Weight problem

LegacyUser

Hi all
there are so many programs and diets for people who wish to lose weight, but there are hardly any for people who want to gain weight. Ive been trying to put on weight for the past 8 months and i havent gained 1 pound. I eat a huge fry every morning and usually have 2 or 3 more meals in the day. I want to put on weight for personal reasons the same way people want to lose weight
your thoughts please
-Anonymous

Khynareth

My auntie was in the same situation as you are. The doctor told her to eat normally, 3 times a day + to have a snack at 10 and at 4 with a bottle of slim fast (which add the caloric equivalent of 2 meals/ day to your diet).

What you should also do is try to balance out your alimentation, which is often the only thing needed to gain/lose weight. Because eating chocolate and fry might bring you calories, but not necessarily all the nutrients your body needs.

www.fitday.com will tell you what you body need in calories/nutrients and all that, then adapt your alimentation accordingly.

darthmise

Popcorn.....
cooked in real butter....
with lots and lots of grated cheese thrown over it!!!!!

Peanuts.., mountains of peanuts!!!!!!!
Washed down with oceans of beer!!

Oh how i have weighted all my life to be asked this question!!!!

bombidol

Go nuts!, nuts are full of fat, get some pistacios (sp?) they are addictive, loads of Carbo's , Spuds, Pasta in Tomatos sauce,
A fry is a good start, make sure you eat loads of bread with it, and loads of simple sugars, like sweets, of the jelly kind mostly.
Stop drinking water, drink milk instead!
Do you want a belly or do you want some size on your frame?
if its size you want, eat loads of carbo's and start lifting weights, not light ones, lift heavy weight slowly with small repititions to gain muscle mass, just eat like a horse and do half an hour weights every day

bomb

Gordon

Hi there Unreg. It can be dangerous to put weight on quickly in a short space of time. I advise you sincerely to go to a doctor and consult with him/her.

Alternatively I would advise you to go to a fitness instructor and speak with them about it.

Please be careful.

CodeMonkey

Use lots of olive oil in your cooking too. Olive oil is very healthy as it's low in cholesterol but it's the most fattening oil you can use as it's very high in calories. And that's all you need really, a diet that's very high in calories...

Gavin

As Gordon says. A fitness instructor is the best bet. I'm in pretty much the same boat, a stone under my ideal weight. I keep meaning to put more on, but the life of a student tends not to allow for it

The best way to put on weight is via muscle as others have said. Eat normally and join a gym . Tell them what you want and they will work out a regime for you. Your appetite will naturally increase the more exercise you do.

it's no big problem

Gav

Turner

Dont eat fats. They will make you flabby.

Eat protein rich foods with with about 30-45 mins exercise a day. You wont get fat but you will increase your muscle mass and muscle weighs alot more than eating fatty foods.
Protein is the main food you need to make muscle. The most protein rich food is tuna followed by cheese milk etc. Eat tuna sandwich's and cheese sandwiches when you want a snack.Try eating after a workout or before you go to bed as these are the times when your body make muscle. (during a workout you breakdown muscle and after your body starts to make new stronger muscle) You will see your muscle mass increase.
I havent tried this but from i know it works from speaking to people. If i had the time i would definitly do it.


Food Protein (g)
1 egg 6
1 pint of milk 18
1tin of tuna (200g) 54
Cheese sandwich 16
Cheese and ham sandwich 22
Yoghurt (1 pot, 125g) 6
Beans (baked beans, 225g) 12
Bread/slice 2
Custard (290g carton) 11

Kali

Yeah as Verb/Gordon have already stated, eating won't do anything on its own, regardless of quantity.

You need to exercise. A lot. And not just weight-training either, cardio work is just as important (if your not semi-fit to start off with then doing weights is next to pointless).

Map out a schedule for yourself for the next few months, and stick religiously to it... you probably won't see any improvement for the first month or so till you get used to the routine.

Train every second day. (your body needs to recuperate.. sleeps important here also).
Double your food intake, make sure its a diet high in protein (again a fitness instructor will help you out here massively)... avoid chips and pointless fatty foods such as crisps, change to cheddar cheese, for breakfast try boiled eggs, two pieces of fruit , cereal and brown bread toast every other day, not a fry.

Again it all depends on your metabolism and your actual body frame.. how quickly results appear.

