Weight Gainers

[AtomicXY]

Has anyone tried the weight gainers? If so which ones have you tried and which ones worked the best if any. :help:

[GhettoSmurf]

NLarge 2 ive heard quite a few people talk about using.

but IMO weight gainers are a waste of money.

why dont you just make your own? it would be a lot cheaper, and probably more nutritous as well

[AtomicXY]

I have been researching being an ectomorph and I have found from more than one source that I need to be eating like 45 calories per pound of body weight a day, that would be over 7000 calories a day for me. That just seems way to unrealistic for me to even be able to eat that much food. So I thought maybe those weight gainers would help for a bunch of calories I can't force myself to eat. I did calculations on my regular protien shake and that consists of 420 (woo hoo) calories, 8 grams of fat, 30 carbs and 56 grams of protien. I usually drink three of those a day but lately I've been going with four.

[GhettoSmurf]

45 calories per pound!!!????

ive never EVER seen that recommended. the most ive seen recommended is 20*BW.

what are your current stats?

IMO i HIGHLY doubt you need to eat 7000 calories.

[GonePostal]

20xbw is plenty 45xbw is just asking for trouble.....

[AtomicXY]

I'm 6'1, 157 and according to the the body fat calculator I used online I have 8 percent body fat but I think that is high number and I think it's more around 5 percent.

[Lesnar_Rocks]

Just eat more

[bradley]

Those formulas are not very accurate IMO. Just continue to up calories each week until you begin gaining weight, and don't worry about what some formula tells you.

As far as the weight gainers they can be helpful if you have trouble eating a lot of cals from whole food. Most are just some protein and maltodextrin.

The two most popular are N'Large2 which gets about 30g of carbs from sugar (might want to look it up to be sure) and Cyto Gainer which gets most of its carbs from complex sources (maltodextrin I believe).

[Wikked1]

I'm with Bradley on this one.......but in addition to that I'm going to point out something I was guilty of for a long time.....I made an assumption about how much I was eating....I would have guessed 3500- 4000 calories....it turned out to be around 2400.....no wonder I wasn't growing!!! until you sit down and figure out what you ARE eating it's pointless....you have to know how many calories you eat....4000 QUALITY calories is a LOT of GROCERIES...that is my best piece of advice......the only weight being gained by those weight gainer products is someone else's wallet....that is my $.02.....you have to track your calories like you're on a diet....that's right .....just like a diet only for GROWING!
www.fitday.com is a great little tool.....thanks to all those who pointed me to it!

[AtomicXY]

Thanks for the info. Today is my first day of calorie counting. At a thousand for the day and it's only 11:15 (maybe just maybe I'll be able to consume that many calories. I'm keeping track of carbs and protein too, I know how much protien to eat but the carbs I'm not sure about.

[GhettoSmurf]

are you still trying to eat 7000?????
there is no need to eat that many.

also if you really need a weight gainer just do this:

1-2 Cups Oats
2-3 Cups Milk (or Water)
1-2 Scoops Whey
1-2 TBSP Natural Peanut Butter
Couple Packets of Splenda

put it all in a blender, and blend on high. and then drink up!

[AtomicXY]

No I'm going with your 20 calories per pound. That sounds more reasonable.

[bradley]

Originally posted by AtomicXY
No I'm going with your 20 calories per pound. That sounds more reasonable.

I would forget the formulas. Just input your diet into a site like www.fitday.com as was suggested above. Figure out how many calories you were eating on an average day. Then just up your cals each week in small increments until you begin gaining weight.

For example, if you were eating 2500 cals a day on average and you were maintaining your weight, then you should bump up cals by 300 or so for a week. At the end of the week weigh yourself and see if you have gained any weight (weigh at the same time each week--first thing in the morning is good IMO). If not increase cals again. I would continue this process until you are gaining about .5-1lb per week.

I would rather start off at a lower calorie intake instead of just jump into a high calorie intake and gaining unnecessary fat.

[AtomicXY]

what's fat?

[AtomicXY]

I'll give that try but my calorie intake has never been stable. One day I could eat like a horse the next I live off protien shakes till dinner.

[AstronautJones]

Serious Mass by Optimum Nutrition worked quite well for me.

[SoulOfKoRea]

hey here's one of Maki's bulk shakes I saw on a newsletter while running through some threads, Maki - pwo shake with milk? :confused:



Recipes
----------

Most of you supplement your diet with some form of a shake. I’ve designed some very basic shakes that can be used if you are trying to gain some muscle. Give them a try and see for yourself if they help add some variety from your diet.



- Maki’s Muscle Mass Formula

These two shakes are great if you don’t want to waste a lot of money on a weight gainer. Most of the ingredients can be found lying around your kitchen. If not, you can buy them in bulk for a very cost effective price. I tend to use these shakes post workout.

1 cup of milk (skim or 1%)
1 banana (5 ounces)
1 tablespoon of honey
5 grams of Creatine (optional)
1 cup of ice cream
1 scoop of whey protein or one packet of Instant Carnation Breakfast

- Approximate Nutrients:

Calories: 650-902
Protein: 24-40 grams
Carbs: 88-118 grams
Fat: 22-30 grams

- Formula #2

2 tablespoons of all natural peanut butter
1 packet of Chocolate Instant Carnation Breakfast or chocolate whey powder
2 cups of milk (skim or 1%)
5 grams of Creatine (optional)
1 banana (5 ounces)

- Approximate Nutrients:

Calories: 572-769
Protein: 32-46 grams
Carbs: 66-90 grams
Fat: 20-25 grams

[bradley]

Originally posted by AtomicXY
I'll give that try but my calorie intake has never been stable. One day I could eat like a horse the next I live off protien shakes till dinner.

You are going to have to be consistent with your calories to gain the weight you are looking for. Eating 4000 cals one day and 2500 the next is not really going to be very efficient.