# Only gain the wrong type of weight.



## danblukk (Jun 12, 2014)

I've been lifting weights for many years now and when I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror you could be fooled that I even go gym.

I've not gained any muscle since my beginner gains which was only about 8-12lbs initially. All I gain now is fat. I have always kept track of my workouts, how many calories I consume, how much I lift, reps, rests, volume etc.

I've tried everything from consuming way more then I need and gain 5lbs a week to getting it just right and gaining 0.5lbs a week and every time it's extra inches around the belt line. In terms of workouts I've tried everything low reps high volume, high reps, super sets, giant sets, different rest periods, hitting muscle groups once a week, twice a week, 3 three times a week, split, full body's etc. It's literally driving me insane as why my muscles don't respond. I do see strength gains and am a lot stronger compared to when I first started.

I've been on a slow bulk for a good 6-9 months now, 1-2lbs a month gain and once again the belt has gotten too tight so now have to cut gone from a 32inch waist to 36. Currently at 170lbs and 20lbs of that is easily fat gain. Before I ever went gym I was naturally 140lbs. I eat as clean as I can, the odd cheat meal slips in here and there, not too fused when I'm bulking. In terms of protein intake I've read so many contradicting story's I loose track, some say you need twice as much as your body weight, others say it's rubbish and u need less then half. I try to keep it 1 gram per pound of body weight.

I find it hard to believe I've reached my genetic potential, it's making so frustrated and angry I'm seriously considering the juice.

Anybody know how to bust through the world longest plateau?


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## BoomTime (Feb 19, 2009)

danblukk said:


> I've been lifting weights for many years now and when I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror you could be fooled that I even go gym.
> 
> I've not gained any muscle since my beginner gains which was only about 8-12lbs initially. All I gain now is fat. I have always kept track of my workouts, how many calories I consume, how much I lift, reps, rests, volume etc.
> 
> ...


What are your stats and your BMR?

What is your daily diet?


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## danblukk (Jun 12, 2014)

BMR is 1770.2

Cutting atm but when I'm bulking I have 2300-2400 calories per day, if I gain too much 1 week, will cut it down.

example of my diet is:

Breakfast - 2 egg, 1 slice brown bread, bowls of super berry granola with milk.

Pre workout shake - fruit, milk, protein. (non workout day - chicken and brown rice)

post work out shake - grape juice, protein. (non workout day - protein shake)

Meal - Tuna, brown pasta.

Snack, usually a veg and fruit blended shake with protein.

Only supplements I take is protein, cod liver oil caps and greens powder.


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## Franky23 (Aug 5, 2014)

danblukk said:


> I've been lifting weights for many years now and when I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror you could be fooled that I even go gym.
> 
> I've not gained any muscle since my beginner gains which was only about 8-12lbs initially. All I gain now is fat. I have always kept track of my workouts, how many calories I consume, how much I lift, reps, rests, volume etc.
> 
> ...


maybe you have low test maybe worth asking for a check ? Few people in my gym mind who never gain a thing over the years I always wonder how nothing, even with a s**t diet I would expect to see some difference, not meaning your diet it's better than mine tbh


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## iamyou (Oct 29, 2012)

The answer was in your post :whistling:


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## Tomahawk (Dec 24, 2014)

danblukk said:


> I've been lifting weights for many years now and when I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror you could be fooled that I even go gym.
> 
> I've not gained any muscle since my beginner gains which was only about 8-12lbs initially. All I gain now is fat. I have always kept track of my workouts, how many calories I consume, how much I lift, reps, rests, volume etc.
> 
> ...


I was like this as well for 2-3 years, most frustrating time of my life.

Do you have small joints? How big around is your wrist? There is evidence to suggest that people with small joints have much smaller genetic potentials.

Do you push yourself to your limit at the end of every set or do you just do a set number of reps and put the weight down?


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## JohhnyC (Mar 16, 2015)

we all have that, I never understood why people think they can constantly gain for their whole life., Otherwise by 40 - 50 we all would enormous and weighlifting records would be set by old boys. Constantly gaining 1 lb a week means in 10 years you gain 520lbs. I peaked around 34 and it was a slow drop off after that.

