A little help?! 167lbs. getting to 185lbs.

[dlee300]

Alright, here goes...i'm 22 yrs. old, been working out hard (average 3-4 days a week) for 3 years. i'm 5'11", 167lbs., bench 300lbs, have a 6 pack, and squat about the same (sad). I have gained about 25lbs in body weight and about 150lbs in bench in the last couple of years due to natural growth, working out and protein shakes. The problem is I gained 95% of that weight in a one year span and have been stuck now for about 10 months. I still work out the same amount and have simply maintained these numbers even though I walk away from the weight room swoll and my muscles are definitely shocked thinking I did some good every night. But it turns out to nothing. I feel like I'm working out for no reason because I'm not seeing results anymore. I got spoiled by how much I gained in that first year.

The thing is my metabolism is so high I can sit on the couch and lose weight!! I take in probably 3000 calories a day and easily a gram of protein for every pound of body weight. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy but my goal from the beginning was to get to 180-185lbs. while still maintaining my lifting numbers. I know my leg numbers aren't proportional to my upper body numbers but it's a little harder for me to gain in legs. I'm still plenty strong and ripped with my legs, it just doesn't show.

Any advice from ya'll on how to gain that last 15lbs.??!! and if you say "EAT!" i've heard that before. I can eat like no other. I've eaten large pizzas by myself and 2 or 3 steaks at one sitting. I have an appetite. Do I just need to be patient and let time take over my metabolism??

[The_Grinder]

....Any advice from ya'll on how to gain that last 15lbs.??!! and if you say "EAT!" i've heard that before.....

o boy they arent gonna like that. :bbq:

[Chadd77]

Let's see your diet. Post what a normal day would look like for you.

[redback]

Get ya diet up 1st and we go from there..

[Bouncer]

sounds like your body has become use to your style of training, eating, etc.. you need to change things up, change your workouts, change the foods you eating around etc..

like has been said before, it is very important that you post your diet and exactly what you eat on an average day. a lot of time people think they are eating enough and they really aren't. Even if you are eating enough, maybe we can give you some tips on changing certain foods or the times at which you eat them.

[dlee300]

see the thing is, i'm a college student and you should know that a college student does not have a set diet. I will go through what I usually have in a day though. For the last month, I've gone with cereal or sausage, egg and cheese sandwiches. The thing with my breakfast diet especially is I get stuck in routines and ruts because it becomes "easy and quick" to fix. The last couple of years I've eaten full breakfasts though, a few scrambled eggs, meat, grits, milk...(if you haven't noticed yet, I eat foods that put major pounds on normal people). i've never had a mid-morning snack because of school and now work (9-2).

For lunch, it varies so much...I'll go with a couple ham and cheese sandwiches one day, pasta and meatballs the next, lasagna today...you are probably laughing at how i eat but it's a college student's life...unpredictability. i mean, i'll get all the food groups in, a lot of fat, carbs and protein. To drink, protein shakes, gatorade, water, sweet tea.

For supper, again extremely varied and similar to lunch. I'll try to eat more of a square meal though when I have a chance; veggies and such...i'll usually eat a snack before going to bed, right now i'm going with pound cake and peanut butter sandwiches with a protein shake. haha

after working out, i eat 1-2 peanut butter sandwiches with a protein shake. I workout in the evening hours. I average 8 hours of sleep during the week and 11 on weekends. I love my sleep. I know this does not help but as you can see I eat my fair share of stuff that makes people gain weight but it simply does not happen. Come at me with your criticisms and suggestions! you're probably wondering how i haven't had a heart attack or weigh 300lbs. but i still have a 6 pack after all this...

when you do reply just remember i'm a college student with not much time or money on my hands...things like eating grilled salmon or 9 egg yolks in the morning just can't happen right now...thanks!!

[Bouncer]

well, keeping in mind that your a student and you are trying to gain mass. the simple answer is this. eat more then you are eating now. throw in some more PB&J sandwhiches, more meatballs, etc.. bottom line, you are not gaining weight on the amount of calories you are eating now. simply eat more. your body is burning more calories then you are eating so you must supply it with more.

[coffee-guy]

Bah - college student or not it can be done if you want it bad enough - I've taken 21 hours worth of upper level courses, worked almost 30-40 work weeks with terrible hours and I have a 3yo little guy who requires a ton of attention...

I may come across as a "glass half empty" kind of guy at times but I'm truly not - I just like to talk out my problems more than most - in the end you just do it and find a way if it's what you want....

