not gaining weight....eating 4k+ a day...very sad, please help!!!

[icameforhelp]

(dont know why it did the capitalization thing in title)

Hey guys! I'll summarize this. I'm 28, 6'3", 175, slender build. I've been vegan for 15 years. For years I've desired a huge build and this year have finally begun working on it.

I'm a pro vegan (ha) so I know how to make meals. For a month now I've been eating 4000 cals a day, 4500 when I can push it. Yet my weight is ALWAYS fluxing between 173-177 it never goes up to 180!!!!! I ate on schedule for 7 days this week and these are my macros...

• Calories: 4265
• Fats: 167g
• Carbs: 528g
• Protein: 182g

What meals are usually in a day...this is the meal cadence I ate for 7 days straight.

(Vegan) Burger	(Vegan) Shake	(Vegan) Rice & Tips
Calories: 450Fats: 25gCarbs: 35gProtein: 24g	Calories: 2554Fats: 94gCarbs: 343gProtein: 104g	Calories: 1,260Fats: 32gCarbs: 150gProtein: 54g

Meal 1
Meal 2
Meal 3

Meal 1: Beyond Patty + Dave's Bread Buns

Meal 2: 2 Bananas, 100g Raw Almonds, 4 Scoops PB (32g each), 2 cups Ripple Milk Unsweet, 4 scoops Naked Mass unflavored, water

Meal 3: Rice (1 cup 3 cups), Beyond Steak Tips, 2 tbsp Olive Oil

Yet when I stepped on the scale this morning....175!!! What the actual fuck. Eating more than 4500 is very hard but please let me know if I have to. I am SO FUCKING TIRED of being skinny.

Added note on my activity....I am active. I workout at least once a day and have a very active job a few days throughout the week. (Moving company) I'm sure I release a lot of calories. Feels like I need to jump to 6000. WTF

 

[dubschanging]

@icameforhelp 3 possibilities:

1. You are not actually eating that many calories, either weighing your food incorrectly or using the wrong entries.
2. You have a very high metabolism or are just burninga lot at your job but are otherwise healthy and just need to eat a lot of food.
3. You have some medical disorder.

You can burn a lot of calories at your job so it very well might be #2. Use an app like MacroFactor.

 

[icameforhelp]

@dubschanging Thanks for thinking on this for me. It's definitely not #1 ha! I have a kitchen scale, digital and manual, and calcuate those nutritional boxes like a MFer.

2 sounds possible. Yesterday I had 7 bottles of water and tbh wanted even more, but I could feel myself getting water bloated. I thought damn, if I'm this thirsty my body is definitely letting out a lot of calories...​

3, I hope not. Very healthy life thus far. Can't even remember the last time I went to the doc.​

I'd love to use apps but I prefer keeping record myself. Adds more work and I can see how things are happening...

 

[mustangsvo]

@icameforhelp Unrelated to your weight, but if you're drinking that much water you should look into mixing electrolyte supplements with some of it. That will help with the bloating and also quench your thirst better.

 

[justagirl777]

@icameforhelp Just to be on the absolutely safe side, try recalibrating your kitchen scale or try a different one, and make sure that it measures in the correct units. I once had a scale that was randomly off due to one corner being unstable so it wasn't always completely horizontal.

Do you have a guess as to how many steps you get in per day on average?

 

[bethesda]

@icameforhelp If you’re always thirsty and feeling dehydrated along with being unable to gain weight then you should get some bloodwork done. Those are both symptoms of diabetes. Even if you don’t think you fit the criteria you’d be surprised.

 

[apostlewhitlow]

@icameforhelp 2500 calories in a shake? Wtf is in it?

 

[icameforhelp]

@apostlewhitlow Just added it to the post. I've been making it for so long I can get it down the hatch in about 2 hours if I'm not busy.

 

[dominilady]

@icameforhelp You need to eat more solid food and more often. Up it to 5 meals a day.

I'm not a scientist but I've gained weight on a tall frame and those mass smoothies didn't do it, eating a shit ton did

 

[purposeful]

@icameforhelp 4500 kcal in 3 meals sounds sus. Pls check your math.

