all posts post new thread

Old Forum Can I Gain Weight?

Status
Closed Thread. (Continue Discussion of This Topic by Starting a New Thread.)
thanks for responses all.  i am gonna come up with some specific things for me to do using your ideas so i can address this weight issue!

a couple of follow up questions.  unfortunately i don't like cream or peanut butter :(... any other high calorie foods you can recommend?

also, i have a bottle of olive oil, i'd like to put it on prepared food i buy in the restaurant or supermarket, what prepared foods can i buy and put the olive oil on any ideas?
 
cheese, nuts, milk, meat, chickenturkey, eggs, potatoes, pasta, rice,protein shake

to start :)

as for the olive oil you can dress any thing with it, put it in mash pots, veggies or in your protein shake or even just take a tablespoon straight down !!!
 
Daniel, I have one word for you: Plastics.  Whoops, wrong movie. :)  Pizza - eat pizza, make your own pizza, go for great ingredients that you love.  The combination of carbohydrates and fat just can't be beat. :)

Rob, I have read with interest your several mentions of meditation.  For me, it works the opposite way - I start to gain weight, usually fat around my middle, when under a lot of stress and without regular meditation.  When I meditate regularly and life is good, my weight drops. - in part, I think, because what little appetite I have seem to almost disappear and at times I have to be reminded to eat.

Different strokes ...

-S-
 
You should look at Lift Big, Eat Big (liftbigeatbig.com).  Those guys (and girls) are a good resource for gaining weight.  They have some good tips on what big meals look like.
 
If you are naturally skinny you have to eat more food than you ever imagined.  When I gained weight from high school (skinny 6' 155lbs) to the 200lbs I can not get away from today, I ate a ridiculous amount of food.  Like 6 whole eggs, cheese and two bowls of cereal for breakfast.  Eat a two can tuna sandwich three hours later, all day.

You will get sick of eating and using the bathroom 3+ times a day.  But if you want to bulk up you have to just chew and chew and chew.

Smoothies helped me, fruit, spinach, cottage cheese, protein powder and olive oil, or the good old Derek Poundstone chicken shake.
 
@steve - cortisol (lack thereof) could explain the effects both you and rob get from meditation. i think it was in 40yrs of insight by mr. john... ah yes. He doesn't discuss cortisol, but this stress hormone explains why booze and blow make you skinny fat.

7. Learn to meditate or relax "on command"

in fact, this article needs a link:

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/most.../40_years_of_insight_part_1
 
Daniel,

You can't train and play soccer, pursue "fitness" and skills, and then really be surprised you are losing muscle when you aren't lifting as much or eating enough. All of the above doesn't really exist in real life or training. Does Micheal Phelps eat clean? NO! Why is that you might ask. Because it is impoosible to get 7-8000 calories daily eating super clean. Holding the body weight and muslce isn't going to help you play soccer, but if you want to do both you will have to EAT, and find days to get multi joint heavy lifts in based around squats, presses, and some sort of pull. You can do this with relatively heavy KBs via front squats, doubel clean and press, and renegade rows. But you will have to work very hard and eat even more.

Choose this day who you will serve my friend....

 

jmo
 
Daniel,

We are very much alike. Gaining weight has been near impossible for me my entire life. If you'd like, we can stay in touch (you can even follow along if you dare) as I go through a program I never thought I would. We are doing a fat loss challenge at my KB gym. I don't need to lose weight or fat, as my % is in the very healthy range. My bone density is good, WHERE my fat is is fine, lean mass is good, etc etc. I can say this with confidence, as I just had a DEXASCAN yesterday. I'm good to go... says the scientific data. Oh, and I was always an endurance guy... former runner.

HOWEVER... for ME... I can and will do better. Happy to keep you posted on how it all goes. Gonna shed a few % bodyfat, maintain or increase lean mass, and increase strength in 28 days. I'm not weak starting out, either... and I'm a mid 40's survivor carrying plenty of old injuries. Oh, and it really matters how this all goes for me because as soon as the challenge ends, I start a rigid certification prep program. Hoooahh.
 
bill sorry i dont understand, why do you want to lose fat, or weight? why wouldn't you just lift heavy weight and eat lots of delicious food?
 
