Diet update:
February 12th I added in a 'secret' supplement to my stack (its nothing muscletech or illegal :biglaugh).
Since doing that I've gained about 4-5lbs and put myself into the high 180s (quite easily) instead of struggling to get out of the low 180s. The other surprising thing is that instead of being around 4500+ calories I'm around 3500+ and rarely breaking 4000.
I know that its not 4-5lbs of muscle but the point of this is to try and prove the theory I have, and that involves gaining weight at lower calories (still above maintenance). And no I'm not trying to come up with some grand nutrition theory or an e-book hahaha. I will say this though, eating 4500 cals and maintaining or losing weight sparked this whole inquisition. If you think about that you can probably guess what I'm trying to figure out.
SO I'm gaining weight easier than before while eating fewer cals
It might seem like witchcraft but this supports what my research suggested.
I'm not going to give away the supplement just yet because I want to keep testing it and see if I can get to the mid 190s (which would be a new personal best lol).