Nutrition Newbie

[LightningVance]

Just got a couple questions I'm hoping you proper eaters can answer. I myself am an absolute ectomorph to the T, can eat 4500 calories in a day (obviously those days aren't the healthiest) and step on the scale the next day and I've lost 3 pounds. Been trying to maintain 3000-3500 calories a day just to attempt to gain some weight, but I've plateau'd between 155 and 160 (I'm about 5'10) for about a year now. All of my lifts are getting better and I've gone up a shirt size in the last year, but the scale just won't go up (apparently I have some extra-dimensional fat storage somewhere that is being converted to muscle that i don't know about). Was just wondering if there was any tips or foods to go out and try to add to my diet that you guys would recommend, I'm trying to force myself to eat more variety (I can barely stomach rice and eggs, but that's pretty much the building blocks of weight gain). Wondering about if there's certain snacks I can throw in throughout the day that are recommended and high in gain value as well.

Even just a reply saying "grow a pair and eat your eggs!" will help haha

[dipatel13]

First, you're not an ectomorph, you're human. Body types are junk science.
Second, are you sure you're eating that many calories? Are you very active during the day to justify that calorie maintenance level?
Third, if you're wanting to gain weight, you need to eat in a controlled surplus.

[SuffolkPunch]

rice and eggs are not the building blocks of muscle. Protein and calories are. These things can come from many many different sources.

If you have trouble getting the required calories in, eat more calorie dense foods like fattier cuts of meat, oils, nut butters, trail mix. Even 'treat' foods (provided that you still get protein and vitamins/minerals from other foods).

http://www.completehumanperformance.com/clean-eating/

[LightningVance]

I more or less just use the term "Ectomorph" to describe someone who can eat a ton, and not gain anything from it. I'm not actually a huge believer in the whole "Body type debate".

And most days I'm walking 20 minutes to and from work, to a job that I'm on my feet the entire shift, so I'd consider that fairly active, on top of trying to the hit the gym and have a social life that involves moving.

I was gonna give trail mix and nuts a try just wasn't sure if there was any specific kind that was recommended or if they all sort of contain the same nutrients (I've never been a nut/granola eater)

[ironwill2008]

can eat 4500 calories in a day (obviously those days aren't the healthiest) and step on the scale the next day and I've lost 3 pounds.

Not buying ^^^^ this at all.


Get a food scale and start actually weighing/measuring/tracking all your food portions. Guessing/eyeball-estimating how much you're eating will fail you.

[dipatel13]

That usually means they are overestimating their food intake and not eating enough.

If you maintaining at just over 3000 cals, add in an extra couple hundred calories. As SuffolkPunch mentioned, fattier meats and nuts or nut butters would be an easy way to add the extra calories.

[LightningVance]

Not buying ^^^^ this at all.


Get a food scale and start actually weighing/measuring/tracking all your food portions. Guessing/eyeball-estimating how much you're eating will fail you.

Those days are few and far between and they're days I end up going to a restaurant twice a day or something, hence not being healthy calories.

I've been trying to use MyFitnessPal for tracking calories/macros/etc but if a food scale works better I can look into investing in one. I only started tracking stuff over the last year or so if I'm using an app that's really not benefiting me in the slightest then I can switch stuff up.

[ironwill2008]

Those days are few and far between and they're days I end up going to a restaurant twice a day or something, hence not being healthy calories.

I've been trying to use MyFitnessPal for tracking calories/macros/etc but if a food scale works better I can look into investing in one. I only started tracking stuff over the last year or so if I'm using an app that's really not benefiting me in the slightest then I can switch stuff up.

At one time, I was where you're at right now---trying hard to add some muscle but unknowingly not eating enough, and not eating the right amounts of macros. All along, I thought I was eating "tons," when, in fact, I was eating like a 12-year-old girl. That changed for me when this was pointed out to me by a RL mentor. When I actually began weighing/measuring/tracking my portions, and then increasing my calorie/macro intake accordingly, I began to consistently add quality mass. There's a 'before' pic of me posted in my BodySpace; I looked like a scarecrow.


You can get a good-quality digital food scale for $25-30 at any of the big-box discount stores such as K-Mart, Target, or even Wally World.

[SuffolkPunch]

Those days are few and far between and they're days I end up going to a restaurant twice a day or something, hence not being healthy calories.

I've been trying to use MyFitnessPal for tracking calories/macros/etc but if a food scale works better I can look into investing in one. I only started tracking stuff over the last year or so if I'm using an app that's really not benefiting me in the slightest then I can switch stuff up.

"healthy calories" is a meaningless term. Read the link I posted above.

[Partyrocking]

Not even that much, I got my food scale for $15 online including the shipping.

I'm sure there are days that you eat a lot, but I doubt that you eat a lot consistently.

I know plenty of skinny guys that "don't eat weight even though they eat 6-8 donuts." What they forget is that they skipped breakfast and lunch the day before, so the 6-8 donuts is getting off set.

[gesler0811]

When you talk about someone who doesn't actually weigh their food, and simply eyeballs it, or estimates, it has been shown (I don't have a link, sorry, someone posted it on these threads once and I remember reading it), that:

- People who want to lose weight tend to eat WAY more than they think they are eating.
- People who want to gain weight tend to eat WAY less than they think they are eating.

Ironic, really.... if those two camps could just somehow trade places, the whole world would be happy (with their body weight at least).

[Onlyspoons]

You aren't eating as much as you think. It's common for people who naturally (without counting calories) maintain a lean body to overestimate what they eat. They feel like they are eating loads, more than other people in fact, but they aren't. They may have times when they eat a lot at once but they will naturally compensate by eating less in the next few meals or skipping meals. They may observe that they eat "junk" and "don't get fat", so that must mean they have an abnormally high metabolism. But actually they just eat food in appropriate portion sizes.

On the other hand, those who struggle to stay lean tend to underestimate what they eat, don't naturally compensate when they eat more than normal, forget things that they have eaten, etc.

The best thing for you would be to track what you are eating and consistently increase your intake. It's not enough to eat a lot of calories for a few days and then give up because you didn't see immediate changes or because it was hard. You'll need to consistently eat more than you would do naturally. But just because you are lean now doesn't mean you are immune to getting fat - so it would be better to monitor calories and weight and gain at a sensible rate.