Skinny people are afraid of getting "fat".

[MillerMan]

I have been skinny my whole life. And as a kid you don't have much control over that. I wasn't into weight lifting as a bean-pole kid with glasses and acne. Not many are. But as we grow older, we have more control over our physic and our body.
I am at that point to where I don't necessarily want to be that skinny person anymore. Now I know that I don't speak for every skinny person trying to "bulk up" but I know I speak for more than just myself. When I started to eat more and gain some weight (while lifting routinely), there was this underlying fear of getting a belly or gaining excess fat. And no one wants that - but that fear holds so many skinny people back from doing the things required to lose the skinny look. I am one of them. I have gained about 5-6 lbs in the last 2 months, which for me is awesome. (Mostly muscle but a little bf too.) I have stuck with eating more and increased my protein intake.
My thought or question is how can I/we (the forever skinny people) be "ok" with gaining some excess body fat in order to build the necessary muscle to change our overall physic? I have totally outlawed GOMAD because I have heard of some massive body fat gains. I eat 1 extra meal a day and take 2 protein shakes a day, generally. This has helped me with my SL routine and building muscle. My calorie intake is about 2,500 calories and most at 3k. I know it's not enough and I could be doing more to gain muscle and overall weight. But at the pace I am going now - it will take me FOREVER to break out of the stick look. Oh btw, I am 6'2" and 158lbs. Age 35.
Will this fear of gaining flab overcome my desire to build enough muscle to feel good about myself and become the person I envision? I don't know. I just don't know.
Any advice or suggestions are welcome.

MillerMan

[Mouse]

Skinny people are strange indeed.
They have, as you do, a weird fear of putting on a little bodyfat.
If one has been skinny all their life, and probably class themselves to be a hardgainer, once they stop eating over maintenance to build and cut back, the fat seems to melt away.
You won't suddenly gain 10 inches around your waist or turn into the Goodyear Blimp in a couple of weeks by drinking milk.
Gain some bodyfat and a lot of muscle at the same time, don't be afraid of it as being the skinny type, you will shed the fat easily.

I have always been a chubby/fat person. Not skinny fat, but just cuddly fat.
I can put weight on very easily, but have a hard time getting rid of it.

I often envy the skinny people, who have little bodyfat to start with, seem to be able to bulk up and then with seemingly little effort, lose the bodyfat while holding onto more muscle.

Happy days - we're all different.

Post some pics MillerMan - I bet you have nothing to worry about - self image though can be a killer.

Good lifting.

[ricepower]

Applause to Mouse, a great reply.


Millerman, I think you already know that you want to do GOMAD and actually bulk up. I am guessing you were just looking for some assurance?

Well just remember that 2500kcal is maintenance for the average sedentary man. Id class 6'2" as above average height, plus the fact that you are weight training is well above a 'sedentary lifestyle'.

So you are basically under-eating, you are not even getting maintenance so you are doomed to stay incredibly skinny.

158lb at 6'2" is light. I weight exactly the same at 5'8" and I am very small framed guy with skinny arms.

[coreJack]

I also worry about the skinny fat look, which frankly, I now have to some extent b/c of an expanding belly. But with winter approaching, this isn't such a big deal b/c it isn't noticeable with clothes on. And I love having a bit of extra weight everywhere else.

MillerMan, I'm around your age, and at this point, guys like us know our metabolisms aren't about to suddenly slow to a halt, so as Mouse suggests, we just have to have faith in our rather amazing-to-most-people ability to shed weight quickly (of course the key will be shedding fat while minimizing muscle loss). So go ahead and bulk, secure in the knowledge that you can pull the plug at anytime, and shed the excess weight very quickly.

[cripmeister]

I've always thought of myself as a hardgainer but now I know this isn't true. Two years ago (when I was 33) I weighed 65kg/143lbs and I'm 180cm/5'9 tall ! Since I started SL5x5 in early september I've gone from 72kg/158lbs to 78kg/171lbs without GOMAD - just food. I now know I can get fat if I wanted to, it's not that hard. This revelation was a bit scary at first but I think you get used to the idea after a while.

