Hello NF Community!

[Kad]

Hello everyone! I'm Kad, im from England, I am in my 20s, I work a very stressful desk job (Yes. The desk; the nerd's natural habitat!) and I have been working out for about 18 months .... and i never, gain a milligram! :/

So here I am, hoping to get some advice and motivation from the NF community.

 

My goal is (clearly) to gain weight. At the moment I am 155lbs .. which I have been floating around for... far too many years! 5'11" if my posture is good. Have a pic from last weekend's shopping trip (nope, I didn't buy that shirt) I am making a conscious effort to have good posture here.

 

I'm a little exasperated training on my own, since no matter what I do, I can not gain weight. But during times of high stress, i lose weight in a literal flash.

For example, for 10 days I lived away from home. Worked longer hours 9am to 8pm, it was a particularly stressful 10 days. Didn't gym. I lost 4.5lbs in 10 days >.> It took me 6 months work to gain 4.5lbs...

 

I can't eat processed sugar, as I seem to be allergic to it if I eat too much at once. Three doughnuts in a day will kill me with stomach cramps which feel like a new black hole has just formed in my guts, for example... so I guess the outcome of that is that my diet is pretty good. I will have a cake/cookie/dessert maybe once a month. <.< I kinda miss cookies ...

 

I gym for about 3 x 1 hours a week. But i tore my shoulders about a year ago, which can start hurting if i overdo it. So perhaps my gym is not as intense as it should be? Not sure. Ahhh Help! xD lol

 

So that turned into a rant rather than an introduction!! hah. I'm considering getting the NF personal trainer help. Would be great to hear any advice from other (ex or current) bundles of sticks, on how to go about gaining weight!!

Cheers

[Defining]

Welcome to the forums! If you're not sure what the next step should be, and you might need some help customising movements/workouts around pre-existing injuries, then yeah a personal trainer might be the right call!

 

A few tips (I'm not an expert by any means, I just read too much on the internet):

- to gain muscle, you must be in a caloric surplus; if you're not gaining muscle, eat more! (with a caveat that if you're gaining fat not muscle, change your workout)

- eat enough protein to support your workouts & recover (for most folks wanting to gain some muscle, a good rule of thumb would be at least 0.8-1g protein/lb of bodyweight/day); a protein powder might help to get that number up

- you might benefit from keeping a food journal for a few weeks, to get a realistic idea of how much you're already eating; then multiply x 110-115%, and go from there!

- if you're struggling to get in enough calories, once you've hit your protein goal then the 'easiest' way to add more kcal (especially since you don't tolerate sugar) is to add healthy fats: avocado, fatty meat cuts, olive oil, chicken skin, nuts, etc.

- if you want to chat with some more knowledgeable people about specific lifts to use/avoid for your shoulder health, you should check out the powerlifting/weightlifting section of the forums

- if you can't get to the gym, there are some good basic bodyweight movements you can do in 20min sessions; some folks like to do 5min of movement before every meal to 'prime their muscles' for the food (actual science pending ) - this is not to say you need to workout more, but if you have another busy period, these can help tide you over until you can get back to the gym

 

And most important: don't forget to HAVE FUN! Looking forward to seeing you 'round the boards.

 

[Kad]

Heya! That's some solid advice, thanks. I will certainly start a food journal so I can see what is going on. I never counted protein either so if it turns out that is low - i guess I can start making sandwiches of bacon in between two grilled chicken breasts xD

Downloaded a calorie counter app now ... OK I need to eat more ... 2.9k calories a day so it says. Hmm go figure haha.

[Ned Flanders]

I use myfitnesspal app to track calories and macros and I would recommend it. It's really useful because there are a huge amount of foods in their database meaning you don't have to manually add the calories. It will tell you if you are consuming too much or too little carbs/fats/proteins as well.

[Defining]

On 11/14/2019 at 4:47 PM, Kad said:

OK I need to eat more ... 2.9k calories a day so it says. Hmm go figure haha.

LOL, if you want to figure it out for yourself (just for reference), you can calculate your TDEE (if you work at a desk, set it as 'sedentary') and then add in any workout calories. Take that entire number and multiply by 1.1-1.15 for a decent range. If you're not gaining weight, increase by anther 10% and see what happens; if you gain faster than 0.5-1lb/week it's most likely fat, not muscle.   You can/should also keep girth measurements (use a cloth tape measure) for the relevant areas to track progress as well (typically bicep, shoulder, chest, waist, hips, thighs); because at the end of the day, most people don't actually care about their WEIGHT so much as their muscle:fat ratio.

[Kad]

On 11/15/2019 at 11:56 AM, Ned Flanders said:

I use myfitnesspal app to track calories and macros and I would recommend it. It's really useful because there are a huge amount of foods in their database meaning you don't have to manually add the calories. It will tell you if you are consuming too much or too little carbs/fats/proteins as well.

