eat to gain upper body mass but not belly ( history of being fat kid) 6'2" 180

[puffy]

I was 300+lbs in high school then lost about 100lbs by eating right and running. I have phobia of being same weight again and cut out 80% of carbs and meat from my diet. I eat mostly seafood, fruits, veggies. Worked out for one year and didn't see any big results at all. I worked out hard too, lifted heavy 4-6 days a week. I KNOW it's my diet, that is why I didn't see results. My main issue is, I gain weight in stomach and not much in upper body. My arms are puny and no matter how many arm curls I do, I can't gain the biceps. I do gain stomach and love handles when I start to eat more protein/carbs so it's hard for me to start eating 2500-3000 calories where I think it will just make me fat.
My other issue could be testosterone. I checked it out and I am at 440 where average person is 600-700. For long time I thought about doing roids but the side affects made me turn away. Maybe the androgel will help me out. Not sure if testosterone deficiency is linked to no muscle gain but thought I would throw it in there.
HELP ME GUYS OUT!

[Cards]

Sounds like you need to follow a premade routine, HCT-12 at the top of the page or starting strength would be two good options. Just like losing weight, putting on muscle takes time, dedication, and progression.

[GazzyG]

As Cards says, follow a proper routine that's written by experts. You can't just focus on your upper body either, you need to work your legs and back if you want to grow.

Also - well done on losing 100lbs!

[Whoopipally]

Like stated above, get on a program that works. Try HCT-12. Your also 180lb at 6'2"..you have room to gain weight man. Especially since your stating that your puny..weight gain could be beneficial to you in the sense your building new lean muscle. You don't need to eat like a cow, hell, at your stage just eat a little above maintenance levels and work your ass off in the gym. If you do those two things correctly, their is no reason why you shouldn't get results. As far as your test goes..I'd talk with your doctor. Their are other methods that you learn of from him/her other than steroids.

[puffy]

thank you guys! I downloaded the program. I noticed it's on superficial level, doesn't go into details as far as type of food I should eat or type of suppliments I should take.

A buddy of mine takes ZMAs, Aminos, LGlute, Protein. I don't know what I should be taking. I know I am not taking Creatine again ( I took it for few weeks and got kidney stones). I heard there is ph-balanced form of creatine that might not give the stones..

[Bako Lifter]

Go to atlargenutrition and look at Nitrean and the BCAAs. Fish oil and a multi too, does not matter which brand though, but buying from atlarge would support this site and the creator of the program you just downloaded.

[RichMcGuire]

After being 300+ lbs, you'll always have an easier time becoming fat again. You lost the weight, but you didn't lose the fat cells.

Imho, you're going to need to be pretty dialed in with your nutrition and I think the hct-12 program / diet would be a great place to start.

[DontTakeEmOff31]

Like others have said you are definitely going to gravitate toward that weight again if you bulk and were that heavy at one point.

For now I think the most important thing is to get on a good workout plan, make some progress on that while keeping a somewhat clean diet. Don't worry about bulking yet. You should be able to make some progress lifting without focusing on bulking for a long time.

Once you have done that, built some muscle and conditioned the body to actually growing muscle, then think more about a bulking diet. Alot of people can just jump right in to bulking, but most of those people (including myself) were skinny bastards (135 at 5'6). Normally I tell everyone to just eat more, but for you its probably best to take some time at your current weight and get on a good routine first.