Help! What's Failing? Nutrition or Training?

[CorStar]

Hello, I am a 25 year old woman, 5'1 and 92 pounds, looking to put on 10 pounds (give or take a few). I have been weight training for about 3 weeks now (3-5 times a week with a short warm-up and a 1/2 hour to an hour of weight training.) I've been varying muscle splits, types of exercises, weight, amount of reps and sets etc, trying to get comfortable with lifting heavier and trying to figure out what works best for me (both what I enjoy and what gives me the best "burn.")

As for nutrition I've been aiming to eat between 1800 and 2000 calories a day, using food exchanges as a reference. I shoot for 16oz protein (some lean, some not so), 7 starch servings, 3 fruit servings, 1 serving of beans/legumes, 1-2 servings of dairy, 3-4 veggies, and 3-4 added fats. I allow myself the occasional "treat" as well, like an alcoholic drink or a piece of cake. I don't always meet the goals, occasionally go over, and sometimes swap things for others.

So far I have seen some results, a little more definition overall, but have not put on any weight. I am going on vacation in a week and when I get back would like to start a more formal routine. My big question is what do you think has been failing me so far. I was expecting to have put on a couple of pounds. Am I most likely not training hard enough or correctly? Will a more vigorous or structured workout routine make the difference? OR is it simply that I'm not eating enough to put on weight?

Thanks,

[oregonchick76]

Eat more. More fat ESP. Just keep adding more cals until you're gaining 1/2 lb per wk.

[MaliaBot]

Ya, I second that. Eat more. If you aren't gaining, you aren't eating enough.

[thehobbes]

Yes - EAT MORE FOOD, lots. Any idea how many grams of protein, carbs, and fat you're getting per day? Start tracking everything specifically in a little notebook if you don't already, that'll get rid of any estimating and show you exactly where you're at.

[flyingeek]

Hello, I am a 25 year old woman, 5'1 and 92 pounds, looking to put on 10 pounds (give or take a few). I have been weight training for about 3 weeks now (3-5 times a week with a short warm-up and a 1/2 hour to an hour of weight training.) I've been varying muscle splits, types of exercises, weight, amount of reps and sets etc, trying to get comfortable with lifting heavier and trying to figure out what works best for me (both what I enjoy and what gives me the best "burn.")

As for nutrition I've been aiming to eat between 1800 and 2000 calories a day, using food exchanges as a reference. I shoot for 16oz protein (some lean, some not so), 7 starch servings, 3 fruit servings, 1 serving of beans/legumes, 1-2 servings of dairy, 3-4 veggies, and 3-4 added fats. I allow myself the occasional "treat" as well, like an alcoholic drink or a piece of cake. I don't always meet the goals, occasionally go over, and sometimes swap things for others.

So far I have seen some results, a little more definition overall, but have not put on any weight. I am going on vacation in a week and when I get back would like to start a more formal routine. My big question is what do you think has been failing me so far. I was expecting to have put on a couple of pounds. Am I most likely not training hard enough or correctly? Will a more vigorous or structured workout routine make the difference? OR is it simply that I'm not eating enough to put on weight?

Thanks,

I am too trying to gain weight and have gained from 111-124 lb in the last year and a half (wearing the same size clothes) and am looking to hit 130 at the end of the year.

Use the nifty calculator no here on how many calories you need for your purpose and especially your macros (protein/carb/fat). weigh and calculate. You be surprised how far off you may be with estimations. I, for an example found that if I dont calculate, I actually get only half the fat I need if I dont calculate bizarely enough.

[catskills]

As for nutrition I've been aiming to eat between 1800 and 2000 calories a day, Thanks,

That isn't nearly enough to put on mass. I would be losing 1/2 lb to 1 lb a week of fat on that calorie intake.

I think I would try 2250 - 2500 cal/day

[CorStar]

That isn't nearly enough to put on mass. I would be losing 1/2 lb to 1 lb a week of fat on that calorie intake.

I think I would try 2250 - 2500 cal/day

Ok I will up the calls. Glad to see there's another petite woman out there who needs more calories than what the calculators say. I can definitely add more calories, my problem is doing so while still trying to keep my diet "clean." I could easily add, say, a bag of potato chips (my ultimate favorite "cheat" food" daily to my diet, but not sure if that's really the way to go. I'm not a huge fan of nuts or red meat. Any suggestions for ways to sneak in a few extra healthy calories? Should I switch to full fat dairy? Should I say forget egg whites and just eat whole eggs? Or should I just say f it and eat more pizza and cookies?

[MelnCrash]

I have been weight training for about 3 weeks now

If results came in 3 weeks then everyone would look amazing :P

Keep at it and eat more!

[oregonchick76]

That isn't nearly enough to put on mass. I would be losing 1/2 lb to 1 lb a week of fat on that calorie intake.

I think I would try 2250 - 2500 cal/day

It depends. Some people don't do much outside of the gym, and just don't need that many calories to maintain. From experience, I maintain on about 1500 calories give or take a little, without exercise. My bulking calories with hitting the gym 3-4 times per week for an hour are 2000.

[catskills]

I could easily add, say, a bag of potato chips (my ultimate favorite "cheat" food" daily to my diet, but not sure if that's really the way to go. I'm not a huge fan of nuts or red meat. Any suggestions for ways to sneak in a few extra healthy calories? Should I switch to full fat dairy? Should I say forget egg whites and just eat whole eggs? Or should I just say f it and eat more pizza and cookies?

You are trying to bulk to put on weight, so I don't think it really matters as long as you are getting enough protein. For example in about 4 weeks I am going to switch to maintenance and put potato chips back on my diet. I took them off when I went on the cut only because I needed the room for calories coming from protein. That was the same reason I took out egg yolks and full fat dairy, just to make sure I could keep my carbs high as well. With pizza and cookies, it depends more on the person. I am a bit of a sugar addict so cookies for me leads to bingeing, however I do eat pizza at least once a week. I make my pizza homemade with roma tomatos and whole wheat tortillas just to make it more of a "healthy" food. I find takeout sometimes a bit too thick on the crust and they never put on enough veggies for me. But again I don't really think it matters. That is why I suggested even going as high as 2500 cal/day. I workout a lot, but if you aren't getting results at 2000, then you need to go higher at least for a few weeks. At your stats, I think I would make sure that your protein intake is high, I eat roughly 120g - 150g a day. It seems to be good amount for me.

[Rowyn]

That isn't nearly enough to put on mass. I would be losing 1/2 lb to 1 lb a week of fat on that calorie intake.

There are two inches and 20 lbs difference between you.

[88Birdy]

If results came in 3 weeks then everyone would look amazing :P

Keep at it and eat more!

Totally!
High carb protein powders might help ya getting enough calories to build mass... you can also make smothies. they are easy to swallow!

[sarahkay_3]

I'm almost 3" taller, but I've been underweight several times at close to your current weight. In order to start gaining I need to eat a minimum of 2,600 calories and it takes a long time to see results. I find taking in a lot of liquid calories the only way for me to get enough in. I also find that tracking my intake every single day is essential, because I tend to overestimate how much I've eaten. Gaining is a slow process and you need to give yourself time, and not expect it to happen in just a couple of weeks.

[gailh]

like everyone else says.....eat!