I agree; glad your problem was so easy to correct. I thought about having a blood test done to check on vitamin and mineral levels, but I shy away from the medical establishment.Spigzy wrote:That's a really good share to give others an insight into the life - you don't get a decent body without paying immaculate detail to what you're putting in your body, no matter how much cardio (pfff) or gym time you put together.rgrowden wrote:This is the best and only site I use. Great info, backed up by research. I use this site a couple of times a day.
https://www.bodybuilding.com
Now, about the weight. I'm an ectomorph, about the same size as you. Gaining muscle is difficult. I'm currently at a bit under 10% muscle fat - no visible fat anywhere, good vasculature, good definition. It took years to get my diet exactly right. I eat the same things, same quantities, every day. I don't get bored with the food - I'm focused on results.(I am a die-hard bodybuilder). Also, I go to bed at 10, don't get up until 7 at the earliest. Gotta get enough rest. Hope this helps.
Wake up
cup black coffee, protein shake w/cinnamon, unsweetened soy milk, cocoa, 4g creatine
1 handful walnuts(about 8 halves)
1 handful mixed tree nuts
250ml unsweetened carrot juice
cup black coffee,protein shake w/2 scoops oats, cinnamon,soymilk
1/2 medium cooked beet soaked in balsamic vinegar
cup black coffee, banana(pre-workout)
green tea w/ginger, tomato juice w/turmeric and black pepper(during workout and after) 1 litre tea,1/2 litre juice
protein shake w/cinnamon, soymilk, oats, creatine(post-workout)
1 loaf whole wheat bread, baked or curried beans(As much as I can get down. This is the final meal before bedtime).
A couple of times a week I have broccoli or brussels sprouts, plus yoghurt 3 times a week.
I can slowly gain weight with this, but if I miss a day, I lose it. Gotta be consistent, every day. I don't count calories, just protein. I aim for 140 - 150 grams/day. The difficult part is getting sugar out of your diet. It's in everything. I read the labels religiously before buying anything.
In the past couple of months, 2 people, strangers, have told me what a nice body I have. One of the was a bodybuilder, Khmer, won some contests. The other was a young lady, Khmer at the checkout counter at SuperDuper. My bragging rights.
One thing I'd add as I also have a rocket scientist spreadsheet of details of 80%* of my diet, and I noticed that I was deficient in magnesium which I couldn't make up with whole food here easily as I'm already on 3,000 calories a day (80kg/10% fat) to slap on a couple of extra kilos of good stuff. I'd have to munch through yet another plantation of green stuff or beans to hit the right number for my weight, so a daily multi-vitamin heavy in magnesium more than anything else was the ticket. Got to say that even though I've been quite serious about my nutrition for two or three years now, I've never felt better than fixing what appears to be an inconsequential mineral. Of course a quick Google search will tell you that magnesium is great at reducing fatigue. I'd recommend to anyone to sit & write down what they eat in the course of a week and spend a couple of hours of at least seeing the basic macros of protein/carbs/fats, and if time permits to dig into more detail of the vitamins & minerals also - you'll be surprised just how bad even a 'healthy' diet can leave you short.
The next best part of this story was going into UCare to find the right supplement. The pharmacist (not the counter staff) pronounced magnesium perhaps the way only a Khmer can "Magneezee", and then pulled out a tube of Berocca tablets!! After about three attempts of pulling out random products I think she got the gist that I knew exactly what I was looking for and she left me to it. Picked out a tub of one a day multivitamins with 35% RDA of magnesium for $20 that'll last the year, job done.
* The other 20% is called enjoying life; I'm not aiming to compete in Mr. Olympia or to land on the front cover of a fitness magazine!
We all differ in our goals, what's most meaningful to us. You're quite correct about enjoying life. Lifting makes me happy - the endorphins get released when doing strenuous exercise, flood the system, body gets juiced up, all systems a go at 100%. At the end of the hour or so, I'm like James Cagney."Top o' the world, Ma, top o' the world').
I don't agree with putting on a lot of weight, and dropping it again, hoping some will stay as muscle. It just seems like the wrong way. I try to just eat a little more of the quality stuff each day, hoping for incremental gains. I won't tolerate any softness around the navel. It took too many months to firm up that last trouble spot. It's my fat meter, shows up there first. I'm at 63K, eat about 2400 calories/day. My goal is 75 - 80Kg, probably take 2 years, but as is said, the joy is in the journey.
I take a vit B complex, vit D3, and flaxseed oil. I'm going to start resveratrol this month.