Thanks Flanders! Downloaded and will try it.

1 hour ago, Defining said:

LOL, if you want to figure it out for yourself (just for reference), you can calculate your TDEE (if you work at a desk, set it as 'sedentary') and then add in any workout calories. Take that entire number and multiply by 1.1-1.15 for a decent range. If you're not gaining weight, increase by anther 10% and see what happens; if you gain faster than 0.5-1lb/week it's most likely fat, not muscle.   You can/should also keep girth measurements (use a cloth tape measure) for the relevant areas to track progress as well (typically bicep, shoulder, chest, waist, hips, thighs); because at the end of the day, most people don't actually care about their WEIGHT so much as their muscle:fat ratio.

Thanks! Yea it calculated that to get to 80kg in 4 months, i should be eating 2.9k calories a day. Which is interesting since it looks like i was eating about 2k before ... i had just presumed I was eating enough .. seemed a lot!
Damn my shopping bill just jumped by 33% lol

Will get to making a progress log topic in a bit. Maybe other folks will like some of my recipes or something

[Defining]

22 hours ago, Kad said:

Damn my shopping bill just jumped by 33% lol

If you tolerate dairy well, milk is cheap n easy to add to your kcal - it also has a decent protein content, especially for the price. Liquid calories and a bit of extra fat are the easiest ways to add without feeling like you want to puke from eating more.

[TGP]

welcome to the forums, Kad.

one thing I don't quite understand.  are you going to a gym?  it seems like you way you are (or have?) and yet you say that You're not and its a little confusing.

 

regarding your goal; I think Strength training ought to be a BIG focus of your exercise program.

 

Its clear with a previous injury you have to be careful... but nothing quite builds muscle like weight training.

 

what I wonder is whether you have access to barbells and whether you know how to use them with good technique?

if you use good technique I think the weight gain will solve itself.

 

lift weight; increase that weight over time and your appetite and strength and weight will soar....

 

 

 

[Kad]

On 11/17/2019 at 5:18 PM, Defining said:

If you tolerate dairy well, milk is cheap n easy to add to your kcal - it also has a decent protein content, especially for the price. Liquid calories and a bit of extra fat are the easiest ways to add without feeling like you want to puke from eating more.

Thanks, will get into the habit of drinking more milk.
So far, day 4 of eating more and i gained 1.5lbs.  I may have overshot on the calories on a few of the days but scales say it is both muscle and fat, sooo not too bad.

13 hours ago, TGP said:

welcome to the forums, Kad.

one thing I don't quite understand.  are you going to a gym?  it seems like you way you are (or have?) and yet you say that You're not and its a little confusing.

 

regarding your goal; I think Strength training ought to be a BIG focus of your exercise program.

 

Its clear with a previous injury you have to be careful... but nothing quite builds muscle like weight training.

 

what I wonder is whether you have access to barbells and whether you know how to use them with good technique?

if you use good technique I think the weight gain will solve itself.

 

lift weight; increase that weight over time and your appetite and strength and weight will soar....

Thanks TGP! It's already nice to have somewhere to voice stuff about this, rather than battling alone!

Gym?

 

I converted my garage to a mini gym. I find i never managed to actually get out the house and travel to the real gym with any real consistency. When i can just shamble to the garage gym, I am pretty good at getting in there every other day for 45 min to an hour  

I have a bench, dumbbells and barbells and when i get my DIY hat on, i will put up a pullup bar, which i have been meaning to get around to! Might need a few pointers on technique, I will post a new topic tonight.

 

 

[Defining]

3 hours ago, Kad said:

So far, day 4 of eating more and i gained 1.5lbs.  I may have overshot on the calories on a few of the days but scales say it is both muscle and fat, sooo not too bad.

Some of that is probably just water weight from increased glycogen stores in your body - but don't take it too far to the other extreme. It's just as hard to lose fat as it is to gain muscle!

[fitnessgurl]

*waves hello*

[Machete]

Welcome!

 

On 11/19/2019 at 8:26 AM, Kad said:

Thanks, will get into the habit of drinking more milk.
So far, day 4 of eating more and i gained 1.5lbs.  I may have overshot on the calories on a few of the days but scales say it is both muscle and fat, sooo not too bad.

 

It's hard, but don't worry too much about the short-term. Calorie-tracking is more about consistency and precision rather than accuracy--you need a long enough timeline of tracking to be able to reliably manipulate your variables right now just think about eating the same way (almost) every day.

