TS_eXpeed

Or, 'Gallon of Milk a Day'?


I've been reading a bunch of different things lately on how to get my caloric intake up because I think that is the one thing that I'm lacking on. I've really been pushing hard, and I'm seen gradual gains in the weights I'm lifting, but I'm having some trouble gaining any weight. At all.

I've been stuck ~205 for quite a while. I believe I'm about 13% body fat. Not too much, but definitely no where near where someone would be if they were cutting.

I've heard of people who do GOMAD for maybe a month span of time from what I've heard, most seem to think it helps quite a bit.


Thoughts?

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

it will definitely increase your caloric intake.
but you're smart and you already knew that.

How many calories are you eating in a day?

TS_eXpeed

I'm not 100% sure to be honest.
I've tried a couple times in the past to track a average day worth of calories, but hasn't always worked. Maybe because I forgot to track everything single thing.



A typical day for me (or this is what I strive for...I usually get pretty close).



- Protein Shake in the morning which consists of a scoop of whey, a banana, fresh strawberries, blueberries, a heaping spoonful (I'd say about 2-3 TBSP) of peanut butter, a little orange juice, and some plain low fat yogurt. It usually works out to be about a glass and a half (tall glasses).

-Usually ~1-2 chicken breast eaten different parts of the day.

-Usually at least 1 filet of tilapia seared in a pan

-Some kind of vegetable(s) which would either be a spinach salad, or asparagus, mushrooms, peppers, etc. Something of that sort

-Couple slices of whole wheat bread

-Glass of milk with some whey after workout on days I do workout

-A gallon of water minimum



Can't think off the top of my head of what else. It's not that every single day, but it consists of similar amounts of the same types of foods (proteins, veggies, etc). I feel like there's more, just can't think of it. Maybe that's my problem there.

SuperTrooper169

iTrader: (2)

That sounds like a diet to me, not a day's worth of food to put on weight. I wish I could eat that light, then I'd be able to get to your weight lol.

TS_eXpeed

Which is maybe why I'm not gaining.
I find myself eating other things throughout the day, but even still I think I'm coming up way short for what my goals are.


I've recently had this feeling that I really don't know what it means to put down 3500-4000 or more calories a day. Good calories. Something I'm trying to figure out how much food that really is. lol

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

yeah, from your list it doesnt seem like you're eating enough to gain.
you should be roughly eating around 3500 calories a day.
if you're eating anything less, your body is burning that up, and you're just maintaining.

try a protein shake before you go to bed.

here's my list.
7am Breakfast - either cereal, or a protein shake with oatmeal.
9am Snack - some almonds, peanuts
12pm Lunch - usually leftovers from the night before (rice,chicken,beef,vegitables)
3pm Snack - some fruit ( strawberries,mango, pineapple)
4-6pm GYM TIME!
right after the gym i have a protein shake
about 7-8 I'll have dinner. Again, its usually Beef, Chicken, Pork, fish, with vegetables, with a little bit of rice.

I have different goals than you. but Honestly, if i were you, i'd have more snacks inbetween meals. a protein shake or two wouldn't hurt.

Also, you said you weren't sure how many calories you were in taking.... If you were really serious about this you would make a log and see.

TS_eXpeed

You mention a protein shake before bed. You ever bother or know if Casein is worth getting?


I've been using Optimum Nutrition 100% Whey, and it's good stuff, but I've heard Casein is even better for taking before bed.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

you are correct, sir.

there are two kinds of proteins. fast acting and slow acting.
whey should be taken right after your work out, as it is a fast acting protein.
Casein is a slow digesting protein and will digest over a 6-8 hour period.

Sntha6 is a really great(tasting) protein blend because it contains both slow and fast digiesting proteins

*edit*
also, you typically want to consume your weight in grams of protein. i weigh 170 and i should be eating about 170 grams of protein a day through foods and supplements. although its quite hard to measure how many grams of protein is in the chicken i eat.....

*edit*
also, going back to your GOMAD, if you think about it, you will see weight gain, a glass of milk has what 170 cals? it also has good fat content. 170cals X each glass it takes to finish the gallon a day! WOW! thats a lot of calories!

