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Nutrition Skinny...

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somanaut

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I am looking to go from 63kg to 70kg in bodyweight (male, 37 years old, 179 cm height), and I am unsure how to do it, hence some input would be greatly appreciated.

  1. Is it just as simple as “eat big get big”? Or do I actually have to figure out what specifically to eat?
  2. Should I use weight gainer?
I must I am very frustrated at this point, because: I don’t get a huge enjoyment out of food. I don’t detest it, it’s just not something I get excited about, I eat when I am hungry. But this obviously doesn’t work for my intended goal. My knowledge about cooking and nutrition is abysmal. I don’t really care if it is fat or muscle at this point I just want to fill out my 30/30 black 501 jeans!

My plan so far is:

  1. Besides breakfast and dinner: make a plastic container of different foods: chicken, pasta, some salad, bacon etc. Learn how to get through that between breakfast and dinner.
  2. Always carry 2 Snickers on me.
  3. Cut down on coffee and cigarettes (hopefully both to zero, but very little willpower in that department, although my girlfriends nagging is helping, and not smoking in front of her helps).
So that is what I got so far. Hopefully someone will respond to this thread so I can start getting my mind into solving the problem.

Best Regards

Jesper
 
I wish I had your troubles. I gain weight just looking at food. I wouldn't sacrifice good health for the goal of filling a pair of Levi's ... just buy smaller jeans.

If your only goal is to gain weight, be it fat or muscle, you could try drinking a gallon of milk every day.
 
Hello Jesper,
Lift big, eat big, rest big, get big, there is something about it which seems to be true. Considering your statistics, I assume, that you were always skinny. And smoking is not an appetizer. A friend of mine, who seems to have your height/weight ratio, was always skinny, got off cigarettes for a few months some time ago and definitely put on some meat/fat (as he does no sports) on his bones (and face), then started smoking again, and got his former look back. Almost anyone I know, who quitted smoking put on mass.
Your plan to attack your "issue" sounds reasonable.
In my opinion the "easiest" way to put on mass (muscle), and to enhance appetite like a beast, are programs, which contain (high rep) squatting, the all time classic 20rep breathing squats come to my mind immediately.( " Supersquats" by Randy Strossen, it is said, that the old timers drank a gallon of whole milk a day. "The complete keys to progress" by John McCallum, "Mass made simple" Dan John, for the Kettlebellers "Kettlebell Muscle" by Geoff Neupert on which I gained quite a few kilos in a few weeks, but I have to admit, I like to eat. A lot.).
To do such a program you need: competence in the required lifts, equipment, commitment, some pain tolerance.
In your case I would presume, that you simply need extra calories, the quality of that matters, while it should not contain pure crap. John McCallum often mentioned his famous "get big drink" to get his extra calories to get....big ( you can google that for recipes), conveniently.
 
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#Beephsupreme #Harald
Thanks for the replies
A gallon of milk...seems like a lot of non water fluid to me. I drink a liter every day now. I look too skinny now, so filling out the jeans and reaching 70kg are simply practical goals. Random yes, but so are a lot of things.
No doubt the smoking is bad for health, can affect appetite, digestion, and just the fact, that when someone else might take a snack I take a cigarette. So yes quitting that would probably solve a lot of of my problem...weak will is the only thing holdning me back in that regard. However was also skinny before I started smoking.
I am doing S&S 5-6 times a week in the afternoon (working on the simple goal, mix of 24kg and 32kg), and I am not going to deviate from that program until I have achieved the simple goal (If I have not achieved it in 2016, something obviously must be wrong with the way I am doing it). I am reluctant to add more physical activity until I have achieved said goal.
I know many people get a larger appetite from more physical activity. Mine however seems to drop. I also seem to digest very slowly. Or rather, I have no idea how people who move about in the day can gain fat. But a doctor told me that it's pretty much a physiological pattern build over many years. And once the body gets used to storing excessive energi in fat, it does so really well, and some might be more genetically predisposed to it than others. Where I seem to be in the opposite. If it isn't used, it gets discarded in waste.
 
Would any of you use/suggest supplements such as weight gainer? Chairman Pavel (and others) seem to, while not exactly against them, not recommend them for those that want to pack on some weight.
And how healthy does one actually have to eat? One internet "expert" says that a "genetically/conditioned" skinny person shouldn't use them, since many skinny people (Ferrari metabolism) can eat loads of junk food and not get any heavier. Yet sumo wrestles swear by rice and white bread, and that method seems to work just fine for them. Is it (not just to stimulate appetite and tolerance for food) a matter of choosing a physical regiment that would also support this? As you pointed out Harald.
I have this nagging suspicion that I am not doing enough physically, so the body is just not convinced that I need more weight. But at the same time, adding more weight training might impede my S&S progress. Once again considering adding The Naked Warrior protocol on top of S&S...
 