I don't want to lose weight, as I stated. I Want to lose fat because in my opinion lean is healthy regardless. My challenge in this is losing fat so I can be leaner and bit more ripped, but NOT lose weight... At the least maintain my lean mass, but preferably gain lean mass and strength. At the end of the day, I would love to be really lean, crazy strong for my size, and still be capable of 15k or something like that, on a whim. I used to want weight I guess for the sake of weight. Now older and I hope a little wiser, I realize the weight itself serves no actual purpose. I want optimum health, strength, endurance.  What size package that comes in... Gonna trust the iron ball and a few other things to work that out. In my current state and age I can out-perform most my age and  younger who are bigger than I.

I suppose the question is... WHY? Why do I want the weight? I want it to be stronger. But what if I can be stronger without it? Or without as much as I think I need? Hmmmm...

It's a possible paradigm shift.
 
Bill Savage wrote, "I suppose the question is… WHY? Why do I want the weight? I want it to be stronger. But what if I can be stronger without it? Or without as much as I think I need? Hmmmm…"

Bill, that is indeed the question.  You do have choices, you know - mine is to remain a competitive powerlifter in the 148 lb. weight class and still get stronger.  Would it be easier to get stronger if I got bigger?  Yes, but I look at the opposite way - my strength with my amount of muscle is a source of pride, not concern.  Strength is a skill.

You also wrote, "I would love to be really lean, crazy strong for my size, and still be capable of 15k or something like that, on a whim."

It's all good, just don't try to achieve conflicting goals simultaneously.  If you want to pursue them all, put them into some kind of order and tackle them one at a time.

I don't mean to hold myself up as an example, but just a couple of stories: when I was just getting into lifting, I realized that I wanted a better 5k time, so I trained hard, set a lifetime 5k PR at age 45, then I stopped running and haven't looked back.  For me, it would be really great to be in good running shape and strong, but for me, those are conflicting goals and I picked strength.   I don't rule out the possibility of, sometime, putting weights on the back burner and deciding I need to run again, but I won't try to keep that last, hard-earned 50 lbs. of my deadlift PR while also trying to run 40 miles a week - I'll let the lifting slide if I go that route.  (I should add that, as things look  at this point in my life, hell will freeze over before I start running again but, hey, you never know so I never say "never.")

I ramble - best of luck to you, whatever you decide.

-S-
 
Very good advice, Steve, and I thank you. I am already doing the prioritization thing. I want my strength first, so running has already taken a back seat. Cert prep will be my focus until it is accomplished, and from there I'll set my sights on whatever shows itself to be the thing that "grabs" me. Not likely running will to any degree again, as I've literally "been down that road". I love my natural propensity for endurance, so I'll always leave that door open. Once in a while I will likely go for a run to see where I am with that ability to do it, but I let go of the "times" a while back. As long as I can do it, enjoy doing it, and do it "well"... I don't need to compete at it any longer. At least for now. Hell, not strapping the shoes on for months and then going out and busting out a 10k in 40-45min still feels good. No, it isn't anywhere near a PB of 33, but the PB isn't the goal these days. Its kinda like going for a cruise on my Harley... I'm not out there to race the sportbike guys... I'm just riding to have a good time and enjoy it. That's running for me these days. I love just being able to do it, and I suppose if the day comes that I can't do it, I will re-evaluate and see if I want to change my priorities or not.

Though I know very generalized sounding, I've always said that one of my standing goals in life is to always be capable of doing pretty much whatever I want to do. If I want to run a long distance, I'll do it. If I want to lift what I consider "heavy" weight, I'll do it. If I want to Ski a specific mountain, I'll do it. If I want to climb a certain mountain, I'll do it. Sure there is preparation and training for anything, but simply being capable of immediately embarking on whatever specialised training is required (without the need to "get fit"), and quickly and efficiently moving through that  in order to go achieve the goal is, for me, the reason to be "Strong First".

That said, your advice, again, is not fallen on deaf ears. I'm embarking on the lean mass thing first starting Monday. Strength and technique for cert next, and the running thing doesn't need to be developed, but will be visited from time to time to see if at some point it needs to be looked at.

Stay strong and thank you from all of us down under for being part of Strong First. This morning I met with some of the RKC's who've come over to SF here in Oz, and we really do appreciate the efforts going into getting SF up and running, and the contributions you all make.

To quote the chief, "Power to you".
 
I think most bases has been covered in this topic but I would like to add that perhaps if you find a friend with similar goals and compete it would be more constructive...
 
Status
Closed Thread. (Continue Discussion of This Topic by Starting a New Thread.)
Back
Top Bottom