Need to gain weight and can't workout

jbgolf52

I have digestive issues that have caused me to drop a bunch of weight in the past and left me susceptible to injuries due to not being able to eat enough at times and under recovering from workouts. So my doc wants me to gain 10lbs while not working out as I'm currently injured and even if I wasn't he doesn't want me working out until I get to 140lbs minimum due to the ease with which I get injured at a lower than normal weight for my height. Also, a higher weight will ease some of the strain on my digestive system, which gets overtaxed when I'm underweight.

I'm a 25yr old guy and fluctuate between 130-131 and am 5'10. I love working out, and being told to gain weight without working out is so hard for me to wrap my head around. Ideally he wants me to get to 145 before I hit the gym as I normally walk around at 145-150 but he's fine with 140. I hate gaining just fat, has anyone else had to do this? I value the work I put in at the gym and my physique, so this is a huge blow to me. I lost 15lbs last month due to a stomach flareup and have gained about half it back, so that's why the doc said to gain more before working out again. Just want to see if anyone else had to go through this and how you handled it as I'm not doing so hot with it.

concordancia

That is interesting. Since my husband is the same height as you, I know that 140 is slim, yet a healthy weight with a margin, albeit a small one. Have you asked him about physical therapy, rather than just working out to your own drummer?

Anyway, as for gaining, it seems like your injuries are likely due to nutritional issues, so the first thing would be to focus on those nutrients that you might be missing. For the purposes of adding calories, the two ideals would be oils and nuts. I see by your diary that you are using foods like egg whites, light cheeses and nut milks. Use the real thing and get all the calories. Add peanut butter or nuts to your fruit snacks.

JoRocka

first that sounds odd- I'd definitely get a second opition.
secondly- i'd find out what specifically the restrictions about the gym were- no max lifting? no super heavy lifting- lighter weights- less reps? what specifically is the issue.
Thirdly just eat more honestly- eat more of what you love to eat- and if that's not enough you best be hitting the bagels pizza beers ice creams and candy bars hard.

mustgetmuscles1

Sounds like a bad deal but if you have a lot of trouble eating enough and are burning off everything you do eat I would tell you to stop working out also.

Get some reserves built up and get treatment for your condition. Then when you are healthy talk to your doctor about starting some strength training.

jbgolf52

I've been to multiple docs (one is a top doc in the field of gastroenterology) and physical therapists and it's basically because I don't sleep and eat enough, so I don't recover between workouts and the damage caused by the weights never fully heals before the next workout. I can't sleep when my body is at a low weight compared to my normal walking weight, and your body is over stressed when it doesn't receive enough nutrition for a period of time, so that's why they don't want me working out.

The issue is that I literally have not had a month of being injury free in the past 3yrs. I currently have a hip stress fracture in my right hip and both golfers and tennis elbow in my left elbow. My physical therapist just wants me to take a two week break until December 4th then I can start back up with bodyweight stuff. Im just honestly afraid of gaining without working out, as anyone who is fitness-oriented would be (or at least a little annoyed).

I use nut milks because regular milk upsets my stomach, but ice cream, yogurt, and cheese are fine. I can't do bread often but for some reason cereals are fine with me. Might be tmi, but I have chronic constipation and get stomach pains, nausea, cramps, and 0 appetite when I get too backed up. I genuinely haven't been hungry in 2 months as that is when my flareup started, I've just been eating for a calorie goal and it sucks. I know, first world problems lol. My docs want me to get more insoluble fiber (hence the fiber one cereal and high fiber I eat), and keep eating because eating stimulates your bowels to empty. I definitely hit up the ice cream and candy when I need it, I just don't crave junk food much so it's a chore at times.

I was mainly posting this to see if anyone else has gone through something similar where they couldn't work out but had to gain weight. I know it's not common unless you're dealing with anorexia, but mine is due to my stomach issues. I dropped 15lbs last month and it was not fun.