I too have had long plateaus, What fixed it as


radically change in routine, but you seem to tried that. Have you tried drop sets and I mean push it!
over training, took me about 5 years to work that one out, less can indeed be more. Previously my volume was way too high. One huge guy told me one day, he only spends 45mins tops in a gym, I tried it and made a difference
Over eating and over taking protein shakes. Just made me fat. easy to throw few extra scopes of whey into the mixer but just made me fat


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## Sompare (Aug 14, 2015)

danblukk said:


> I've been lifting weights for many years now and when I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror you could be fooled that I even go gym.
> 
> I've not gained any muscle since my beginner gains which was only about 8-12lbs initially. All I gain now is fat. I have always kept track of my workouts, how many calories I consume, how much I lift, reps, rests, volume etc.
> 
> ...


danblukk, I thinkg iamyou nailed it with his answer:



iamyou said:


> The answer was in your post :whistling:


You are far from achieving your genetic potential and I judge this on the info you have given us. It seems that you are working hard, but not hard enough. Few points here.

1. Diet needs restructuring.



danblukk said:


> BMR is 1770.2
> 
> Cutting atm but when I'm bulking I have 2300-2400 calories per day, if I gain too much 1 week, will cut it down.
> 
> ...


Breakfast - 2 eggs is fine, but get rid off the brown bread and granola. Too much sugar in those (or carbs with high GI if you like). Replace them with an oatmeal and blueberries. Might add half a scoop of whey to up the protein intake in the morning, which is quite important. Those two eggs are barely giving you 15g.

Pre-workout - depends on when you work out, but I would suggest something more solid to have more energy.

Post-workout - this one is fine.

Meal - remove the brown pasta and add brown rice. There isn't much difference between the brown and normal pasta (aside from the colour and the former being with slightly lower GI).

Evening Snack - you need some slow digesting protein, such as casein or cottage/yoghurt. You can try SKYR, which is unbelievably thick with very little sugar and fats (try the plain version).

There was a similar post about hard gainers, in which we recommended reading an article we recently released http://www.sompare.co.uk/the-four-pillars-of-fitness-progress/ If you have the time, check it out as I think it might be helpful.

As for your trianing you need to choose what works best for you and stick to it for a good month at least. Gaining around around 1lb per week is very good achievement (which slows down with time as you gain more muscle). Your initial weight gain (if we presume it was mainly muscle) is really good, so probably it set your expectations high for the upcoming months. It might sound like a cliche but it all comes down to p*ersistence and enjoying what you do, not chasing the results. *As a matter of fact this is applicable to almost anything in life.

Finally, about your protein intake...you are good at 1g per lb, although I would suggest upping ti to probably 1.2-1.3 if possible. Since you are 170lb, it might be a good idea to be getting about 200g of protein per day. And don't worry, you won't gain fat from protein... it is extremely difficult to do so.

Hope the above helps to get you back on the right track. And there is no need of juice.. apart from grape juice


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## UlsterRugby (Nov 16, 2014)

Your diet is pretty poor

breakfast 75g oats tablespoon of almond butter or peanut butter and either 40g protein shake or 6 eggs (2whole and 4 whites) I scramble mine.

Preworkout meal 150g chicken, veg and 50g rice

post workout I have 40g whey and bowl of coco pops followed by a proper meal of (150-250g)chicken, rice and veg

evening meal 200g steak/Turkey/chicken or salmon with as much veg as you need to feel full

before bed 450g natural Skyr yoghurt with handful of blue berries. I love these yogurts nearly 45g protein I have the strawberry one you could have natural to watch locals if you want, usually 2 for £2 in asda

I would make sure you hit 200g protein each day, take 3G fish oil and 3G vit c. Train weights 3-4 times a week and cardio 5 days a week. I find steady state 30mins am mon-fri optimum for cutting then when weight slows add 20mins high intensity interval training post weights also eg 1min sprint on treadmill then 1 min walk and repeat, increase the speed and incline each week the fitter you get.


