Trying to gain lbs

[Tater]

Hi everyone. I'm new to the forums, but i really like what i see and have read. I've learned a lot in just the couple of hours that i've been searching. Anyway, here's the scoop. I'm 5'10, 116 lbs and 21 years old. I'm hardcore into soccer and have been since i was 14 being a on a team every season out of the year. So i'm in really good shape as far as endurance goes. Although, i've tolerated being beat down long enough because of my small size. Granted i'm fast, but there is still only so much rough contact my body can handle when i'm one on one with a guy twice my size. I figure my metabolism just needs to slow down....but it still hasn't. I started taking 100% Whey Protein about 6 weeks ago and i still see no difference. I take about 2 glasses of that stuff on the weekdays, 1 after i run and 1 before i go to the gym. And on the weekends i do about 3 glasses each day because i'm not so busy with school. I also started taking creatine about 3 weeks ago, and again...no difference. I work out at the gym only around 45 minutes on the weekdays, but then i do endurance training for about 2 hours after that. On the weekends it's a little more. Now my diet isn't the best, but it's not bad either. I don't drink sodas and i rarely do fast food. I don't eat as much meat as i should, but please realize that i'm a college student and i don't have the money to go out and buy a good piece of meat on a daily basis.

I realize i haven't been on the protein and creatine that long, but for the length of time i've been on it i still have not seen a lb. Today my friend gave me a steroid that he wants me to start using for me to gain some weight called Enantat QV 250. I've never taken a steroid before and haven't really given them any thought, so I google'd it and came across these forums. I read a lot about it on this site and from what i've read it's probably not the smartest thing to do right now. So here's my question, is there any kind of supplement that i can get on to slow my metabolism down? Also, is the protein stuff and the creatine something that i should be taking right now? And as far as the steroid goes, should i hold on to it for now? I don't plan on taking it, but would it be something to consider some time down the road? And just so you know, i play intermural soccer right now and not for my school, so they don't do drug tests. Also please remember that i'm a poor college student and there is only so much money that i can devote to stuff at the gnc. Thanks for all or your time and advice in advance.
~Chris

[Goosteady]

Hi everyone. I'm new to the forums, but i really like what i see and have read. I've learned a lot in just the couple of hours that i've been searching. Anyway, here's the scoop. I'm 5'10, 116 lbs and 21 years old. I'm hardcore into soccer and have been since i was 14 being a on a team every season out of the year. So i'm in really good shape as far as endurance goes. Although, i've tolerated being beat down long enough because of my small size. Granted i'm fast, but there is still only so much rough contact my body can handle when i'm one on one with a guy twice my size. I figure my metabolism just needs to slow down....but it still hasn't. I started taking 100% Whey Protein about 6 weeks ago and i still see no difference. I take about 2 glasses of that stuff on the weekdays, 1 after i run and 1 before i go to the gym. And on the weekends i do about 3 glasses each day because i'm not so busy with school. I also started taking creatine about 3 weeks ago, and again...no difference. I work out at the gym only around 45 minutes on the weekdays, but then i do endurance training for about 2 hours after that. On the weekends it's a little more. Now my diet isn't the best, but it's not bad either. I don't drink sodas and i rarely do fast food. I don't eat as much meat as i should, but please realize that i'm a college student and i don't have the money to go out and buy a good piece of meat on a daily basis.

I realize i haven't been on the protein and creatine that long, but for the length of time i've been on it i still have not seen a lb. Today my friend gave me a steroid that he wants me to start using for me to gain some weight called Enantat QV 250. I've never taken a steroid before and haven't really given them any thought, so I google'd it and came across these forums. I read a lot about it on this site and from what i've read it's probably not the smartest thing to do right now. So here's my question, is there any kind of supplement that i can get on to slow my metabolism down? Also, is the protein stuff and the creatine something that i should be taking right now? And as far as the steroid goes, should i hold on to it for now? I don't plan on taking it, but would it be something to consider some time down the road? And just so you know, i play intermural soccer right now and not for my school, so they don't do drug tests. Also please remember that i'm a poor college student and there is only so much money that i can devote to stuff at the gnc. Thanks for all or your time and advice in advance.
~Chris

You need to eat eat eat. Do a search and look at some bulking diets that other people have. You probably aren't getting enough calories, but at 116lb it shouldn't be hard to eat enough to make a difference. Just do the math and figure out how many cals you need. YJ has a link to a calculator on here somewhere. Stay away from the gear for sure.

[BBAddict]

A fast metabolism and all the sports and endurance training you do just means you need to eat more. I have a super fast metabolism as well and do quite a bit of endurance sports, so I just have to eat more (as much as 5000cals/day). Search the nutrition forum to find the right kind of protein, carbs and FATS to eat and you can begin buying and consuming foods that will help pack on the lbs. Whey protein and creatine are fine places to start for supplements. Use the whey right after workouts and perhaps in the morning.

