Did you bulk up (from skinny to fit)? Was it worth it?

Like another poster here, I'm 6'3" and weight about 160 - 165 pounds.

My main concern is the side effects of eating enough calories (4000 calories a day).

I'm not a doctor, but my impression is that metabolic processes are one of the main things that causes the body to age. I don't suggest starvation (like the crazy dude who fasted for three weeks) as a means to live longer, but it just seems like a leaner body and smaller meals would help a person age more gracefully, rather than continuously eating. Does anyone know or care about this?

Anyway, assuming I don't worry about the above, there's the other issue of constantly being full or having stomach discomfort. Has anyone else who has bulked up felt an initial discomfort from eating so much? Did it go away?

Also, a few years ago I started trying to bulk up and around the same time I discovered many lipoma on my torso. One was removed and was benign. I've read things online about correlation between lipoma and high testosterone, etc, so my mind thinks that maybe the two things are related. However, it could be entirely coincidental.

Then of course there's the increased cost of food...I already don't have time to cook my own meals. Of course like anything, I guess if you're serious and it's a high priority then there's a way.

Thanks in advance for any comments.

You are hitting on a lot of different topics.

Having a little weight on you in your 40s and 50s makes you look younger because it rounds out your face.

Men lose significant amounts of muscle as they age. I work hard to avoid this.

I gradually increased my calories per day and continue to do so.

Try getting in some more liquid calories. Milk for example. Also, try and replace your normal foods with calorie dense foods.

i was a fat teen but got down to 190 at 6'2 when i started lifting. after a year of lifting and eating i was 220 when i started PEDs. Went from 230 to 288 in 3 years. scaled down to 250 and am now 220 and though i liked being truly big it is probably healthier and more practical to be the weight i am now. though sadly, i only look big now out of clothes.

Originally Posted by thekunk07

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i was a fat teen but got down to 190 at 6'2 when i started lifting. after a year of lifting and eating i was 220 when i started PEDs. Went from 230 to 288 in 3 years. scaled down to 250 and am now 220 and though i liked being truly big it is probably healthier and more practical to be the weight i am now. though sadly, i only look big now out of clothes.

But you look better in clothes now than you did at 288! Also IRC, you're pretty crazy strong, especially for your weight. Did you hold on to significant strength gains after you stopped using PED regularly, or did you gain most of your strength before you started them?

Originally Posted by db_ggmm

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Men lose significant amounts of muscle as they age. I work hard to avoid this.

Me too. I'm doing P90X consistently and am quite happy so far.

yes, but nowhere near where i was at peak. i am ok with it though. i was always pretty naturally strong.

Originally Posted by RedLantern

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But you look better in clothes now than you did at 288! Also IRC, you're pretty crazy strong, especially for your weight. Did you hold on to significant strength gains after you stopped using PED regularly, or did you gain most of your strength before you started them?

I was about 135 about a few years go. Now I am 195 at 5'10" . Definitely feels good to be a little bigger than some scrawny Asian kid.

How did you come up with needing 4,000 calories?

I have a fairly large frame, looked skinny at 185 lbs and 6'. I bulked up to about 230 lbs, then cut to a pretty lean 220 lbs. I enjoyed it, I look a lot better, being strong and fit is a confidence boost. My wife likes it too.

As far as any consequences to long term health, you need to ask yourself what your priorities are. I'd rather be happy with my body, strong and fit, than trying to eke out an extra year or two in my 80s. Real hardcore bodybuilders, carrying 270+ lbs around are certainly hurting their life expectancy, but very few of us even need to think about that. I also really have no desire to be one of those old men who has lost all their muscle mass and walks around all stooped and withered. Look at Jack Lalane, one of the original bodybuilders. Great quality of life into his 90s, and he popularized the whole idea of packing on extra mass.

I put on weight easily, so I never felt uncomfortable with how much I needed to eat to bulk. Adding a protein shake and eating a little bit more at each meal allowed me to make all the gains I needed. I'm much more unhappy when trying to get lean, caloric deficits make me grumpy.

I like being bigger. I'm not that big though (5' 10", 190#, ~15% BF), but I don't want to get much bigger, just more defined. I was probably like 150# when I first went to college so I've put on a good amount of mass

I'm still in the middle of a pretty intense bulk thats been ongoing for about 8 months now. Started at 6'2" 157lb as a competitive mid distance runner and LW rower, weighed in at 190lb this AM, the most I have ever weighed .

Initial muscle mass came immediately, probably since I was a pretty well trained athlete but I never gave myself the nutrition to grow. So 200g of protein and 4kcals a day helped a lot. Then it got reaaaally hard. for about 3 months consuming food was a chore and most calories had to be liquid, a lot of milk and protein shakes. 2 months ago that all stopped and eating 3.5k cals a day is a breeze.

I'm not really concerned with the health aspects of this, I'll put myself into a healthy maintenance diet when I'm happy with my size. But I am considerably weaker for my size. Pull up max went from 27 to 13.. **** like that.My legs are about 2x stronger, but im also 2x slower when running. All muscle striations are gone and I picked up a fair amount of fat on the belly, but whatevs. After living on 1800 calories/day for 6 years I'm not too concerned with cutting.

If you are planning to bulk and adding a significant amount of calories over maintenance; don't just add the extra suddenly. Build up to that otherwise your metabolism won't adjust properly and you store it all as fat.

Originally Posted by East2West

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If you are planning to bulk and adding a significant amount of calories over maintenance; don't just add the extra suddenly. Build up to that otherwise your metabolism won't adjust properly and you store it all as fat.
Yea I cringe when I hear normal sized people jumping to 4K to bulk I've been making solid gains on ~3K/day and I weigh 190.

defs worth it.

had to change my wardrobe tho.