AliceDark

jbgolf52 wrote: »

The issue is that I literally have not had a month of being injury free in the past 3yrs. I currently have a hip stress fracture in my right hip and both golfers and tennis elbow in my left elbow. My physical therapist just wants me to take a two week break until December 4th then I can start back up with bodyweight stuff.

You need to let those injuries heal, especially the stress fracture. Your question really is "should I listen to my doctor who is telling me I need to rest while I heal," and the answer is yes. If you don't heal fully, you'll end up out of the gym for a lot longer than two weeks.

0somuchbetter0

At first I suspected you had something like Crohn's disease but now that you describe it in more detail it sounds like you've done this to yourself. Have you seen a therapist? I'm sorry, I'm sure you're going through a really rough time. The doctor seems to be dealing with your physical issues, but maybe you need someone to help you with the emotional ones?

FatFreeFrolicking

Do you have Crohn's? I have Crohn's.

FatFreeFrolicking

jbgolf52 wrote: »

I was mainly posting this to see if anyone else has gone through something similar where they couldn't work out but had to gain weight. I know it's not common unless you're dealing with anorexia, but mine is due to my stomach issues. I dropped 15lbs last month and it was not fun.

You don't need to work out in order to gain weight. You gain weight by eating at a caloric surplus.

Can you please elaborate on what stomach issues you have?

jbgolf52

@Alice: I haven't done lower body exercises since June, I am more concerned with the upper body since it's not as serious. I see a doc on December 10th to see how the fracture has healed. I haven't worked out intensely since June as the elbow issues started then as well, so I'm going a little crazy from not working out.

@somuchbetter: my disease is called gastroparesis, it causes slow stomach motility which can results in constipation. I haven't done this to myself and am on medication for it, it just sucks eating at times. I have been to multiple therapists and honestly I'm sick of them. I appreciate the support, I just can't stand going to them anymore. Plus, the amount of money I've spent the past month is absurd. I'm already going to physical therapy 1-2x/week as it is.

@fatfreefrolicking: I know a calorie surplus is all you need to gain weight but if you don't workout then you just gain fat, which is something that unfortunately I have to do but sucks and I'd prefer not to if I was healthy. How is your Crohns? Do you have to avoid any food?

cwolfman13

Being that you're under weight, I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that you are probably under fat as well...your doctor probably wants you to get to a healthy BF% which in your case means putting on fat to get to essential levels.

I'm going to guess that being under fat and generally malnourished is the root cause of most of your issues, including your stomach issues and injury issues. Being below essential BF levels wreaks havoc...hell, even just being at the low end of a healthy BF% wreaks havoc on the body.

FatFreeFrolicking

jbgolf52 wrote: »

@fatfreefrolicking: I know a calorie surplus is all you need to gain weight but if you don't workout then you just gain fat, which is something that unfortunately I have to do but sucks and I'd prefer not to if I was healthy. How is your Crohns? Do you have to avoid any food?

Well unfortunately you are not going to be able to workout until you are properly nourished. Your body is not currently well-fed. You simply cannot workout right now. You need to be focused on finding the foods you CAN eat. Once you find foods that agree with you and are able to eat as many calories as you should be, you will be able to start thinking about adding exercise back into your daily routine.

My Crohn's was in remission but I started having a flareup last Tuesday/Wednesday. Yes, I have to avoid lots of foods. The only vegetables I am able to tolerate are asparagus, green beans, and mushrooms. I can occasionally eat carrots. I had to go gluten free back in April. But when I started feeling better, I began eating gluten again. Now that I am having flareups, I am going to go back to being gluten free. I am dairy free for the most part. I cannot tolerate milk, yogurt, or ice cream. I can handle cheese in small amounts if I take a lactase enzyme.

