I'm stuggling to put weight on?

[Anonymous]

i am 18 years old and I eat loads but I just can't put any weight on and I don't know what to do anymore. I need some advice on what to do please help me

[Tamikaze]

Why are you trying to gain weight? Have you seen your doctor to find out if you are underweight to a level that is unhealthy? Your doctor would be able to rule out any conditions that could be causing a problem.

As far as trying to gain weight, if you are not suffering from a condition that is causing this, you need more calories. You may feel you are eating "loads" but you must not be eating enough calorie rich foods to offset what you are burning. Do you participate in sports or activities that cause you to need more calories than the normal woman your age? Beyond that, age will slowly take care of this. My family tends to be quite skinny in our teens and early 20's but at some point metabolisms slow and that starts to happen in your late 20's and on. We slowly lose muscle mass and that means we burn less calories at rest and during activity.

Whatever you do, don't develop bad eating habits to try and get calories. Don't go on a junk food diet. It is just a bad idea. More protein and healthy fats in reasonable levels will help add calories.

[madmisskelly]

Try a combination of increasing your protein and whole grain intake (quinoa, brown rice, couscous , etc) and doing more weight training/resistance training. Lift more weights, do things such as planks that involve you holding your own weight.

[EPhantom]

One thing that people don't understand, is that people like you and me have really messed up metabolisms.

My brother had weighted about 140-150 for about 5 years, unable to get out of that fluctuation zone. He was only able to after going to burger king like, three times a day, but then he only put on bad weight.

I myself have been stuck in the 115-125 range for over 6 years, but am unable to eat many fatty foods due to health concerns, and also I can't do too much heavy exercise due to health concerns as well.

My suggestion would be to try to get in more protein and to try to add weight as muscle.

If like eggs... they can help in either way. Whites of eggs contain most of the water and protein, and the yolks of the eggs contain mostly fat. Also you can probably do this with milk by just choosing different milks to drink.

[WeaponZero]

More than likely you're an ectomorph body type (naturally slender with a fast metabolism) and as a result your ideal weight is considerably lower than the BMI would indicate for your height. Still, if you're concerned there may be other, more serious possibilities, you should see a doctor.

[Gone_But_Not_Lost]

He's GirlsAskGuys's resident health expert. I'd listen to him.

[Konnour]

Expert? Maybe.

However he managed answer to her question without actually answering it.

[WeaponZero]

I wouldn't say expert. Anyway if you want to gain weight then you need to be in a caloric surplus and the macronutrient profile should be tailored to your activity level. If you're very active, it should have a higher percentage of carbohydrates compared to everything else.

[heavensgift2girls]

You do realize almost everyone on here started hating you the moment you said, you can't gain weight no matter how much you eat, right? lol

I think WeaponZero is correct. Being skinny is just how you are designed, just like a lot of people are designed to be fat. Consider yourself one of the lucky ones. If you are having health problems because you are too skinny, then you need to see a doctor.

[GingerRage]

Start eating 24-30 grams pf whey or soy protein once a day.

If you aren't familiar with the differences,

Whey is animal byproducts (milk proteins and such) and has a higher level of testosterone (which will have no effect on you)

Soy is a plant byproduct with no dairy and has higher levels of estrogen (which at 18a is completely unnecessary)

Either way those are both safe and pathogenic ways to gain weight safely and naturally.

[martyfellow]

People go through stages of rapid metabolism when its hard to gain weight. Don't worry about it for now. Just do a lot of weight bearing exercise; usually your body will respond to that by putting on some muscle, but only slowly.

[Konnour]

Eat meat, eggs, rye bread.. anything with high nutritional value.

And eat six meals per day, not three.

But still you should avoid junk food, as excess belly fat can still creep on you even if you're naturally skinny, as well as teeth decay.

[DocClassic]

you simply are not eating enough. if you consume more calories than you burn on a regular basis, it is physically impossible not to gain weight

[red324]

I wouldn't worry about how much you weigh. You'll gain weight when you get older. Unless you're at an unhealthy weight where all your ribs are showing and that sort of thing just enjoy it while it lasts.

[Anonymous]

Eat more wholesome foods. Add butter. Don't be afraid to snack on something.