Tired of being skinny!!!

sogood

I'm up to my gills with programmes, magazine articles, special features etc. etc. on weight loss, when there seems to be diddly squat available for people who want to gain weight. Eat more, some might say, which is a bit like saying eat less to an overweight person, but it's not that easy. I can eat whatever I want, whenever I want in whatever amounts I like, but to no avail. Please dont say "Lucky you", its relative. I'd just like to bulk out a little from my present -9 stone (which has been the max that I've ever achieved). I've tried all the high calorie diets and supplements, pills and capsules, but I've always been slim. I'm 52 now with the same 28" waist that I've had since 20. I know it's healthier than being overweight and would be my preferred option, but as I said, just a little more meat/fat wouldn't go astray. Any suggestions?

jdivision

Hey you might be better off posting your typical daily diet and exercise in the fitness forum and your aims and people will help.

TX123

have you considered getting tested for hyperactive thyroid. You metabolism could be extremely fast which means you would need to be eating over 3 times more than your daily calorie intake.

Slunk

Im pretty much the same. Eat loads, varying things. Goods meals, roast chicken dinners, fish, beef. Eat my fair share of junk food, sweets, fast food etc. Drink an average amount. Cycle to work but that about the extent of my excerise yet im still very thin. People say eat more but i can only eat so much as i am so small if yoiu get my jist.

Pain in the ass been so thin

Is that a big problem, is there any way of slowing it down as normally when i eat, it has gone through me so to say in about ten minutes. I feel my body hasnt time to take the goodness or whatever i need from the food

seabro

Increase your calories.

If you like nuts, eat lots. They are very calorific. Eat a big bag a day if you can. Last time I checked there were about 2000 cals in a bigish bag of peanuts. I buy the chilli flavoured peanuts but I have to be careful how many I eat because I don't want to gain weight.

They are also full of protein so if you pump weights to you the protein will benefit you. Not necessary though if you just want to gain wait but eating the nuts and pumping the weights would be a good combination.

cozmik

people who have a hard time gaining weight (what we refer to as ectomorphs) simply have fewer muscle and fat cells to absorb the extra bulk than more athletic types. Fortunately, tests have shown that weight training can add new muscle cells, a process called hyperplasia. This is a lot more work than simply strengthening existing muscle cells, admittedly, but you can take some comfort in the fact that the new muscle cells stay with you all your life, even if you knock off weight training later on.

What you need is a systematic weight gain program: eating (lots of carbohydrates, a fair amount of protein, no junk) plus weight lifting, with an emphasis on upper body exercises--six to eight repetitions per exercise with heavy weights. Increase the weight as soon as you can do more than eight reps. Patience is advised. The common wisdom among weight lifters is that you can gain about seven pounds of pure muscle a year. This may seem a little slow, but it can be done as long as you have the Proper Attitude.

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/240/i-cant-gain-weight-is-my-metabolism-too-fast

rubadub

sogood wrote: »

there seems to be diddly squat available for people who want to gain weight.

Funny you should say that, doing heavy squats is an excellent way to gain weight, along with lots of food. Read the link above, at 52 you have probably lost a lot of muscle mass over the years so it is of great advantage for older people to start lifting.

Nuts as mentioned are an easy way to get calories, peanut butter on wholemeal bread is good. 1litre of whole milk and 100g of nuts per day is an easy ~1200kcal per day, which should result in around 2lb weight gain per week.

Slunk

Would cashew nuts do? Id easily eat loads of them. Not mad on peanuts.

Also, as i said, food goes through me very quickly, but if it doesnt it feels like its sloshing around inside me for ages. Im either empty or im full and its pretty annoying

Cris Crossin

I'm in the same boat. I've given up trying to gain weight and have just tried to accept my skinnyness. Had my thyroid checked and it's fine. I just take after my dad who has always been slim. Nuts, avocados and pate were recommended to me by a nutritionist but I think my metabolism actually speeds up whenever I eat high calorie foods as I didn't gain an ounce.

rubadub

Slunk wrote: »

Would cashew nuts do? Id easily eat loads of them. Not mad on peanuts.

Certainly, in fact most would say they are healthier than peanuts. Cashews are my personal favourite, about 600kcal per 100g. Tesco and lidl do big bags pretty cheap, but they are very salty. You can rub salt off them with your hands or a towel, you could even stick a load of them in a sieve. You can get raw unsalted ones in asian shops cheaply which are healthier but I much prefer roasted. Also they go very well in stir frys.

Running Bing

I see so many threads that are either "Im so skinny, I eat lots and lots but never gain weight" or "Im overweight, I have a great diet but just cant lose weight" and tbh I dont buy it.

To make serious changes to your body takes real effort, your not going to gain weight just by eating a small bit more or eating when your hungry just like to lose weight takes more effort than dropping one of your bi-weekly take-aways or drinking a couple less pints on a Saturday night. It takes sacrifice and its damned hard.

If I wanted to gain weight I would be eating five large meals a day and doing three days a week of weight training. If your doing that (and the meals really are large, calorific and being eaten!) then you can complain about how nothing works.

nerdysal

I have crohn's disease and I was seriously skinny for a long time. It took a lot of effort but I finally gained the weight I need (1 and 1/2 stone). But it was not easy. I had to force myself to eat even when I wasn't hungry (My dietician told me I was on a 3000 calorie diet :eek:) and I often went to bed at night feeling seriously bloated, but now I'm the perfect weight- I don't have to eat as much now and I feel fantastic!

Oh... and that took 3 and a half years!!

Final Approach

Might be worth having a read of the book called "Scrawny to Brawny". I ordered mine from amazon, and found it helpful. Lots of information on the how to gain weight for the naturally skinny guy. After using a few of the recommendations in the book, I gained a stone in a short time.

Black Swan

Have the same problem. Have been called hyperactive, plus I workout strenuously daily and burn cals as fast as I can eat them. If I cut back on the workouts, I have trouble relaxing and sleeping at night. If I increase my eating more than normal, I feel bloated and uncomfortable. My GP is on my case all the time about gaining more weight. I'm 5'10" and only weigh around 8.5 stone.