?

LionFox:
I checked out some microwavable dinners at the grocery store the other day and was suprised by how much protein some of them have! A good way to quickly get some protein in you without having to make a sandwich or crack open some eggs.

Thanks for all the help fellas!

Mr. Mystery

 

[Mr. Mystery]

K-Daddy

I finally made it over to bodybuilding.com, and when I searched for wardog recipe it came up with hundreds of results, do you have the recipe laying around somewhere, because I am interested in learning how to make homemade protein bars.

Thanks.

Mr. Mystery

 

[Shiftkey]

Eggs whites have a little over half the protein of an egg, but are only about 16 out of 74 cal according to the USDA nutrient database. Egg whites also have no cholesterol, but the yolk has alot.

http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/cgi-bin/nut_search.pl?egg

 

[K-Daddy]

Sure dude. Here you go:

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?threadid=58474&highlight=bar*+recipe

 

[Mr. Mystery]

Thanks for the recipe K-Daddy, I didn't search the forums, I searched with the sites main search function, thats why I couldn't find it.

I already have tons of strawberry protein powder, I am gonna have to pick up some Chocolate stuff now (I just threw away a 2 lb. bottle of Chocolate Nitrotech cause I couldn't stand the test ).

I have started really eating alot more, and am addicted to working out now, it feels great!

I'm getting 8 hours of sleep a day, and I'm taking muti-vitamins and coral calcium. My energy has gotten alot better.

Since the first two months of lifting and eating primarily tuna and peanut butter I haven't seen any weight gains, but I have gotten stronger and noticably bigger. I was slacking on the eating though, so thats why the gains stopped, now I'm eating tons again and sleeping and I know the weight gains are back on their way now.

Wish me luck fella's.

Mr. Mystery