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I am 6'0 and 150 lbs. I am skinny but have alot of muscle and good abs. I would like to gain some weight maybe to 190 and still maintain my muscle and tone. Which would be more practical both financially and physically to use, Weight Gainer or Whey Protein? I work out everyday for 4 hours so I really cant gain weight as easily as others. I am on a $50 week budget for food so it is hard for me to eat regular meals plus supplements. I was thinking of buying a 5lb bucket of 920 calorie serving weight gainer that includes alot protein and mixing it with skim milk and just eat this. I figure with the calories, protein, and vitamins it wont be unhealthy or dangerous, any insight?
Generally speaking, at least many years ago when I checked them out, weight gainers had a lot of sugars and 'bad stuff' in there. Protein was almost always a better bet, but maybe now things are different. (I'm 100 years old, so I could have old data)
You could take some extra virgin olive oil, and all natural peanut butter for some added calories. You can throw some of that into a protein shake as well. It's pretty inexpensive and you get 9 calories/gram of great fats.
You need to see what your diet consists of and tweak it accordingly. It seems like 4hours/day workouts, you're deficient in something that ias not making you gain weight. what it is, may be calories, or protein, carbs, or fats. Check your diet and total caloric intake. Good luck.
Don't buy the weight gainer. Those are usually packed with carbs and really don't do anything to build muscle. Use a good quality whey protein, or even a whey meal replacement like MetRX. Then again, the MetRX would wipe out your food budget. There are cheaper meal replacements. You can make whey smoothies with yogurt, bananas and protein powder. Those work well, taste good and are cheap.
Cut down on your workout time too. Your body needs rest to recuperate and build muscle. If you never let it recuperate, it will never grow.
Yeah, the weight gainer products seem to be a bad idea unless you really, really know what you're doing. 40lbs is a lot to gain. Just stick to eating better (and a lot more of it) and doing heavy compound lifts.
Cheap foods that are rich in protein:
Peanut butter
Ground turkey - Usually a dollar or so less per pound than beef and less fat.
Eggs
Canned tuna or chicken - check your local dollar store for good deals.
Whole chickens/hind quarters
Lentils - probably the cheapest protein. Mix with rice, pasta or beans.
Powdered milk - half the price of regular milk.
Oatmeal - mix with peanut butter for a good protein source.
Don't buy the weight gainer. Those are usually packed with carbs and really don't do anything to build muscle. .
While carbs themselves don't do anything to build muscle, they do provide calories so you don't have to burn up protein/stored muscle. Consuming enough carbs is going to be an issue for the OP. Other than that, I agree with the smoothie suggestion.
Plain Whey protein is the same price as Weight Gainer plus the weight gainer has more calories which I need. This is where I am having atough time deciding.
Plain Whey protein is the same price as Weight Gainer plus the weight gainer has more calories which I need. This is where I am having atough time deciding.
What exactly is the number of calories you need daily (your DCI)? Too many calories and you'll become a flabby weakling (actually you could lose strength) if you dont follow a decent workout and nutrition plan.
There is a LOT more to gaining 40lbs than just drinking a weight gain/protein shake. Answer a few questions for us so that we can better recommend something specific to your goals:
1. Why do you want to be 190lbs? For sport? For looks? Or does it just sound like a good number?
2. What type of nutrition plan have you outlined for yourself to gain weight? I.E., number of meals per day, DCI, what types of food?
3. What weight training plan will you be following?
I have more questions but these are the most basic. For the amount of weight you want to gain, it will require much more than drinking shakes. You will have to eat A LOT and train HEAVY!!!
What exactly is the number of calories you need daily (your DCI)? Too many calories and you'll become a flabby weakling (actually you could lose strength) if you dont follow a decent workout and nutrition plan.
There is a LOT more to gaining 40lbs than just drinking a weight gain/protein shake. Answer a few questions for us so that we can better recommend something specific to your goals:
1. Why do you want to be 190lbs? For sport? For looks? Or does it just sound like a good number?
2. What type of nutrition plan have you outlined for yourself to gain weight? I.E., number of meals per day, DCI, what types of food?
3. What weight training plan will you be following?
I have more questions but these are the most basic. For the amount of weight you want to gain, it will require much more than drinking shakes. You will have to eat A LOT and train HEAVY!!!
I want to bulk up for military bootcamp I am afraid I will get even skinnier there and wont be able to make it.
Right now I get about 1200 calories per day and would like to get 2500
I want to bulk up for military bootcamp I am afraid I will get even skinnier there and wont be able to make it.
Right now I get about 1200 calories per day and would like to get 2500
I see. My advice is that you are going about it totally the wrong way. No one "bulks up" for bootcamp. If you put on 40lbs do you think that you would be able to keep up with all the running of mile and miles and hill climbs with gear on in the military? I think you would fail if you just concentrate on bulking up now.
I suggest you first and foremost, establish a good cardio/running program NOW. You WILL bulk up a bit (get stronger) in basic so dont worry about putting on any poundage right now. There's a good book called "Boxings Champion workouts" (or something like that) where boxers give their workout routines. I suggest you look into that first for cardio/roadwork.
As far as lifting weights, just do 3 days per week whole body days = Squat, leg curl, leg extensions, bench press, rows, curls, military press then do some light cardio after. Other days (3x per week) do your road work. Rest one day (or two). Eat right with maybe some whey protein immediately after your weight sessions (like less than 3 minutes after) and you'll be fine.
I want to bulk up for military bootcamp I am afraid I will get even skinnier there and wont be able to make it.
Right now I get about 1200 calories per day and would like to get 2500
1200 calories per day??!!! and your 6 foot??? I'm assuming your a guy??? Yea...you definitly need to drastically up your DCI.....2500 at least.
Whey protein is good.....some of the guys I train take EAS. It's fairly inexpensive and it's a great source of protein....if you want to bulk you need to limit your cardio.....lift.....a lot!
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