The Official Weight Gain Thread - share your ideas, tips and suggestions here.

[Jabberwocky]

sorry, i should have clarified! i know that protein and carbs are 4 calories per gram while fat is 9 and alcohol 7. unless you're talking about molecular weight and stuff, in which case you've lost me. i was referring to the volume of food one must take in in order to achieve similar calories. i apologize for the confusion.

and for what it's worth, encouraging people to realize that saturated fat is not bad for you is akin to hitting one's head against the wall, sadly. they say, "but how can REAL butter be better for you than FAKE butter? isn't FAKE butter made because it's HEALTHIER?" enough face palming there to last a lifetime.

i meant that you're getting close to 4k from a gram of sugar, and close to 9k from a gram of fat. you're probably only clearing low-3k's from a gram of protein, due to the energy expenditure of metabolizing protein in comparison to fats/sugars (this doesn't hold true for every protein, some do digest very easily, whey being an example)

as for disseminating food/health knowledge, it's frustrating but it works. it's important because this stuff is central to how you live/think/function, and ppl going around trying to 'fuel up' properly, when they've been taught things that're opposite what's true/right, are wasting time/energy to tread water most of the time

 

[XThexXTank]

I shape up my diet from what I've read over the years on sites like bodybuildin.com other health sites n magazines like muscle n fitness etc. Sirtophat ya say to avoid carbs when cuttn but yer not specific ya see what im sayin bcuz the carbs in pasta are diffrnt than the ones in brown rice. What to keep to a minimum while cuttn and what not.

Complex carbs are perfect for energy even durin a cut as opposed to fats. Its common sense when cuttn what are you gonna eat a bowl of brown rice or a rice krispy treat for energy. Everythin in yer diet should be monitored esp. When cuttn.

Fats n sugars shouold come from natural source like fruit n peanut butter n milk. Not fast food. Yer not gonna take a weight gainer proetin cuz its got alotta xtra fats n carbs that ya dnt need when cuttn. But again don't forget I said limit, not completely cut out of diet.

Oh my b the only thing I forgot to add is the fuckin omega fats. Yes those are important but I take animal omega product (stuffs got fishoil fat) thAt are beneficial.

 

[Jabberwocky]

go home you're drunk

 

[XThexXTank]

Haha

 

[WBROCKSTAR]

Ive been super thin my whole life...Ive tried weight gainers,changed eating habits,etc....The only time I had any luck gaining was in 1992 when I went to boot camp....gained 15 pds in 8 weeks but I lost it as soon as boot camp was over,a few weeks after graduation....I have been taking methadone for 1 year now and Ive went from 140 pds soakin wet to my current weight of 168 pds....I look and feel so much better now....I ate a dozen krispy cremes every 2 nights and ice cream too mostly late night....Thats the only ritual Ive had success with gainin weight....Hope this helps

 

[Tude]

Have you tried GOMAD? It's kind of a (short-term) diet in which you drink an entire gallon of whole milk a day. Lots of nutrients and fat in whole milk. It's tasty, too!

 

[Just A Guy]

next thing i know you'll tell me i shouldn't be going through ~1.25sticks butter daily
fat is better than carbs cuz it's easier, it's a go-to for bulking that carbs cannot match. if i wanna eat 1k calories do you know how hard that is to do w/ good carbs? far easier (and healthier) to do so w/ good fats adn proteins.

Cool. Guess who's about to throw a stick of butter in his chicken and rice? <---- This guy!

 

[Dare21]

butter (higher quality the better, like unsalted grassfed/finished organic would be ideal)

Coconut oil would be a much better option. You want the extra virgin organic kind that is solid and white at room temp. My favorite way to take it is a tablespoon or two mixed with coffee or hot tea. Most people aren't gaining weight because they aren't eating enough. When I'm trying to put on muscle I generally have 8-9 tbs of coconut oil per day plus 4-6 cups of Jasmine rice. That is 2000+ calories right there.

Add in protein from lean sources like chicken, fish, turkey, lean beef, etc.

 

[Foreigner]

^ Just thought I'd add my two cents about coconut oil. It does not agree with me, at any level. Even if I take the smallest amount, I still get diarrhea.

A friend of mine works in food research and a report came across her desk not long ago about an industry health concern. Apparently the ships bringing coconut oil from overseas to North America and Europe are storing them in spent jet fuel containers. Now, those containers are washed out before being used for the oil, but the point of concern is that there is no regulation about how those containers are washed.

When the vats of oil arrive at their destination, that's usually the point where they are bottled. I can't help but wonder if my adverse reaction was maybe from some kind of fuel residue. The one I bought said organic on the bottle and everything.

Not trying to be an alarmist, but my friend is a PhD and an earnest researcher. If she says this is happening I believe her.

 

[Dare21]

I personally started slow with the coconut oil having a little and working my way up and I"ve never had a problem. I would think any oil could mess up your stomach if you have enough of it and your body isn't used to it. I don't know anything about the jet fuel containers...I just buy it from a reputable high end grocer in my area and I'm not going to worry about it.

 

[oldirtybizza]

Coconut oil would be a much better option. You want the extra virgin organic kind that is solid and white at room temp. My favorite way to take it is a tablespoon or two mixed with coffee or hot tea.

have you not heard of coconut milk and coconut cream, pretty common ingredients in southern indian, thai , fijian cuisine. couldn't imagine adding an oil to coffee or tea, the coconut cream has the oils in an emulsion with the kopra ( coconut flesh) and makes a good general milk alternative. also this product is usually made and canned at source and would avoid the possible contamination issues of shipped oil!

