D4Damager said:
I eat like a pig, tonnes of fast food, greasy foods, lots of sweets and I never gain a single pound, its always been like this.
For one thing, your body can't build muscle from junk food. Like the old saying "garbage in - garbage out".
Also, while eating more smaller meals will increase your metabolism, it's highly unlikely that it will increase it to a point where you aren't gaining weight. I used to eat just like you. I ate about 3 meals a day and a few snacks that were almost always junk food. At least one of my meals was fast food and sometimes another one would be processed / packaged crap. Eating more frequent smaller meals, your body will be able to absorb more of what you eat instead of it most of it going straight to your lower intestine (or being turned into fat).
Also, just saying you're eating a lot does not mean that you're definitely getting enough calories or enough of the right calories. Unless you take the time to track what you're eating and what's in it, you probably aren't eating as much (much less as much good stuff) as you think you are.
Since I've changed my diet and workout, I've gone from 135 lbs. to 160 lbs. in about 3 months. I'm averaging about 2.5 lbs. a week. A little of which I'm sure is fat, but as small as I was that little bit of fat hasn't hurt much. I definitely don't "look" more fat now, but I have had quite a few compliments from coworkers and friends who noticed how much better I look; none of them were aware of my new diet / exercise plan.
I eat just over 3000 calories a day which includes 3 meals and 3 snacks in between meals. My meals consist of a lot of potatoes, rice, pasta, bread, etc. for carbs. Steak, ground beef, chicken, tuna, milk, eggs, etc. for protein. Fats in the form of fish oil pills, olive oil, mayo, butter, etc. I eat about 100 g of protein a day. Some people say I should be eating about 160 - 240 g but I've had success with what I'm eating.
I drink about 80 oz. of water and 2 - 3 cups of milk each day. To give you an idea of a day's worth of meals for me:
Breakfast (6am)
Homemade hash (1 med. potato diced, 2 oz. of ham, 1/8 of an onion diced, salt) = brown it all down until the potatoes are soft. Top with syrup and eat with a glass of milk to drink.
1 package of grits with butter and 1 piece of toast with butter.. Eat with a cup of OJ to drink.
Morning snack (9am)
1 package of oatmeal, 1 med. banana, 2 fig newton cookies (NOT all mixed together), and a cup of milk.
1 oz. of beef jerky.
Lunch (12pm)
2 oz. of spaghetti, 1/3 cup of spaghetti sauce, 1/4 cup of cottage cheese, 1 chicken breast (cut up and pre-cooked). Mix together and eat with a glass of Kool-Aid to drink.
2 slices of bread.
Afternoon snack (3pm)
4 slices of bread, 1 can of tuna, 1 TBSP of mayo (makes 2 sandwiches).
1/4 cup of sunflower seeds or cashews.
Dinner (6pm)
1 cup of rice covered with gravy from browning 3 oz. of steak with 1/8 of a diced onion.
2 slices of bread. Kool-Aid to drink.
Evening snack (9pm)
12 oz. of milk with whey protein powder.
2 slices of toast with butter and 1 med. banana.
My meals / snacks average 500 calories each (some a little more / some a little less). I also take 3 g of fish oil each day and a multi-vitamin. The only other supplement I use is creatine monohydrate which I mix 5g of with apple juice. I take it for 2 weeks, then take 2 weeks off before starting again.
I lift 3 days a week. I go 3 weeks heavy weight / low reps, then 1 week med. weight / med. reps. Every 8th week is off from lifting. Being a small guy, recovery is SUPER important.
My workout is (all exercises are 4 sets each):
Monday (chest / shoulders / tris): Bench Press, Inclined Bench Press, Military Press, French Press.
Tuesday: off
Wednesday (legs): Squats, Deadlifts, Calf Raises
Thursday: off
Friday (back / biceps / forearms): Barbell Rows, Chin-ups, Barbell Curls, Wrist Curls, Dumbbell Shrugs.
Saturday: off
Sunday: off
The only way to get bigger is to eat & lift big, but that doesn't mean you can just throw a ton of junk food / fast food down your throat and grow muscles. If you're a classic 'skinny bastard' like I was/am, then the only way to change that is to make eating / lifting a job. I'm used to it now and it's not a problem to eat, but the first week was rough. I had to make myself eat even when I wasn't hungry. It sucked at the time, but it's paid off.