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## dannythinx (Oct 4, 2014)

I've been in the same boat. Firstly don't believe the stuff you read about needing to eat 5k cals a day or whatever to bulk. For me I'm 5,10 14st 5 if I go anywhere near 3k cals a day for any period of time I get fat as f. Also be patient. Muscle growth as you well know takes ages. Basically what I'm saying is go down to 2500 cals a day and stay there for two months. In the gym change your workout all the time. Not necessarily the exercises but start with decline on chest day next time start with flat bench next incline. Etc etc. one time do 10 reps on seated dumbbell press the next do six reps heavier weight military press that sort of thing and do that for two months also. This is just what's worked for me others may say I'm talking sh1t btw which is fine. But if you put on fat as easy as I do the only way you can combat that is eating less cals which if you read all the shiit on the net works against building muscle. But try it out for a couple of months and you maybe surprised. Even if you just loose some fat you'll feel a lot better


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## danblukk (Jun 12, 2014)

> I was like this as well for 2-3 years, most frustrating time of my life.
> 
> Do you have small joints? How big around is your wrist? There is evidence to suggest that people with small joints have much smaller genetic potentials.
> 
> Do you push yourself to your limit at the end of every set or do you just do a set number of reps and put the weight down?





> we all have that, I never understood why people think they can constantly gain for their whole life., Otherwise by 40 - 50 we all would enormous and weighlifting records would be set by old boys. Constantly gaining 1 lb a week means in 10 years you gain 520lbs. I peaked around 34 and it was a slow drop off after that.
> 
> I too have had long plateaus, What fixed it as
> 
> ...


I really push it on every set. I set the weight so 1st two sets I barely manage the last rep, after that I never get full reps. If I can, will up the weight.

Every workout I've tried I've done for a good number of months. I'm doing a 2 day split 4 days a week atm, but the 2nd half of the week is different exercises for same muscle groups so to hit them from different angles. I'm in the gym usually an hour max if I do no cardio.

*UlsterRugby *

That is a great diet but seems a little high on calorie count for me would have to alter the portions a bit, will try that yoghurt sounds awesome as long as it has no aspartame, hate that chemical stuff.

Thanks for all the reply everyone, this is all great advice and will put it into action once I've lost this belly fat, (prob cut to 150). Will tweak my diet and up my protein and if all that fails, will inject some Synthol :whistling:


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## Tomahawk (Dec 24, 2014)

dannythinx said:


> I've been in the same boat. Firstly don't believe the stuff you read about needing to eat 5k cals a day or whatever to bulk. For me I'm 5,10 14st 5 if I go anywhere near 3k cals a day for any period of time I get fat as f. Also be patient. Muscle growth as you well know takes ages. Basically what I'm saying is go down to 2500 cals a day and stay there for two months. In the gym change your workout all the time. Not necessarily the exercises but start with decline on chest day next time start with flat bench next incline. Etc etc. one time do 10 reps on seated dumbbell press the next do six reps heavier weight military press that sort of thing and do that for two months also. This is just what's worked for me others may say I'm talking sh1t btw which is fine. But if you put on fat as easy as I do the only way you can combat that is eating less cals which if you read all the shiit on the net works against building muscle. But try it out for a couple of months and you maybe surprised. Even if you just loose some fat you'll feel a lot better


Yeah its all BS about eating more. You only need to eat a little bit more than maintenance to max muscle gains, 200 calories or so. It's the same with pregnant women, the body adjusts to absorb more nutrients from the food eaten, so eating any more will just make you fat.



danblukk said:


> Thanks for all the reply everyone, this is all great advice and will put it into action once I've lost this belly fat, (prob cut to 150). Will tweak my diet and up my protein and if all that fails, will inject some *Synthol * :whistling:


You mean sustanon, right??


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## Fletch68 (Mar 17, 2013)

dannythinx said:


> I've been in the same boat. Firstly don't believe the stuff you read about needing to eat 5k cals a day or whatever to bulk. For me I'm 5,10 14st 5 if I go anywhere near 3k cals a day for any period of time I get fat as f. Also be patient. Muscle growth as you well know takes ages. Basically what I'm saying is go down to 2500 cals a day and stay there for two months. In the gym change your workout all the time. Not necessarily the exercises but start with decline on chest day next time start with flat bench next incline. Etc etc. one time do 10 reps on seated dumbbell press the next do six reps heavier weight military press that sort of thing and do that for two months also. This is just what's worked for me others may say I'm talking sh1t btw which is fine. But if you put on fat as easy as I do the only way you can combat that is eating less cals which if you read all the shiit on the net works against building muscle. But try it out for a couple of months and you maybe surprised. Even if you just loose some fat you'll feel a lot better


is it true you only need to eat around 200-300 calories above what is required? I never blooody know for certain.