My diet consists primarily of lean meats, salmon, potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans, asparagus, extra virgin olive oil, avocados, bananas, pomegranates, berries, brown rice, rice cakes, pretzels, popcorn, Fiber One bars, Kind bars, Zone bars, eggs, bacon, english muffins. I do not eat fast food. I do eat out but try to get the blandest option on the menu, like grilled chicken, a potato, and a veggie.

What medication do you currently take for gastroparesis? Are you on any other medications? Have you discussed a temporary feeding tube with your doctor?

jbgolf52

@cwolfman: Yea my doc probably wants some fat on me as well, it's just messing with my mind eating more and gaining and not working out.

@fatfreefrolicking: Yes, unfortunately that is true. I know more or less what agrees with me, it's just the fact that I'm injured and underweight that they don't want me working out.

Sorry to hear you are having flareups. I thought pretzels and fiber one bars contain gluten? I'm currently taking domperidone for stomach motility and linzess for anti-constipation med. I don't want to use a feeding tube and neither does my doc. It's only for life-threatening situations and while my flareup was ridiculous last month, I wouldn't want it unless it was the only option. I can eat a good amount of food, I just can't have milk, tons of gluten in the form of bread, and really fatty foods. Eating too much and overloading my system is another way to bring on a flareup and is what caused my flareup two months ago. I don't have a blockage in my colon, thankfully, I'm just really backed up and my doc told me I have to eat no matter what.

FatFreeFrolicking

jbgolf52 wrote: »

@cwolfman: Yea my doc probably wants some fat on me as well, it's just messing with my mind eating more and gaining and not working out.

@fatfreefrolicking: Yes, unfortunately that is true. I know more or less what agrees with me, it's just the fact that I'm injured and underweight that they don't want me working out.

Sorry to hear you are having flareups. I thought pretzels and fiber one bars contain gluten? I'm currently taking domperidone for stomach motility and linzess for anti-constipation med. I don't want to use a feeding tube and neither does my doc. It's only for life-threatening situations and while my flareup was ridiculous last month, I wouldn't want it unless it was the only option. I can eat a good amount of food, I just can't have milk, tons of gluten in the form of bread, and really fatty foods. Eating too much and overloading my system is another way to bring on a flareup and is what caused my flareup two months ago. I don't have a blockage in my colon, thankfully, I'm just really backed up and my doc told me I have to eat no matter what.

I eat gluten free pretzels and the Fiber One bars say they MAY contain wheat. It's not like I NEED to eliminate gluten… I just notice my symptoms improve when I do so if I consume a little gluten, it won't hurt.

I think you should try prune or apple juice for the constipation. Coffee also works. You can also try milk of magnesia. I wouldn't recommend laxatives unless you check with your doctor. Definitely eat low-fiber forms of high-fiber foods, such as well-cooked fruits and vegetables rather than raw fruits and vegetables. Eat smaller meals more frequently.

You may want to consider meeting with a registered dietician who is familiar with gastroparesis.

jbgolf52

FatFreeFrolicking wrote: »

I eat gluten free pretzels and the Fiber One bars say they MAY contain wheat. It's not like I NEED to eliminate gluten… I just notice my symptoms improve when I do so if I consume a little gluten, it won't hurt.

I think you should try prune or apple juice for the constipation. Coffee also works. You can also try milk of magnesia. I wouldn't recommend laxatives unless you check with your doctor. Definitely eat low-fiber forms of high-fiber foods, such as well-cooked fruits and vegetables rather than raw fruits and vegetables. Eat smaller meals more frequently.

You may want to consider meeting with a registered dietician who is familiar with gastroparesis.

Ah ok, just making sure you were not consuming gluten without knowing.

I'll try one of those juices, thanks for the suggestion. I tried coffee and I just don't like it unfortunately. My gastroenterologist has me taking milk of magnesia daily (4 servings) and it has been a godsend to get me to have a bowel movement everyday. I had an endoscopy done and she (the gastro) found that gastroparesis is not causing my pain nor constipation and I just have chronic constipation, so she wants me to eat alot of insoluble fiber to get things moving along. I tried the smaller meals more frequently but my body can only handle 3 meals a day, I need a break in between meals to digest the food.

