Tall and Skinny need to gain to compete

Hello DB,
 
I am 6'1 and 146lbs right now.  I started a weight gain diet 6wks ago starting at 138lbs.  I have been slim all my life.  The most I have ever weighed is 144lbs so I am really excited.  My initial goal was 150lbs, but I no nothing about competitions and different class.  Obviously I would be in the tall class, so what is the ideal weight.  I am naturally slim so will my weight be the same as others.  Also, I am getting so confused with my diet and nutrients.  I have been trying to stay at 30% fat, 30% protein, and 40% carb, with a calorie intake of 2774 to 3000, is this correct.  I am also concerned about my waistline it increased two inches because the only cardio I am getting is volleyball about 2 to 4hrs a week, is this normal.  I do not have an accurate reading of my body fat, I used a scale, which reads 19% but started at 21%. 
 
I guess to sum it all up how do I gain without losing my figure, what weight should I gain, when should I try to get lean and how do i do that without losing everything I worked hard for(When I started I missed two days of calorie intake from fasting and lost 2lbs that took me two wks to get).  Also what is a good diet someone told me i should not eat salads.  But it is my favorite lunch and I add chicken or salmon to it.
 
For competitions I do not see many tall women.  Is there any chance for tall women to compete nationally or to get a pro card.  I was told they do not favor tall women.  Attached is an old picture but it is the only one i have at the moment (not at my computer).  But I have stayed at the same weight for over 10yrs and this is after having my daughter.  I just wanted to give everyone an idea of how small I am.


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Welcome to DB.  

Your nutrient ratios are quite standard.
Your calories seem to be on track for gaining healthy weight.

If your waist size increase a bit, that's pretty normal.  But keep it in check.  What you don't want is to just put on too much fat.  Eating clean is definately the way to go but again, sounds like you have that down as well.

How can you gain weight without losing your figure?

By putting on muscle and minimizing the fat gains.

Going in cycles of bulking and cutting will get you more muscle in the long run and less fat as you put on more muscle.

Now bulking isn't an excuse to just jump to some unhealthy levels of fat.  But you will notice that you do gain some but it should be minimal if you are eating clean.

Once you have reach a set body fat level, you might cycle again to cut and maintain that muscle.

Overall, you'll gain muscle, burn off fat and end up with more muscle and a lower percentage of body fat.

The key to keeping your figure is by continually tracking your progress and making sure it's mostly muscle you are gaining and not fat.  If it's fat you can:

* re-adjust your calories
* add in a little more cardio to increase your activity levels
* adjust your ratios in case the fats were too high or the carbs

Weekly measurements are key.

That way you can make adjustments as necessary to ensure you are on the right track.

Diets...

Salads are fine for fiber and the vegetable intake but they aren't going to help you add quality mass.  No need to avoid them but they shouldn't be the foundation of your diet in that sense.  Hence you mention chicken, salmon.  Take a look in the Nutrition forum at the Top Posts.  You will find a weight gaining post that will apply to you as well.  Plus lots of clean foods to gain weight.

Tip #1:  Never Skip a Meal

Applys to men and women.  You want to gain mass?  Then you cannot afford to be missing meals.  You mention that you skipped a few meals when fasting and lost 2 lbs.  Who knows if it was muscle, fat or water or all of the above (that's why tracking is critical) but you saw the effects.  Gaining weight is serious business.

Don't skip meals.  Always plan and take food with you.  You start skipping, you won't gain quality mass.

I cannot speak to tall woman competing but from the fitness figures I've seen on DB, I don't think you'll have any issues.  It might be more of a regional or particular contest in that regard.

Marc C. David - NGA CPT
Author of NoBull Bodybuilding
www.nobullbodybuilding.com

Thank you so much for your response.  I will check out the nutrition forum today.

One more thing what is the ideal weight with my height.  I was told 160 and that seems a bit much.

ORIGINAL: Tonia_LFD

One more thing what is the ideal weight with my height.  I was told 160 and that seems a bit much.

I did a quick search and it shows 160 is about normal.  I would actually target 165 so that you can gain more lean mass (which is really hard for women to do).

Thanks Lady C

Just to calrify things, don't follow the BMI (ideal weight). It doesn't take account into your body fat %, thus you can have a low body fat % with large muscles, yet you would be considered overweight, and vice versa. You should rather look at your body fat %.

You may also want to look at building in the areas you feel you are losing curves, such as glutes, quads, lats, shoulders.  Choose compound movements and hit them heavy and hard twice per week.
This will help with reshaping.
Linda

Come Visit my websites! www.figureteam.com www.lindacusmano.com www.bodyrushpersonaltraining.com

Is it ok to train on legs everyday or should I only train every other day.  It gets so confusing because each person that gives me advice it is something different.  I was told I shouldn't do cardio, while someone else says I should.  I was told never do the same muscle group within at least 48hrs been then someone else told me it does not matter I could do it everyday.  Just wondered.  I wish I could decide for myself but this is beyond my knowledge.