220

[ChemicallyEngineered]

For some time now my bodyweight has been bouncing between 210-215lbs. I have been focusing for the last few months with gettingas close to 8 meals a day as i can. unfortunately at least 3 of these meals have been more like snacks, like pbj or a quick quicken sandwhich. My midnight feedings, which i was notorious for, had been the one i was most likely to skip lately. In an effort to get more calories in and at the same time try not to go broke, I starting bringing about 1/3lbs of barillo multigrain pasta with about 8 oz of chicken diced up with me for my meals at work. I would still bring my loaf of bread and pbj to have as well, and actually i usually ate the pasta and a sandwhich for 1 meal and the rest the of the pasta and chicken at my other 2 feedings at work. Sometimes i got another pbj at the end of the day too. well i guess i hit the nail on the head with this plan because i am up to 220lbs as of last nightand the wife said i looked great the other night way before i talked about getting on the scale. Per 2oz The pasta has 210calories, 2grams of fat(1gram polyunsat, .5gram monounsat), 0 cholesterol, 25mgs of sodium, 10grams of protein, 38grams of carbs(4grams of fiber and 2grams sugar).

Last week i just used tomato sauce on the pasta, this week i actually made a homemade mac'n'cheese with the pasta. I did also make up another pound of pasta to have with the red sauce. My wettest dream right now to to make it to 230lbs. I'm planning on sticking with this diet for as long as i can. Im thinking i'll throw some diced up steak in the mix and also some haddock to keep the protein sources varied and keep from getting bored.

The big take home message i want to impress upon people is that diet is THE KEY!! Yes gear is great, hell i havent been completely off in years, but they are only a piece of the puzzle. I haven't added anything special to my cycle lately, in fact i simplified it. I went from test, tren e and deca to just test about 6 weeks ago.
Well its time to pack my work clothes, pack my lunch box and go destroy my legs. i just read an article with hany rambod and he recommended doing 2 warm up sets with progressively heavier weights and then 1 working set to failure at 8 plus 2 forced reps and one set to failure at 8 plus 2 forced reps and 5 partials. Sounds pretty intense, going to try to work that scheme into this workout somehow, maybe on my squats(if i can find a spotter) or just on extensions/curls. I'll figure it out while i'm warming up on the treadmill.

[guns01]

great post man. i will agree and say that diet is at least 95% of the battle

[Big Dan]

Great Post bro... and thats what my butt needs help on is the diet part of this whole deal.

[ChemicallyEngineered]

being that i've always been a small guy with a fast metabolism making gains after 200lbs has been slow coming. Its been a real effort to finally get this organized/scheduled with my meals. this morning was;
4am 3 eggs and an english muffin with pbj and gatorade
530am 1 serving 1mr
during workout 1 scoop no synthesize+1 scoop volumaize
9am 4oz pasta and 4oz chicken
1230 pasta and 2pbj
3pm pasta and pork chop
5pm 2 slices of pizza
730 pasta with red sauce, 2 meatballs on 2 hot dog buns, garlic bread and another meatball
10pm 2 english muffins with pbj

i am very fortunate to be able to eat as many carbs as i do and stay lean. but its a blessing and a curse.

[guns01]

looking at your setup their, i would say that the culprit that is killing you is that your protein is a little on the low side. maybe crank it up to around 60-100g per meal. that should get you back gaining cause it looks like your fat and carbs are where they should be for your metabolism

[ChemicallyEngineered]

looking at your setup their, i would say that the culprit that is killing you is that your protein is a little on the low side. maybe crank it up to around 60-100g per meal. that should get you back gaining cause it looks like your fat and carbs are where they should be for your metabolism
ya know what, it is easier to see that when its down on paper. every other meal is maybe 30grams and then i have the other half that are around 50-60. 430am i'll have to up the egg count, i'm gonna shoot for six. subbing out some type of meat(maybe turkey) for one pbj and definitely some more protein at pre dinner snack and at night. Guess i should force myself to log it everyday as extra incentive to make it right.