Ryee

If you're trying to gain, eat everything in sight. Your diet is too restricted right now. You've gotta eat big to get big.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

^wrong. everyone has different body types....I ate evertyhing in sight and got fat.

you have to watch what you eat and PLAN what you eat, by putting healthy and wholesome calories into your body.
TS_ex you do know about power foods right?
yams, brown rice, pasta? any complex carbs will do.

TS_eXpeed

Gotta eat big, but the right foods.

TS_eXpeed

Can't say I've heard of that particular term.
I know pasta and brown rice are the kind of foods they'd tell you to eat the night before a game in high school.

That's about it though.
I'm still learning about all these different things.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

Complex carbs give you ENERGY! hence the term power foods.
you'll have more energy in the gym. more energy = more work. more work = reaching your goal faster.

This is where that log comes into play, I found personally that I gain real easy. I tend to stay away from carbs after lunch.

Ryee

Common misconception...this is not always true. Granted your diet can't consist of only sugar and simple carbs and you should be getting at least 2g per pound of protein. But if you're really lifting heavy and regularly using complex lifts, you'll gain.

TS_eXpeed

I wouldn't disagree that you need a lot of protein, but that's a far departure for your first statement of 'eating everything in sight'. You can get all the protein you need from eat a lot of lean proteins and having a good supp.

Ryee

No, this is not necessarily wrong. Granted I don't know how you were lifting, but if you're following a "Men's Health" type workout program, then you would not have gotten bigger and you would've gotten fat. Calories + Complex Heavy lifts will help you gain mass.

Ryee

Put it this way. If you're trying to gain muscle and size you're going to need a lot of calories. Don't limit your calorie intake.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

^basically you just echoed what I just said but in a much more complex way.

planning your meals allows you to see what you put into your body. you can't just eat everything and anything; that's how you get fat.

you should be eating about 6 times a day. 3 meals and 3 snacks in between those meals. This way, you increase your metabolism and you also increase your caloric intake.

if you're trying to gain - a combination of carbs and protein all day everday will get you to your goal.

With my list that i showed you above, I'm eating around 2500 - 3000 calories a day.
I could easily tweak it to include more calories if i wanted.

TS_eXpeed

I've been drinking skim milk for years, but if I go ahead and do this, I'll probably buy whole milk. Everything I've read says that it's pointless unless drinking whole milk...not sure about pointless...but it'll definitely have more calories.

Here's some info on a gallon of skim milk I have right now.

Calories: 1,280
Carbs: 192g
Protein: 144g


You add whole milk in there, that will add about 120g of fat too.
And probably considerable more calories.

That's the only thing I'm afraid of.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

You never told me your body type, but assuming that you can't gain, you're a fairly skinny guy.
Check this out, I personally can't drink muscle milk protein brand because of the high fat content.
I'm assuming that GOMAD will do the same thing muscle milk does. IT WILL get a skinny guy big, because of the high fat and calories.

I personally like the lean look as opposed to the big bulky guys. I gain like crazy, and if i ever tied the GOMAD i could probably reach 200lbs no problem.

also, you are right, whole milk will have more calories which would be better for you to gain. you gave the info about skim milk, which 1 gal = 1200 cals...thats still alot!

TS_eXpeed

I've always been a fairly lean guy, but I've never considered myself "lanky" like those ecto's with no body fat. I have my 'reserves'. lol. On the flip side, I've never by any means been muscular. I have a fairly broad shoulder base, so I feel like I could hold muscle well which makes me think I might be a combo of mesomorph and ectomorph.

I'm looking to bulk up some, but on that same note, I'm not trying to become of these huge guys that can't turn around without knocking something or someone out. Just trying to put on some muscle and not look like your average joe.

To be honest, I think lack of calories might be the reason I haven't gained hardly at all.

Here's a picture of me I took just 2 days ago to track how I do after I start modifying my diet to really try and put down some calories.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

Shit brother, you better start eating!
you have a good base.

heres my before. I got involved with a girl, and just started eating out day after day after day.


two months after....

TS_eXpeed

Damn.
So, I've pretty much gone through a gallon of milk today as well as eating considerably more.

One thing.
Easing into GOMAD is probably a better idea.
I've always gone through a decent amount of milk (~2 gallons a week), but when you put a gallon in you in one day....holy. Your GI tract does all kinds of unpleasant things. Lol