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I started a month ago at about 62Kg and i'm now 64.3Kg. I'm also 1m74 and I'm 22 Years old.

As stated in the title, I'm trying to gain weight in a healthy way, but I'm actually also getting a bigger or bloated belly (not sure which) as a result! Is this normal? What to do?

I'm going to the gym 3 times a week (full body), skipping cardio (I want to GAIN weight) and going for full muscle building excercises, always pushing myself to the max. Before my makout I also drink protein shakes, and after I eat a protein bar. I'm also making sure I drink enough water during the day.

I'm watching my diet and making sure I don't eat to much fat or sweat things, no more candy, sweet drinks or fat foods. I'm trying to eat more and this also divided in more eating times (I try to maintain 4-5 eat periods a day).

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  • This is a good question, but I don't think we can give much specific advice unless you go into more detail about your exercises, sets, reps, specific meals and food quantities. Have you tried keeping an exercise and food log?
    – Dave Liepmann
    Commented Jan 20, 2014 at 19:32
  • No I didn't, but I watch what I eat, It will normally be: Cornflakes for breakfast, a normal bowl, Hot meal at noon (I try to get a large portion), some nuts, evening (hot) meal and finally at night some cookie or nuts.
    – Firebirdz
    Commented Jan 20, 2014 at 21:54
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    I think you need to add a lot of detail for this question to be helpful to you. Otherwise almost any answer is just a shot in the dark.
    – Dave Liepmann
    Commented Jan 20, 2014 at 22:34
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    In order to answer this correctly you needed to know what your caloric intake is before. This would be your starting point. You would increase until you gain weight. If you are gaining weight and your body fat is increasing then you are either not working out enough or you are just plain eating too much. There isn't one magic formula for everyone. You need to know your body. There is only so much muscle that will expand at a time naturally and it is a percentage of what you currently have.
    – Dan Andrews
    Commented Jan 21, 2014 at 3:52

3 Answers 3

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First off, this answer is made with the assumption you have a proper workout plan. If your plan sucks and doesn't promote muscle growth, then you will be putting on all fat and no muscle. If you are unsure about this, consider posting a new question re: your workout plan's efficacy.

That being said, your gaining fat is normal (in small amounts). You won't be able to perfectly 1:1 match your extra caloric needs with your intake, which means you will either grow muscle slowly if you eat barely over your maintenance level, or you will grow muscle AND fat quickly if you eat well over your maintenance level.

It sounds like you are doing the latter and eating well above your maintenance level. This has the benefit of maximizing your muscle growth, but the downside is that you will also put on extra fat in the process. You can mitigate this by reducing your caloric intake, or you can follow the bodybuilder cycle of overloading and then cutting (so after you gain your desired muscle, do a period of cutting to reduce fat).

Personally, I am in the camp of eating barely over my maintenance levels (by 200-250 kcal), so that I grow small amounts of lean muscle and keep fat low. I do this because I loathe fasting/cutting/dieting so I never want to deal with losing fat. How you proceed is totally up to you and is really all about personal preference.

EDIT: one final note, please be sure to measure your progress with body fat calculators in addition to body weight. Body weight is misleading as it doesn't distinguish between muscle and fat, which is why BF% provides a more meaningful metric for measuring gains.

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Th answer to you problem is that you dont actually know what you're getting in . You're workout routine is one thing . But if you dont know exactly how mant calories you're getting in every day , you just really dont know .

Also , you have to track your macro nutrients .

I use Myfitnesspal.com . it's a free handy website that tracks everything by the exact food that you eat . I'm not sponsored or anything to say this . It just works well .

I was in your situation a while ago ( 175 62 KG Ectomorph )

Good luck

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Tell me about your poops. If they are big, and you poop more than once a day, you are eating too much.

How many calories a day are you taking in? Count everything, including sticks of gum, ketchup packets, and sugary drinks. If you have a job where you sit at work and you are not taking anabolic steroids, then you should limit your total calorie intake to 2000 - 2500.

Your body is like a leather water bag with a hole at the bottom. If you start putting a lot in there that you do not use, there will be more pressure to push "stuff" out the bottom. If you keep putting stuff in there, that bag is going to get big and fat.

Working out 3 times a week is not much for a 22 year old. Your body is young enough that you could easily handle 6 times a week. How long are your workout sessions? 30, 45, or 60 minutes? You should be able to exhaust your body by going hard and strong for about 45-minutes or a little more.

And, 20 to 30 minutes of cardio a day is not going to prevent you from gaining muscle mass, but it will help you burn off some of that fat.

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    Limit calories to 2500? More than one poop a day is a problem? Working out 3 times a week isn't enough? 30 minutes of daily cardio doesn't interfere with muscle gain? None of those alone would be enough for a downvote but that's just a lot of stuff that doesn't hold water.
    – Dave Liepmann
    Commented Jan 20, 2014 at 22:33
  • Just shows how little you know, Dave.
    – jp2code
    Commented Jan 20, 2014 at 22:34
  • All of those statements I made were preceded with reasons that you conveniently neglected to mention.
    – jp2code
    Commented Jan 20, 2014 at 22:36
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    I think you have some good points. I am a little concerned about the "3 times a week is not much for a 22 year old" - I think (for what ever this is worth) that your statement is over simplifying. 3 times a week is great depending on your goals no matter what your age is. But I am old school, power lifters and body builders who are trying to gain strength/ size shouldn't work out more than 3 times a week. You grow when you rest.
    – Dan Andrews
    Commented Jan 21, 2014 at 3:43
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    I disagree with limiting calories and adding in cardio, both of which will definitely impact muscle gains. Frequency of workouts is less of a problem, depending on what you're doing (and if you're only going for 45-60 minutes at a time, you're probably on some sort of split). Poop frequency is a total non sequitur.
    – VPeric
    Commented Jan 23, 2014 at 10:34

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