Hello all, great site you guys got here.

I am fairly skinny for my size, I've been weight training for the last 2-3 months now in my basement (nothing major), I have seen some improvements but not what I have expected. I ensure I do proper form and I get my rest, which leads me to believe my diet is not up to par. I have read mix reviews from everywhere about what my diet should be.

I am somewhat skinny, yet I have a very small layer of fat on my stomach that I cannot get rid of. I am afraid if I do a lot of cardio or eat less that I will not be gaining any muscle mass or even worst.. reduce my mass. Should I be doing some light cardio? Even though I am trying to gain mass? Since I'm skinny should I be eatting everything and anything? I usually stay away from high fat and calorie foods, but should I be eatting a fair amount of calories per day? I don't take any supplements, I've never been one to take them but I always ensure I get atleast 50g of carbs and atleast 30g of protein after my workout.

Any comments? I've been getting mixed reviews everywhere, I know everybody has their own way going about things, but i'd like to hear some opinions.

Increase your protein intake. You should be eating your weight in grams of protein a day. 30g of protein after a workout is good, keep that up.

You're right that you will stop gaining or even lose muscle mass if you try to get rid of that last bit of stomach fat. Your best bet will be to focus on building muscle for now. You may gain a little for fat, but that is normal.

Once you have enough mass, keep lifting and decrease your calorie intake. You'll probably also want to increase your cardio activity. As long as you keep lifting and are sure to eat pleanty of protein you'll be able to maintain muscle mass.

From your post I get the idea that you want to cut fat and build muscle at the same time. That would be exremely difficult to do. You'll have much better results if you bulk up, then cut.

I assume you mean a gram of protein for every lb of body weight? I wouldn't fancy trying to eat my bodyweight in protein every day!

Okay, so basically I have to choose weither I want to loose a small layer of fat around my stomach or if I want to gain muscle mass. That's an easy decision. But I'm still questioning my diet. I try to eat as much protein as I can, but what about calories? Since I'm trying to gain weight should I be eatting more as well?

it would be better to give us some more details about yourself

age
sex
weight
height
diet
activity level

So if i weigh 195 lbs your telling me I need to eat 195 grams of protein per day? Thanks but no thanks lol. I consume about 60-100 grams of protein a day and I feel like I'm still making gains.

The "1g of protein per pound of body weight" recommendation is easy to remember and is perhaps overused, since it is as high or higher than most recommendations for active people (which mostly range from 0.6g to 0.9g per pound of body weight, depending on the amount and type of activity, though recommendations for elite strength athletes can be greater than 1g per pound of body weight).

Some recommendations list grams of protein per pound of lean body weight, since body fat does not have much requirement for dietary protein compared to muscle.

You might be eating more protein than you think you are eating. Most people think of meat, eggs, dairy products, and beans as being their sources of protein, but grains, nuts, and some vegetables do contribute non-trivial amounts of protein.

I say eat a balanced meal with all the food groups, make slight increases in your carb and protien intake. Huge amounts of protien are not proven to help gain in muscle mass but it is the calories in those shakes or steak that help gain mass. I recommend you read a book called Sports Nutrition by Nancy Clark. I think that it is a good book and it helped me get my diet together. Body builders dont eat large amounts of protein, the eat like 5000 to 6000 cal a day and working out just makes the extra weight attrative muscle and not useless fat.

good luck

DMWC