Help me GAIN weight!

[MegademiC]

Me:
Im 34, 6', 174lb up from 168 (took 4 months) and have been doing mostly power-lifting excersizes with some higher rep filler stuff. I run 20 minutes on workout days because my cardiovascular is garbage. Ive leaned up and my strength has gone up well, but I want a little faster growth and Im stuck at this weight.

Goal:
I want to put as much weight on as possible in the next month, before trimming. Im wont be filling calories with trash, which is making this somewhat difficult
Diet:
I need at least 3kcal, but more is better. Ive been struggling to break 2500-2800. I cannot eat a lot of grains, they kill my appetite too quick. Im hitting my protien goal. Should I just add a protien shake with a healthy oil and cottage cheese? More fruit?

Typical diet
Beef, cheese, nuts for breakfast
Protien shake for snack (whole milk)
Lunch: 3/4 lb meat, 1cup cooked rice/ferro, peppers/greens, olive/coconut/peanut oil
Dinner, same as lunch
Random stuff for after dinner snack, but its small because Im full (nuts, milk, salad, etc)


This is my current goals(minimum total calories, i want more) are my macro ratios messed up? The only way I hit 3500+ which I want, its with stouts, which Im trying to limit.

[Disciple]

I am in no position to give advice but I wonder a few things.

Why are fats the majority of your calories?

Why are sugars three times dietary fiber?

Why are you trying to add almost a thousand calories over baseline at age 34? Assuming you aren't new to resistance training and you aren't taking testosterone, most of that will go to fat according to research I've seen on realistic lean mass gains.

[MegademiC]

I am in no position to give advice but I wonder a few things.

Why are fats the majority of your calories? I'm getting 1.25g protien/lb body wt. Should I get more? I dont like carbs and avoid sugars, that leaves fat.

Why are sugars three times dietary fiber? Twice? Whats a good ratio? I got advice to add beans which should help, as will more nuts. My sugars come from peppers and bananas.

Why are you trying to add almost a thousand calories over baseline at age 34? Assuming you aren't new to resistance training and you aren't taking testosterone, most of that will go to fat according to research I've seen on realistic lean mass gains. I dont know what baseline is, but I wont put on weight if I dont increase calories

My responses in red

1168, thanks. I am doing this with just food and a protein shake 1x/day. The only other supplement is a half tsp creapure.
My purpose is well rounded athlete. I rock climb, hike, shoot competitions, etc. I'm trying to hit my peak (I'm really close) then slim down for summer to look good since I'm single again. I'm trying to go to church and find my trad wife lol.
Good thoughts on timing - I was going in the AM and got a bit lazy... I'll start back into that routine.
No digestive issues and no gas. I get tons of roughage (spring mix, kale, peppers)

My cardio has been pretty intense - I keep my heart rate between 160 and 180, because it's horrible... I have seen an improvement now after about 1 month.
I am STEM educated (ChemE) - I'll look for that article. Thanks.

[Inkslinger]

My responses in red

Probably more protein than you realistically need, and don’t sell carbs short. They give you the energy you need to push yourself farther in your workouts.

https://youtu.be/l7jIU_73ZaM

[MegademiC]

Probably more protein than you realistically need, and don’t sell carbs short. They give you the energy you need to push yourself farther in your workouts.

https://youtu.be/l7jIU_73ZaM

Edit - just watched the video... good stuff, I'm basically trying to get to the 20% surplus. [/edit]

Its not that I dont want them... I dont like them, especially grains. If I eat more than a cup 3 days in a row, I just cant eat any more. Like I'll gag trying to eat it, and it's not the flavor, it sits wrong in my gut or something.
I can try to incorporate more potatoes.

My normal diet not tracking anything will have a few days of nothing but meat and vegetables mixed in.

How many carbs should I be getting to make sure I have the energy available to optimize my workouts?

[Inkslinger]

Edit - just watched the video... good stuff, I'm basically trying to get to the 20% surplus. [/edit]

Its not that I dont want them... I dont like them, especially grains. If I eat more than a cup 3 days in a row, I just cant eat any more. Like I'll gag trying to eat it, and it's not the flavor, it sits wrong in my gut or something.
I can try to incorporate more potatoes.

My normal diet not tracking anything will have a few days of nothing but meat and vegetables mixed in.

Just get your carbs from fruit.

[Disciple]

Why are fats the majority of your calories? I'm getting 1.25g protein/lb body wt. Should I get more? I dont like carbs and avoid sugars, that leaves fat.

Twice? Whats a good ratio? I got advice to add beans which should help, as will more nuts. My sugars come from peppers and bananas.

I don't know what baseline is, but I wont put on weight if I don't increase calories

"174lb up from 168 (took 4 months) ... and I'm stuck at this weight. Ive been struggling to break 2500-2800."

If your weight is holding at 174 and you are eating about 2650 kcal let's call that your baseline. A macro calculator gives a similar result of 2,665 so I don't doubt it. If you are realistic about how much lean muscle mass you can gain you are probably best served by "gain of 0.5 pound per week" of the options on that macro calculator, which yields 2,915 as your target. If you are lifting like you never have before the "gain of 1 pound per week" option yields 3,165 target. More is just building fat as I figure.

This says you are already eating more than enough protein.

Fiber regulates blood sugar (reduces spikes), improves insulin sensitivity, and is beneficial for cardiovascular health. I don't know that I've seen a clinically supported sugar:fiber ratio but 3:1 just seems high to me.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6586511/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9253671/
https://www.sciencedirect.com/scienc...66149722000263

Unless you are on a ketogenic diet I think you need to find carbohydrate sources you can tolerate. Beans, lentils, peas (fresh or dried), sweet potato and winter squash are some I eat regularly.

[Sidneyious]

Eat a big breakfast, a medium lunch and an alright early dinner.

It's how I'm losing weight, issue is this 20 year old bear gut I've accrued that's hard to go away.

I have monster thighs, glorious caves, and lately this monster pain in my right thigh like I've been wearing a tourniquet.

[GTF425]

The man is trying to cultivate mass, not lose it.

[Pappabear]

Eat a big breakfast, a medium lunch and an alright early dinner.

It's how I'm losing weight, issue is this 20 year old bear gut I've accrued that's hard to go away.

I have monster thighs, glorious caves, and lately this monster pain in my right thigh like I've been wearing a tourniquet.

Hey Sid, do you have any back problems? When I had a disc issue, I had pain in my front quad out of this world. Just a thought. Also, I think he is trying to gain weight, maybe I misunderstood responses.

Mega, when I was younger trying to gain weight, I freaked out if I let myself get hungry. It is taxing and expensive trying to gain quality weight, good luck.

PB