I mean I'm pretty thin, but as many of my friends will testify I eat a hella load (and for the past three months have been doing weight training two/three times a week).. then again i'm not really aiming to put on weight... just to improve fitness.

Wook

Unless you look like somebody from a Croatian prisson camp, you should feel fortunate that you are within weight.
Most of the people are over-weight and need to invest sweat and tears to get it off and have it stay off.

depends what the reason is of you gaining some weight...girls? appearance? ..muscles?...narcism?...

Cake Fiend

I'm another member of the eat like a horse, skinny as a rake group. I got into weight-training and aerobic exercise when I was about 14, put on a serious amount of weight. The problem is, if you want to keep the weight you put on, you'll have to continue your exercise regime - I used to be almost 14 stone at 5'9" or so. I'm now almost 6 foot and about 11 stone. High metabolism = high rate of nutrient processing which generally = high rate of muscle-building capability, but often also = high rate of muscle loss without exercise.

I'm not a fitness trainer, so don't take what I say as gospel, but it's true in my personal case.

BEAT

eat a meal before you go to bed, your body will sleep on it. Try not to make it too high in fats meal, unless you plan on a fitness program to even yourself out...eating late at night is what they say not to do if you dont want to gain weight, so there you go.

The Corinthian

I have a similar metabolism in that I’ve never put on or lost weight, regardless of how much, how little or what I eat, in the past. Given this, I’ve recently discovered that quitting smoking helps if you’re looking to put on weight :rolleyes:

Ironically, and has been mooted, I’m told that the best way to put on weight is to exercise - muscle weighs more than fat. Looks better too.

Victor

Give up smoking?

azezil

I've the same problem but i don't smoke

actually i'm just a lazy git and couldn't be arsed going to the shop for food, and even if i do i'm too lazy to prepare it

Shinji

If you can't put on weight, it's because of your metabolism; so ingesting fatty foods won't really help.

Switch your diet over to a high-protein, high-carbohydrate one. Loads of carbs give your body plenty of energy and get transformed into reserves when there's too much.

Exercise is important or that protein will never be used; it's the building block of muscle, but if you aren't building muscles, your body will eventually process and excrete it.

Bear one thing in mind. Your metabolism is NOT set for life. Much of it is determined by things like the level of insulin in your blood and so on. Should you decide to make a radical diet change in order to gain weight, you may find that in fact, your metabolism slows down to compensate - and in a few years time you're trying to slim down, having balooned like nobody's business. There are a lot of people who would KILL for a fast metabolism which doesn't punish them for eating that bit extra (I'm one of them!) so think carefully about what you're doing before deciding you really want to lose a slim figure....

TacT

you need to eat more bread with each meal, pasta, rice and mainly protein, not just meat mind you. Go for big bean meals, avocado/ kidney beans / beans/ greenbeans and peas are good sources of protein (egg yolks will help you fatten) which will help you put on mass if you workout and eat in a somewhat balanced way. I for one would definitely not go putting on weight though, you may find it hard to put on now, but in a few years time when you're metabolic rate slows down and you have put it on, I can guarantee you will find it a hell of a lot harder to get off, just think of it like this "It's easier to make a mess than to clean it up"

Is your name Stephen by any chance?

apiou

You did not explain whether you were always this thin or not. Can you not give us more information - sudden weight loss - sudden growth - birth of a child if you are a woman - problems at home - at work - at school or uni - boyfriend / girlfriend problems - All of this is important -

Lex_Diamonds

Hey man,

yeah im in the same boat as you. I get scouted to play POW's in war films all the time...

Well the above advice about carbs+proteins+exercise is right. If you have the dedication, go for it. Your confidence will undoubtedly increase.

As for me, the program requires too much time and money, plus, as Sico pointed out, you can never really stop or your metabolism will eat your gains away. If I could afford the cost of a regular gym membership i'd probably do it.:(

Lolo

Far, far back in the mists of time, I once needed to put on weight too (I now look at my beer gut in despair). But my doctor gave me the following advice:

1) Lots of carbs and protein, as above
2) Chocolate (good quality stuff with high cocoa content is nutricious as well as fattening)
3) Guinness (ditto)

But I should add that lots of chicks find skinny blokes very attractive, myself included. (I'm just presuming you're a bloke, but plenty of blokes find skinny chicks very attractive too)

CodeMonkey

Originally posted by Lolo
But I should add that lots of chicks find skinny blokes very attractive, myself included. (I'm just presuming you're a bloke, but plenty of blokes find skinny chicks very attractive too)

Damn, so that's what I've been doing wrong

Lolo

I'm also presuming he/she's straight, how very hetero-centric of me.

