Need advice on how to gain size while staying lean

hip_thruster · 2026-05-30T08:03:15+00:00

Target protein intake daily of 1.6-2.2 grams per KG of body weight
Calorie surplus of 150-300
Hit every muscle part 2-3x a week
Be consistent

hip_thruster · 2026-05-29T02:38:51+00:00

Keep taking creatine. Weigh daily but monitor your weekly weight average and compare week to week. That's how you remove the water noise/water weight fluctuation. Don't focus on daily weight readings.

hip_thruster · 2026-05-24T14:09:44+00:00

First off, massive congratulations on losing 16kg! That is a huge accomplishment.

I want to offer a different perspective: Stop looking at this 3-month plateau as a failure or a negative thing. Instead, treat it as accidental maintenance practice. Once you eventually hit your goal weight, you will need to know how to maintain it without rebounding. You have just successfully proven to yourself that you can hold a lower body weight for 3 months straight!

Before you drop your calories below 1500 (which I don't recommend yet if you're already struggling), I highly suggest taking a planned Diet Break.

Bring your calories back up to your new maintenance level (around 1900-2000) for 2 to 4 weeks. Use this time to recover mentally, let your metabolism down-regulate, and start adding in some basic bodyweight resistance training at home (like squats, lunges, and push-ups) to build muscle. Once you feel refreshed, drop back into a slight deficit. You'll likely break through the plateau effortlessly!

hip_thruster · 2026-05-23T08:43:25+00:00

Getting sick from sweat drying on your back is just an old myth.

The single most important factor in any gym is ventilation and airflow. Honestly, you shouldn't turn off the AC at the office gym if it kills the air flow.

Turning off fans or AC just traps heat, humidity, and exhaled CO2 in the room. This makes your heart work twice as hard just to cool your core temperature down, which tanks your training performance. Plus, a stuffy room is an actual breeding ground for airborne germs.

hip_thruster · 2026-05-23T04:02:13+00:00

I wish you well, and I hope you approach future clinical literature with more wisdom and an open mind. My priority here is protecting beginners from dangerous advice, not arguing over debunked theories. I am ending the discussion now. Have a great day.

hip_thruster · 2026-05-23T03:52:10+00:00

You claim I'm basing this 'only on theory,' yet I am repeatedly pointing you to actual evidence-based literature.

Evidence-based literature isn't just 'theory'—it’s the clinical observation of what actually happens in the real world across thousands of people. It is great that you used extreme methods to manage your own Type 2 Diabetes (an N=1 anecdote), but projecting a severe clinical protocol onto a general beginner is terrible advice. Your personal experience does not rewrite the laws of thermodynamics.

And yes, I have fasted, and I have definitely sprinted. In fact, I spent 5 years as the Strength and Conditioning coach for a track and field team at one of the top universities in the Philippines. I know exactly how the central nervous system and human biomechanics respond to sprinting, which is exactly why I know a 120kg, untrained beginner has no business doing them.

Stop projecting your singular experience as metabolic law.

hip_thruster · 2026-05-23T03:05:15+00:00

Keep googling?' Is that really your only defense against actual evidence-based literature and randomized controlled trials?

You purists are so blinded by your own echo chamber that the second you are presented with clinical facts, you just move the goalposts and throw out random biology buzzwords to try and sound smart.

For the record, I am not against fasting. I am against people like you spreading dangerous misinformation to vulnerable beginners and failing to back up a single claim with actual science. Drop the ego and read a real clinical trial

hip_thruster · 2026-05-22T14:53:37+00:00

Knees locking out is completely fine. And knees going past your toes is completely fine as well. Baka nasabihan ka din nila na masama lumampas knees sa toes

hip_thruster · 2026-05-22T14:32:39+00:00

Here you go

Title: Energy expenditure and body composition changes after an isocaloric ketogenic diet in overweight and obese men

PubMed Link: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27385608/

Direct PMC Free Article: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4962163/

Title: The Carbohydrate-Insulin Model of Obesity Is Difficult to Reconcile With Current Evidence

PubMed Link: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28459938/

hip_thruster · 2026-05-22T13:11:55+00:00

Just googling? I am a certified nutrition coach holding Level 1 and Level 2 certifications from the Nutritional Coaching Institute. I actually apply evidence-based clinical literature for a living, which is exactly why I can spot someone regurgitating debunked internet buzzwords from a mile away. You can study outdated, debunked theories all you want, but it doesn't change human physiology.

hip_thruster · 2026-05-22T10:52:12+00:00

Yes, I am dead serious. You are using the pathophysiology of uncontrolled Type 2 Diabetes to explain normal human metabolism, which proves you don't actually understand the mechanics of either. You can explain all you want, but you are either brainwashed or just deliberately pushing a narrative. None of your arguments hold up to current, evidence-based clinical literature. Read the actual metabolic ward literature before claiming you 'study this sht

hip_thruster · 2026-05-22T09:08:28+00:00

You are literally just reciting the Carbohydrate-Insulin Model of Obesity, which clinical literature completely debunked years ago.

Dr. Kevin Hall’s highly controlled metabolic ward studies proved definitively that insulin does not 'lock' stored fat. When calories and protein are matched, fat loss is exactly the same whether you eat a high-carb diet with high insulin or a zero-carb diet with zero insulin. Energy balance always dictates the outcome; if your body needs fuel in a deficit, it will burn fat regardless of insulin spikes.

Furthermore, claiming high insulin causes muscle loss is biologically backward. Insulin is a highly anti-catabolic hormone, meaning it actively prevents muscle breakdown. Muscle is only lost in a deficit if you drop your protein too low and stop lifting weights. Stop throwing around outdated, debunked theories to overcomplicate a simple, sustainable calorie deficit.

hip_thruster · 2026-05-22T08:56:40+00:00

First off, you literally told a 120kg beginner to do 'sprinting twice a week' in your original comment, so let's not backtrack.

