i need some opinions.

i started lifting and eating more seriously about 26 months ago. By serious, i mean dedicated routines and diet.
i started off at about 190-191 and i'm now at 226-227. (i'm 6'5") I hit my 2006 mark by hitting 225lbs in december of 06, and i've only managed to maintain and gain maybe 2-3lbs since then.

My diet is pretty consistant..
900 cal shake 6am
whole wheat ritz with peanut butter at 9:30
metrx meal shake at 11am
workout at noon
protein shake
whole breast chicken lunch
metrx meal bar at 3:00
beef, chicken or fish for dinner
and a protein shake at 8pm

i'm crapping 2-3 times a day.. i just feel like my metabolism has reached its limit.. and won't let me gain anymore.
I do almost 0 cardio, and i'm very lean.

do i just need to consume MORE?
will this pass?
i've varied routines a bit over the last 6 months, but i haven't taken out squats, or deadlifts...

need some tips.. i'm starting to get frustrated...
this has been driving me hard in the gym, but i'm starting to get frustrated...

Got any pictures?

Eat more. That's all there is to it.

Can you tell us total calories and protein/carbs/fat?

Even if you cant... (continued below)

My diet is pretty consistant..
900 cal shake 6am
whole wheat ritz with peanut butter at 9:30
metrx meal shake at 11am
workout at noon
protein shake
whole breast chicken lunch
metrx meal bar at 3:00
beef, chicken or fish for dinner
and a protein shake at 8pm
...you can do better than this. You go about 6 hours before you hit the gym, and in that time the only solid food you get is some crackers with peanut butter. Unless I am misunderstanding and that "900 cal shake" consists of Egg Beaters, Nitrean, peanut butter, ground oatmeal and milk... :) If not, change that 6am "cal shake" to egg whites, 2 whole eggs, a big bowl of oats, 2 tbsp. peanut butter, and some type of fruit. If you want to (I wouldn't, but you may be able to), wash it down with milk.

Give us more details on your diet, please, and be specific. :) What is in the shakes? What do you eat with the chicken lunch? What do you eat with dinner? How much beef/chicken/fish? How much protein powder? What kind?

thanks for the quick responses guys..

my morning shake is powder.. (champion nutrition 900 cal .. take it with 2 cups of skim milk)
my protien shakes (2 a day) are EAS whey with 2 cups of milk. (23 grams of protein/shake, i usually double my scoops).
my chicken lunch is just that.. breaded chicken.. 2.5 "servings".

with dinner i'll have a side of pasta, but i concentrate on the meat portion of the meal. i do not eat many vegetables!

i take a multi vitamin every day, and don't take many suppliments (i will have a serving of Trac or Nox before a workout for the energy)i don't think i'm getting the advantage of the creatine because i don't take it on off days.

I think you struck a chord GTX.. i'm not eating any real "food" in the morning.
maybe i can move that 900 cal shake to my nighttime snack, and concentrate on some egg whites and oats in the morning.

taking the shake is just so easy.. and i'm a putz in the morning.. do anything to sleep that extra 5 minutes.:rolleyes:

don't really have recent pix.. i feel like a putz taking pictures of myself.


I'm really willing to change my diet.. !

While the following diet was for an initial mass gain phase, I think the concepts will be helpful for you to follow, since at 6'5 and 225, you probably haven't reached any supposed genetic potential.

This is what John Berardi did for his mass gaining (qute taken from here (http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=917176)):


Being a very scrawny bastard, here's the crazy diet I followed to go from 140 to 210:

Breakfast 8AM: 6 whole eggs, 4 slices of whole grain bread, and 4 packets of instant oatmeal

Lunch 12PM: 1 pound extra lean ground beef, 1-cup cauliflower, and 2 large baked potatoes

Evening Meal 4PM: 1 pound of extra lean ground beef, 1-cup broccoli, and 2 large baked potatoes

Post-workout 8PM: 0.75lb of pasta (weighed before cooking), 1-cup green beans, and 0.75lb extra lean ground chicken

Before Bed: 6 whole eggs, 4 slices of whole grain bread

Also, upon waking each morning I'd mix up a one-gallon jug of water and somewhere between five and ten scoops of whey protein. In addition, I'd open a bag of six cinnamon raisin bagels and put peanut butter in between each bagel. The protein drink and the bagels were to be consumed all day long when an actual meal wasn't being eaten.

Again, the motto was, "If I'm not chewing, I'm not growing." I'm not lying when I say that as soon as I'd finish each meal, I'd start right away with my protein shake and bagels and continue on them until the next meal. Even if I was in class, even at work, even when I felt like I couldn't stomach another morsel. Wherever, whenever, I ate.

Now, with what I know now, I might've done things a bit differently – I'd have better balanced my fats. I'd have added a bit more fruits and veggies. I'd have mixed up some Greens+ into my protein shakes. Yet there's no question that I'd maintain the same calorie intake.


That should give you a good idea of how much you should be eating (5000+ calories).

thanks for the quick responses guys..

my morning shake is powder.. (champion nutrition 900 cal .. take it with 2 cups of skim milk)

my protien shakes (2 a day) are EAS whey with 2 cups of milk. (23 grams of protein/shake, i usually double my scoops).

my chicken lunch is just that.. breaded chicken.. 2.5 "servings".
While I think there are better options, the shakes may be fine for now.

Your chicken lunch could use some work. At least add some vegetables. You may want to add some carbs in there, sweet potato, brown rice, pasta, etc. Or/and add some healthy fats. Chicken plus green beans plus almonds sounds good.

with dinner i'll have a side of pasta, but i concentrate on the meat portion of the meal. i do not eat many vegetables!
Eat your vegetables. :)

i take a multi vitamin every day, and don't take many suppliments (i will have a serving of Trac or Nox before a workout for the energy)i don't think i'm getting the advantage of the creatine because i don't take it on off days.
I myself do take creatine on off days, how much are you using on workout days though?

I think you struck a chord GTX.. i'm not eating any real "food" in the morning.
maybe i can move that 900 cal shake to my nighttime snack, and concentrate on some egg whites and oats in the morning.
Well you can have the shake for meal 1 I think. If you want just change that second protein shake meal to a whole-food meal. I don't know much about the shake you're using for meal 1 but if you want you can do sort of a 50/50 shake/food type meal (which I do often; I am lazy as well). How about you simply add oats to the shake? Or, try splitting the shake's serving size in half, but add Egg Beaters, 1/2-3/4 cup oats, and some peanut butter. I would throw some fruit in there too (or, somewhere).

That should give you a good idea of how much you should be eating (5000+ calories).

John Berardi's great. That's always been my favourite mass-gaining-related anecdote. :)

those super shakes really do the business.

I have one before bed and before work consisting of

4 scoops of mass gainer whey protein
2 tablespoons of peanut butter
1 large cup of oats
1 large banana
2 pints of milk

since including this staple in my diet, i went from around 140-154lbs in about 8 weeks plus eating my balls off in the day aswell.

Hey. I'm no expert on weight gain, but the only time I started gaining is when I ditched most of my protein shakes in favour of solid meals. So my only shake is post-workout (and very occasionally before bed for extra cals).

Thanks again for everyone's comments.

I stocked up on oatmeal, egg beaters, some whole wheat bagels and more peanut butter.
.. and the vegtable intake will increase significantly.

227 (street weight this am)

I'll be posting back in 4 weeks with my progress.
:tu: