Confused about Nutrition and muscle mass / strength

Hello guys, first I want to tell you something about me. I was lifting weights for 2 years with very little success. This is because (what I think) I dind't eat enough - Always max 2.5k kcals

What confuses me now after reading a bit in the Nutrition forum, that there are people who say the same as the typical bodybuilding guys say, that you have to have a caloric surplus etc.
But there are also people on the other side, who say that just eating whole foods, nothing processed and the veggies + hard work will do everything, like Coach Sommer did a few times.

I also see Ido Portal looking very great and heavy, not following the typical carb/cal nutrition. He says that eating for example 5 snacks a day is better then whole meals. But damn, if you need let's say 3000kcal, those snacks gotta be pretty big. The portion of meat, veggies and berries has to be huge. Or is the principle different in a high fat protein "diet"?

I try to find my way in training and nutrition. I am not the guy who can eat a ton of food. I developed good strenght for my 60kg. I could deadlift 100kg for 5 reps, hold a backlever and do muscle ups.

Is it possible that this approach didnt go with my phenotype? Is there even such a thing? Would I respond better to fat protein nutrition?

There are too many things in my head right now, don't know what to do anymore.

These are just some thoughts I wanted to get off my chest. Any tips would be great.

Best regards

 

Lefte said:

I could deadlift 100kg for 5 reps, hold a backlever and do muscle ups.

That's not bad after 2 years training.  Are you sure you have anything to worry about?

Bipocni said:

That's not bad after 2 years training.  Are you sure you have anything to worry about?

Maybe it is not bad in terms of strength. I could also do weighted pullups with 15kg plates. But the mass was not equal the strength. And as a (that day ca. 63kg) guy, I wanted more. This can't be it after 2 years.

So I started thinking that maybe this kind of diet is not for me. I couldn't handle so much food. Maybe I am not pushing myself so much.

My main question is: Is it possible that, one is not "made" for beeing big and gaining mass? Or maybe not responding good to high carb?

My doc said that my blood is good but I am not that type of guy who will get big. That destroyed me a bit but I wanted to show him that I can, so I ate more and gained 4kg in 2-3 months to my max weight of 63kg.

You already know what is required. You need to eat more to gain muscle. No amount of thinking will do the same thing. Just add another meal and be done with it. That's the easiest way to add more calories.

I'm pretty sure even guys who are genetically prone to not grow apmuch can still get some decent muscle mass in relation to the average person and look ripped. So there is no excuse there honestly like Daniel said eat more if you're not growing assuming you are getting your protein requirements and eating a healthy balanced diet then just add a bit more food! Joshua's perfect nutrion 2013 thread is a good place to start. I am gaining muscle and losing fat at the same time aNd only half assign his recommendations.

Your body cannot ignore the basic rules of human metabolism. If you want to grow you need adequate protein to fuel the growth, adequate carbohydrate to prevent unnecessary recycling of existing muscle tissue and/or use of dietary protein as a source for gluconeogenesis, enough fat to absorb fat soluble vitamins and produce the necessary hormones, and a micronutrient profile that supports optimal metabolism.

So, get your protein. Get your carbs. Get your fats. Take a vitamin. If you aren't growing, you are most likely either doing way too much work during training sessions or not eating enough, or both. It is very rare that I see a dedicated strength trainer who's growth failure is primarily due to insufficient workload. It happens sometimes, but I see the other two scenarios much more often.

As for the strength question, that is best addressed in another part of the forum.