Not eating enough?

Hi guys,

I'm stuck with my bodyweight at 141lbs right now(5ft11), 16 years old. I would go even as far as to say that I'm slowly losing muscle, but still my strenght is increasing.

The question is if I should eat things like pizza, rice, potatoes, etc... because I've stopped eating them, started to eat more vegetables, fruits, of course im drinking only water. I think that its just not enough to gain muscle, and I cant argue with my parents anymore about not eating potatoes, rice, pasta and bread... :roll: This is how my usual week looks like:

Mon. - Rings

Tue. - Parkour, Tumbling

Wed. - Rings

Thu. - Parkour, Tumbling

Sat. - Rings

Sun. - Rest

I'm using killroy template for my ring training, that means 5 FSPs, and then dynamic training, its about hour, maybe hour and a half long, parkour and tumbling trainings are 2 hours long, but they're not that exhausting as my ring workouts.

I think that I'm not eating enough troughout the day, (my workouts are always in the evening) I eat lunch in school, and, to be honest, there isn't just enough meat, but always bunch of bread, pasta, rice, potatoes... sad story...

I don't absolutely have a clue about my daily calorie intake, but this is my daily diet, more or less :? :

7:00: 50ml milk, cereals (I know, cereals are not good, but I don't have the time in the mornings to prepare smthng else)

10:35: snack in school, usualy 2 apples, or another fruit + tuna, or some other meat

13:25: lunch in school (usually small piece of meat with huge amount of potatoes, rice, or pasta, ABSOLUTELY NOT ENOUGH)

15:30: my pre-workout meal - quarter of avocado, usualy 2 apples, or other fruit

17:00: small amount of veggies, BCAA

17:20 - ~18:30: workout

~18:40: 30g whey, 50g maltodextrin, sometimes BCAA

19:10: meat + veggies, fruits

19:40: 30g whey, 20g maltodextrin

20:10: 5-7 eggs, veggies, fruits

21:40: cottage cheese

That is pretty much how I'm eating and working out, I can also post here my complete workout plan, if its necessary.

Thanks alot for your advices

Hopefully someone more educated in this field can help. I am not good at this stuff, but I am willing to bet that you are working out too much. I don't think it is recommended to work on rings 3 times a week. You probably need to eat more in order to get bigger. I see that you are eating mostly meat and fruits. It will probably help to eat more good sources of fats; my personal favorite is nuts, no peanuts for me if possible. I am also 16, although I weigh about 145. I have to eat HUGE amounts just to maintain my weight due to current activity levels and a metabolism comparable to a vacuum. Luckily, I have a huge appetite.

from my not so vast knowledge, you should definitely increase the protein and fat intake, while decreasing your carb intake.

Robb Wolf recommends at LEAST 1 gram of protein per lb of body fat (athletes go up to 1.25-1.5) for you 141 grams of protein is your base. in actuality protein should be somewhere 20-35 percent of your calorie intake. Fats and carbs are based on your body type and own system, but it seems that most people that have carb intolerance will excel with a greater fat intake. this can be up to 50% of your daily intake, but personally I'm closer to 35 or so. the rest should go to fruits+veggies, but it seems sweet potatoes and potatoes are becoming celebrated starches for one's carb intake. Falcon, you are a 16 year old boy I guarantee you are not eating enough to begin with. I'm 17 now, and I gained a lot of weight when I took a look at my diet and realized I was restricting my growth by simply not eating enough. i'm now at 6' 0'' and 165 lbs (I've been working my way back up to 170 from a bout of mono) Teenage boys like us need A LOT of calories, and judging by your workout schedule, I calculated that you'd need over 3000 calories per day in order to gain mass. I know I wasn't, and still am not, getting my full calorie requirements, but I also don't want to have to cut weight later on, so I try to get the best of both worlds. hope this helps

ps. read the paleo solution by Robb Wolf for more great dietary info

and between you and me, I really didn't achieve in th GB world until I started the WOD's -I was too stubborn to switch to them. I used the killroy template as well, but I eventually realized that Coach has an extraordinarily vast knowledge of gymnastics training and I progressed incredibly rapidly once I made the switch -I highly recommend you do the same.

I don't know if switching to WODs is good for me, because I don't yet have the strenght to do them...

