any success stories with going from very skinny to bigger/stronger?

[iccs]

@cwngfd It’s truly a grind when you start out thin. In order to grow, food is the biggest vehicle.

I was 95 soaking wet until I started training around college seriously.

Takes a little while to go through the growing pains of figuring out balance, form, getting weight on the bar you can really rep out and struggle with. But it’s come down to counting calories and really pushing myself with weight (to the point of having anxiety before some gym days).

I believe in you! I made it to 160 and I’m still growing. If you wanna talk via DM feel free!

 

[apathy826]

@cwngfd I grew up overweight and lost a bunch of weight and was skinny fat. I started lifting weights and over the course of two years, put on 10 lbs. I became so much stronger and looked great. I didn't weigh myself or track calories. My appetite increased and I just ate when hungry, making sure to prioritize protein. I know that doesn't work for everyone, but it worked great for me. It helped keep a healthy mindset around food for me.

Since then I've had another baby and am back to being skinny fat. Trying to get back to where I was. I would say just focus on fueling your body and getting stronger and the rest should fall into place

 

[mariskawisse95]

@cwngfd Same boat when I was 22, the important things to remember are: all bodies work differently, learn how to safely lift (especially with compounds), eat and sleep well. Finally, if you continue to go to gym, you’re stronger than you were yesterday. Gluck.

 

[anavalanche]

@cwngfd Your body will do a few things before any new muscle building and fat loss/fat gain happen:

For the first 3-6 months your body will get more efficient at using the muscle you already have (you might think you don't have much muscle at all but just through everyday activities everyone has at least a little), before your body "decides" to build new muscle it'll first max out what you already have because muscle building is resource intensive for your body, it only builds as a last resort.

It'll do the same with calorie intake, in your personal calorie maintenance range before you decided to up the calories you could've been at the bottom end of that range. In other words you were eating just enough to maintain your weight. Now say you've increased your calories by about 500, 300 of that could've just been added to your maintenance range, meaning you're actually only in a surplus of about 200, very small, weight won't be gained quickly here.

This is where autoregulation comes in, it doesn't matter what the numbers say online, if you're comfortable weighing yourself a few times a week and don't see the scale go up by about 0.5lb - 1lb on average each week, up the calories (faster than this is going to be mostly fat gain), in a couple months as you gain weight you might need to increase more. Nuts are your friend here if you can eat them.

I went from underweight at 20 to a healthy weight now, I wasn't actively trying to gain I was just in a better space mentally and eating more, it's possible, don't rush, you can do it!

 

[destind4greatness]

@cwngfd I used to be kind of skinny fat, I looked very slim but my whole body was so soft and I barely had any muscle mass. I've been weight training for about 2,5 years at home. The first noticeable change was my shoulders, they became so wide now my jackets, coats and some of my hoodies etc. don't fit me anymore. Now I'm at the heaviest weight I have ever been in my life but I look much fitter, firmer and stronger of course and I love it
I highly recommend Caroline Girvan, Jasper MacDermot and Cheryl Coulombe's programs on YT. Trust the process, make sure you eat around 100 grams of protein daily, hydrate yourself, try to enjoy working out, don't focus too much on how you look for a while, you will get there my friend