Lifting & Eating tons of calories = Losing weight

[Winter]

Ok. My friend's been having this problem: He just started lifting 2months ago with me and I've set him with a good bulking diet with around 3000-3500 calories a day because he can't eat much yet - his metabolism hasn't sped up. Ok basically when he first started to lift, he was 166lbs with a fairly high percent bodyfat, I'm guessing 20%~. Now that he's been bulking/lifting, he's actually LOST weight. He's now down to 160lbs. What I'm guessing is that he's burning fat from his metabolism speeding up and from the lifting?? He doens't do cardio either because since I've noticed the decrease in weight, I told him to not do cardio at all. What do you guys think of this? Thanks.

 

[Suareezay]

i dont get it. whats your question? are you surprised that hes losing weight instead of gaining weight?

he can do one of two things
1. increase calories
2. decrease calories

which do you think he should do?

btw...if hes losing weight, its not "bulking"

 

[Winter]

That's the strange thing. He IS eating a good amount of food, almost as much as I am and I'm gaining tons of weight. Yes, he is suppose to gain weight, but instead, he is losing weight. I don't know what's wrong with him. He's trying to increase the calories greatly, but it just is not working. He says that he's always full because of the things I tell him to eat, but he still tries to stuff food down his throat.

 

[Suareezay]

itll take time. The amounts of food i eat when i gain weight i never could have eaten when i first started lifting and made the transition from eating whatever i wanted whenever i wanted (sometimes nothing all day, sometimes mcdonalds, chickfila, moes, and wendys 2 or 3 times a day) to eating right.

 

[Behemoth]

He thinks that is bad? I have to eat over 5000 calories a day to bulk up. It's not easy either. Some days, I have to go lay in bed for an hour after eating so I don't puke everywhere.

There are some tricks he can do to get more calories in. Adding a bit of oil, like olive oil or something to his protein shakes can help a lot. There is a ton of calories in olive oil. Oh, and when all else fails for me, I just don't eat clean. I hate bulking on a "clean" diet.

 

[Winter]

Many thanks guys.

 

[solcraft]

.....btw...if hes losing weight, its not "bulking"

yep.post the diet you have put together for him so we can take a look. the math is pretty basic- if you take in more than you use, you gain, you burn more than you take in, you lose. lets see that diet
.

 

[Eze]

Possibly gaining muslce and losing fat.

If he just started working out the last 2 months, anything can happen.

How does he look? Does it look like he gained some muscle? Lose some fat? Is he getting stronger? What is he eating?

 

[Winter]

Possibly gaining muslce and losing fat.

If he just started working out the last 2 months, anything can happen.

How does he look? Does it look like he gained some muscle? Lose some fat? Is he getting stronger? What is he eating?

I think its his genetics - he doesn't look like he has much muscle, but his chest has developed a bit. But yes, he has gotten a lot stronger. He's putting up 175 for 5reps on bench now with very little problem. He's on no supplements either.

He's basically eating a lot of fish, lean meats, oats, whole wheat bread, natty peanutbutter, tunafish, cold cuts, lots of rice, etc. I'm trying to get him to eat a bit more oil & to get him to start taking protein shakes so he can add some flaxseed oil to his shakes or something to up his calories more. What else should he be eating? He's eating basically the same things I've been eating and I've gained 16lbs so far in 3weeks.

 

[Tafman]

do u live with him? or does he just "say" he eats 3500 calories a day, which is still not enough. he might be skipping meals though unless u can confirm otherwise.

 

[Winter]

No, I don't live with him, but he is a very honest kid. Known him since the 4th grade and I can rely on him to tell me the truth. I'm not sure how many calories he's eating a day, twas just an estimate, but he is trying to stuff as much food down his throat as he can, but the good thing is that he's starting to get hungerier lately and he's been eating a bit more.

 

[huskyguy]

Bulking means eating a lot especially if one's metabolism seems to fight weight gain. By eating a lot I am talking about eating constantly and almost to the point of discomfort. It is still best to eat good wholesome foods, and to stay away from too much junk. Your friend just needs to get used to eating much much more.