Looking to bulk up( weight gainer works?)

[Lizard King]

Weight gainers make you gaseous and bloated, and most are full of empty cals. If you want to increase cals, add a 1/2 gal to a gal of whole milk ed in addition to food ( not as a substitute). This will give you an extra 1000 to 2000 cals ed.

Go with chocolate milk, more calories, more carbs and easier to chug a 1/2 gallon

 

[PillarofBalance]

My most successful bulk phases have been high carb/high protein/low fat. I find that the more fat in a meal, the slower gastric emptying occurs, and the longer intervals become between meals. You only have 16 hours/day to eat. Use it wisely. Lean protein + carbs + vegetables 6+ times/day has been good to me. Good luck.

This is good advice. Forgot about that. I always did the same. Fat was more satiating and kept me full longer. See days the only fats I ate were the ones that came attached to my protein sources and that's it.

 

[PillarofBalance]

Thank you all for the feedback! I guess I just gotta eat a lot more than I do! It’s kinda difficult to do because im working 10-12 hours a day of being on a busy schedule. Time to start prepping food!
How much of a calorie surplus should I be trying to hit throughout the day/week? Does “serious mass gainer” from gnc work well?

Don't think in terms of the week but one day to the next so it doesn't feel overwhelming

As for how much you have 2 choices.

1 google TDEE CALCULATOR and use it. Eat above your maintanence calories it provides. Start by adding 500 over maintanence per day.

2. Use the mirror and scale. Just eat more than you do now and keep adding more and more until the scale moves.

Or be smart and do option c which is kind of a combo of the two. Know about how many cals you need to grow. Eat that and adjust up or down based on rate of fat gain.

 

[Wallyd]

Peanut butter is your friend. Add 2-3 peanut butter & jelly sandwiches in between meals throughout the day. Calorie dense, healthy fats and easy to make plus they just taste good!

 

[macgyver]

Don't think in terms of the week but one day to the next so it doesn't feel overwhelming

As for how much you have 2 choices.

1 google TDEE CALCULATOR and use it. Eat above your maintanence calories it provides. Start by adding 500 over maintanence per day.

2. Use the mirror and scale. Just eat more than you do now and keep adding more and more until the scale moves.

Or be smart and do option c which is kind of a combo of the two. Know about how many cals you need to grow. Eat that and adjust up or down based on rate of fat gain.

Yep....and the re-assess is the most important part as any of these is just a baseline guess. I have some pretty good spreadsheets that account for LBM, but the activity multiplier is always tricky.

One KISS is just start at 14x Body weight as a maintenance baseline for someone who is moderately active. Adjust from there. If you are guessing a bulk eat 17X BW in cals. Cutting eat 11X

Again.....I know all the calcs...but in the end, that KISS method will get 90% of people within 200 cal of where they need to be. Adjust ever 2weeks at most until loss or gain is at the desired rate

 

[schuyler]

focus on nitrogen retention

 

[HisAngriness]

Yep....and the re-assess is the most important part as any of these is just a baseline guess. I have some pretty good spreadsheets that account for LBM, but the activity multiplier is always tricky.

One KISS is just start at 14x Body weight as a maintenance baseline for someone who is moderately active. Adjust from there. If you are guessing a bulk eat 17X BW in cals. Cutting eat 11X

Again.....I know all the calcs...but in the end, that KISS method will get 90% of people within 200 cal of where they need to be. Adjust ever 2weeks at most until loss or gain is at the desired rate

For myself personally, I've found that 4,000cals (with a MINIMUM of 300g protein) ED is ideal for gaining. That breaks down to around 18x at 220lbs with between 12-15% bf.
At 15x I can maintain between 210-220lbs. And I've always considered myself a "hardgainer" (I view it more like a LEAN gainer now that I'm more educated in bodybuilding).
But as we all know, everybody responds differently to different things. What works for me may not work for the next guy

 

[PillarofBalance]

focus on nitrogen retention

Thank you for your contributions to the Iron Den. You are a true asset to this board. An eagle amongst pigeons.

 

[prime]

I'd also track your calories. You have no idea how much to eat unless you get a snapshot of your calories.

 

[prime]

I'd also track your calories. You have no idea how much to eat unless you get a snapshot of your calories.