 

On 11/19/2019 at 8:26 AM, Kad said:

I converted my garage to a mini gym. I find i never managed to actually get out the house and travel to the real gym with any real consistency. When i can just shamble to the garage gym, I am pretty good at getting in there every other day for 45 min to an hour  

I have a bench, dumbbells and barbells and when i get my DIY hat on, i will put up a pullup bar, which i have been meaning to get around to! Might need a few pointers on technique, I will post a new topic tonight.

 

This is a good idea if you have the discipline to use it. I personally have to go to an outside gym. I'd totally recommend an NF Trainer here to ensure you're doing things right, especially having had a previous injury. (Maybe see a physio about it, as well?)

 

Also, another important thing in muscle gain is consistent sleep. If you're not getting 50+ a week, you're missing out on a lot of potential gains.Make time for it.

[Kad]

On 11/19/2019 at 4:50 PM, Defining said:

Some of that is probably just water weight from increased glycogen stores in your body - but don't take it too far to the other extreme. It's just as hard to lose fat as it is to gain muscle! 

Ahh yea I know what you mean, going from one unhealthy to another unhealthy is not really my goal. More gym needed! Need to download more audio books

 

On 11/20/2019 at 2:00 PM, fitnessgurl said:

*waves hello*

Sup! *finger guns*

 

On 11/22/2019 at 10:00 PM, Machete said:

Welcome!

 

 

It's hard, but don't worry too much about the short-term. Calorie-tracking is more about consistency and precision rather than accuracy--you need a long enough timeline of tracking to be able to reliably manipulate your variables right now just think about eating the same way (almost) every day.

 

 

This is a good idea if you have the discipline to use it. I personally have to go to an outside gym. I'd totally recommend an NF Trainer here to ensure you're doing things right, especially having had a previous injury. (Maybe see a physio about it, as well?)

 

Also, another important thing in muscle gain is consistent sleep. If you're not getting 50+ a week, you're missing out on a lot of potential gains.Make time for it.

 

Thanks Machete. It's damn tricky to keep things consistent without a fair amount of conscious effort. It's like that school science project - you know where you look after the plants and measure how many ml of water and hours of light they get in relation to their growth. That's me now, I am a science classroom pot plant. Currently the sick yellow looking one

 

Yea it's probably a good idea. I'll cough up for some personal training after the expense of christmas i think ... and for physio. I screw my shoulders up for a day each time i do a pullup.. which is annoying as hell.

 

50 hours sleep - this is my kind of training!

 

--

 

Made a battle log at last Time to get strict! 

 

[Defining]

5 hours ago, Kad said:

I screw my shoulders up for a day each time i do a pullup.. which is annoying as hell.

Um. Then don't do pullups. Seriously. You need your shoulders to be healthy/functional for another 60-80yrs or so; if you push too hard right now you could end up needing surgery, and that would SUCK. Focus on inverted rows or lat pulldowns (only if those don't cause pain) until you have a professional help you troubleshoot to see what the problem is.

 

On 11/22/2019 at 3:00 PM, Machete said:

Also, another important thing in muscle gain is consistent sleep. If you're not getting 50+ a week, you're missing out on a lot of potential gains.Make time for it.

100% 

 

Rest & recovery are super important: your body doesn't make muscle during your workouts, it makes it to RECOVER from your workouts. Stress management is also important, to keep your hormones balanced and in an appropriate state to favour muscle gain (rather than fat gain).

[TGP]

the FIRST rule of exercise

Don't Get Hurt!

 

no RPG character just charges out to meet the end-level mob.

 

build yourself up on lesser quests.

[Kad]

On 11/24/2019 at 6:26 PM, Defining said:

Um. Then don't do pullups. Seriously. You need your shoulders to be healthy/functional for another 60-80yrs or so; if you push too hard right now you could end up needing surgery, and that would SUCK. Focus on inverted rows or lat pulldowns (only if those don't cause pain) until you have a professional help you troubleshoot to see what the problem is.

 

100% 

 

Rest & recovery are super important: your body doesn't make muscle during your workouts, it makes it to RECOVER from your workouts. Stress management is also important, to keep your hormones balanced and in an appropriate state to favour muscle gain (rather than fat gain).

Yea I figured that much Seems to be getting gradually better as long as I take things easy. So pullups are off the cards.
Stress is a bit out of my control at the moment ... I run my own business and for the last few months it's bordering nervous breakdown levels >.> Will keep this in mind though.

On 11/24/2019 at 6:29 PM, TGP said:

the FIRST rule of exercise

Don't Get Hurt!

 

no RPG character just charges out to meet the end-level mob.

 

build yourself up on lesser quests.

🖕 Will do! Thanks

[fitnessgurl]

16 minutes ago, Kad said:

Stress is a bit out of my control at the moment ... I run my own business and for the last few months it's bordering nervous breakdown levels >.>

Hang in there. Deep diaphragm breaths. You got this.