Hi folks. I am a 6'1 150lb 24 year old guy. I have always been the tall thin dude who eats like he hasn't eatten in weeks. I have a high metabolism and already have about 3000 or more calories a day. Last year I managed to gain 20 of my 60 pound goal by eating 5000 calories a day but I've lost 10 of that when I quit my job and started college.

Now that school has started its getting even tougher to find time to eat much. I simply can not eat 6 meals a day anymore because I lack both time and the cash to afford it. And on top of that I started bike commuting to get to school and my part time so I'm burning more as well.

My questions:
Is there a high calorie high carb shake that doesn't taste like milk that I can take with me to school? (The milky whey makes me feel like vomiting if I drink it anywhere near my commute :x)
Is there a cheap and easy meal plan for high calorie diets anywhere? Some days I only get 50 minutes to myself between eating, classes and work and I'd rather not spend it all cooking and cleaning.
Any advice on weight lifting a long with daily cycling without feeling dead and depleted?

24, you're at the Golden age for physical culture.

Dead and depleted is a sign of not attending to your recovery. That could mean sleep, rest, but nutrition is a huge stand out.



One way to gain weight and strength is the OLD school.
SQUATS AND MILK!
You'd be amazed what adding a gallon of milk a day would do to you...

As a student, $ is probably a constraint.
Milk is cheap relative to calories and protein content.

I put on like 40 lbs and something like 150lb on my dead lift using squats and milk in 2 years. Now most of that weight was not "good" weight. But my goal was to increase weight on the bar.

Cottage cheese is a good recovery food.

Liquid food, goes down fast and doesn't trip the satiety mechanism.

I hope someone else chimes in with other ideas, but I also get nauseous when I eat too much too close to riding...
Most protein type shakes have a berry flavor.

I could never put on weight until I hit my 30's. Then *poof* it was there without trying.

What Null said.

Drink milk. Squat. eat a lot.
I went from 160 to 190 in about 9 months by lifting and eating consistently.

Track your calories. a lot of people think they're eating enough to gain weight, but they aren't.
Stick to 4,000 a day or so, you'll gain weight.

As far as making meals more dense, add oils and nuts to everything. olive oil on salads and sandwiches. mayo and peanut butter on stuff. Gaining weight isn't always easy to do in a "clean" manner, but if it's your goal, find a way to get the calories in.

I mixed up a gainer shake in the evenings when I couldn't eat anymore. (I know you said no milk before class, but a shake is easy to do before bed). 2 scopps of BSN Tru-Mass (weight gainer powder), 1-2 bananas, yogurt/whole milk, 1-2 TBS peanut butter.
You can tweak that to be an easy 1000 calories, and you can drink it in two minutes.

Have you tried GOMAD ??... and if you can add 20 rep squats to it , it's even better.

If my math is right you want to go from 150 to 200lb. Why? What goal?

Is your body type one that can handle that weight

If you really want to put on weight, I am assuming what you mean is putting on muscle.

That is going to take weight lifting, protein and recovery time.

Peanut butter and honey sandwiches worked for me when I was young, poor, always hungry and it was virtually impossible to put on on bodyfat. It's cheap, loaded with calories, carbs and protein. Follow it up with 24oz of strong coffee and siberian ginseng a half hour before you lift. Promise no sluggishness.

Around here that is called "bragging".

I am the same height as you, but my target is 180#.
Difference is I'm coming from the opposite direction;
Right now I am 185#.

I only have about 4-6 hours to sleep most nights but I end up sleeping in friday and saturdays. The two days I have off. But theres no other way around it short of quitting my job or my calc class. And thats what brings me to nutrition. But you say a GALLON of milk a day?! My mouth is coated from the three shakes I drink already. A gallon and I might start sweating the stuff haha.

My goal is to not be the thin guy anymore. I plan on taking up weight lifting and boxing this summer. But if I can gain weight before then I'll have some stored calories to turn into muscle.

Youre right about my goal. I might be happy at 180 but I always aim a bit high at everything lol. But im focusing on getting my calorie intake down now. And then building lifting and recovering when I don't have this hard school semester anymore.

Hahah. It sure doesn't feel like bragging. But I see where it could seem like it.
Good luck those last 5 are the hardest or so everyone says!


And thanks every one else for the advice.

You're more likely to find fellow travelers here:
https://tnation.t-nation.com/free_onl...s=forumsNavTop

However, it seems you have a lot of goals and many of them are in direct conflict.
SQUATS AND MILK will put on the weight and muscle. Adds a good number of calories in a growth promoting manner. You can add calories in other ways, this is just the fastest (wallclock, and maybe calendar), cheapest, most widely available.

You have to have a calorie surplus to gain weight.
You have to sleep to grow muscle (well to be healthy).
You have to eat.


Basically, something's gotta give.
Perhaps the first thing to do is clarify your goals, match with what you're willing to do, match with your resources and cull your goals to what you can achieve... Trying to do everything, means you might not accomplish anything.

I love milk as much as anyone, and no doubt it puts on lean weight, but a gallon a day might be a bit much. The important thing is to get your required protein on time (every 3-4 hours), any extra and you just waste calories digesting it.

The 4-6 hours sleep is a deal killer. Make it a consistent 6-7 hours and you will see a dramatic difference in weight gain and recovery.

Doesn't work that way. You're better off starting from a lean state, the overeating to create a caloric surplus while lifting.

Getting fat then lifting weights doesn't turn the fat into muscle.

To gain a pound of week you need to eat an extra 500 calories a day. You can do that with a thick peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a glass of fruit juice, or even a muffin if you don't mind just eating plain carbs. You can also make corn muffins for practically nothing and put butter on it.

When I put on weight about 5 years ago I would just drink one smoothie a day in addition to my normal meals. And did squats and deadlifts a few times a week.