What's the best advice for gaining weight?

[Anonymous]

Recently I've been having problems eating, I barely eat and finish a full meal.

I'm feeling weak and dizzy, constant migraines and feeling sick.

I've been to a doctor and he doesn't think it's an eating disorder, he thinks it's depression because I've been feeling very stressed, worried and sad for a little while, but in the meantime:

Does anyone have any advice on how I can put on some calories and start eating normally?

I'd really like to feel better and look better.

Please feel welcome to post.

Thank you everyone. X x x

Updates

+1 y

Great advice so far everyone, I'm now on a Complan diet to gain weight. Every time I eat a meal, I also have this drink. It's like a powdered mixture that I mix with water, it's equivalent to a whole meal along with what I'm eating.

Updates

+1 y

Also any suggestions from girls are welcome too, it would be great to read your perspectives and ideas even though the guys have excellent advice so far. Thank you everyone. X

[Emilymarie77]

Have you ever thought of eating a diet high in caloric intake and build muscle?

1) Count how many calories you eat in a normal day. Don't change anything, just eat like you normally would and count how many calories you consumed. This is an extremely important step, so try to be as exact as possible. Also, weigh yourself.

2) Starting the day after you counted calories, eat 500 calories MORE then you normally do. So, lets pretend that the day you counted calories you counted 2000. For the rest of the week, you would now eat 2500 calories a day. Instead of eating 3 big meals a day or eating all day all the time, spread those calories out over 5-6 smaller meals. Eat one meal every 2 and a half to 3 hours.

3) Weightlifting! Get in the gym and lift! This is another important step to how to gain weight, so make sure you are doing it correctly.

4) At the end of that week, weigh yourself. You'll notice you're gaining just after one week! Now, don't expect to see a 10lb increase. Gaining anymore then 1 or 2 pounds a week is unhealthy and means you're putting on way to much fat. So look for 1 or 2 pound gains at the end of the week. Don't sound like much? You can be gaining 5-8 pounds a month!

5) Here's an important one. At some point, you will stop seeing weight gain. At this point, you will have to eat even more. So, when you stop gaining for at least 2 weeks, it means it is time to start eating an extra 250 calories a day. Every time you see you haven't gained weight for at least 2 weeks, add an extra 250 calories.

** Also, stay away from bad fat! Even though weight gain is your goal, you don't want to be gaining fat and eating junk. Get rid of the chips and candy. No more fast food, nothing fried. Stick to high protein, low (saturated) fat foods like fish (and fish oil supplements), chicken breast, turkey, lean meats, rice, pasta, fruits and vegetables, nuts, flax seed oil, etc.

** WATER! Drink water! Drink around a half gallon a day, more if you can. Yes that's a lot of water, but it's that water that will give you the energy you need to gain that weight!

** Sleep! YES! Sleep! The easiest, yet most over looked step. Get at least 8 hours of sleep a night. You're gonna need it!

[eowynavery]

Well my dear, I'm definitely a good one to ask this question, good health is my middle name:D

Your goal should be to gain weight in a healthy way without completely slowing down your metabolism, as well as giving you energy. So just make sure you eat a lot of carbohydrates like pasta, bread, whole grain cereal. Eating these are filling and carbohydrates give you lots of energy. Just make sure that your limit eating white bread and white rice, instead eat lots of whole grains they're healthy then lots of other processed foods. As for keeping your body healthy while you gain weight and make sure everything is running eat small meals throughout your day because this keeps your metabolism running so it doesn't slow down. Then drink lots of tea, water, fruit juice. All these are very hydrating and full of nutrients your body needs.

Mainly my answer to your questions is pack in healthy carbs. Like have a bowl of granola for breakfast, eat some nuts, seeds, and dried fruit for snacks, for lunch have some potatoes and fruit salad, and for dinner have a big bowl of spaghetti and some garlic bread. All these are full of healthy carbs and are bound to balance out your weight. While doing this make sure you try to stay away from a lot of processed foods. A twinkie is okay to have every ONCE in a while, but you're better off just eating all natural foods that your body was made to function from.

Good Luck! :)

[germanotaku]

I don't have any personal advice since I've never had problems like this, but did you try doing sports? Sport has multiple positive effects on your body and mind. First off, while doing sports, preferably in a group, you will get your mind off of your depression (not like it's blown away instantly, but to some extent you just won't think too much about your problems).

Next to that when being in a group, after sports you should feel hungry. At least you should drink a lot, but this is good, too. Do this regularly and you will feel better on several ways. I don't know why you are depressed, but sports CAN help, it's no guaranty but it's worth a shot.

However don't overdo it. If you're feeling week it's no gain in stressing yourself too much. Speak with a personal training supervisor about your eating problems and have him give training advices to you (if you're deciding for a fitness studio, that is). And remember: DRINK A LOT!

If your body get's on this schedule, your eating should revert back to normal pretty soon!

[Asker]

Thank you germanotaku :-) That's a very good suggestion which I never thought of as I have been neglecting doing any sports for a while. I used to really enjoy playing badminton and running around the lake where I live. I also don't drink much as well as eat, which probably explains the huge headaches I'm getting. As I'm feeling weak I'll start off with easy workouts, then gradually build myself up over time, hopefully draining my energy in a positive way would in fact make me eat more. Thanks

[Blake2309]

If you can't eat a lot in one sitting, just eat small amounts of semi-healthy high calorie foods as many times per day as you can. If gaining weight is what you want, the only way to do it is to take in more calories than you burn. Just do that in whatever way you can.. the healthier the better of course. Also, take a multivitamin and drink some water.

More importantly, STOP worrying and stressing. Trust me, I know it's tough.. but worrying brings you nowhere but backward. Do your best to overcome that.

[Asker]

Blake2309, Thank you so much, so instead of these big meals I'm having, I need to break it down to smaller meals but eat frequently, also taking these extra weight gain drinks from another suggestion. Water is also a key point, I'm making a rule to always drink loads of it now, everybody should. When you get worried and stressed, what do you do personally to take your mind away from it and chill out? Just curious incase I could try it too. Thanks again :-)

[Blake2309]

Sounds like a good plan. Just remember, for gaining weight calories are your friend.

How I deal with stress really depends on what kind of stress it is. If I am stressed about school or work, the best thing to do is face the stress and get some work done. The more you get done, the less there is to deal with. If it is more like a heartbreak or lonely type of stress, I think the best thing would be to get out and do stuff. I like to surf. Also, Being in public seems to help for some reason

[Mellene]

Keep yourself away from all the nasty foods like fast food and sugars, if you want to gain

weight than you don't want to gain those bad fats =) Do weights and try to drink one of those

shakes made for gaining weight. You could also try to go to your local gym and talk to

a trained stuff about healthy weight gain - they should know a lot about this.

Also I could suggest eating nuts - they are healthy, rich in good fats!

I wish I could be in your place but I hope you can maintain weight you want =)

[Asker]

Hey Mellene :-) Thank you for posting additional advice about healthy fats, I actually love eating nuts especially roasted cashews, peanuts and pistachios. I will add those to the shopping list. A friend also gave me advice that instead of using usual cooking fats to use olive oil as a healthier alternative. I'll start up a work-out plan today too to add to a main timetable until I can get to a gym. Great advice and many thanks, I really hope I can maintain my weight :-) I'll keep you updated. X

[regular-guy]

I don't know how thorough a medical work-up he did on you, and I don't want to sound any alarm bells, but you might want to consider a bit more thorough medical evaluation. Stress/depression can certainly cause your symptoms, but there are other important causes that should also be ruled out that extend well beyond eating disorders.

[Asker]

Hey regular-guy, a very good point because I have only had two appointments with the doctor recently. I have been stressed for quite some time so I think he is basing most of what he evaluated on that, as I'm still very unsettled. I'm going to be seeing him regularly so I think he still has a lot to evaluate about me over time, hopefully it's nothing more than stress and depression. I'll also be seeing a counsellor soon to sort out the main problems and get back to normal and eating normally :-)

[regular-guy]

Many good doctors frequently follow the KISS approach to medicine (assume the most common causes until proven otherwise). In general this works well, but it can lead doctors and others to overlook and sometimes misdiagnose the true cause of a problem if it is not among the most commonly diagnosed or tested for problems. If you feel comfortable, we could chat a bit more about what is going on medically with you privately.

[Asker]

I have heard about KISS during my research on weight gain. ''Keep It Simple or Stupid.'' My doctor did not mention this though, or at least I wasn't aware of it when he questioned me. Perhaps there is a chance he could have misdiagnosed me or at least not evaluated it accurately enough as he didn't give me many explanations, he simply asked questions. I would very much like to learn more from you and discuss this privately when you have time. Thank you a huge amount regular-guy :-)

[Littletad]

Try having a milk shake every once in a while. Or some protein shakes. These will help you gain some weight. But the best way to get over this, is to conquer your depression.

[Asker]

You're right, conquering depression is the hardest part by far. I think that will take me a long time, if it ever goes away. I'll start by buying some of those protein shakes on top of attempting to eat as much as I can. If I fail, at least the shakes will cover the loss of food for the time being. Very good advice, thank you Littletad :-)

[Anonymous]

wow your lucky I would give my extra weight to you just eat fast food everyday and that should do the trick!

[Asker]

Hey Miss Anonymous :-) thanks for the advice, I have been indulging in fast foos whenever I can hoping those extra calories would make me fatter. I don't think I'm lucky at all though with this weight, and it doesn't look healthy :-( I'm really skinny, my curves have long disappeared and if I stretch out I can see my ribs which never used to happen. Over a year and a half ago I was quite healthy, when I was pregnant too I looked radiant and curvy. I miss being my normal BMI and very healthy X

[Asker]

And thanks, I wish we could all make a weight transfer so everyone's happy, haha ;-P I never thought of it that way. Would be nice to take away someone's extra weight to make them happier and me happier :-) a funny way to look at it, cheers hun.

[pakiranian]

the best way to gain weight is to start smoking weed. I put on like 45 pounds when I started, then had to start working out a lot to lose it all. all in all, weed is great

[Anonymous]

a way to get a lot of calories and protein is to eat those muscle bars that weight trainers do, they have tons of calories and protein and vitamins in them and it's just a small little bar rather than a HUGE meal.

[AcEMasTeR]

eat 6 small meals a day

[Asker]

AcEMasTeR, Thanks for your input and advice. I thought about it and made a plan: as soon as I wake up have a small meal, another small meal before lunch, again at lunchtime, around 3pm have another, then dinner, after dinner I'll eat again before bed since the body regenerates throughout the night usually. Nice advice along with drinking a lot of water and calorie drinks from other contributions. Thanks again, you have helped :-)

[AcEMasTeR]

No problem

good luck to you

:-)

[ambermarie]

peanut butter helps you put on weight..

[Reeses-pieces777]

try protein shakes

[Asker]

Hi Reeses-pieces777 :-) Many thanks, I could try using these with Complan if the current method fails me. For now I'll stick to Complan as a starter to take daily and then conclude results over two more weeks to see if I have gained some weight. I saw many of these protein shakes in the pharmacy yesterday, I just wondered if you're able to recommend any good brands? I see they are all Whey protein mainly but there's so much to choose from ;o X x x.