how to gain weight without sugar and milkshake/ice cream addict!

Ushee25

I would love your thoughts on this. I am underweight, female, and trying to gain weight but in a way that does not involve binges or eating too much sugar. My question is, many friends and even my parents tell me to drink milkshakes for calories and weight.

But I notice this is part of my 'compulsive' nature. If I drink milkshakes I feel guilty, then I eat very little or try to restrict the next day, then I binge on ice creme or crave the milkshake again at night and it goes on! Especially like McDonald's or Wendy's.

I did find some Atkins protein shakes and they have 1 gram sugar. Also plan to supplement with protein bars. Other than this, do I just need to increase my calories? Is that the only way to gain weight?

Thank you all so much.

JeromeBarry1

You gain weight be eating more calories than you need to maintain your weight.

If you are less than 18, you should not be using myfitnesspal.

100_PROOF_

JeromeBarry1 wrote: »

You gain weight be eating more calories than you need to maintain your weight.

If you are less than 18, you should not be using myfitnesspal.

This


You gain weight by eating at a calorie surplus. The foods you pick are up to you.

If your having feelings of guilt after drinking a milk shake, you may want to speak to a professional.

SonOfPainless

Hi,
When I'm working out a lot I have the same problem you do (where I tend to start bingeing when I try to gain weight). I think that in addition to feeling guilty the next day, you might be feeling a little sick from getting way too much sugar. You can certainly put on weight with commercial stuff -- I'm a sucker for some protein bars (especially the chocolate decadence bars from Isagenix) if I'm short of calories at the end of the day. But what might be a better idea is to find some healthy calorically dense foods you like. You can google them, but off the top of my head, I'd start with milk, eggs, meat, dried fruit and nuts. If you want more protein, you can eat more meat or egg whites, while whole milk is going to be have a balance of protein, fat and carbs. Dried (or fresh) fruit is a lot of sugar, but also some fiber. And nuts will give you a lot of fat, some protein and fiber. Putting it all together, if you like milkshakes but they make you feel guilty, why not make your own smoothies? That gives you a milk base, plus you can put in some healthy flavors you like (fruit, a bit of dark chocolate, whatever). Another good idea is keeping track of how many calories you need -- that way you can make sure you're "around" where you need to be every day, rather than going too high one day and too low the next. But If you're under 18, you really do need to get advice from a doctor or failing that go with something like www.sparkteens.com . The reason is that teens have different nutritional needs from adults -- and the advice myfitnesspal gives will be wrong for you.
Hope that helps

sardelsa

There are plenty of calorie dense food that don't have sugar in them to help you hit a surplus..mainly fats (nuts, seeds, coconut oil/milk, avocado, oils, butter)

I think the best thing to do though is figure out why you have these guilty feelings, binges and try to work through them and seek help if necessary.. sugar is not bad in moderation, like anything. Fear of certain foods can really hold you back from reaching your goals.

Ushee25

hi all, thank you for your comments. no, I am not 18, far older lol. Thank you again and I'll try the addition of more fats in food rather than just milkshakes. I do like avocado.