I've met with two dieticians over the past two years and they basically said the same thing as you, and also to experiment with what foods I can and cannot eat. Stomach problems are very individual, as I've come to learn through researching this. The bigger problem for me is accepting that I have to gain some fat, and I was just wondering how others handled it. I know I need to do it, it's just frustrating at times.

concordancia

You said that you were focused on fitness, isn't that motivation enough to do what you need to in order to be healthy?

biorobotics

i've been in hospital and in treatment for an eating disorder, where they expect you to eat enough to gain to a healthy weight while pretty much not moving. i'm not sure if this applies for everyone, or just people recovering from eating disorders, but in treatment we were told that if we had 20kg to gain, only about 7kg would be fat, the rest would be muscle and hydration and such. so, if you're clinically underweight, most the weight you gain won't be fat. like i said, i don't know if that's for the general population or just underweight eating disorder people.

0somuchbetter0

jbgolf52 wrote: »

@somuchbetter: my disease is called gastroparesis, it causes slow stomach motility which can results in constipation. I haven't done this to myself and am on medication for it, it just sucks eating at times. I have been to multiple therapists and honestly I'm sick of them. I appreciate the support, I just can't stand going to them anymore. Plus, the amount of money I've spent the past month is absurd. I'm already going to physical therapy 1-2x/week as it is.

I didn't mean to imply that you were causing the stomach problems. I'm sorry if it sounded that way -- I was posting in a hurry. It just sounds like the other stuff -- the overexercising and not wanting to eat so you don't get fat and worrying so much about not working out...that stuff sounds like emotional issues. Many docs don't take a holistic approach and they tend to overlook those factors. But it sounds like you've seen all the professionals you need to see. Best of luck to you.

jbgolf52

@concordancia: it is and should be more than enough, I just get frustrated that I have to take a couple steps back fitness and physique wise in order to start moving forward again.

@biorobotics: thanks for that, makes me feel a little more at ease if not all of it will be fat gain. I couldn't imagine not even being able to take a walk, must have been rough, hopefully you are better now.

@somuchbetter: it's fine. I don't over exercise, when I'm working out its only 3x/week, but it's definitely the other things you said. My gastroenterologist actually recommended me seeing a therapist but I just can't stand them anymore. My dad has actually been a good sounding board and has helped me through some emotional stuff. I appreciate the help and the suggestions, I just have to bear down and grind out the weight gain so I can get healthy.

jess1992uga

Just wanted to say I have gastroparesis too and the exact same issues. Feels good to know I am not alone. The sucky thing about gastroparesis I find too is that I don't feel hunger anymore and then I forget to eat. Lately this has meant eating a ton late at night....which of course causes flareup...which means appetite gone...which makes me eat late and so on and so on. Let me know if you find any answers.

jbgolf52

jess1992uga wrote: »

Just wanted to say I have gastroparesis too and the exact same issues. Feels good to know I am not alone. The sucky thing about gastroparesis I find too is that I don't feel hunger anymore and then I forget to eat. Lately this has meant eating a ton late at night....which of course causes flareup...which means appetite gone...which makes me eat late and so on and so on. Let me know if you find any answers.

I don't feel hungry either and it sucks, especially during a flareup. The past two months it has just been me looking at the time and then checking MFP for what I still have to eat. I've been having to eat 1,200-1,300 cals at night, half junk food, just to get calories in as well. What did your gastric emptying test reveal for how slow your motility is? Surprisingly, an endoscopy last month revealed my stomach was empty even when I felt horrible stomach pains and it was determined I have chronic constipation, so I've been taking Linzess and osmotic laxatives and have been having some relief. I can eat to gain weight now but it is still a struggle as I'm forcing almost every meal.