How to increase my appetite and gain weight?

[Brovak]

I have always had a pretty small appetite. When I was 14 the most I could eat at one sitting was 1 slice of pizza. I have also been very skinny for as long as I can remember. I don't think this is a coincidence. Lately though, my, already small, appetite has been getting smaller. I used to be a couch potato, but for the past month, anywhere from 1-2 times a week I've been playing a game called fugitive. Basically a giant game of tag. It could go on for miles, depending on the route you choose to take, with three rounds usually lasting about 1 1/2 hours each. Ironically, after I started doing this my appetite shrunk exponentially. The most I've eaten in one sitting since a month ago has been the two slices of pizza I had for dinner last night. I have pretty much been skipping breakfast and lunch at school. I have been feeling fine though, physically, mentally and emotionally. I do want to gain some weight though. I am 6 feet and 125 pounds. I have some special circumstances though. I have A LOT of trouble gaining weight, and I can lose weight from doing seemingly nothing. Are there any special diets I should take if I want to gain wight?

*NOTE* I think I have a small stomach, as I am a snacker, and always eating something small, like chips, sunflower seeds and other random snack. I also have problems maintaining my blood sugar. I think this has something to do with how I eat also.

[100klicksaway]

I would definitely consider seeing a certified doctor or a nutritionist.
One reason why you aren't hungry at meal times is because of your snacking. If you're looking to gain healthy weight, either a) cut back on the snacking entirely or b) snack on healthy things (not chips!) Sunflower seeds are good, but you could also go with other dried fruits and nuts. Trail mix and fresh fruit are good, too.
Rather than eating things like pizza for dinner, eat something good for you, like chicken with pasta and salad.
DON'T SKIP MEALS. While skipping meals makes you hungrier at first, it greatly slows down your metabolism and ends up making you less hungry and kicks you into a starvation cycle, which will make you LOSE weight. Make sure you eat at least three square meals a day. They don't have to be super big, but make sure you get in those meals. As an active, fully-grown male, you should be having a calorie intake of roughly 2,000, probably closer to 2,500.
Here's a link for healthy weight gain: www.webmd.com/diet/features/how-to-gain-weight
There are lots of ways to increase your metabolism, but one good way is tro drink lots of cold water. You probably don't want to boost that too much, though, if you're trying to gain healthy weight rather than burn through calories.
Strictly speaking one of the easiest ways is through carbs. One of the easiest ways to get carbs is through bread. There's such a huge variety of meals that one can eat with bread its not even funny, so just start having a couple slices more than you usually do. Then when you notice weight is being added, start exercising and add more again. If you don't exercise as you do it despite the fact it seems counter productive the only thing you'll really gain is a "beer belly."
- signed person who is not qualified to answer this question in any way but is pretending she can

[Brovak]

I'm not skipping meals because I want to. I physically can't eat them. I normally get nauseous after a meal. It normally subsides after 10 to 30 minutes, but if I eat while not hungry, I will stay nauseous for hours at a time, and for hours after I'm better, I can't smell food because it will make me sick again. The thing with eating healthier is that I can't actually afford it. The only foods that's in my budget right now are things generally considered unhealthy, but their cheap. I would love to start a garden, and am actually moving to my aunts property in about a year, and she has a green house, so that will probably help solve my problem.

[100klicksaway]

The nausea is probably caused because you don't eat. I didn't mean to make it sound like you skipped meals cos you wanted to, but the issue still stands that skipping meals for any reason is problematic. I would try to stop the snacking so much and eat little meals to start with, which will hopefully help cut down on the nausea and allow you to be hungrier. I totally understand not being able to really afford "health" food; you don't really have to go organic or whatever, which is the most expensive types of food. It would be better for you, though, if you swapped chips out for a fruit or a vegetable. They aren't that expensive; you can buy 3-6 apples for the same price as a large bag of chips in some places.
It's good that you're thinking of ways to fix these problems, though, and that you're wanting to start a garden. Fresh fruits and vegetables would definitely help your problem to at least some extent.

[Brovak]

I only started snacking because it's the only way that I can get food in my system without feeling like crap. Since before I can remember I have gotten sick after almost every meal. So when I was around twelve I decided I was just going to have 6 half meal sized snacks. It worked because I didn't get nauseous at all from eating that day. Eating in concentrated bursts only makes me sick. I have to have been eating via snack for several years, and I hardly ever get sick from it. I also get really motion sick, and I get stress and anxiety nausea. I am just a ticking time bomb LOL.

[100klicksaway]

Alright, that makes sense then. It sounds like your body is having some issues, though, so I really would consider going to see a doctor or nutritionist. That might solve your nausea problems as well as helping you gain weight.

