Hi, I'm 20 years old and have never attempted to build up muscle. I've done a lot of pushups and running to keep fit to play sport, but never lifted weights. I'm also pretty sure I have gynecomastia (got the lumps) so I'm hesitant to build up my chest in case it pushes that out. Considering surgery but not until I've given everything else a go first. I had another medical problem which I was told would not resolve itself, even with a second opinion, which ended up disappearing. I'm 6ft1" and currently weigh 143lbs. Any advice would be appreciated on how to start. Thanks.

http://img407.imageshack.us/img407/4387/sfwe2.jpg

(sorry about the blurry shots, its the only camera I have)

I wish we could wave a magic wand and I could give you 30LB of my fat so I would be @ 200 and you could have some more weight to turn into muscle :D

I wish we could wave a magic wand and I could give you 30LB of my fat so I would be @ 200 and you could have some more weight to turn into muscle :D

Fat doesn't "turn into muscle."

Second to the original poster, you look like you have a decent set of muscles to start with... however you haven't built them up much so you look like you are a fit starving man. You need to check out the nutrition area for advice. Pretty much what you are looking at is that you will need to eat MUCH more, and chug the milk and cottage cheese while keeping your weight training routine going. You aren't bad off by any means, but you have to now focus on bulking entirely. Good luck.

OK. I don't eat a lot of foods (including dairy), but I've got tubs of soy and rice protein and drink that with about a liter of soy milk a day. One of the few foods I do eat is lean chicken, and those two things are about the only things I'll eat a day. About 250g of chicken, 80grams of protein powder and the liter of soymilk. It's a pretty boring diet but I've never really cheated with it. I took measurements and figured out my body fat % is ~10.9%. My wrist is injured from lifting what I believe was freeweights that were too heavy for me (25lbs, doing 30, then 20, then 15, then 10). Every couple of days it feels normal so I get back to the bench, but then have to stop because it hurts, so I'm going to give it a break while I heal and give it 2 weeks. During that time I'd planned on getting my BF% down to about 7 or 8% (about 6lbs) so that I'll be able to see the results easier when I start lifting.

I just typed out a pretty involved post (http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showpost.php?p=656115&postcount=17) for another guy just now and seeing how you seem to be another ectomorph like he is (and like I am), it's pretty much just a copy/paste deal. So give that post a read.

It seems like it's Ecto Day around here lately. :spaz: I was starting to feel lonely with just me and Carguy here. :cry:

All that soy could be significantly contributing to your gyno. Soy isn't all that good for women and it's just plain bad for men. Check this article (http://naturalmedicine.suite101.com/article.cfm/soy), it reflects what lots of soy articles say. It imitates female hormones and disrupts normal hormone function.

To be honest I'm pretty sure what had the most affect on my chest was being overweight through puberty. I switched to soy milk a couple of years ago and haven't noticed any difference in the state of my chest, apart from losing fat from the area. It's possible it isn't helping, but I don't really have much of an alternative. The hormones in cow's milk screwed with me more than anything, as soon as I stopped drinking it most of my acne cleared up completely.

all that soy could be contributing to you gynecomastia, which it doesn't look like you have from the pics, but soy raises estrogen levels. I'd reduce your soy intake, it's not the best food for men.

To be honest I'm pretty sure what had the most affect on my chest was being overweight through puberty.
Well, to be honest I don't even see the problem with your chest. Maybe it's just the pictures and I can't tell?

Anyway, regardless, you gotta eat more. What other options do you have for food choices? Would you be willing to eat the following?

Lean steak, fish, turkey, eggs, oatmeal, rice, potatoes, sweet potatoes, peanut butter, almonds, veggies and fruits.