[guns01]

ya know what, it is easier to see that when its down on paper. every other meal is maybe 30grams and then i have the other half that are around 50-60. 430am i'll have to up the egg count, i'm gonna shoot for six. subbing out some type of meat(maybe turkey) for one pbj and definitely some more protein at pre dinner snack and at night. Guess i should force myself to log it everyday as extra incentive to make it right.

man, that is a great idea. i have almost everyday for the last 10 years in binders. i can go back and see exactly what has worked and what i was doing when i stalled out. for me what has worked best is to slowly add in 1-2oz every wk until i start putting on body fat then i back back down.

[combatwombat]

Great info in here guys. I agree diet is so important. I've actually just gotten to 230 and haven't used anything since I was around 212 I believe. My diet def. needed some work but I got somene to help me out and now I should be on my way to 240 then a nice cut after that.

How tall are you chem.eng?

[combatwombat]

Also. It is nearly impossible for me to bulk with chicken it seems. I have to eat a lot of beef and some fish to see the scale change.

[bm2006]

rib eyes do it for me

[badcompany487]

I agree with adding more protein, and when I'm bulking I always eat a steak or chicken breast before bed. That seems to be a huge difference.

[ChemicallyEngineered]

How tall are you chem.eng?

5'10" and bf is around 15% at most. i did have a shirtless pic of me for the avatar for a bit, i -believe its still in a thread here. i was 207 or something and it was only a few months ago. abs are always visible but i do have a little bit of a distended gut. i know part of it is that i eat a lot of things i shouldn't because of my colitis and also that i am constantly eating till it hurts.

[ChemicallyEngineered]

Also. It is nearly impossible for me to bulk with chicken it seems. I have to eat a lot of beef and some fish to see the scale change.
we do eat a lot fo red meatin our house. lately it's been mostly chopped meat and cheaper cuts of steak like london broil or the marked down t-bone or porthouse. Since we got the house the food budget has changed some.

[FUZO]

I'm 240 and would ove to be 210-215 again. I would kill for that weight again. I just need to eat right again

[ChemicallyEngineered]

I'm 240 and would ove to be 210-215 again. I would kill for that weight again. I just need to eat right againI still feel too small, even though people constantly compliment me at work/gym. Their idea of big and my idea of big are 2 totally different things. I had a woman at work say to me"you don't really want to get bigger do you?" to which i replied "of course i do, i NEED to gain about 20lbs. Then i might be happeir." She's says "but that will look abnormal" I said "exactly" She said "why?" I said because i want my son to look at his daddy and say "My dady is the hulk!!!!" She said " and you dont think you look big now?" to which i replied "I look about 10lbs away from being anorexic." of course i said that for a bit of shock value but in all honesty i see someone who works out in ther mirror but i don't see "Bodybuilder" At 5'10" i know my weight needs to be 240ish to feel abnormally large. I want the "holy fuck" response to my physique when i enter a room reguardless of what i'm wearing.

[ChemicallyEngineered]

Update, this week i hit 224 for a bit but slipped back down to 222. I did get alittle bored of the monotony of it and have to find a substitue for some of the pasta and some of the chicken. I'm thinking of making up a big container of instant mashed potatoesand adding some heavy creme to it for calories and body. my budget is still a little tight so i can't afford to change much else yet. I'm thinking breading some of the chicken for variety and also using some hot sauce sparingly. hoping all the holiday food will help put a few lbs back on. I have monday off so i ge an extra day to prep.

[ChemicallyEngineered]

i have gotten a lot of comments since i've gained these 10 or so lbs. My brother asked if i was "working out again" because my shoulders are getting wider. This was a little bit of a tongue in cheek question but also a reference to the three few weeks i took off when i was sick recently. I had one of the managers i work with ask if I was gaining weight. A friends girlfriend saw my at the gymin a GASP tank and said "wow look at you all pumped up, DAMN." nice way to make me feel unconfortable infront of her 160lb boyfriend. The trainer at our another of our gyms asked me "Do you compete?" i said "i did once but i can't commit that kind of time anymore." She said"You should, you are so large." i appreciated the comment but it also shows she has no concept of what competing is because my current physique aint stage ready. I am definitely happy for the positive re-inforcement i have been getting because no matter what we say about why we do this, its awesome to be acknowledged by others.