Caesar_Bojangle

Bare in mind if you start eating a load of fatty food which is not conducive to good health, you will more than likely put on weight alright, but you'll develop a large gut.
So exercise regularly and eat good nutritious food and you'll put on the weight you desire so much, and be in good shape.

fisty

if you wanna put on weight do what i did, i was really underweight and then i got myself a car so i heardly ever walked or exercised.
after the car i got myself a deskjob sitting on my hole on boards all day and then when i came home i would usually play counterstrike.
then i became addicted to guinness and drank most nights a few pints.
and i would need to eat a breakfast roll for the hangovers every morning.
turned me into a fat **** and it can do the same for YOUUUU!!!!
I've lost the weight now and I'm back to my sexy little self:)

havok*

Wow so rare to hear some1 else in the same situation. I've been in the same boat for so many years and beleive me i know just how much of a horrible curse it is. I would'nd wish it on any1.

I was told that once i hit 18 i'd start to fill out...which never happened. Tryed force feeding, every protein shake on the plannet, exercising, weight lifting. And was'nd gaining anything.

I've never met any1 as thin as i am, and tbh doubt i ever will.
Every now and again i'd completely go for it, eat like a pig, do tons of exercise ect. I've been to fitness instructors, diet experts and tbh its all a load of bull****.
I remember one week i ate nearly 3 times my normal intake and lost 2 pounds.
After yet another failed attempt u end up feeling 100 times worse then u did when u started off.
I'll 21 in a mounth and am pretty much 4 stone underweight. I've already given up on ever gaining any weight tbh.

Not unless they come out with some radical new gain weight pill or somthing.

I know thats hardly what u wanted to hear. But thats just my own personal expeirance.

Corega

Try to lay off the fries and all the foods with high fat content, although you do want ot put on weight the long term effects of eating too much fat are numerous, namely high cholesterol, bad skinand a less effective immune system. However I would suggest that if you want the appearance of being larger in size try doing weights, but only if you're over 18 as weights can seriously damage your growth and muscles if your body is not fully developed. Instead of eating the high fat foods try eating carbos such as pasta, rice and bread, although these foods tend to fill you up and do not hold that many calories, therefore the better option is proteins which contain the same amount of calories but tend not to fill you up as quickly i.e. eggs, meat, fish and all types of nuts.


Happy eating.

banquo

I'm not the King of support in these matters, in fact a friend of mine went practically anorexic after I suggested he was beginning to look like something Richard Branson would like to get airborne. Probably best I keep out of it...

l3rian

you cant just eat more, you have to do weights also, or else you will get flabby and spotty

join a gym, skip the running and cycling, and do 45minutes of lifting weights 3 times a week

eat high protein food, meat, fish, chesse, pasta, and eat 5 meals a day, should take a few months and you will be bigger

SHAMAN

Originally posted by Corega
Try to lay off the fries and all the foods with high fat content, although you do want ot put on weight the long term effects of eating too much fat are numerous, namely high cholesterol, bad skinand a less effective immune system. However I would suggest that if you want the appearance of being larger in size try doing weights, but only if you're over 18 as weights can seriously damage your growth and muscles if your body is not fully developed. Instead of eating the high fat foods try eating carbos such as pasta, rice and bread, although these foods tend to fill you up and do not hold that many calories, therefore the better option is proteins which contain the same amount of calories but tend not to fill you up as quickly i.e. eggs, meat, fish and all types of nuts.


Happy eating.

Could ne1 give advice for those under 18? Reguarding weightlifting, I heard about some 13 year old, took it up, and it was a viscious cycle. His muscle was wasting away uder the strain, so he only did more. He eventually looked anerexic. So, how can those under 18 deveolop there ab and bicep etc.

CodeMonkey

Originally posted by SHAMAN


Could ne1 give advice for those under 18? Reguarding weightlifting, I heard about some 13 year old, took it up, and it was a viscious cycle. His muscle was wasting away uder the strain, so he only did more. He eventually looked anerexic. So, how can those under 18 deveolop there ab and bicep etc.