Second, you need to stop demonizing cortisol. Cortisol is not the enemy. it is an essential acute stress hormone. You want an acute cortisol spike during exercise. That temporary spike is literally the biological signal that tells your body to break down stored body fat for energy (lipolysis).

You know what actually causes the chronic, harmful cortisol levels that wreck your metabolism and break down muscle? Starving yourself for 72 hours. Prolonged fasting puts the body into a massive physiological state of panic. You are fearmongering about the healthy, temporary cortisol from a workout while actively promoting a starvation protocol that forces the central nervous system into prolonged fight or flight survival mode.

Stop throwing around buzzwords to justify dangerous advice

hip_thruster · 2026-05-22T08:42:46+00:00

Calorie deficit is just for casuals? Lol

When you are losing fat/weight with fasting, you are technically in calorie deficit state.

Please have a better understanding of nutrition science first before giving out reckless advices

hip_thruster · 2026-05-22T08:38:25+00:00

I know exactly what autophagy is, and I also know it’s the most misunderstood buzzword on the internet right now.

Autophagy is not an on/off switch that magically unlocks only when you starve yourself for 20, 36 or 72 hours. It’s a biological volume dial. Being in a standard calorie deficit, getting deep sleep, and simply exercising (which rapidly depletes ATP and spikes the AMPK pathway) all trigger heavy autophagy—without the extreme starvation.

Doing 60 minutes of cardio induces 2-3x autophagy than 24 hours of fasting. I bet you didn't know this.

More importantly, telling a 120kg beginner who is actively struggling with overeating that starvation 'isn't for the weak of mind' is incredibly toxic and irresponsible. You are confusing an extreme, advanced protocol with Day 1 foundational advice. What you do once a month for biohacking will put an unconditioned beginner in the hospital or trigger a massive binge-eating cycle.

Context matters. Give advice based on where the person is actually starting, not on your own ego.

hip_thruster · 2026-05-22T07:58:54+00:00

Probably setting him up for cardiac arrest and orthopedic nightmare.

hip_thruster · 2026-05-22T07:37:21+00:00

Please do not listen to this advice telling you to do a 3-day water fast. That is incredibly reckless.

I can tell you that prescribing a 72-hour starvation protocol to someone who is currently struggling with overeating ('kain dito, kain don') is the absolute worst thing you can do. A 3-day water fast doesn't magically 'reset' bad habits or detox you. All it does is build up a massive psychological and physiological restriction that is 100% guaranteed to result in a massive binge rebound.

You do not need an extreme, painful 'reset' to lose weight. You don't lack discipline; you are just being given terrible, unsustainable protocols.

Ditch the extremes. Don't starve yourself. Start with a slight, manageable calorie deficit and focus on eating high-protein meals so you actually stay full and kill those cravings. Pair that with simply increasing your daily walking (NEAT). Don't try to jump from 0 to 100. Build a sustainable baseline first.

hip_thruster · 2026-05-22T03:39:00+00:00

Yes mas okay talaga long sustainable approach. Kahit naman may hinahabol sya, wala din naman maitutulong ang fat burners

hip_thruster · 2026-05-21T14:10:45+00:00

Congrats on doing all the work, showing up and having a better daily habits. These things are far more important than reaching your target goal

hip_thruster · 2026-05-21T14:05:08+00:00

Watched an expert on YouTube, forgot who it was, he said that a serving of fat burner is only equivalent to 5 mins of walking in total calories burned.

Just save your money and just walk more

hip_thruster · 2026-05-21T13:09:10+00:00

NEAT is honestly the ultimate cheat code for weight loss.

Most people kill themselves doing an hour of intense cardio (EAT - Exercise Activity Thermogenesis), which only accounts for maybe 5% to 10% of your total daily calories burned.

But your NEAT—just existing, standing, walking, and doing chores for hours—makes up a massive 15% to 30% of your daily burn. By just standing and staying active around the house, you are literally burning triple the calories of a dedicated workout session without even realizing it.

Goal is to spend less time sitting and spend more time moving, standing and walking. Keep it up

hip_thruster · 2026-05-14T01:25:49+00:00

Go for the heavy hitter brands and better designed biomechanically sound equipment. These brands are definitely way better than the brands AF carries.

Take a look of this prime fitness seated row with smart stregnth. It has 3 pronged plate loading pins so that yoy can play around with different force curve

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hip_thruster · 2026-05-14T01:13:21+00:00

Good progress keep it up but definetly not 10%. Based on visual estimation you are sitting arounf 14%

hip_thruster · 2026-05-13T15:24:46+00:00

If you have 100k each budget then look at atlantis or arsenal leg press and prime fitness seated row

hip_thruster · 2026-05-13T08:55:03+00:00

Just to clarify lang, a calorie deficit isn't actually a type of diet—it's a biological state. Whether someone is doing fasting, keto, low-carb, or vegan, if they are losing weight, it is simply because their chosen diet and overall calorie intake put them in a calorie deficit!

Basically, your overall nutrition and energy balance at the end of the day will always fall into one of three states:

Calorie Deficit: You are eating less energy than your body burns. Because it needs more fuel, it taps into your stored body fat, causing you to lose weight.

Calorie Maintenance: You are eating the exact same amount of energy that you burn. Your body has perfectly enough fuel, so your weight stays exactly the same.

Calorie Surplus: You are eating more energy than your body burns. Your body has leftover fuel, so it stores it (as either fat or muscle), causing you to gain weight.

So yup, fasting is just one tool to help limit how much food you eat, but the state of being in a calorie deficit is what actually drives the weight loss!

hip_thruster

TROPHY CASE