I can start eating more, do you think that I can eat also rice, potatoes, pasta, etc...? Because eating meat, veggies and fruits all the time is expensive (esspecialy meat), and secondly I think its just not enough!

the greatest feature of the WOD's is that they can be tailored to your current ability. I suggest taking a look at what others have done to make them attainable for their current skill levels. ex say a wod calls for muscle ups. if you cannot do one, you can scale it to a jumping muscle up, or negative mu. if those are unattainable you can do 3 dips and 3 pullups, if not 3 rows and 3 pushups. This protocol can be followed for every exercise

You can always eat grains and starches if you please -they're far more attainable and cheaper than other food choices, but just know that they don't have the same nutritional value as other sources. I'd suggest eating more nuts and eggs, both very cheap healthful options. And trust me, it is enough if you eat the right amounts. I'm not pure paleo, but I haven't touched a grain in 4 or 5 days. Oh, also milk is a very good source of protein although some stray away from it.

Honestly, if you are not looking to be a competitive gymnast and are just doing it to get stronger/look better/feel healthier/ just eat what you want when you want. With as much exercise you are doing I would recommend to forget any type of planned diet and eat a crap ton of food. Of course try to keep it healthy, but just eat a lot and don't worry about eating pizza or any other type of meal normal kids your age like to eat daily.

Honestly, this looks pretty good. Hypertrophy as well as strength take time to build. Be patient. I can't say for you personally because I do not know your level, but most beginners are better suited to a 4 day workout routine for recovery purposes and can gradually progress once they can manage their workload. Parkour isn't really a muscle building activity, but if you're getting stronger, I don't see what the problem is...

lex: Eat a ton of food, got it Thanks.

tsoonami: So I should just be patient and wait for muscle hypertrophy right? I was just curious if I have to eat just paleo or some other type of diet... I've read about paleo on your blog and I've decided to try it, well... seems like I'm not getting enough food with that type of diet , but ok, I'll be patient about progress Thanks

If you're serious about this, I suggest writing a food log or diary. I think you will surprised at the reality of how much you are really intaking.

At that age and with a high level of activity you simply need a ton of calories.

Add 50-100g of soaked/sprouted nuts/drupes per day: almonds, hazelnuts, etc.

Add coconut products: coconuts, coconut fat, grated coconut, etc.

Add products high in saturated fat, high in monounsaturated fat, low in polyunsaturated fat: butter, lard, tallow, olive oil, heavy whipping cream, high-fat cheese, ghee

Start simple. Add 100g of heavy whipping cream (about 350 kcals) and 50g of soaked/sprouted nuts (about 300 kcals) to your diet. Be patient. See if you gain weight.

If you don't gain weight, eat more food.

Absolutely add in nuts and organic peanut butter, they are easy to eat and full of good calories. Also, I would change the cereal to oatmeal in the morning just because cereal, in my opinion, is just awful for you to eat.

marcusuni said:

Absolutely add in nuts and organic peanut butter, they are easy to eat and full of good calories. Also, I would change the cereal to oatmeal in the morning just because cereal, in my opinion, is just awful for you to eat.

Terrible advice. Peanuts contain lectins and oatmeal is just a bunch of carbs also containing a bunch of anti-nutrients.

Razz said:

marcusuni said:

Absolutely add in nuts and organic peanut butter, they are easy to eat and full of good calories. Also, I would change the cereal to oatmeal in the morning just because cereal, in my opinion, is just awful for you to eat.

Terrible advice. Peanuts contain lectins and oatmeal is just a bunch of carbs also containing a bunch of anti-nutrients.

What would you recommend instead? So you would rather eat cereal packed full with sugar and whatever else than eat oat meal?

Neither. Cereal also has anti-nutrients.

Razz said:

marcusuni said:

Absolutely add in nuts and organic peanut butter, they are easy to eat and full of good calories. Also, I would change the cereal to oatmeal in the morning just because cereal, in my opinion, is just awful for you to eat.

Terrible advice. Peanuts contain lectins and oatmeal is just a bunch of carbs also containing a bunch of anti-nutrients.

I don't think its terrible advice, the kid is 16 and does not seem to be wanting to make a career out of gymnastics. At 16 w/ that much exercise he can eat whatever he wants.