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Jesper, I would say yes of course, if you want to gain weight, and considering you are not a "big eater" then have a weight gainer. But make it on your own. It is much cheaper, and you can put attention on quality on the things you mix up. Make sure, that you have your three meals (opulent breakfast, lunch and dinner) and then you could start as you suggested with adding your in between meals, follow that for a few weeks, and see what happens, and, or you could add a shake in addition to one meal afterwards or be more aggressive and add a "get big drink" after two meals or on all three. If this is healthy to add very much I am not really sure. But a home made shake is a very easy and convenient way, to get a calorie plus, and you can control the protein, carbs and fat content.
Another tool you could add is a nutrition log as it can show you, how much you really eat. For sure, everybody is different and individual and may have different digestion processes on the things they adapted for quite some time, but there is often a huge gap between self-perception and the perception by others.
The overweight says "I don't eat that much" (regarding the three meals), but what some get in between them, many are not really aware. The drinker says: "I don't drink that much" (in general only two glasses, namely the first...and the last).
And on your exercise regime I would not suggest to add more or to change it. S&S 5-6 times a week is a lot, and considering that you are incorporating the 32kg which is a little bit over 50% of your bw is more than plenty (I for myself got the recognition, when I work the beast with my current 91kg two times a week is...enough).
Make your weight-gain your priority, and simply get more calories and make sure, that you do not cut down on your regular meals. Make sure what and how you add your thing, then do it. Daily. Take your starting measurements (weight, circumferences). Be patient, and re-evaluate in two to three weeks. Then make adjustments. Or not.
All of the above are just my opinions on it, and to give a kind of an idea.
 
Thanks for all the input Harald, much appreciated!
I have never kept a training or nutrition log, but just this week I started to keep track of my morning weight and the S&S, time, weights used and wether or not a rep/set felt hard/easy was bad/good form. So getting into the habit. Cause you are 100% selfperception and what really is the case rarely agree.
Regarding the Naked Warrior Protocol, if not the whole protocol, I was (am still am) thinking about doing just pistols during the day, since neither 1 hand swings or TGU's seem very leg heavy...could of course use the 32kg for goblet squat. But prefer pistols, since I think (feels) like the perfect way to counteract my zazen, because of the balance element.
 
I've never seen anyone give-up smoking without putting weight on.

I think if you quit smoking and keep progressing in S+S then you will be going the right way in a number of ways. I also think sleep amount and quality is important as well.

As beeph says - it would be nice to have your troubles! If you can do S+S with half your bodyweight you are strong!
 
keep up the good work of quitting smoking. nicotine will inhibit the calcium channel thus limiting muscular contraction. increasing contractions will cause a chain reaction leading to bigger(wt), stronger body that is needing a larger appetite. thus completing both your goals of weight and exercise.
 
Weighed in at 62.8 kg today...
Phase 1 plan:
1) Eggs and bacon for breakfast (instead of my usual bowl of yoghurt and müsli)
2) Cut down to 2 cups of coffee a day and 10 smokes
3) Add a weight gainer to my usual eating habits.
4) See a nutritionist for a proper meal plan for a single man that has never learned to cook.
 
Listen to the Chief on Tim Ferris' podcast. Eat more. If you don't hate food you probably aren't eating enough to put on a ton of bulk. Get up in the middle of the night and eat. I think Pavel's exact words were 'It isn't fun and no one says it's healthy' but there is no substitute for eating more.
 
Thank you for the Likes on the above post.

I think we all need to be reminded from time to time that we can only manage a very few top priorities.

For someone who smokes, I honest don't care about much else except getting them to stop smoking. If any particular diet or exercise or anything else helps _that_, great, but the choice of diet or exercise selection shouldn't be about body composition or strength or anything else except getting them to stop smoking.

-S-
 
Hi Jesper,

First off, I agree with Steve: You have to stop smoking.
This "simple" action will make you more hungry, and you will gain weight without doing anything special. (Not to mention that it will save you a ton of money :))

My second advice would be to eat more than you are used to, but keep healthy food in your stomach. Chicken for instance is really good.
Whatever you eat, it has to be consistent and healthy. Don't ruin your health just to gain some weight.

Finally, the ultimate combination, if you want to gain weight in a healthy way, is to combine two things: Eat more & Workouts.
By combining these two things, you will double your results, and stay healthy.

And Jesper, keep in mind that the only way to get real results is to take action: So write a plan now and start putting it into action TODAY!
You will be amazed of what a motivated human being is able to accomplish.

I hope that helps and inspired.
Good luck in your quest.

