ROB, I'm 5' 7", 130 lbs and I can't gain weight even when I eat 3,500 calories which is 1500 calories above my recommendation. I eat 60-70% of my calories from fat, mostly saturated fat. I find most of the gainers here are lacto-paleo. When they drink raw dairy products their muscles benefit from the growth factor (IGF) in dairy. All dairy is not created equal of course. Raw milk from grass-fed goats is most similar to human breast milk and therefore is the gold standard (IMHO) if you want to be lacto-Paleo. Supermarket milk, even if it's organic, is primarily from A1 cows with a mutated gene that produce a casein protein that is difficult for us to digest. A2 is the original gene but only 10% of cows in the US are A2. All goats are A2. A grass fed diet will lower omega 6 seed oils that you might find in feed. Raw goat's milk will preserve enzymes that make it easier to absorb and digest the nutrients and vitamins in the milk. Pasteurization cooks up and kills enzymes that we need to digest dairy. Another source of growth factor that will accelerate muscle growth and mass gain is Blue Bonnet whey protein powder made from grass-fed A2 cows pastured in New Zealand. Their heating process uses a lower temperature and preserves enzymes and immunoglobins inherent in the milk. Right now I'm 130 but I'm the 12th strongest bench presser for my weight class in the US (unofficially). I'm training and targeting a lift that would make me the 6th strongest bench presser in my class in US history. What's my point? My point is, when you are Paleo your body is as it should be; agile, flexible, mobile and strong. We are engineered for endurance and stamina over clunkiness, bulk and mass. So I say, just try to be the best 130 you can be. Women have no complaints about my body. Lots of them want to touch me...which is cool.

Have you checked out the LeanGains website at www.leangains.com?

are you doing deadlifts and squats and overhead presses as part of your regime I assume? are you following a set program like Stronglifts or something?

assuming all that, I found that micro-loading does the most for me, I bought a pair of 2.5lb weights, I can always sneak it up that little bit. sometimes I even use my wifes 1.5lb strapon wrist/ankle weights on the bar to micro-load 3lbs.

and eat potatos post workout with your pile of meat.

one more thing, a lot of people swear by GOMAD for hard gainers.

5'7" 130 (and lean) sounds fine to me. My friend's ex is just that size and he has a great body (but is obsessed with how he is 'too skinny' and has bad self-esteem, poor dear). I don't like big guys, being small myself.

I feel you though. I got up to about 108 lbs, highest weight ever, a few months ago with the help of paleo, high-calorie and high-fat, and weight lifting... but I'm going through some really bad emotional stuff right now (break up of 7-year relationship, among other things) and haven't been motivated to guzzle heavy cream and beef, or lift. In 4 months I'm back down to 100 lbs again, which has been my baseline weight since I was 14. SO frustrating. Getting ready to gear up again and gain the weight back. But sometimes it feels like it's not even worth it. Guys like me just fine at 100 lbs, don't know why I fight it so hard... it's not about them I guess, it's about what I want, and I want to look healthy and more normal and be able to make more strength gains than I can at 100 lb. My ideal weight is 110-115.

I also have shoulder issues (chronic impingement and rotator cuff bullshit) which makes it very hard to build my pecs and arms. Sucks.

Lower back pain, problems in the gym.... have you had your thyroid checked? I would check your T, cortisol RT3 and thyroid. I know you have talked about skin issues which is also very common with thyroid disorders.

Have you injured your back or shoulders before? I would really look into these things. I doubt it;s your activity level that is keeping you from gaining... but you could be overtraining. Definitely get those bloodtests if you can, they will definitely clarify the situation for you.

Some clues for the hormones levels... how is your sex drive? Do you wake up with morning glory? Do you have trouble with sleep, energy, focus?

You definitely have a hormonal situation then. Have you tried higher doses of iodine and selenium? You should at least try and test for Hashis.

How do you calculate your calorie intake?

In my experience it takes a pretty absurd amount of cals to build. I eat 5k+ pretty consistently(including 1/2-1 gallon milk) and the gains are pretty slow, granted I do a lot more physical activities than you. Eating paleo and trying to gain also has a lot of drawbacks imo, you can't really utilize the vast array of super tasty highly palatable foods that most people eat.

If it were me I would up your food variety, eat even more cals, make sure your getting adequate nutrition and keep doing what your doing in regards to exercise then go from there.

By the way I highly doubt your friends build with 2k cals, if they eat SAD they probably eat whatever they want whenever which basically guarantees them a high calorie intake balanced in all macronutrients.

Did you gain bro?