I've always been a hard gainer for body fat, trying to put the weight back on after an especially hedonistic few months my current regime (AKA the fuck you stimulants diet) includes 3 square meals and snacks containing lots of nuts and seeds, oils (olive , almond , rice bran), beans, protein/bulking powder, avocados, complex carbs and hot chocolates. Of course water is the easiest and quickest way to add weight.

If I didn't care about my health and just wanted to put on weight;
Fried chicken, Fried Chicken, Fried Chicken.
Pizza
Colas
French Fries.
Burgers
cheesy things
Hmmmm so the average american diet really.

 

[Dare21]

have you not heard of coconut milk and coconut cream, pretty common ingredients in southern indian, thai , fijian cuisine. couldn't imagine adding an oil to coffee or tea, the coconut cream has the oils in an emulsion with the kopra ( coconut flesh) and makes a good general milk alternative. also this product is usually made and canned at source and would avoid the possible contamination issues of shipped oil!

I've always been a hard gainer for body fat, trying to put the weight back on after an especially hedonistic few months my current regime (AKA the fuck you stimulants diet) includes 3 square meals and snacks containing lots of nuts and seeds, oils (olive , almond , rice bran), beans, protein/bulking powder, avocados, complex carbs and hot chocolates. Of course water is the easiest and quickest way to add weight.

If I didn't care about my health and just wanted to put on weight;
Fried chicken, Fried Chicken, Fried Chicken.
Pizza
Colas
French Fries.
Burgers
cheesy things
Hmmmm so the average american diet really.

I couldnt imagine putting coconut oil in coffee or tea until I actually tried it. I expected to have to choke it down but turns out its actually really good. All of the other coconut products are good, but they are less calorie dense than the oil so you have to eat a lot more of it in order to get the same nutritional value.

I'm a hard gainer as well and i put on about 16-18 lbs of muscle on the pizza, burgers, fried food, and frech fry diet. It's easy to get enough calories to gain weight when you eat pizza all day, but that can only take you so far. At some point I stopped gaining muscle and I was only gaining fat on this diet. It's a lot harder to get the same calorie intake from a clean diet so I try to focus more on calorie dense things like the coconut oil and Jasmine rice.

 

[oldirtybizza]

^if your going for muscle gains though there isn't any protein in coconut oil. All you'd end up doing is getting fat. I try to make proteins a 1/4 of my calorie intake.

The reasons why the american diet is so bad isn't purely about the calorie content, even if someone kept their intake at 2000cal it's still unhealthy , no HDLs , too much sugars , no fibre, no antioxidants and etc.

 

[Dare21]

^if your going for muscle gains though there isn't any protein in coconut oil. All you'd end up doing is getting fat. I try to make proteins a 1/4 of my calorie intake.

The reasons why the american diet is so bad isn't purely about the calorie content, even if someone kept their intake at 2000cal it's still unhealthy , no HDLs , too much sugars , no fibre, no antioxidants and etc.

I wasn't suggesting that 2000 calls of coconut oil and rice is all that should be eaten. I was actually mean that it is much easier to put down 3000-3500 per day if 2000-2500 of those calories come from dense sources like the ones I mentioned. The other 1000-1500 would come from various protein sources (chicken, beef, fish, etc.) and vegetables.

 

[Foreigner]

^if your going for muscle gains though there isn't any protein in coconut oil. All you'd end up doing is getting fat. I try to make proteins a 1/4 of my calorie intake.

The reasons why the american diet is so bad isn't purely about the calorie content, even if someone kept their intake at 2000cal it's still unhealthy , no HDLs , too much sugars , no fibre, no antioxidants and etc.

Gaining mass isn't just about protein, your body needs the raw energy to do the work as well. If you're only eating protein, then your body will just start breaking down the proteins into useable energy. Protein delivers energy more slowly than carbs or fat and balances blood sugar, but it takes more effort for the body to process. Someone with a weaker digestion who is trying to gain might not benefit from a high protein diet.

I think that every person's needs are slightly different which is why there is no universal weight loss or weight gain diet. For myself, protein is important, but after my protein content is satisfied I need to consume most of my calories from higher fat foods. That has been my weight gain strategy. The only carbs that seem to work decently for me are complex carbs, like root vegetables. Everything else is hot air.

Constitution varies from person to person. I think we can all agree that weight gaining requires upping calorie content, but where those calories come from will vary depending on what people need. If I eat too much protein my body will start to get sluggish and complain. For someone else, this might be a non-issue.

 

[oldirtybizza]

^obviously regardless of your goals your diet should be a healthy mix of carbs, protein and fats. There's no point in eating an excess of protein which would amongst other things put unnecessary strain on your kidneys.

It would be impossible to have a protein only diet. Just because by weight protein has a lower caloric content and it's metabolism requires a greater energy expenditure does not mean that you wouldn't still gain mass if you consumed an excess of of calories derived from it.
If you want to gain muscle mass than you will have to consume an adequate amount of protein, since muscle consists of around 70% protein.

The more refined the carbohydrate energy source is the less energy is required to metabolise it to glucose and onwards to glycogen and fat, blood sugar spikes also trigger fat storing processes, hence consuming simple carbs as found in colas and candy would lead to more fat gains than say eating a sweet potato.

No matter how you slice it , if you expend 2000cal and consume 3000cal (regardless of its origin) then you are going to store some of this excess as fat .