it's not quite as simple as just consuming a protein shake, unfortunately. Gaining weight can be a challenge, especially for ectomorphs ("hard gainers") like yourself with high metabolisms. Despite it being a challenge, the solution is relatively straight-forward. It's all up to you, your self-control, and your determination. If you set your mind to it, you can do it!
There are 3 parts to building muscle and adding weight (i'm guessing you don't want to add fat
).
1. Whole foods (and supplements to well, supplement the whole foods--not replace them)
2. Exercise
3. Rest (sleep)
i'll try to share my nutition, training, and biochemistry experience in a succinct but informative way. I'll start at the bottom of the above list and work my way up.
sleep
for a young man like yourself, you should aim for 7-9 hours of sleep every night. Ideally you would go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, but it's more important to get the full amount of rest. So, if you happen to stay up late one night, it's not the end of the world.
your body will not repair tissues and add mass without sleep! it's one of, if not, the most important part of the 3 listed above. Along with this, avoid caffeine and other stimulants just before bed time as they can restrict blood flow to the brain (by up to 40%) and make it more difficult to fall sleep.
exercise
without a stimulus, your body will have no impetus to grow and add mass. The human body is a very efficient machine that adapts so that it only uses just what it needs and no more (the minimum required with no wasted resources). You mentioned you workout, which is fantastic. Keep that up! Many people who aim to add muscle mass utilize some form of strength training. If it's not possible to access a gym, body weight exercises can be just as effective as weights. For you, i'd aim for somewhere between 3 and 5 high intensity workouts a week. The point of exercise to gain weight is to cause microtears in the muscle fibers. When the body goes to repair the fibers, it doesn't just repair them to the point they were at before, but it strengthens them in an effort to prevent microtears in the future. Again, without rest (sleep), your body won't repair itself!
whole foods
the best fuel for your body is whole, natural foods. Having the self control to put down the processed foods and eat whole foods will help greatly in your effort to gain weight. Processed foods are broken down as simple sugars (simple carbs) and fat--both of which are bad. Whole foods contain necessary and beneficial amino acids (that are used to make protein), healthy fats, and complex carbs (healthy carbs). As countryguy63 mentioned, to gain weight, you need to consume more calories than you burn. For an active, high calorie burning, young man like yourself, that takes quite a bit of calories.
the hardest part of gaining weight is eating regularly and frequently enough! when looking at the calories consumed, there are 3 main macronutrients you need to care about: Protein, carbohydrates, and fats. For you, i'd recommend a calorie ratio of 30% protein, 50% carbohydrates, and 20% fat. What this means is that 30% of the calories you consume should come from whole protein sources (meats, fish, legumes, etc.), 50% from whole carbohydrate sources (whole grains, wheat, etc.), and 20% from healthy fats (unsaturated fats like olive oil or omega fatty acids--avoid saturated and trans fats). For you, i would recommend aiming to consume around 2500 calories a day. This means you should aim to consume 750 calories (188 grams) of protein, 1250 calories (313 grams of carbohydrates), and 500 calories (56 grams) of fat in a single day. The most difficult macronutrient to get in sufficient amounts is protein. That's where a protein supplement can help bridge the gap. However, you should never rely on supplements as your main nutrient source. They are called "supplements" for a reason! For example, eat chicken and beef as your whole protein source, and then consume a protein shake to help you get up to 188 grams of protein.
Edit: I think you might have mentioned you were a vegetarian. In that case, whole protein sources can include soy and other legume (bean) sources.
i hope this brief (but hopefully thorough enough) overview was helpful. Feel free to ask me any more questions as well.
you can find some great articles over at
bodybuilding.com too. Cheers!
