Why can't I gain any weight?

[Anonymous]

I went to the doctors and apparently I have a BMI of 16 which is anorexic/underweight. She said I had to eat more, but I just don't understand. I eat. I love eating fast food. So its not like I'm afraid of gaining weight, actually I want to gain weight! I even eat at night Because they say your metabolism is slow and one can gain weight easier. So why can't I gain weight? It seems like all I do is lose weight :(

Updates

+1 y

Thanks everyone your comments make me feel much better. I guess I won't take the BMI too seriously because I know I'm not anorextic, and I'm just going to eat more calories now just to gain a couple more pounds and make my parents happy, and I guess fill out my clothes more.

[snowboarder720]

looks like you have my problem. I can't gain weight for the life of me. My BMI is on the boarder between underweight and perfectly healthy. However, I can out eat anybody at an "All you can eat" buffet. I'm a fat guy living in a skinny guys body.

Did you tell the doctor you eat alot? Not just fast food though. There's a difference between gaining healthy weight and just gaining weight from fast food (garbage food).

I'd say to keep eating what your eating, but instead of eating to gain weight try working out more. Muscle weighs more than fat. Do a couple pushups, chin ups, situps, etc. whatever floats your boat. That way your gaining weight and not through fattening foods.

[kairon156]

I agree with the working out bit. just make sure you are eating enough to keep up with the energy you burn while working out.

[THE_Godfather]

How did this Dr. calculate your BMI? I think BMI is a joke.

My BMI is high, almost obese. Yet I'm 6' 190 lbs. I go to the gym 6 days a week. I'm fairly big & my legs are pretty big. The BMI is not taking into account muscle.

It's all about how you feel about yourself & how you look in clothes. Don't think you need to gain weight because someone is telling you to.

You're fairly young & have a high metabolism. Most young people do. Don't sweat it. Enjoy it. As you age you will slow down a bit & then you'll be on the other end of the scale.

[Anonymous]

Start counting calories. Until I did that I didn't gain anything, and even then I still gained really slow, about 5 lbs a month, and then slowly stopped, and lost weight again. You need to eat more than you think, unless it's all garbage which isn't that healthy.

Figure out how much you need with this: link

First thing to do is increase your portions. Everything you eat now, eat more of it. Eat high callorie food.

[Asker]

Thank you for the link very helpful!

[TheUglyOne]

You have a super high metabolism, and/or food moves too fast through you to get absorbed.

Night time eating thing is a myth. It only appears that way because most people sleep at night so activity levels are less, but the basal metabolic rate doesn't slow that much when we sleep, basic cellular functions still need to be carried out.

If you are eating a lot, eating a variety of foods, and still not gaining weight, ain't much you can do about it. So long as you are feeling okay physically, no dizziness, no weakness, or any other ill effects, you are probably okay. BMI is an outdated mode of measurement, almost 200 years old. It fails to consider body types, thus a professional athlete in prime fitness can be considered morbidly obese using BMI. You for all I know are petite with a small frame, so 16 might be acceptable for your body type.

[kairon156]

stop excerpting, eat more meat and bread foods, some salt. perhaps eat bigger meals.

personally I don't trust BMI I read that if you are shorter than like 5'3 it becomes inaccurate.

[Cowboy5]

Use myfitnesspal..com to track your nutrition and add a strength training program. You will be super buff in no time!

[Anonymous]

Because you're not eating enough of the right foods.

Tell us what you eat, on an average day.

[Asker]

I usually eat something in the mornings like a burrito and banana. Then I take protein bars and fruit smacks to school. Then I alwasy eat a big meal like rice chicken and salad. Then a sandwich at night and milk. It various but I always try and eat something small in the mornings afternoon a snack evening a big meal and then before bed something too.

[Opinion Owner]

When one of your meals is salad and rice, you are not being serious about gaining weight.

[Asker]

Well I wasn't trying to gain crazy amounts of weight back then because I didn't feel anything was wrong with me. Now I know I need to try harder