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## Fletch68 (Mar 17, 2013)

Sompare said:


> danblukk, I thinkg iamyou nailed it with his answer:
> 
> You are far from achieving your genetic potential and I judge this on the info you have given us. It seems that you are working hard, but not hard enough. Few points here.
> 
> ...


Is wholemeal brown bread a big no no then? Whenever i buy bread i get wholemeal and have natural peanut butter with it.


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## Fluke82 (Sep 10, 2015)

Fletch68 said:


> Is wholemeal brown bread a big no no then? Whenever i buy bread i get wholemeal and have natural peanut butter with it.


Seriously, I know he looks great but @Sompare diet advice is poor (no offence Sompare)

It does not matter if you eat sugar for breakfast, high/low GI is BS/myth when it comes to body composition. food choices are almost irrelevant (in the grand picture) and meal/food timing doesn't matter in the slightest!

Find out your TDEE (google it), download myfitness pal, start eating either 500 calories less than your TDEE to lose weight or 200-500 more if you want to gain weight.

Protein should be roughly 0.8g per lb and fat min 0.3g per lb.

Eat what you want to hit your goal macros/calories but try to get a majority (70-80% is a good aim) of whole nutritious foods to hit your micro nutrients (and take a daily multivit).

If you won't believe me ebcause of no AVI @Dark sim has commented on Sompare's knowledge below and he is probably one of the the best looking dudes on the forum.


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## mrwright (Oct 22, 2013)

Tren.


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## Dark sim (May 18, 2013)

Fletch68 said:


> Is wholemeal brown bread a big no no then? Whenever i buy bread i get wholemeal and have natural peanut butter with it.


You can buy white bread, not that much difference, apart from slight difference in fibre. The guy sounds like he knows what he is talking about but truth be told he doesn't.


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## dannythinx (Oct 4, 2014)

Fletch68 said:


> is it true you only need to eat around 200-300 calories above what is required? I never blooody know for certain.


Yeah it's true mate. People try to emulate the pros. They see jay cutler smashing in 6000 calories and think that's what they need to eat. If you're younger you obviously need more calories as you'll have a higher metabolism or if you are very muscular but for me at 36 I can put on a pound walking past a chip shop


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## Sompare (Aug 14, 2015)

Right... this is going to be a long one, but hopefully it throws some light on the raised questions.

@Fletch68 if you have to choose between white and wholemeal bread, go with the latter. If you can choose between brown rice and wholemeal bread, go with rice. It is the better choice. That's not to say to avoid wholemeal bread at all costs, but if you can go for the better option I see no reason not to do so. I believe there was some confusion about bread and rice being similar as people compare them only according to GI. The real difference is when you look at GL (Glycemic Load), which takes into account the amount of carbohydrate in a portion of food together with how quickly it raises blood glucose levels. Here's what I mean.

If we look at the table provided by Harvard Medical School (I think that's a fairly authoritative source) - http://www.health.harvard.edu/healthy-eating/glycemic_index_and_glycemic_load_for_100_foods you will see the following.

Whole Wheat Bread - GI of 71 for *30g*, which gives you GL of 9.

Brown Rice - GI of 50 for *150g*, which gives you GL of 16

Now, I'm not trying to be Captain Obvious, but why would I eat a slice of bread when I can have a proper bowl of rice? Generally, I would go for bread if my metabolism is sky-high or I am craving bread.

No offence taken, @*Drogon *However, I will have to disagree with you that IIFYM is a good approach.



Drogon said:


> It does not matter if you eat sugar for breakfast, high/low GI is BS/myth when it comes to body composition. food choices are almost irrelevant (in the grand picture) and meal/food timing doesn't matter in the slightest!
> 
> Find out your TDEE (google it), download myfitness pal, start eating either 500 calories less than your TDEE to lose weight or 200-500 more if you want to gain weight.


