NOT EATING ENOUGH IS HOLDING YOU BACK!

I have had this EXACT conversation with so many clients and this singular thing is what held me back for YEARS. I started training at the age of 14 because i wanted to gain some muscle and loose some fat (like most teenage boys). I did the loosing weight part. Here is where the mistake happened. I wanted to look better and be stronger and to improve my athleticism for football - I spent HOURS watching youtube trying to find the best training programme. But this wasn't the issue. For the best part of 3 years I did everything except EAT MORE. I was petrified of regaining the fat i had lost. Looking back on old photos I genuinely can not believe I was worried about gaining weight. I looked so skinny but my perception at the time was that I was too fat to gain any weight. This meant my strength gains were non-existent and my muscle gain was non-existent. Fast forward to now i am around 22kg HEAVIER than i was at 16 at the same height. With the majority of that muscle mass.

So EAT MORE.

If you are following a training programme consistently and training with intensity then that isn't the issue. You are probably already taking all the fashionable supplements hoping they'll make the difference.

You have probably tried different training programmes. But you are so stuck in the mind set off "fat loss, low calorie meals, cardio, calorie deficit" etc. that you can't even see the logical next step you need to take in order to progress. Would you expect a grown man to consume more calories than a toddler to stay at the same weight? I hope you thought 'YES'. If you wanted to make this toddler the same weight as a grown man, what would you do? Feed it and make it very very fat. Simple. The logic is the same. You want current you to gain muscle. Therefore become a bigger human. In order to do this you have to eat more than what your body currently requires to stay the same weight (AKA. A Calories Surplus). And guess what, if you gain 10kg. you will then just have to eat EVEN MORE to gain more weight. BECAUSE YOU ARE A BIGGER PERSON. Just like when you go into a calorie deficit, eventually you weight loss will stall and you will need to reduce your calories further. Because you are a smaller human than you were previously. So here is what i want you to do. Decide on the goal you want to achieve. e.g. build muscle. Get out of the mindset of fat loss. Increase calories by 200-300 per day above maintenance. Aim to gain 1-2kg per month over a long period of time. The key to doing this successfully is not putting on too much weight too quickly to the point you are uncomfortable with how you look. because you are then less likely to stick in the gaining phase for anywhere near long enough to build a SIGNIFICANT amount of muscle.