Thing is, everyone tried to go for these one-size-fits-all programs and one size DON'T fit all. Genetics come into play as well as metabolism.
When I was 20 I could eat a whole pizza, routinely ate whole round steaks, a dozen doughnuts, however many sodas a day and I think I put on about 5 pounds. If I ate like that now i'd be as big as a house. My metabolism has slowed down over the years and I don't burn as many calories.
HOWEVER ... If I stick to a strict low-fat, basic foods diet even now I will not gain weight. I eat a bag (big one) of chips just about every day, or some form of just pure, unhealthy sh*t to keep the weight I managed to put back on where it is. And I STILL don't have much bodyfat.
And for those that want to hate on me for that, I in turn hate Hugh Jackman
That dude built his body doing heavy deadlifts. I'm like WTF? This dude is deadlifting his ass off and keeping a skinny-ass waist like that? My freakin waist would be as big as my chest and I'd look like a barrel if I did heavy deadlifts. It's genetics.
We can't all look like Arnold did in 1980, or Stallone in Rambo. We can just do the best with what we have. What most people don't know about Stallone is he was hospitalized making both First Blood Pt 2 and Rocky 3 for dangerously low bodyfat levels. That's besides the times he was hospitalized for getting knocked the f- out by his opponents in the Rocky movies. Dolph Ludgren laid him right out
You just can't look like that and be healthy unless you are genetically predisposed to .