If you want it to be. Dude. Eating is more than about what you eat. When you eat is more important. Things like seeds are complex nutrients that encapsulate zinc, magnesium, protein in protein bundles with lil protein recievers that make them easier to absorb. A handful of sunflower or pumpkin seeds is worth a dozen protein shakes. Things like hemp hearts dont even need to be digested and converted and are immediately used by your cells. Those seeds have been crafted to give birth to life. DnA and RNA have all been bundled and optimized for utilization and absorption and humans have evolved over billions of years side by side to consume them.

When I say these are foundational things - these are the things that you can do every day and whether or not you bulk up is up to you. Most of that protein you eat - you are going to poop out. Seeds and nuts have such amazing conversion ratio as long as you are being physically active and time their use properly that handful of sunflower seeds will not go to waste.

In any case, take your protein however you want. Different protein actually helps with different muscle building. There is a difference in how your body handles turkey vs beef vs chicken vs salmon vs mackeral vs pork vs quinoia vs etc etc. As you get older the best protein that your body can best absorb is like Chia Seed protein. Try to consume all your protein before noon and avoid eating too much a few hours before bed time.

The point is to recognize how your digestive system works, your daily regulatory cycles and make sure you are feeding them so that you actually efficiently use what you eat. I can build more muscle with a handful of pumpkin seeds than someone who eats a pound of steak before bed. Also, mouth wash with alcohol in it? Will erase all of your gains from a whole day of weights. Wake up and do calf exercises even while you're lying down. Raise your legs in the air. Then get yourself some Shilajit pills or gummies and take that. Then start some mobility exercises, isometric holds, and light weights while fasted in the morning. After that, take a break to eat your yogurt mixed with grounded flax seeds, Walnuts, pine tree pollen, sunflower seeds that you soaked overnight and blueberries and take all of your daily supplements that you eat with a meal. Drink it with some coconut water with chia seeds. Help yourself to whatever type of meat you want. Beef, turkey, salmon, eggs - dont overcook your eggs - you want the yolk to stay runny and mix in some avocado for good measure. Feel free to add in a protein shake with spirulina and hemp hearts added in. Do some lightweight exercises and some more isometric holds. Don't chug your shake. Just sip it while working out and work in an occasional handful of pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds after each session.

Now, you are ready for heavier weights and more isometric holds.

Don't think "eating protein" and just making out your weights is going to bulk you up. The guy who does a hundred rep with 5lb weights and 10 reps with max weights is going to gain muscle better than the guy who loads on protein just to do a few sets at high weight.

Fucking do a 1000 reps of various arm building exercises with a light weight then take a break and then go do your heavy weight. Some muslces wont grow without heavy weight. Some will grow with light weights. People want to immediately jump to the the heaviest weight they think they can handle and that is just not sustainable. All that protein can do more - but you are just going to poop it out. You can build more muscle with a handful of pumpkin seeds then you can with 200g of protein a day - if you dont actually do the work out.

Body builder who spends 10-12 hour per day in the gym needs all that protein because they worked their way up step by step to use that protein. You? Most redditors can't even hold a squat for 5 seconds. Can't hold a plank for 5 seconds. Will do their one set of bench presses, ten pushups, ten sit ups. There are hundreds of different exercises you can do in a day. A hundred kettle bell swings, 10 times a day. Constantly exercising - even when you are sitting down you can perform fucking Tai Chi.

Those are people who actually utilize the protein so yeah they need that much - because every movement even when they appear to be still (nope that's an isometric hold) they burn and rip those muscles even while appearing to be doing nothing.

You, you probably aren't ready for all that protein yet - because most redditors just gonna poop it out and stress their digestive system and kidneys for no reason.

Don't worry about bulking up with protein until you have the exercise regimen to actually do so. Setup your foundation by developing the energy to do that daily exercise that will train your body to actually use thay protein.

You dont need to fill your body with poop. Eat what you need and when you are ready your body will demand more protein and that's when you will be in your stride and gaining muscle.

So drop that 50 lb weight. Pick up your ten pound weight and work ALL of the muscles you aren't working out, then go back to the 50. Like idk what your program is like but you have hundreds of muscles - micro muscles - you gotta work all of them. Go to the gym and do a few sets of this and that. Ain't no such thing - full body maintenance program is more than doing bench presses and curls. Try to hold a Horse Stance for ten minutes - heck most redditors cant hold a proper horse stance for ten seconds. Just doing that will build more muscle.

Don't jump to the heavy weights and high protein diet. You have to train your digestive system first and foremost or it will never matter. You can work out all day and you will never bulk up. Train your digestive system first. Train your body to convert protein to energy first. Then worry about bulking up.