As far as training, if you want to put on mass, I would avoid doing weight training and cardio at the same time if possible. You should be eating and resting immediately after lifting otherwise your muscles will be in a catabolic state when they should be and need to be rebuilding.

Don't even think about the steroids yet cause if you're diet isn't right on, you'll be wasting them anyway.
Good luck-as goosteady said, eat, eat, eat and then eat some more!

[Puddles]

2 hrs. of endurance training a day is gonna bun an awful lot of callories and you need to replace them plus add others if you want to grow at all.

I guess while you're in school you can't eat a lot of things very conveniently but you could start eating peanutbutter sandwiches inbetween classes. Use whole grain breads with unbleached flours instead of white bread and use natural peanutbutter (it's not much more expensive than regular pb).

Since you are looking to gain weight but don't have a lot of money you could try eating some legumes (beans/lentils) to give you some inexpensive protein and carbs (make a big pot of chilli with ground beef and beans, eat it on brown rice, or a good meal especially in the winter is beef and lentil soup...chilli, rice and soup are things that you can make a big pot of which saves time during the week since you just have to heat it up). Eggs are pretty cheap too, eating a big omlet in the morning with a side of oatmeal will not cost much, it'll just take a few minutes to make.

BBA had good advice, split up your training and eat right after your done with each one...this would be a great time to use the shake.

And absolutely, using steroids right now would be a waste of time and money. Without adequate nutrition and propper training, steroids will not work. 45 minutes a day in the gym should be enough, read up and learn how to train. There are a lot of helpful guys here if you unsure about what to do or how to approach it. Also, at 21 y.o. you should have a good amount of natural test in your body, don't mess with yet. :)

[bad14u]

Some good points made already. After workout....rest! Let the muscles rebuild. 2 hours of endurance training a day is WAY too much. Lay off that every other day. IMO GNC is over priced and over rated. Check out some of the board sponsors for supplements. Also you don't have to buy a nice piece of meat to get protein. Stock up on chicken breasts and tuna fish. Check out Bouncers recipes forum for some ideas on how to make different dishes. Good luck!

[Tater]

Thanks for all the advice so far. About the gym workout, i do that on my own. But there is very little time in my days to do it any other time than right before endurance stuff, and getting up earlier is out of the question. I already get an unhealthy amount of sleep. About the 2 hour endurance training, i don't have a choice there. That all has to deal with practices and drills for soccer. I'll try to move the gym time and field times farther apart though. What about pasta? I've read different things about that. It's pretty cheap to do (water and noodles). Should i give more pasta a try? Also, should i look into whole grain pasta, egg white pasta, etc...Thanks again.

[SloppyJo]

why do u have 2 hr soccer practices for intermural?

[Tater]

why do u have 2 hr soccer practices for intermural?

Well, we aren't a school team, but we are run through the school. It just opened up this last year and the guy who started it is some hardcore foreign student from Brazil. I think this guy was born with a soccer ball. Also, it's not always 2 hours of straight drills and runs. It's just that we are always out there for that amount of time. Doesn't bother me though. I like the workout.
~Chris

[SloppyJo]

yea i know intermural teams are run through the school but u only play other teams from your school... 2 hrs for intermural???
i played soccer from age 4-18... won a club classic state championship and went to regionals, and won a high school state championship... we practiced for about 2 hrs for high school every day, but for club it was about 2 hrs twice a week... one season we up'd it to 2 hrs 3 times a week but thats it.. and we'd travel all over the southeast for tourneys
ive just never heard of an intermural team practicin for that long when its only for fun

[Tater]

yea i know intermural teams are run through the school but u only play other teams from your school... 2 hrs for intermural???
i played soccer from age 4-18... won a club classic state championship and went to regionals, and won a high school state championship... we practiced for about 2 hrs for high school every day, but for club it was about 2 hrs twice a week... one season we up'd it to 2 hrs 3 times a week but thats it.. and we'd travel all over the southeast for tourneys
ive just never heard of an intermural team practicin for that long when its only for fun

We actually don't play other schools. We play against people in a league, but we actually aren't part of the league. Something to do with they won't let us in because we aren't a Mexican team :gives: Yeah it is just for fun, but the guy who is running us is hardcore about training rather it's just for fun or we are actually part of the league.

[Puddles]

Pasta, bread, white rice, white potatoes...they're fine occasionally, but they're not complex carbs like brown rice, sweet potatoes, and oats and they have less nutritional value overall.

[Ashop]

lots of calories are key. many protein, carbs, and good fats.