I'm no expert but if you read any half decent weight lifting guides, it'll tell you never to overdo it and take breaks between sessions, something like do it 3 times a week and take a day in between sessions. The muscles needs time to rebuild itself and if you keep on straining them, they'll just waste again. Also you need a lot of protein and other nutrients for muscle regeneration etc. It looks like the 13 year old in question is just doing it wrong and he's probably too young to do muscle training to being with.

SHAMAN

I suppose I can take that as a compliment of sorts, but that was years ago in primary. By the way, what foods can any one name that contain loads of protein and carbs?

logic1

Heavy weight lifting isn't recommended before your body is finished growing (i.e. before 18 for guys) as the risk of musculo-skeletal injury is high.

The dynamics of weight lifting is very complex but simply the action of lifting weight or pushing against resistance causes microscopic tears in the muscle fibre. When these tears heal the muscle gets bigger and stronger, this is why recovery time is so important. If you over train the muscle it will not get a chance to repair the tears and you will not grow.

Diet, training program and rest are the three most important factors when lifting. You must eat right, depending on your objective you might opt for low carb high protein and high fat diet. Or a high carb, high protein low fat diet. It all depends on your body type and current composition, i.e. mesomorph, ectomorph or endomorph. At the start of this (ancient) thread the original poster would be a classic ectomorph. Slim body, small frame hard to put on weight. This body type is best to keep cardio to a minimum and to do a full body lifting routine incorporating alot of compound excercises to put on all over body mass. They will need to increase their caloric intake and supplement with protein shakes. A good rule of thumb is to monitor all food for one week. Note down every calorie and at the end of the week compare your start weight with your end weight. If the two are the same then the amount of calories u consumed that week is your maintenance calorie level. For the next week increase your caloric intake by 500 calories per day and again weight yourself at the end of the week and compare weights. If you went up in weight then eat that many cals every day. If weight stayed the same or dropped again increase the calories and track it for the next week. Every few months you'll have to reassess your objectives with your new body weight.

Also on this thread there's been alot of crazy **** posted like eat loads of processed foods and high carb fats. Don't do this. Eat clean as often as possible. Cut the sugar, cut the caffeine, cut the white bread. All this stuff has crazy effects on insulin levels in the body which directly affects how fat will be stored. You can become either sensitive or insensitive to insulin over time, both of which can cause frustrating results.

Good foods for clean protein include all types of fish (i eat about 10 cans of tuna per week), clean red meat like sirloin steak, chicken (i eat about 8 chicken breasts per week), eggs.

Good high carbphydrate foods would include things like potatoes and pasta. Always eat wholemeal or wholegrain foods if you can.

Drink alot of water. If you're training you need to keep your body detoxed. If you're burning off fat and building muscle your body will be flooded with all sorts of **** you need to flush out. Go for a gallon a day if you can!

Best thing to do is go to a club and get a trainer to advise you on a good program for you. As you pick it up you'll get to know more about your body and more about what your goals and objectives are and how you are going to achieve them.

Also there's a few lads on boards that are big into lifting and some that are just big (JaK )

Actually if someone can point Jak to this thread he'd be the man to talk to about training and diet!

.logic.

Pepe LeFrits

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---

Also in the said boat. I'm extremely skinny, basically skin and bones.

I've pretty much given up trying to gain weight until my metabolism slows down a bit. My appetite has increased loads lately and i've barely put on a pound (eating all sorts of food, healthy shite, incredibly unhealthy stuff, you name it).

I wouldn't worry about being skinny much anyway, wear an extra layer of clothes if it bothers you that much

Kairo

Exactly what weight would an average (i.e. nerd) 18 year old male, 6 foot have to be before its considered an eating disorder?

I've started worrying about this too lately, so Im eating alot..joined a college club to get a bit of excercise to help. My main problem is that I eat irregularly ..so some mornings I wake up starved while others Id get sick if I ate.

Jak

Logie's post has it fairly on the point.

I have a fair bit of experience with the whole adjuting body weight thing as I have been toying with it for years for various training needs and am involved with the whole bodybuilding/training supplements world.

There are a few things I noticed when reading through the thread though which are somewhat inaccurate or not clear enough. Though most have hit the right direction with their advice.

Firstly ... anybody can gain or lose weight. There may be rare genetic exceptions, but trust me you aren't the exception.