Have a lovely day.
Kind regards,

Matt
 
Hi Jesper,

Eat big to get big ... without a doubt.

i have found recently that the addition of creatine to my daily diet has created weight gain and and an insatiable hunger, may just be personal, but it seems to be the only thing i have changed lately and the difference has been quite apparent.

i do have past experience with actively trying to gain weight, i was not a skinny guy, im stocky and always have been, but i wanted to get bigger and stronger after college, the ideas below are what worked for me, taking me from 170lbs to 210lbs in six months. i also trained a number of athletes transitioning from high school to college sports, who wanted to gain weight and strength before going to college. this works, but it's not an easy transition for many, so you need to be diligent if it's something you really want.

1st, add more carbs to your diet; brown rice, oatmeal, cereal, potatoes, bulgur, barley, something at each meal, two fist fulls of the stuff. if you wish to gain weight, you need to make a very conscious decision to do so. get that journal going and before you fill in anything go through the entire book and write EAT EAT EAT in heavy letters across the top of each page. on the first page write, oatmeal, rice, potato, almonds, walnuts, macadamia, pecans, avocado, butter, whole milk, banana, etc ... make a list of good nutritious foods that are dense and packed with calories, so you always have a list in your face to choose from. For breakfast, bacon and eggs is great, but for god's sake add some potatoes or cereal or oatmeal to that meal, throw in an avocado, you're trying to gain weight, act like it. eat 5 to 6 times per day, two or three of those can be weight gain shakes, make sure you add in some almond butter, bananas and heavy cream to that shake with whatever weight gain powder you choose.

eat the dark meat of the chicken, cold water fatty fish, salmon, mackarel, sardines, eat some good ole high fat red meat once a week, eat eggs, lots of em, the whole egg, yolk included, scramble up 5 or 6, throw in some cheddar, a couple slabs of bacon and a large bowl of oatmeal, with walnuts, raisins and brown sugar -mmm mmmmm good!

keep up the S&S, keep aerobic exercise to a minimum, incorporate a barbell squat or deadlift routine into your training, focused on heavy, heavy weight, low reps, twice a week, wakes up the growth hormone in your body. also, eat a good dense meal or shake, immediately after you train ...

and yeah, of course, throw out the cancer sticks, every time you want a drag, toss a handful of nuts down the pie hole, follow up with a piece of pie and a glass of whole milk, i recognize it aint that easy, but it's the most important thing on the list.

best of luck to you.
 
Thanks for all the replies! Progress so far:
1) Down to between 5-10 cancer sticks a day now, from 15-20, so going in the right direction.
2) @Keep Lifting, interesting about the deadlift and squat, heard/read about that they stimulate growth before, but hadn't thought about it. Will think about adding them on light S&S days after new years, where I plan to join a gym. Thinking of starting with back squats, since deadlifts are more similar to swings. Would you do ex. squats before the S&S routine (after warm up and mobility), on separate days or after?
3) I am almost solely doing S&S with the 32kg now (longer breaks between sets) so the simple goal is within reach at my current body composition (morning weigh in at 65kg stable). I have consistently met the 24kg 5 and 10 minute benchmark.
4) Have added kettlebell arm bar and single leg deadlift to the warm up routine, just as mobility with a 16kg. I use them mostly to build isometric tension, so the involved areas are "primed" for swings.
5) Question: When traveling, away from weights, would you simply follow GTG from The Naked Warrior to maintain strength? I need some kind of frame, I realise I can just lift heavy stuff, but it works better for me if I just have something I can do similar to S&S (like brushing your teeth), set an alarm do the work and get on with life (might post this question in Bodyweight as well). Have started playing around with Super Joints, but not 100% committed to it yet.
6) My diet is changing, less and less processed food, and my appetite has increased. 1-2 liters of milk, as fat as possible a day. Saving up for a consultation with a nutrition expert in 2016.
Best Regards
Jesper
 
Good to hear of your progress! I was a pack-a-day smoker for 16 years. It's been almost 15 years now since my last one. I know it's hard to give up, but so worth it. When you have the urge, try focusing on breathing... learn about good deep diaphragmatic breathing, and take a minute to practice that. It helps, and it makes you appreciate your lungs. And then you will be able to save up money quicker :)

As for when traveling, if you have dumbells available you can do presses, get-ups... depends if you have hotel gyms available. Others will have some good ideas there and I think there have also been threads on this in the past.
 
2) @Keep Lifting, interesting about the deadlift and squat, heard/read about that they stimulate growth before, but hadn't thought about it. Will think about adding them on light S&S days after new years, where I plan to join a gym. Thinking of starting with back squats, since deadlifts are more similar to swings. Would you do ex. squats before the S&S routine (after warm up and mobility), on separate days or after?

Since you're already on milk, try google Squat and Milk.
 
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