Let's say your breakfast consists of food rich in simple sugars (high GI carbs), which might be Coco Pops, some sweetened granolla or anything similar. Depending on how much of it you eat (which would determine Glycemic Load), you can cause a rapid rise in blood glucose, which leads to insulin secretion (a.k.a. insulin spike). As you may know, insulin is a storage hormone. This quite simply (and I am skipping all the biological processes here) would mean that the extra nutrients will be stored if not used for energy.

Because high-carbohydrate foods (especially eaten on their own) cause sugar crashes, you will crave more food much sooner than if you had a "proper meal". For those reading this post and not quite following, the sugar crash is a result of rapid increase and subsequent decline of blood sugar in the body system as one begins and ceases consumption of high-sugar foods.

So back to your point, Drogon, I don't believe that eating any food is as good as eating the proper food. That is not to say that you cannot achieve great results with IIFYM. You can. I just don't see the point in taking a route that is not optimal. WIth IIFYM you eat the food, you store it and then you burn it. However, I don't like sugar crashes, feeling hungry or losing muscle mass - all of those often being a consequence of following a IIFYM diet.

I do agree with you on the amount of calories. I have briefly looked at this in another article of mine - http://www.sompare.co.uk/healthy-living-making-better-choices/ . Basically, the three things to take into account with nutrition, in order of importance, are Quantity, Quality and Time. As you pointed out, if you eat the necessary amounts (Quantity), then you will be fine. My question is why wouldn't you take it a step further and eat the right nutritious food full of vitamins and minerals (Quality) that will make you feel so much better. Finally, it is when you eat the food (Time), in which we can discuss anabolic windows, morning, evening nutrition and so on, but this post is getting rather long anyway.



Drogon said:


> If you won't believe me ebcause of no AVI @Dark sim has commented on Sompare's knowledge below and he is probably one of the the best looking dudes on the forum.


I don't judge the people by the way they look, rather by what they say.If your argument is backed in some way or at least it makes some logical sense, I will listen. As a matter of fact, the majority of people who make progress in the sports nutrition industry are not some impressive bodybuilders, rather some "ordinary" people who wouldn't impress you with their physique. Knowing how to manipulate your own body and get results is not to say your advice will always be the most accurate. Which brings me to



Dark sim said:


> You can buy white bread, not that much difference, apart from slight difference in fibre. The guy sounds like he knows what he is talking about but truth be told he doesn't.


Not sure whether I am the guy who doesn't know what he is talking about, but I am always happy to hear another person's point of view.


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## 2004mark (Oct 26, 2013)

If you're 'a lot' stronger then I would say things are going in the right direction.

Regarding the fat I'd agree with the guys saying you're probably aiming a bit high with the cals. I used to do that, simply chase the numbers on the scales, but the truth is for a lot of natties gaining muscle is just a slow old business.


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## Dark sim (May 18, 2013)

Sompare said:


> Right... this is going to be a long one, but hopefully it throws some light on the raised questions.
> 
> @Fletch68 if you have to choose between white and wholemeal bread, go with the latter. If you can choose between brown rice and wholemeal bread, go with rice. It is the better choice. That's not to say to avoid wholemeal bread at all costs, but if you can go for the better option I see no reason not to do so. I believe there was some confusion about bread and rice being similar as people compare them only according to GI. The real difference is when you look at GL (Glycemic Load), which takes into account the amount of carbohydrate in a portion of food together with how quickly it raises blood glucose levels. Here's what I mean.
> 
> ...


Right so, GI scale is pointless imo, due to it only considering the carb in question being measured. Normally we eat a carb with something else, so the GI goes out the window. Carb plus protein actually increase the GI of any food. The suggested switch in your first post was so pointless it is untrue, brown pasta for brown rice, really?

