# Help Needed to Gain Weight



## TheScam (Apr 30, 2013)

Right, so for a long time I lived in a calorie deficit obsessed with "losing" weight etc. Anyway, that time has passed and I am at a point where I want to gain a bit more size.

Dont want to bore anyone but the background info may help...

Up until start of March I was eating around 1800-1900 cals per day and my split was roughly P: 200g C: 200g F: 70g

This calorie goal was worked out using Katch-Mcardle Formula to get my BMR and TDEE. TDEE is roughly 2200-2300 according to that formula.

I sit at a desk most of the day, gym M-F first thing in the morning and football Saturday and Sundays (but I eat extra to accomodate this)

At that point I weighed around 176/177 lbs

Since then, i have slowly increased my daily goal each week by 150-200 kcals a day. I didnt want a sudden jump in calories as I didnt want to just pile on fat, so I gradually increased and kept an eye on mirror/weight to monitor progress.

I am now up to 3300 kcals per day and as of last week started my "bulk" (if you want to call it that). i have been weighing myself every day, first thing in the morning after using the toilet and tracking it using TrendWeight. Again, i want to ensure a) I am gaining weight but B) not gaining it too quick.

My average macros over the last week have been: P: 190g C: 280g F: 115g but some days protein has been as high as 270-280 and fat has been really high at like 160-170g

My problem is, I cant seem to gain weight. Below is my weight readings.

Is it simply a case of, I am not eating enough, or could it be my macros are bad? I think I am eating too much fat tbh where I have made sure I've got my protein in for the day and then just filled out my calories with anything at the end of the day.

What should my macros look like for 3400 kcals a day?

Any help would be appreciated, I've been training for a few years but never tried to gain more size by increasing food intake & weight like this before

Recent Weight Readings:


Date

Actual

Trend

Fri, Apr 10

172.0

178.2

Thu, Apr 9

172.6

178.9

Wed, Apr 8

181.6

179.5

Tue, Apr 7

181.6

179.3

Mon, Apr 6

180.6

179.1

Sun, Apr 5

179.0

178.9

Sat, Apr 4

179.0

178.9

Fri, Apr 3

175.0

178.9

Thu, Apr 2

178.0

179.3

Wed, Apr 1

177.0

179.4

Tue, Mar 31

177.0

179.7

Mon, Mar 30

180.0

180.0

Sun, Mar 29

180.0

180.0


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## rsd147 (Nov 14, 2012)

I would calculate macros based on what is needed. So....

0.8-1lb of protein per lbs of bodyweight

20-30% overall calories from Fat

Fill the rest with carbs

Dont really understand your table, Since trying to add weight, how much have you gained? and how long?


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## TheScam (Apr 30, 2013)

rsd147 said:


> I would calculate macros based on what is needed. So....
> 
> 0.8-1lb of protein per lbs of bodyweight
> 
> ...


Thanks for the reply, so probably around 180-190g protein, 90-110g fat and rest carbs which works out about 370g according to MFP. That's not a million miles from what I've been averaging so that's re-assuring.

The table is taken from my readings on trendweight.com you enter your weight every day and it uses a calculation to allow for variances in water weight and gives you a "trend" weight which I guess is more accurate. As you can see from the columns, my trend weight has dropped 2lbs over the 2 weeks and my weight seems to fluctuate quite a lot.

@TommyBananas I wonder if you could give me any advice, nutrition seems to be your thing... :thumb:


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## TommyBananas (Nov 23, 2014)

Scammell29 said:


> Thanks for the reply, so probably around 180-190g protein, 90-110g fat and rest carbs which works out about 370g according to MFP. That's not a million miles from what I've been averaging so that's re-assuring.
> 
> The table is taken from my readings on trendweight.com you enter your weight every day and it uses a calculation to allow for variances in water weight and gives you a "trend" weight which I guess is more accurate. As you can see from the columns, my trend weight has dropped 2lbs over the 2 weeks and my weight seems to fluctuate quite a lot.
> 
> @TommyBananas I wonder if you could give me any advice, nutrition seems to be your thing... :thumb:


What advice do you want?  you're doing well aren't you? 2 lbs over 2 weeks is fine, just drop cals if you want faster but keep protein high!  Also, I'd have lower fat but thats just my preference 

Oh wait, you want to gain weiight, didn't read the title, lol

eat more carbs, add calories in.

Ignore advice below about more protein, just a waste of money.


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## Bgpine (Oct 13, 2014)

For me when I was gaining weight, High Protein was most important. I was getting 1.4 to 2g of Protein per Lb of bodyweight that really bulked me up quick.


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## simonboyle (Aug 5, 2013)

stop weighing yourself every day, a bit obsessive, and simply keep upping cals/macros until you start gaining. why if you are at 3300, and not gaining (actually losing if i am reading it right) would you not think to increase more, it is the only option. you can keep % the same if you want and just increase all macros, or start varying the macros, your choice.

if your split was ''bad'' you would still be gaining weight, either fat or muscle, it is simply a case of patience and more food. If you are not gaining anything, fat or muscle, then you are not eating enough.

Remember, these equations and calculators are not gospel, they are a 1 size fits all and a guide/start point from which you need to make adjustments.


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## TheScam (Apr 30, 2013)

simonboyle said:


> stop weighing yourself every day, a bit obsessive, and simply keep upping cals/macros until you start gaining. why if you are at 3300, and not gaining (actually losing if i am reading it right) would you not think to increase more, it is the only option. you can keep % the same if you want and just increase all macros, or start varying the macros, your choice.
> 
> if your split was ''bad'' you would still be gaining weight, either fat or muscle, it is simply a case of patience and more food. If you are not gaining anything, fat or muscle, then you are not eating enough.
> 
> Remember, these equations and calculators are not gospel, they are a 1 size fits all and a guide/start point from which you need to make adjustments.


Appreciate that, like I say the reason behind weighing every day was to ensure I didn't pile on weight too quick. I am also taking body measurements so that isn't my only method of monitoring progress. Although I used an online calculator initially when I was dieting, I have since slowly increased my intake to find my own maintenance level which I am starting to discover. in terms of macros I was concerned that I was eating too much fat and didn't really know what the split should be.

Thanks @TommyBananas I think I will do that and increase calories through carbs a bit more.

I do realise I need to eat more, I just think its all still a bit alien to me - eating this much is painful to say the least, physically and mentally so doing that and still not gaining is rather annoying!


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## TommyBananas (Nov 23, 2014)

Scammell29 said:


> Appreciate that, like I say the reason behind weighing every day was to ensure I didn't pile on weight too quick. I am also taking body measurements so that isn't my only method of monitoring progress. Although I used an online calculator initially when I was dieting, I have since slowly increased my intake to find my own maintenance level which I am starting to discover. in terms of macros I was concerned that I was eating too much fat and didn't really know what the split should be.
> 
> Thanks @TommyBananas I think I will do that and increase calories through carbs a bit more.
> 
> I do realise I need to eat more, I just think its all still a bit alien to me - eating this much is painful to say the least, physically and mentally so doing that and still not gaining is rather annoying!


Just eat oats in a shake or something if really don't want to 'eat' food. With some PB, easy calories


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