[Anonymous]

Check out this community: https://www.reddit.com/r/gainit/wiki/index

[Thatguy321]

I've heard that drinking water will stretch your stomach so you can eat more, what i do is i just space out my meals and have 5-6 decent meals than 3 large meals and that works for me to pack on weight, im 186 right now usually I'll eat 5 pancakes in the morning 8-10am then eat at 12pm, 4pm 7pm and 10pm thats usually when i eat but it depends on what I'm doing that day. Eat a lot of carbs will help you out. When i first started working out i didn't think eatting posts would make me bigger but protein would because thats what all those experts talk about is the protein that they use. It is important however carbs are even more important

[sovetskii13]

I recommend working out and being highly active in general. Spending more energy on being active will bring more desire for you to eat so your body can fill itself with energy again. And take large bites rather than small. Research showed that taking small bites mentally makes you feel like you ate more food. Try that for a couple of weeks and see if it makes any difference, see a doctor because that's not normal.

[Brovak]

That's why I was confused about playing fugitive and my appetite decreasing. It seems counter intuitive that after I start expending energy on a regular basis, my body decides it doesn't want any of this "food" stuff. Haha, this really sucks.

[Daph81]

I'm so jealous of you right now! Switch stomachs with me?

Well the stomach stretches and shrinks according to how much food we put in. I notice that if I haven't been eating a lot, I feel full faster. But once I'm really hungry and eat a huge portion of something, my next meals would be big portioned as well because a smaller portion wouldn't make me feel full.

I guess you'd just have to "train" your stomach. If you can only eat 1 slice of pizza now, next time you eat a slice of pizza and you feel full, make yourself eat half a slice or maybe just another bite. If you're really that full, wait 5 or 10 minutes, then continue with the half slice. And then increase to a slice, 2 slices, etc. until your stomach can contain more food.

[Brovak]

I never thought of that...

[Anonymous]

I was like you skinny. What helped me was hitting the gym and age. I think when you hit your mid 20's you'll gain weight.

When I got to my mid 20's I started working out and my body wanted it bad. So when I worked out my body would just signal that it wants LOTS of food. I would gobble so much food down it was scary.

So part of it is age, which you have no control over besides giving it time. The other is working out HARD in the gym.

[bethanyyy]

I don't know, but if you find out, please tell me. I'm trying to put on weight too. My only answer is protein and healthy fats, e.g. avocadoe's, olive oil etc

[cavmanier]

Nothing wrong with being thin though!

[Brovak]

@bethanyyy Hmm, I might try that. Thanks for the suggestion, have a nice day!

@cavmanier I do agree, but I feel like I am unhealthily skinny. I would guess that anybody looking to gain weight is in the same boat as me. I would like to be slim still, just not abnormally. My fat to muscle ratio is so low, I don't work out at all, but my legs look pretty muscular, and I have toned abs. As good as that sounds to some guys, it's actually very inconvenient, I wear a hoodie at all times in public because I'm so self conscious about how skinny I am.

[bethanyyy]

I have naturally toned abs too without working out!
Everyone have different opinions about me. Some tell me I am too thin, others tell me I look a perfect size. But I am a "size zero", or, a size 6-8, but almost 170cm's. I'm boarder-line underweight (as a BMI clssification).
You're probably very healthy as you are, and it is just your build. I believe there are different species of people around. You and I are definitely ectomorphs. But the best we can do is eat high protien, healthy fats diets (I also try to eat three eggs every morning, in an omlette). And exercise, to build body mass, e.g. weights.

[bethanyyy]

Haha, sorry, I meant to say "I have naturally toned abs without working out too!"
I was trying to relate to you, not make a random comment about myself :)

[Brovak]

Haha, it's cool. Yeah, I thought for a while that maybe it was just my build, but I'll be damned if I don't try to get a bit thicker. XD I can't float in water without me desperately kicking.

[bethanyyy]

So you sink? you must be full of muscle! Thats the diffference with me...I float reall easily

[bethanyyy]

*really* easily

[Brovak]

I have been told I am pretty strong for my weight, but I'm not abnormally muscular.

[bethanyyy]

Thats really interesting, I've been told exactly the same thing, that I am strong for my weight/size...

[Brovak]

Perhaps this is common among people of our build? I don't know. You wouldn't happen to have any conditions that might be the underlying cause of this, do you? For me it's a congenital birth defect known as, Pectus Excavatum (which will be called PE from this point on). It's a latin name. The, "Pectus" part stands for your pectoral region. Excavatum means to dig or hollow out. It's hard to explain how it looks, so do a google image search if you don't know what I'm talking about. From what I've gathered from the months of research I've put into the condition, about 80-90% of people with PE, are also super skinny/underweight. This is interesting to me because I've never actually talked in-depth with another person suffering with a difficulty to gain weight.

[COCOCHANEL]

cooL ! i love tag ! try to eat more high cal high fat foods like cheese.

[Brovak]

I eat a lot of high fat foods lol. Also yes, fugitive is an amazingly fun game! I would recommend you try it. Be careful though because the last time I played some cops stopped me and my friends, but it was alright because they knew what fugitive was.

[cavmanier]

I would see a doctor and consider some resistance workout like weightlifting. I bet working out would increase your appetite.

[tiredofwaiting]

I lost like over 30 pounds I am on the same boat.