[MillerMan]

I have tried to eat more and have had only limited success. I have gained maybe 5-6 lbs in about 3 months which is good, but I had just started to eating more, especially more protein. Now that my body is used to consistant lifting on the major compound lifts - I am leveling out on my weight and my lifts are starting to get heavy. So I need to do something else. Maybe GOMAD wouldn't be such a bad idea after all.
SL is a great program, but IMO - the different lifts alone won't make you gain weight if you're just shifting from a different workout routine. Building muscle takes a long time. I had been lifting for a while before starting the SL program - so it was a switch in programs. I was not new to lifting. But when I read all the forums and info about my diet - I knew I was lacking. So my weight gain is due to a better diet (more food and protein).
Thanks for the info. I am glad that others are finding success to reach their goals.
MillerMan

[holvoetn]

Look at it from another angle:
(not sure anymore where I read this)
if you got the choice to
1) get the same amount of muscle mass as Ronny Coleman but keeping bf% you got now (which means a lot of fat will be added as well)
OR
2) get the same bf% as Ronny Coleman keeping your current muscle mass

What would you pick ? Most people apparently opt for 2 ...
Guess what? You'd be CRAZY to go for option 2.

It is far easier to drop excess bf then it is to gain muscle.
Gaining muscle almost always means you need to be in a caloric excess which means you will gain some fat as well.
Limit bf-gains by making sure to get the right sort of food and plenty of exercise.

Choose your priority (gain muscle or drop fat) but only one at a time to get optimal results.

[Tripwire]

ive just started my second week of GOMAD and i would defiantly recommend it.
of course i was worried about the fear of gaining fat at first but to be honest i have put on about 7lbs so far and my belly is basically the same (plus i have not been doing any ab work so i will start that soon).. what i have noticed is that my collar bones are starting to disappear and mt shoulders are looking more filled out and stockier due to the muscle gains..
i am expecting to put on a little bit of fat but i know it wont be that much at all.. and since i am planning to bulk during the winter period i am content with the fact that i will be able to cut all of the fat down before summer comes and have a much more muscular body than i did this year

In short if your skinny.. GOMAD!

[mjh]

I also believe that on really skinny guys, a little extra bodyfat, irrespective of lean muscle gains, can help their physical appearance. I know that some people will think this is absolutely retarded, but I stand by it.

A friend of mine, who was skin and bones skinny, has recently put on some fat and now looks a lot healthier. Obviously it would be better if there was some muscle gain with that fat (he doesn't work out), but the fact remains. Unfortunately he's now on his way to fatness, but that's a different kettle of fish.

[JohnnyAce]

Out of interest Millerman, do you know your BF%?

A healthy BF% is seen to be around 12-15% (depending on th eperson) so if you're some way off that you'd benefit from a bit of extra covering

[MillerMan]

I am constantly at 10-11% BF. Still very thin at a weight around 158. I am going to take some pics soon - because with all the advice received - I will give GOMAD a shot. I tend to drink a lot of fluid anyway. Mostly water. I drink Water with meals (except dinner, milk with that meal) even when we go out to eat. I have always eaten clean and relatively small portions. I still eat smaller portions, but just more frequently. And I eat almost double what I used to for breakfast. It's oatmeal or eggs instead of bowl of cereal or a pop tart.
I will start with 1/2 GMAD for a week to get used to drinking that much milk. Then up it to full strength and continue until I reach my goal weight. I have read that when doing GOMAD that you should strive for more than your goal weight because when you stop you tend to lose some weight right off the bat. Is that correct? My target weight right now is 175. That's 17 lbs over my current weight.
Thanks for all your comments and suggestions (corejack, Mouse, tripwire and mjh). You guys are an inspiration. I am going to put my fear of gaining some fat behind me and get serious about gaining more musle mass and weight in general.
MillerMan

[mjh]

Did part of this guy's weight gain come from bodyfat? Certainly.
Does he seem to give a shit? Not at all.
Would anyone say that he looks worse for it? A fat-phobic Brad-Pitt-in-Fight-Club fan boy probably would, but who cares what they think.

[JCedolia]

Did part of this guy's weight gain come from bodyfat? Certainly.
Does he seem to give a shit? Not at all.
Would anyone say that he looks worse for it? A fat-phobic Brad-Pitt-in-Fight-Club fan boy probably would, but who cares what they think.

mabye he does care what people think

[Rugger]

Did part of this guy's weight gain come from bodyfat? Certainly.
Does he seem to give a shit? Not at all.
Would anyone say that he looks worse for it? A fat-phobic Brad-Pitt-in-Fight-Club fan boy probably would, but who cares what they think.

mabye he does care what people think

While that is an incredibly vague statement, and largely irrelevant to the discussion, I would speculate that if he is willing to gain 20lbs in once month that he is not particularly worried about other peoples opinion on his bodyfat%.

[JCedolia]

Rugger I know this is off subject but what part of Bc are you from? I am going to live in Kicking Horse for the winter.