140 lbs... need more than 3500 calories?

[KoN]

I've been stuck at 140 lbs for a month now. I log all my food on fitday and am eating at least 3500 calories a day, 280-300 grams protein and the rest divided into carbs and fat depending on if I am training or not.

I have seen my bodyfat increase a little bit in the time since I started my bulk in April (started at 126), and I'm wondering if you guys think it's normal that a 140 lbs guy at 5'7 should need upwards of that to gain weight. I'm eating all clean, solid food, and am hesistant to see my bodyfat go up even more so I'm wondering if it could be a hormone or metabolic thing.

Opinions, or just keep adding calories?

[Bigtred]

You obviously have that high metabolism. If you've gained fat, then you should have gained weight as well. It is very possible that you have to eat that many cals and even more. Try controlling your carbs and fats more to avoid putting on fat but keeping your cals up.

If your strength and muscle is going up then I wouldn't worry about the fat too much because with your metabolism you'll be able to cut the fat later easily. But if you're not gaining muscle and only fat, then it's time to re evaluate your whole diet and training regimen.

[tiramisu]

If you aren't gaining weight you aren't eating enough BUT if at 140 you aren't gaining on 3500 calories you are probably doing way too much cardio or you are 16.

[nitrous]

lol at the or you are 16 comment...

my guess is yeah you are pretty young.. young guys do a lot of cardio.. so you gotta eat to make up for it.. so keep eating more...

i'm 5'6 170-175 and for me it takes a lot of eating properly to get to that weight/keep it on

[bigtavi8]

Everyone of us is so differnt its crazy. I know guys who are also 140 that eat more quality food then me and cant get up to 200. But i geuss genetics is a factor. I was born into a family were the men are all 6 foot 200+ pounds so obviously for me to be 200 is no suprise. I have no problem putting on qaulity weight or cutting down. Everyone is differnt. But this is the body you were given so figure out how it works and experiment. Get to know your body and how it reacts and keep logging your food.

[KoN]

lol I'm 21 years old and I don't do any cardio at all. I lift 4 days a week basic bodybuilding split.

[bigtavi8]

Either you dont train hard enough those 4 days, or you simply are not eating enough food. At 140 i would not worry to much about bf percentage becuase if its over 10% now and you cant see your abs at 140 theres something wrong here.

Just try going exteme with it honestly. Try taking in 4k+ cals. And if your still not growing then theres something seriously wrong. When you say 4 days/ew is it the basic movements? bench, squats, deads, heavy presses?

[LonelyBedouin]

Make your fitday log public and post up the link, lets see what your eating.

[KoN]

fitday.com/fitness/PublicJournals.html?Owner=KingofNiger

The odd day that the journal is below 3000 calories is because I ate a meal before going to bed. But the rest is A-OK.

Training is all heavy compound movements, 6-10 reps max, and every rep is very hard. My strength is going up by the week, but the scale stays the same.

[Drummer]

wow. hyperthyroid? ;)

[Bigtred]

If your strength is going up by the week, then don't worry about it. Muscles are growing, your weight is going up too, probably just not as fast as you'd like.

Sounds like you're more ecto, and assuming you're training clean, then the average ecto will gain 4 to 8lbs of muscle a year...tops.

My bro is pure ecto. He's 43 yrs old, been training for more than 20 yrs. He's now 6ft, 240'ish of solid, maybe 10%BF. Every time a young newbie in the gym asks him how he got so big, he gets upset and tells the guy, "I've gained about 4lbs of muscle a year........for the last 20 years! It didn't happen overnight!"

[Big D]

If your strength is going up by the week, then don't worry about it. Muscles are growing, your weight is going up too, probably just not as fast as you'd like.

Sounds like you're more ecto, and assuming you're training clean, then the average ecto will gain 4 to 8lbs of muscle a year...tops.

My bro is pure ecto. He's 43 yrs old, been training for more than 20 yrs. He's now 6ft, 240'ish of solid, maybe 10%BF. Every time a young newbie in the gym asks him how he got so big, he gets upset and tells the guy, "I've gained about 4lbs of muscle a year........for the last 20 years! It didn't happen overnight!"

thats dedication,

[Josh]

Hey KoN,

I'm the same way. A cursed ectomorph, I guess. In January of last year, I was only 116 lb (I'm 5'7".) I was able to put on 25 lb last year, and only another 13 this year, so I'm up to 154 lb now, probably around 13-15% bf. I have to eat SO MUCH food. I take in a bit less protein than you do (around 180-200 grams per day) and take in more carbs instead. Of course, I avoid cardio like the plague. People like us really just have to eat eat eat. If you think you're eating enough, and you can't put on the weight, then you're not eating enough apparently. Also make sure you get enough sleep. Looking at your fit day log, it looks like it would be really easy for you to drink more milk. Something you could try, maybe. Drink a 2L carton every day instead of just 1 cup.

How long are you training those 4 days each week? What is your job?

[Memo]

I'm like this too, 5'5, 165lbs 13%. But Im eating so much damn food is ridiculous.

[KoN]

I work from home so it's not a problem. Milk makes me feel like shit though, so I guess I'll just add EVOO to the end of every meal.

[L3]

if you wanna see the scale move up... peanut butter and bananas, before bed

it wont be pretty... but it works

did it for rugby in HS