Secondly ... high metabolism or not, with the right discipline and diet you will gain weight.

Gaining weight is simple maths. Your caloric intake versus your expenditure. Now while your metabolic rate combined with your daily activity will determine your output (and hence mileage will vary for individuals) there is a level for you at which you will gain weight. It is likely just at an eating threshold you have not reached. It is preferable but not necessary that you are involved in anaerobic activity while trying to gain weight.

The first time I went into a bulking phase I just added a course of whey protein shakes to my diet ... nothing really happened. It was not until my brother explained to me that I would have to 'eat' more than I felt I could, that I broke ground on it.

I ate when I was not really hungry - 6 meals a day of reasonable size. It was not easy at first. I was on the verge of force feeding myself - breakfast would be a big bowl of serial followed 10mins later by 3 eggs and a pack of rashers - it was not entirely pleasant. But .. there came a point then, a week or two on, where I actually was hungry. My body just adjusted and started expecting more food. And shortly afterwards my body had made its first jump to a new plateau which I had no troubles maintaining.

I would reccommend the same as most others here. Up your carb intake severely while maintaining a well balanced diet. A whey protein shake daily and before and after your training (if you choose to combine weights with your diet plan) will ensure a greater chance of muscle growth when your muscles are repairing themselves. And promote an increase in 'good weight' as opposed to just weight.

Also with regard to training, you can likely discard whatever the gym instructor gives you. Ideally what you want to do is find someone to train with you (huge host of reasons) and get down to the free weights section. Much like eating, your approach to weights (yes, yes after a gradual build up to it) needs to change. You have to seriously push yourself - people who claim the gym does nothing for them etc at the end of the fkin day are simply not working hard enough. But, like eating, stick with it for a while and you will be hooked and rewarded.

Main point - You will be able to gain weight - it is simply harder than you thought.

If you want any specific advice on supplement options or some basics for training feel free to pm me - The reply won't be too detailed, but I should at least be able to point you in the right direction.

Cheers,

JAK.

Edit - one more point. Yes you can probably start certain forms of weight training too early - sub 15 being simply active is the best advice for a kid. But with the correct program and intensity their is no reason why a 16 year old cannot get into weights. I started at about 15, but was not very serious till maybe 21. And at 25 I notice no harm.

walt

I still sorta do have this problem. But it's improving. I'm pretty tall, nearly 6 foot 5. The problem is my weight, I'm only about 13 stone 3lbs. I am going on 18 at xmas, but nearly two years ago when I was about 16 I was a pathetic 10.5 stone and 6 foot 2-3. I started doing martial arts and gradually was putting on weight, probably more to do with my diet as cardiovascular exercises like martial arts would probably have cut my weight (I was training every day). I started weight training when I turned 17, last xmas and began putting on weight gradually ever since.
I gave up my martial arts in order to gain more mass. I'll probably go back to it when I can, but my priority is more with gaining mass than fighting tournaments.
Although I was stuck at a plateau for a few months and only just overcame it a few weeks ago by upping my caloric intake and training hard combined with more protein shakes. I'm slowly gaining again which is great.
You're always going to gain a little fat, unless you're taking steroids or having your muscles pumped with decca or some other drugs you ain't gonna get pure muscle. But I'm still lean, less than 10% b/fat. It's a slow progress, but with the help of lifting heavy, training hard, cutting out cardiovascular work, taking supplements/shakes/etc. you can and will get there.
The moral is : If you are underweight, it is because you aren't eating enough for your metabolic levels. If you are overweight you are eating too much (although in some cases it's a glandular problem) All I can say to you is, eat more and consider taking up weights. Personally I eat 6+ meals a day and take protein shakes. The more I can get into me the better.
That's all I gotta say, but you CAN gain. If I can do it you can.

Hip

http://www.t-mag.com/articles/176skin.html

The above link has some useful advice. Have the same skinnyboy problem myself but with high-protein/lo-rep heavy weights/and at least 1 day off between gym sessions things are improving *slowly" but surely.

LauraLoo

Go to doctor and get your thyroid checked. If doc says there's nothing wrong then my next stop would be to find a well recommended trainer who has qualifications in diet as well.

Hanley

LauraLoo wrote: »

Go to doctor and get your thyroid checked. If doc says there's nothing wrong then my next stop would be to find a well recommended trainer who has qualifications in diet as well.