How do I gain some weight?

[Anonymous]

I was wondering if anyone knew of some good healthy ways to gain weight other than just eat a lot. I eat and eat and it really doesn't put weight on me. I'm 5 foot 6 inches and I have lost 5 pounds in the past couple weeks, mainly from stress I think though and now I weigh 101. I am just getting so skinny it's just really nasty and I can even hold my hand like a cat with its claws ready to attack and hold water in the top of my hand and that is just so sick. I would like to weigh 120 or somewhere close to there. Any good weigh gaining ideas? I just think its nasty to be so boney and I don't like being skinny. I've always been skinny but never been this boney.

[texasinsanitypepper]

Ah, you are in luck! I am a former trainer and I worked hand in hand with the nutritionist (who is my neighbor and friend too).

The trick here is that you want to gain lean body mass (LBM) over body fat. Both are weight but one is composed of lean body tissue like muscle while the other is adipose or fat tissue. Eating constantly is good but it is what you eat.

In the body building world they call it "eating big". You shoot for what your body needs to grow: complex carbs, healthy fats, and protein.

Stuff like meats and fish are your typical sources of protein. For carbs opt for baked potatoes, sweet potatoes, oatmeal, whole grain breads. Healthy fats can be eaten and supplemented. Try to ensure you are eating monosaturated and polyunsaturated oils.

Try to space the meals out every 2 to 3 hours. Gorging doesn't work as well and you tend to waste calories that way. Try to shoot for about 5 meals in the day at about 400 calories each. That would give you about 2000 calories a day and you should grow slowly but surely. Don't try to gain weight fast. You don't want to get fat but rather lean.

When it comes to exercise don't try to avoid it. You want to ensure your body is well tuned. Avoid heavy cardio like jogging and intense running. Stick to resistance training and weight lifting. This will force your body to ensure muscle growth.

[good-looking-geek]

I've played sports and have been working out for almost 10 years, and what I've noticed is you can increase your metabolism by working out. If you want to gain weight, you should be interested in muscle not fat. I'm not talking about becoming a gross muscular girl, but if you want meat on your bones, muscle should certainly be more appealing than fat.

So work out hard at the gym (or play some sport) and that will increase your appetite. And you will build some muscle as a result. You might be shocked to hear this, but working out can be a method of gaining weight for skinny people and a method of losing weight for overweight people.

Since you claim to be skin and bone, I get the impression you are not very active, or at least haven't been for a long time. Change that.

[Asker]

Actually I used to be in track and then I worked out at the local YMCA back a couple years ago and actually had a good bit of muscle on me and still have a little bit of it. But I'm hesitant about working out again much because when I worked out I ended up getting a toned chest and since I'm a girl that wasn't very good since I lost 2 cup sizes. Do you think if I worked out at the YMCA again that'd help though as long as I stay away from certain machines that tone your chest. Lol.

[good-looking-geek]

Your chesticles have fat in them. So if you do any fat burning exercises, some reduction is inevitable. Don't let that bother you; it's not that bad. It's good to be healthy.

[abby123]

I feel your pain. All you usually hear about is how people are trying to lose weight, and I too have been trying to find out how to gain weight. I'm 5'6 and weighed 103 about 2 weeks ago. I weigh almost 105 now. when people started saying I looked really skinny, I got frustrated and decided I needed to change. so I started making protein drinks, eating 5 small meals a day, eating more calories, and exercising. just by jogging up and down the stairs and walking more is a start. good luck

[Lis4Loca]

In order for Tom Hanks to gain weight for the movie Cast Away, he ate salad with ranch dressing for every meal. Ranch dressing has tons of fat in it. I know you said no food but I thought this was good to know. Also if you eat slim fast meal bars after every meal you eat, it will be like eating double the amount of meals in a day. You could gain muscle by lifting weights. I know it is difficult for some people to gain weight that are really skinny. You could drink protein shakes.

[ionlife]

Firstly, go to your doctor and get an assessment done and don't just assume it is "mainly from stress"

Add good fats to your diet, such as nuts, oil. If you are not lactose intolerant then you can also add more fatty diary such as milk with a higher fat content, cream to the coffee or tea, cottage cheese with a higher fat content. Add more carbs, as ALWAYSclassy suggested.

Essentially you want to be eating more than you currently do, so have a solid three meals per day and afford yourself desert as well.

Keep in mind that weight does not add itself up over night so pace yourself. It may take a while to show progress especially if your metabolism is pretty fast.

P. S. A East European recipe for women is to drink beer mixed with regular (not lite) sour cream. Another option is Manna Porridge which is essentially cream of wheat, milk, sugar and butter.

[ALWAYSclassy]

Eat more protein & complex carbs (brown rice, wheat - no white refined stuff)