Irving Kim
Tue, May-11-04, 06:14
In <Xns94E56133FC25Dhughrbeyeracmorg@63.223.5.254> Hugh Beyer
<beyerxyzzy@acm.org> writes:
>kj <socyl@987jk.com> wrote in
>news:c7mo9f$9li$1@reader2.panix.com:
>> My weightlifting is getting me nowhere. I'm making very
>> little progress in strength, and no visible progress in
>> muscle mass. The problem is with my nutrition, I'm sure.
>> For the past two years I've been eating around 1300
>> calories a day, just trying to lose the fat. I know the
>> word is that I got to eat at least around 3000 calories a
>> day to put on some serious muscle, but after two years of
>> hard work losing all the fat, I can't bring myself to eat
>> this much--I'm paranoid about regaining all the fat I lost.
>> I gain fat at the drop of a hat. Every time that I have
>> stopped counting calories I start to regain fat instantly.
>> It looks like my physiology is much better at packing the
>> fat than packing the beef.
>You can't gain muscle without gaining weight. As long as you
>keep such a tight leash on the intake, you won't gain
>muscle. So eat.
>When you start to eat, you'll gain 5 pounds for free. This
>doesn't mean anything--it's 5 pounds of water weight
>associated with your body having enough food for a change.
>But it'll scare you off gaining weight.
>So make a deal with yourself that you'll eat either until
>you've gained as much as you can stand--at least 15 or 20
>pounds--or for a fixed amount of time. Track your weight,
>and if you don't gain 2 pounds a week, eat more. When you
>get nuts, remind yourself that you KNOW how to lose the
>weight again.
>Personal experience here--I spent the past year lifting
>weights and getting stronger, but not really changing my body
>composition much. I finally decided to take another MFW
>regular's advice, butch up, and eat. After that first 5
>pounds, I found gaining at the rate of 2 pounds a week quite
>hard. I spent the whole time feeling bloated. (This was
>during Lent, and I had given up sugar and refined flour,
>which meant I couldn't tank up on ding-dongs.)
>There's some question as to what the optimal rate of weight
>gain is to maximize muscle vs fat. 2 pounds a week may be
>more than is optimal for you. I'd recommend it anyway, just
>to prove to yourself that even if you go hog wild, you
>really won't blow up like a balloon. You can refine things
>after that.
The question is how much of those 2 lbs/wk is muscle and how
much is fat. I too have struggled with the problem the OP
described, and I find that one of the things that makes it
hard for me to find the right regime is not having a good way
to find out how much of my weight gain is just fat. I haven't
found a good solution to this problem.
Irv
--
NOTE: In my address everything before the period is backwards.
<beyerxyzzy@acm.org> writes:
>kj <socyl@987jk.com> wrote in
>news:c7mo9f$9li$1@reader2.panix.com:
>> My weightlifting is getting me nowhere. I'm making very
>> little progress in strength, and no visible progress in
>> muscle mass. The problem is with my nutrition, I'm sure.
>> For the past two years I've been eating around 1300
>> calories a day, just trying to lose the fat. I know the
>> word is that I got to eat at least around 3000 calories a
>> day to put on some serious muscle, but after two years of
>> hard work losing all the fat, I can't bring myself to eat
>> this much--I'm paranoid about regaining all the fat I lost.
>> I gain fat at the drop of a hat. Every time that I have
>> stopped counting calories I start to regain fat instantly.
>> It looks like my physiology is much better at packing the
>> fat than packing the beef.
>You can't gain muscle without gaining weight. As long as you
>keep such a tight leash on the intake, you won't gain
>muscle. So eat.
>When you start to eat, you'll gain 5 pounds for free. This
>doesn't mean anything--it's 5 pounds of water weight
>associated with your body having enough food for a change.
>But it'll scare you off gaining weight.
>So make a deal with yourself that you'll eat either until
>you've gained as much as you can stand--at least 15 or 20
>pounds--or for a fixed amount of time. Track your weight,
>and if you don't gain 2 pounds a week, eat more. When you
>get nuts, remind yourself that you KNOW how to lose the
>weight again.
>Personal experience here--I spent the past year lifting
>weights and getting stronger, but not really changing my body
>composition much. I finally decided to take another MFW
>regular's advice, butch up, and eat. After that first 5
>pounds, I found gaining at the rate of 2 pounds a week quite
>hard. I spent the whole time feeling bloated. (This was
>during Lent, and I had given up sugar and refined flour,
>which meant I couldn't tank up on ding-dongs.)
>There's some question as to what the optimal rate of weight
>gain is to maximize muscle vs fat. 2 pounds a week may be
>more than is optimal for you. I'd recommend it anyway, just
>to prove to yourself that even if you go hog wild, you
>really won't blow up like a balloon. You can refine things
>after that.
The question is how much of those 2 lbs/wk is muscle and how
much is fat. I too have struggled with the problem the OP
described, and I find that one of the things that makes it
hard for me to find the right regime is not having a good way
to find out how much of my weight gain is just fat. I haven't
found a good solution to this problem.
Irv
--
NOTE: In my address everything before the period is backwards.