Cannot gain weight

[jayrod1948]

I am 5' 10" I used to weigh 170 skinny with belly fat. I wanted to get rid of the belly fat so I started to run. I ran three times a week about 3 miles I lost 15lbs like nothing. Problem is I was still skinner and still belly fat. now at 155lb I still have a belly but I am skinny everywhere else. Arms legs and shoulders have all lost weight but not the dam stomach I have been working out with weights about two months to try and gain some muscle in the problem areas. Its just not working. I eat and eat and eat but do not gain if I do it is around the stomach. I work out for an hour three times a week with weights and no more running. as far as diet if I cut out the fat and suger I will lose more weight I eat until my stomach hurts with no gains except the stomach. this is so frustrating I do not know what to do anymore. I just want to be about 170 with out the fat I do not need to be huge I just want to be average and I cannot get there.

[Baldiewonkanobi]

Go to our Misc. section where you will find a large group of runners. Chat there. You see most Bodybuilders believe that running, other than wind sprints, burns valuable hard ass earned muscle.

Baldie

[RBH58]

I'm an ecto too, and if I store fat anywhere the first place I put it on, and the last place I take it off, is the belly area.

Sounds to me like you haven't got the diet right. You talk about decreasing fats and sugars but if you are loading your self with pastas and other simple carbohydrates, you are consuming sugar. You probably need to get your diet more skewed towards protein content (i.e lean meats).

You also talk about exercising the "problem areas" and you simply can't work fat off any specific area by working that area. The best way to go forward is to get the diet right and work at increasing your lean muscle mass all over which will raise your natural metabolic rate and help burn fat. Focus more on hitting the gym and building overall size than trying to run the fat off and you may be surprised at the result.

I'm sure that other will add their $0.02's worth but don't give up. There is plenty of information available on this board and plenty of people willing to provide advice.

[aneas]

Post diet and training routine. Also 2 months is not a very long time. Being an ecto myself it took me years to put on muscle.

[m1k3g0rd]

For losing belly fat but not muscle, running is not your friend. It's a great exercise and will really keep you healthy, but to lose just fat you have to get the diet zeroed in. Chicken, fish, steamed vegetables, fruit, nuts, and an occasional handful of nuts will do it. And walk, don't run.

[JonnyStead]

Go to our Misc. section where you will find a large group of runners. Chat there. You see most Bodybuilders believe that running, other than wind sprints, burns valuable hard ass earned muscle.

Baldie

Baldie - I think thats a little cut and dried.

There is a place for a fat burning run as part of a cut or for controlling bodyfat during the bulk. Just thought I would flag this in the interest of balance.

[spiirit]

I been taking "Acetyl L-Carnitine" as directed for 15 months and astonished to see loose fat folds appear on back and waist (Handles on handles". I am 5'10 and weigh 152lb. right now. I am Ectomorph.

Internal organs have protective fat also... allow for that and the belly will be the last to go as it shrinks up around the navel. If you're in a hurry, Forget it. Take the Carnitine mentioned and proceed with life for a year. I think you will be pleasantly suprised and satisfied.

Tom W

[JOHN GARGANI]

Baldie - I think thats a little cut and dried.

There is a place for a fat burning run as part of a cut or for controlling bodyfat during the bulk. Just thought I would flag this in the interest of balance.

the OP's post deserved a cut and dry answer.....

it was one long confusing paragraph, replete with misleading run on sentences....

very hard to figure out just what he was saying.....

also: it gave us ZERO real information, as we don't know WHAT he was eating, nor how he was lifting ,etc and so on....


"I eat and eat and eat" is hardly a qualifying statement for purposes of helping someone in this forum.

[dontreadonme]

need to know specific diet and training routine as stated. Are you lifting heavy using big compound movements like deadlifts, squats, presses, and rows? Have you cut the sugar and processed foods? You do have to eat to grow... but the biological value of the foods you consume is key. When trying to gain weight (as I am now after a long layoff) I only consume the following:

whole Eggs, chicken breast, lean steak, fish, turkey, whey

Sweet potatoes, brown rice, oats, corn, squash, beans, peas, carrots.

Dark green leafy veggies, nut and seeds

+ 2 gallons of water daily.

I also eat every 2.5 to 3 hours. Lift heavy, using big movements as described above in the 6-10 rep range to failure. Sprinkle in a couple days of cardio including sprints.

This style of training, combined with patience and time... should yield some great gains.