how long will I be like this.

[lucaluca]

hey guys I've always been skinny and I've been a pretty active guy. I don't seem to get bigger though I'm very skinny on my arms. I asked my parents to see if its a family thing and they said that I won't get thicker untill I'm in my 20s is there anyway to speed this up?

[mrgravez]

Have you tried to eat a lot and goto the gym?

[lucaluca]

Yeah im currently eating about 4000 calories a day. I was thinking maybe i need some kind of product...

[captainmo]

Eat more. I started the summer at 143, I'm up to 152 now (about 2.5 months), with less body fat. I have a desk job so its easy for me to snack. Usually I miss breakfast, but at work I eat a sandwich and some nuts at ~830 (get there at 8) and again around 4 (leave at 430 and go to the gym). For lunch I'll eat whatever, but try to get a bigger meal in. Drink a protein shake after working out, whey is best post workout, and maybe a few carbs. At night have protein and fat (good fat...nuts, peanut butter, etc); I have casein protein for night since its slower digesting, where as whey is fast and good for pwo. In terms of other supplements the basics are

Protein
Creatine (it's been researched a lot and has proven benefits)
Fish oil and a multivitamin

I have a preworkout nitric oxide supplement...to be honest I think it was a waste of money. Stick to whats proven.

No matter how many calories you're eating now, if you are working out and not gaining, eat more. Maybe start eating two things of yogurt a day, which is about an extra 300 calories. Check out bodybuilding.com for some good articles and the forum there has some good info. Also, a rule of thumb is to get 1-1.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight.

[mrgravez]

It's really easy to say oh I eat such and such of calories when in fact you are eating much less or higher then what your body needs.

(1) Do you go to the gym at all?

(2) If you're looking for supplements DO NOT use steriods especially if you are a beginner! I took this protein/carb shake mix when I was in high school about 6 years ago and man I put on some serious weight called N-Large 2. I think I gained about 40 lbs that year (fat + muscle). I am 100% natural only no juice/hormones etc, only supplement I use is protein shakes.

Overall, since I started lifting the most important thing I did was eat and make sure that my diet was very good. I tried to take in around 200-300g of protein a day from shakes and eating healthy.

Here is an example of my diet when I bulked last year:

7AM
4 - glasses 2% milk
12 - Egg whites no salt
2-3 cups Boiled potatoes
1 - heaping bowl of cottage cheese

10AM
2 scoops of protein
3 - glasses of soy milk
few handfuls of cashews/nuts
a piece of two of fruit

11:30AM
2 - cups milk (those small pints you get at school)
2 - roast beef/tuna/chicken sandwiches
2 - trial mix bars
a piece or two of fruit banana/pear usually

1PM
Another sandwich usually and/or a few pieces of chicken breast
few glasses of water

3PM
light snack some nuts/fruit
2 scoops protein shake

5PM
2-4 pieces of chicken
2-3 glasses of milk
some side of heavy carbs usually a potatoe or something similar

7ish - lift for 2-3 hours

9-10PM
have about the same meal as my 5PM meal with a protein shake and some cottage cheese with those canned peaches mmm!

sleep ... repeat!