Squats are the only thing that is progressing

[Bazza20]

He's 5'6" and 118 lbs. and squatting 115 lbs. He doesn't fucking need 4000 calories.

Exactly

[mrflibble]

If he has gained 3lb in 2 1/2 weeks he is eating enough. Just saying eat more is a great way of turning him into a fat shit.

Yeah going from 118 to 178 in a year at 5'6". Why do people think he needs to eat more than that.

Are you really this stupid?

You can't generalise over the long term based on the first 2.5 weeks of a new program. Sure, if you could, you'd be right: He'll be 178 in a year on his current diet. He'll also be squatting 1105 lb

Whether you're talking weight loss or gain, 3lb in the FIRST few weeks is hardly anything.

The OP isn't a borderline obese 40 year old. He's a rake skinny kid. The perfect candidate for gomad if there ever was one.

[Kyle Aaron]

I know a lot of the main coaches on this site, which I am guessing you disagree with, would tell the guy to eat through the sticking point. Good luck with whatever you decide OP

I don't think it'd do him harm to eat more. However, I don't think his sticking point is physical. He said,

"I get tired, legs weak and unmotivated to improve on anything else."

That's mental. Quite simply, "if you complete the target reps, add 5lbs next time" is mentally hard. Takes a lot of willpower. He's only 18 days in and is already scared and ready to back off or quit. That's willpower. Obviously food ties into this, if you're hungry your willpower drops down a lot, being well-fed helps. Still, it's mostly mental. I have people in my gym who come in at 0600 on no breakfast and squat deep and heavy, I have others who come in the afternoon after a couple of good meals and a good sleep and are still half-squatting 30kg after years in the gym. Willpower.

During progressive resistance training, over time you progress the resistance. At some point it gets hard. After that it gets fucking hard. At these points you either grind through those reps or you wuss out. Most wuss out, which is why a two-plate squat draws stares in the gym, and four-plate deadlifts are unheard of, and why there are women lifting more than men more than twice their bodyweight. Willpower.

Which is to say: OP, stick with it.

"One of the lessons of barbell training is that you can in fact do what you intend to do if you just make yourself do it. It doesn't just make your body strong, it makes your mind strong as well." - Rippetoe, in this interview.

[Bazza20]

Are you really this stupid?

You can't generalise over the long term based on the first 2.5 weeks of a new program. Sure, if you could, you'd be right: He'll be 178 in a year on his current diet. He'll also be squatting 1105 lb

Whether you're talking weight loss or gain, 3lb in the FIRST few weeks is hardly anything.

The OP isn't a borderline obese 40 year old. He's a rake skinny kid. The perfect candidate for gomad if there ever was one.

He is gaining at that rate currently, that is plenty, eating more is not needed until weight gain stops. Then add in more food.

[mrflibble]

He is gaining at that rate currently, that is plenty, eating more is not needed until weight gain stops. Then add in more food.

True(ish) Or maybe he's just hydrated and has a full stomach for the first time in years. 3lb is nothing. I've got half that with just a full bladder.

Kyle's right that there's a mental pussying out going on. The OP is also very vague with how much he's eating. He "aims" for 2600 kcal. Has an extra shake when he doesn't "feel" like he hit 2000.

We really don't know that he's eating enough. Gomad for a month won't fat fuck him. It'd certainly help with the mind game too.

[Bazza20]

True(ish) Or maybe he's just hydrated and has a full stomach for the first time in years. 3lb is nothing. I've got half that with just a full bladder.

Kyle's right that there's a mental pussying out going on. The OP is also very vague with how much he's eating. He "aims" for 2600 kcal. Has an extra shake when he doesn't "feel" like he hit 2000.

We really don't know that he's eating enough. Gomad for a month won't fat fuck him. It'd certainly help with the mind game too.

No point dealing in hypotheticals of what may or may not be in his stomach or bladder. Deal with the facts. Weight has gone up 3lb in 2 1/2 weeks. Give it another 2 weeks and see what the weight does and adjust food intake depending on results.

[Brodie Butland]

OP--you've seen a lot of different advice here. I'll just throw in a personal anecdote for your consideration. When I was 23, I was 5'11" and 130 lbs. I did a bodybuilding routine with insufficient emphasis on squats/deadlifts (and I didn't know how to do them properly always).

Even with a sub-par program, I still added well over 100 lbs on my bench in three months. That's because I ate like it was my last meal. In addition to eating a Chipotle burrito damn near every day, I also had over a half gallon of milk, two sandwiches, an entire bag of vegetables cooked in olive oil (and just for good measure I often melted five slices of cheese over it), a standard dinner (usually pasta with meat sauce or cooked chicken), and always ate at least 800 calories for breakfast (but often closer to 1,000). And that was from food--no supplements, protein powders, etc.

All that, and I only gained 30 lbs in three months--about 2.5 lbs per week.

Now mind you, if I ate like that today, I'd be fat fucked. But that's because I'm older now and have ridiculously low testosterone. You're 18, probably have the metabolism of a lamborgini, and in all likelihood have a normal hormonal profile for your age (i.e. ridiculously high T).

I would seriously consider taking in at least 3,000 calories per day for three weeks from ACTUAL FOOD (not mass gainers) and see what happens. You're not going to fat fuck yourself in three weeks. I'm guessing you'll see an improvement. Plus, being a bigger person, I think you'll discover a mental confidence that wasn't previously there.