Maybe read these to broaden your knowledge -

http://bretcontreras.com/sugar-the-sweet-truth/

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/is-a-calorie-a-calorie.html/

You seem to have a misunderstanding of insulin, and that if you spike it any excess is stored as fat -

http://alanaragon.com/glycemic-index

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/insulin-levels-and-fat-loss-qa.html/

http://weightology.net/weightologyweekly/index.php/free-content/free-content/volume-1-issue-10-insulin-physical-activity-and-weight-regain/insulin-an-undeserved-bad-reputation-part-2/

Even the diabetes websiite talks briefly about insulin not making you fat -

https://www.diabetes.org.uk/Guide-to-diabetes/Teens/Help-and-support/Problem-page/Does-insulin-cause-weight-gain/

Your comment on IIFYM is out of context, and like most, completely misunderstood. The basis of IIFYM is giving the person options, instead of some boring food plan that so many, like yourself no doubt dish out to clients, they can actually be flexible with their food and still make healthy conscious decisons. This does not mean you can eat "junk" throughout, it does allow for some to be included if the person chooses to. This will not have a negative impact on the persons body composition. I am living proof of this, as I practice what I preach.

What the hell makes you think you will lose muscle mass on IIFYM is beyond me?

Then you start talking about quality of food. As long as you have hit your micronutrients, then why the need to eat more than necessary? This is where IIFYM comes in to play, and not some boring meal plan, where peoples lives are consumed consuming chicken rice and broccoli haha.

Anabolic window lol -

http://bayesianbodybuilding.com/workout-nutrition-is-a-scam/

http://www.jissn.com/content/10/1/5

As long as macronutrient total is hit by the end of the day then timing of nutrients is secondary, since there is a constant absorptive overlap. Even then many train fasted without issue, and then you have IF crew, who can go 18 hours without food.

I was a bit harsh when I said you do not have a clue, just your ways are dated and your science is somewhat flawed. And no, never judge a book by it's cover, as there are plenty of dumb bodybuilders, some of the best in the world in fact.


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## Sompare (Aug 14, 2015)

Dark sim said:


> Right so, GI scale is pointless imo, due to it only considering the carb in question being measured. Normally we eat a carb with something else, so the GI goes out the window. Carb plus protein actually increase the GI of any food. The suggested switch in your first post was so pointless it is untrue, brown pasta for brown rice, really?
> 
> Maybe read these to broaden your knowledge -
> 
> ...


First of all, I appreciate the reply and the inclusion of all the links. I will certainly go through all of them.

I am not going to write yet another long post, as I think we have overtaken the thread already, which was not the goal. I just have a quick comment about IIFYM, which I think did not make clear enough in my previous posts.

I've always encouraged my readers to go live a balanced life. It is not just about chicken and rice. If you want to eat pasta, bread or pizza, then go for it. Just don't make it an everyday thing if you want to achieve good fitness results. I've stated this in one of my articles, Cheat Meal The Necessary Evil.

What I've seen time and time again is that people who go on IIFYM diet use it as an excuse to indulge on whatever they feel like it. If it is a one or two time thing in a week, that's fine. Eating junk food every day is not fine. Anyway, I will write an article about IIFYM soon and will post the link here for whoever is interested in reading it.

As for the anabolic window, healthier food choices, etc. my quetion is, if it doesn't costs you any extra effort why not do it? For me a protein shake after my workout is not something that requires tremendous efforts. If I forget my shake it's not the end of the world... I will survive. The thing is, if it takes me 30 seconds to do something that might bring 5% additional benefit, why not do it? Why go the opposite way?


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## Ultrasonic (Jul 13, 2004)

> The thing is, if it takes me 30 seconds to do something that might bring 5% additional benefit, why not do it? Why go the opposite way?


More like 0.05%.

Whether there is benefit to having whey immediately post-workout depends when you are next going to have a proper meal. If it's half an hour later the whey is pointless. If it's an hour and a half later the whey may be of some benefit and I'd have it.

Protein timing post-workout is not the OP's problem though, any more than bread is. It's total calories, coupled with likely sub-optimal training.


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## Tom90 (Jan 29, 2010)

Insulin being touted as a fat storing hormone, loooooool

You're concentrating on what one metabolic hormone is doing, at one point in time.

When it comes to body composition, quantity of calories matters a lot more than quality of calories.


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## TIDALWAVE (Aug 30, 2015)

Drogon said:


> Seriously, I know he looks great but @Sompare diet advice is poor (no offence Sompare)
> 
> It does not matter if you eat sugar for breakfast, high/low GI is BS/myth when it comes to body composition. food choices are almost irrelevant (in the grand picture) and meal/food timing doesn't matter in the slightest!
> 
> ...