[coffee-guy]

Oh yeah - and drop the pb&j and meatballs etc and focus on meats like chicken/steak with complex carbs such as oats/brown rice - I usually cook an entire weeks worth of rice on Sunday mornings and I cook a bag of frozen chicken every night before I go to bed (my oven has a timer on it) - the next day I've got 6 chicken boobies ready to be packed in a cooler (as I'm typically out of the house from 7am until at least 10pm most days)...

[dlee300]

appreciate it...nobody can ever blame me for not working for something if i want it bad enough. i got to 300lbs bench, ncaa academic all-american, grad school student from tons of hard work. my situation with lifting and eating has been unfamiliarity with the whole deal. i've never, ever had a set workout plan or routine, diet, or anything of the sort. it's all come from hard work of knowing what my body feels. it's all sort of come natural to me. that's why i get excited thinking about what my body will look like and feel like if i actually can get to around 185lbs. that would be a great size for me. i feel like i'd be pushing 350lbs bench if i did. the more weight i gain, the more i gain in bench. i gauge a lot by my bench because all other lifts coincide for me. i just got done eating 2 pb sandwiches and a protein shake so i'm bout to hit the sack. i'm big on steak/chicken, just expensive for my budget so i have to settle for pb sand. every now and then. appreciate it though!

[Bouncer]

appreciate it...nobody can ever blame me for not working for something if i want it bad enough. i got to 300lbs bench, ncaa academic all-american, grad school student from tons of hard work. my situation with lifting and eating has been unfamiliarity with the whole deal. i've never, ever had a set workout plan or routine, diet, or anything of the sort. it's all come from hard work of knowing what my body feels. it's all sort of come natural to me. that's why i get excited thinking about what my body will look like and feel like if i actually can get to around 185lbs. that would be a great size for me. i feel like i'd be pushing 350lbs bench if i did. the more weight i gain, the more i gain in bench. i gauge a lot by my bench because all other lifts coincide for me. i just got done eating 2 pb sandwiches and a protein shake so i'm bout to hit the sack. i'm big on steak/chicken, just expensive for my budget so i have to settle for pb sand. every now and then. appreciate it though!

ya, just eat more cals if you want to gain bro. it isn't optimal but you can accomplish it with the foods you are eating. just eat more of them.

[Control]

If you think it's hard gaining mass as a college student, imagine doing it in the Army. I had it alot worse than you when I was your age. Here's my advice:

In addition to what you're already eating eat:

-1 dozen boiled eggs per day (I'm not sure if you have access to a stove but you can boil eggs in a microwave if you have to. Boil 2 or 3 dozen every 2 or 3 days, it doesn't take long. If you can find 4 hours a week to lift you can find time to boil eggs.)

-1 loaf of wheat bread. Just carry the bag around with you all day and eat slices between meals till the whole loaf is gone. If you get to the end of the day and you've got half the loaf left, eat it all before you go to bed.

-1 16 oz jar of unsalted peanuts. Peanuts get old quick. If you find yourself getting sick of them, eat a couple handfulls out of the jar and then dump a bag of M&M's in there and shake it up.

Do that and you will gain weight, I promise. Just make sure you eat all that in addition to what you're ALREADY eating, don't skip meals even if you're not hungry.

[Kiev]

Good Advice. Bump, Still laughing at controls input. Hes right though. I ate over 6,000 cals a day and 11,500 on cheating day when I was 22 and trying to gain wieght. I was 6'6" and 225 5bf. EAT Alot! Hmm I should have had meatballs,can carry them.

[dlee300]

appreciate all the info. i'm starting to notice some gains again in my lifting even though the body weight is still in the 165-167 range every week. i'm getting to the point where that's fine with me if i can just keep maintaining my lifting numbers. i'm trusting that as i get older my metabolism will slow so i may be on here in five years asking how to lose weight. that's kind of how my family history has been anyway. i now know what it's gonna take and i'm full of peanut butter sandwiches and protein shakes right now so i can't even think about it all...but my intention was to see how everyone on here has gained the weight they have and i haven't read anything that's suprised me so i guess i gotta get to work...thanks

[GearTripper]

I'd be interested to see exactly how many ounces of meat/chicken you eat in a week... how about fish? w/ the wholesale clubs throughout the country, price is not an option even for a starving college student. It's cheaper then pizza and beer. A lot of people think it's expensive to eat healthy, when it's actually more expensive to eat unhealthy. Also, I'd cut back on the simple sugar intake... lots of PB&J equals a lot of sugar. Focus on whole-foods rather then processed and the loaf of bread idea works, along with a dozen HB-eggs every day (skip the yolks IMO). What supps are you using?