A few hours of exercise isn't an excuse all you can shove down your throat eating fest. The body will still be damaged by things like lectins and antinutrients. Things like these may actually end up stunting growth.

I'm 16, and I would say that he can eat as much as he want's NOT whatever he wants...There is a huge difference, it does not matter you you want to be a competitive gymnast or live a long and healthy life or whatever. If you eat junk, you will get horrible results. Personally what I do with my current activity levels, is I eat as much as I feel like, and then a little bit more. And as long as what you eat is healthy I think that is a good principle for someone with high activity levels (Keep in mind though that I usually only eat 2 meals a day)

Yea I agree, I don't think I'll make a career out of gymnastics, I'm too old for that... but certainly I want to eat healthy and that means perform as good as I can.

Any tips what can replace the cereals in the morning? To be honest in the past few years I haven't had another breakfast than this :oops: . I've also started to take about 25-30g of whey and 20g of maltodextrin in the mornings.

It depends on your carb tolerance for the most part. Try a meat and nut breakfast and see how you feel.

Newguy said:

I'm 16, and I would say that he can eat as much as he want's NOT whatever he wants...

Exactly. I wasn't talking performance wise I was talking general health.

Whats wrong with oatmeal? I´ve heard this before a couple off times. Alot cross country skiers who have taken gold medals at the olympics and are superfit eat oatmeal for breakfast. I dont get it?

I usually eat a banana, some organic hazelnut butter and 250g of full fat (40%) quark for breakfast.

In case you don't know what quark is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quark_(cheese)

250g of 40% fat quark is about 25g protein, 9g carbs, 25g fat, the whole breakfast is about 600kcals.

Other options include soaked nuts, berries (blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, etc.), whipping cream, coconut, even leftover meat.

If you eat junk, you will get horrible results.

I definitely disagree.

There are numerous examples that vitiate this statement.

One example, is the 'Michael Phelps diet'. During the Olympic Games Beijing, Phelps is said to have eaten about 10.000-12.000 kcals every day. Obviously that was not a paleolithic diet because eating 12.000 kcals of paleolithic food is extremely difficult.

Here's what a day looked like for him:

Breakfast: Three fried-egg sandwiches loaded with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, fried onions and mayonnaise. Two cups of coffee. One five-egg omelet. One bowl of grits. Three slices of French toast topped with powdered sugar. Three chocolate-chip pancakes.

Lunch: One pound of enriched pasta. Two large ham and cheese sandwiches with mayo on white bread. Energy drinks packing 1,000 calories.

Dinner: One pound of pasta. An entire pizza. More energy drinks.

source: http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2008/08/13/ ... t-at-home/

Now, I am not saying that a good diet doesn't matter for performance. But it is obvious that you can have a crappy diet and still perform great.

True but it makes me wonder what his performance would be like if he was eating good foods as opposed to junk.

There will always be genetic anomalies in the fitness world. There are people who could literally eat the worst things on the planet and could Fran under 3 minutes. Are you going to take these outliers and extrapolate them to the general public. I think not.

To the OP, in case you're the type of person who's always barely eaten breakfast and feels "sick" if he eats heavy in the morning. Simply take it slow and your body will adjust over time. I always used to eat cereal, then with my misguided enlightenment, went towards Vector cereal. Later, when learning more about fitness and nutrition, I turned towards eggs, but I could not consume much without feeling sick.

It's been a few years now where I religiously (for reasons beyond this topic), eat a 5 egg omelet. Recently I added mushrooms, green peppers, sometimes onions, side of almonds, and 2 pieces of fruits to accompany my eggs.

RandomHavoc said:

There will always be genetic anomalies in the fitness world. There are people who could literally eat the worst things on the planet and could Fran under 3 minutes. Are you going to take these outliers and extrapolate them to the general public. I think not.

I was simply debunking the statement that eating junk equals horrible results. It's simply not true. Not just a few genetic anomalies get decent or even superb results with a crappy diet, but rather a lot of people.

Do you think if you eat like crap (from a paleo point of view), but get a decent amount of protein, fat and calories and put in years of dedicated, hard work you will have horrible results? I think not.

Obviously you should still eat well -- not only for your performance, but also for your health.