 Great advice


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## Fletch68 (Mar 17, 2013)

UlsterRugby said:


> Your diet is pretty poor
> 
> breakfast 75g oats tablespoon of almond butter or peanut butter and either 40g protein shake or 6 eggs (2whole and 4 whites) I scramble mine.
> 
> ...


 Is even brown bread a poor food choice? Until recently i was still eating wholemeal bread but am trying to ditch the habit.


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## UlsterRugby (Nov 16, 2014)

Fletch68 said:


> Is even brown bread a poor food choice? Until recently i was still eating wholemeal bread but am trying to ditch the habit.


 It's not ideal but you can have it if you want if it fits in your macros. Use my fitness pal to track calories. Sweet spud and brown rice are better than bread for carbs.


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## Ultrasonic (Jul 13, 2004)

Fletch68 said:


> Is even brown bread a poor food choice? Until recently i was still eating wholemeal bread but am trying to ditch the habit.


 Wholemeal bread is perfectly OK to eat.


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## Dark sim (May 18, 2013)

UlsterRugby said:


> It's not ideal but you can have it if you want if it fits in your macros. Use my fitness pal to track calories. Sweet spud and brown rice are better than bread for carbs.


 why?


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## UlsterRugby (Nov 16, 2014)

Dark sim said:


> why?


 I misread the section it was in I thought it was losing weight and said if it fits your macros then go ahead but not ideal for cutting as the amount of kcals and carbs I don't find it very filling.

Same as anything if it fits your macros go ahead but when cutting I avoid bread again I said I misread the title I thought it was losing weight


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## bottleneck25 (Sep 25, 2009)

Try and keep carbs low and protein as high as possible and aaim for 500 cals over a day . I gain fat easy aswell but atm I'm cutting and getting stronger my body seems to react better to having lower calories rather than more . Try staying and maintenance and see how that goes for a month you deffo shouldn't gain fat but you may gain musle and lose some fat stay the same weight but increase you lbm


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## GCMAX (Dec 31, 2013)

danblukk said:


> I've been lifting weights for many years now and when I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror you could be fooled that I even go gym.
> 
> I've not gained any muscle since my beginner gains which was only about 8-12lbs initially. All I gain now is fat. I have always kept track of my workouts, how many calories I consume, how much I lift, reps, rests, volume etc.
> 
> ...


 If you can't see gains and think you look fatter, it's probably a layer of fat above the muscle that is obscuring your definition and the fact that you say you are much stronger now than when you started training means you must have built some muscle.

Post a picture of yourself now and if you can post an old one before you started training or early on.


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## theBEAST2002 (Oct 16, 2011)

If you are getting stronger then you are gaining muscle mass. Due to the fact you are natural, both strength and size gains will be very slow. This should not discourage you. You will need to cut your carbs a bit. Do some cardio away from your weight training to trim down a little bit until you can see your obliques and the top of your abs. This is a good standard level of body fat to have for most men.

Now for your training I would suggest sticking to low reps and volume. Focus more on intensity of your training and training body parts more frequently. I wouldn't go over 12 reps on compound lifts and would advise that you normally stick to 4-8 rep range.


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## Devil (May 31, 2016)

theBEAST2002 said:


> Now for your training I would suggest sticking to low reps and volume. Focus more on intensity of your training and training body parts more frequently. I wouldn't go over 12 reps on compound lifts and would advise that you normally stick to 4-8 rep range.


 Out of interest, would this be your training advice if gear was involved?

Or would you advocate higher reps, more volume etc


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## theBEAST2002 (Oct 16, 2011)

Devil said:


> Out of interest, would this be your training advice if gear was involved?
> 
> Or would you advocate higher reps, more volume etc


 With someone that uses gear I would advise more variety. However what it all comes down to, regardless of natural or not is you need to get stronger. You don't have to be a powerlifter, but you need to lift more weight and more reps.


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## Devil (May 31, 2016)

theBEAST2002 said:


> With someone that uses gear I would advise more variety. However what it all comes down to, regardless of natural or not is you need to get stronger. You don't have to be a powerlifter, but you need to lift more weight and more reps.


 Cool, agreed mate


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