 

[icameforhelp]

@purposeful It's there. But will redo it this week with full documentation and come back to this sub. Remember over half of that is the shake

 

[theresaflorida]

@icameforhelp I think you are on the right track, though. If you have an active job that probably burns a lot of calories, though you can’t really change that. Have you considered or do you drink like a gainer shake with lots of cals and protein in it? I don’t need that many calories, but even for me it’s hard to get enough in if I don’t.

Also, what does your exercise look like?

 

[icameforhelp]

@theresaflorida Thank you for your care and reply

Have you considered or do you drink like a gainer shake with lots of cals and protein in it?

Yeah, look at my Meal 2. Its the only reason I can even do 4k in a day. Might have to look into drinking two a day....

On my exercise, it could be better I will admit. Some days I start work early so I can't workout, so my job becomes the workout. Some days when I do workout is a focus on arms, chest, and legs. Its so many workouts and variations to do...I'm still learning that I'll admit that.

 

[theresaflorida]

@icameforhelp That’s all good, take your time to learn the lifts and you’ll be good. As you get more into it be sure that you’re challenging yourself enough with the weight that you are getting the benefits of lifting. I was mostly wondering if you were doing a bunch of cardio/endurance exercise, since that would obviously burn a lot of calories and you wouldn’t want to do that.

This past year I went from 175 to about 195 at 6’, so I know I’m not quite as tall as you but it is possible, and I think you’ll get it. You could experiment with another shake for a month or so and see how it goes.

Also, how long have you been actively trying to gain weight/mass? Sometimes the process just takes time.

I want to mention too that just starting out I’ve found it nice to to full body around 2/3 days a week, primarily focusing on the big 4 compound lifts and maybe a few accessory lifts on those days. That way if I did miss a session the. At least that week I did hit legs/upper earlier that week. Those lifts are by far the best bang for your buck so to speak and will get you a lot of results. There are lists of programs out there that focus on those lifts. Different variations certainly have their place, but if you’re just starting out or getting back into it after a while then the main compound lifts and full body workouts might help.

Hope that was helpful, and if any of it is not then you can discard it. It is a journey so try to enjoy the process of learning about your body.

 

[icameforhelp]

@theresaflorida Ah, thank you. Yeah...I don't do much cardio exercise on purpose, but moving and all the steps I encounter probably wipes out my entire meal setup. I probably did 500-750 steps yesterday, with weight. Maybe more...

I've been like REALLY trying for about two months now. Figuratively "trying" and giving it a go every week or so? ... for maybe 2 years now. But the real try is now. That's why I posted this. Seeing 175 this morning man....ugh...

 

[valbass]

@icameforhelp Do you mean 5000 to 7500 steps? Because 500 is extremely sedentary.

I like to do a 30-40min "ruck" once a week with a 20kg vest and I walk about 2000~ steps in that time.

Any job where you're on your feet all day like waiting tables or at my old shelf stacking job breaking 15,000 steps isn't uncommon.

Everyone will tell you consistency is key. Eating 500cals over maintenance every day for a week is better than eating 2000 calories over 1 day but then not eating properly for the next 6 days. This is because your body can't really process that much food at once so you end up not using it past a certain threshold.

Like if you chugged 24,000 cals of oil, you wouldn't gain 7lb of fat overnight as you wouldn't be able to digest all 24000 cals before it leaves your system, you might only gain half a pound - or lose weight as your gut goes into overdrive and uses more water trying to push everything through.

 

[theresaflorida]

@icameforhelp Keep at it, you are on the right track. It is possible, but each person is different so hopefully you can find what works for you.

If you keep at it like you are now and things still don’t progress for you, or if you think it would be helpful, maybe look into a personal trainer. Not that anyone necessarily needs to use one, but sometimes having the backing/support of a professional can help or at least you can feel like you’re not alone in trying to achieve your goals. I started out with one last year just for a month or two to learn the basics and took off from there, so I personally found it helpful.

Good luck, you’re doing great even if it feels frustrating. You’re definitely on the right track I think.

 

[deacongirl]

@icameforhelp OP, also get your bloodwork done to rule out possible hyperthyroid or other issues.

 

[jcannonb]

@deacongirl This was my thoughts too. Do you have any of the following symptoms?

• anxiety
• hyperactivity
• trouble sleeping
• diarrhoea
• twitching/trembling
• sensitivity to heat

 

[sfarley]

@icameforhelp Have you tried a vegan mass gainer?