Skinny Kid. Want to Gain Weight. Please Help.

stormintormenta

Hey guys. I'm a 18 year old skinny kid who runs Cross Country. I weigh 115 lbs and want to get up to at least 125-130lbs. I want to gain weight but still be able to run at the same time. I've seen guys who take all these different types of protein like Gold Standard, and these other Whey products, but I can't take any of that because I have a kidney problem. I run about 5-6 days a week, and ranging around 5-10 miles a day. Is there any way I can gain weight while keeping this up? Thanks. I really appreciate the feedback.

tiptoethruthetulips

Eat more calorie dense foods....good fats (olive oil avocado, etc), snack on handful of nuts, have an extra sandwich for lunch, increase meal portion sizes, don't eat fruit alone have it with yoghurt, snack on smoothies...yoghurt, milk, fruit, (I add flax seed oil to mine),

Maupdogg

Cross country isn't the best sport in terms of gaining wait my friend, but it is possible.
It's a common misconception that protein shakes make you gain weight. There are hundreds of products out there. I have not heard of protein increasing potential kidney problems but I'm not a dietitian either. Drinking plenty of water (a gallon a day) helps to protect your kidneys as well.
First you need to find out how many calories you are eating now. Then increase the amount. A common increase is 500 calories. Do it for a week. If you gain 1-2 pounds, your good. Any more and you're just building fat storage. Like the person said above, eat calorie dense foods. If you're not allergic to nuts, peanut butter is one of the best. It may sound strange, but lift weights as well. Build that leg endurance for the long distance runs.

Micah

auddii

Protein shakes aren't taken to gain weight, they are used to help people reach adequate protein levels. Make sure you hit your protein goal (this may be lower than typically recommended on these boards due to your kidney problems, but discuss an appropriate goal with your doctor), and fill in extra calories with fat and carbs.

Calories are king when it comes to gaining weight. Make sure you are eating in a surplus; this will be harder because you are running cross country.

chalk_and_chaturangas

Eat at LEAST 3000-4000 calories (especially for a male) with a macro breakdown on 30% protein, 30% carbs, and 40% fat. Get your fat from animal sources and good fats, like coconut oil, eggs, and avocados.

Wheelhouse15

You have a medical issue then? If you are on a restricted protein diet due to kidney disease or damage I would highly recommend that you discuss with a RD since your macros will need to be tightly controlled. The only way to really gain muscle weight is to have adequite protein intake to put you in a positive nitrogen balance but if you are restricted this might be an issue.

An RD can give you a medically appropriate diet and is the only person licensed, let alone qualified, to really do this.

Good luck to you.

stormintormenta

Wheelhouse15 wrote: »

You have a medical issue then? If you are on a restricted protein diet due to kidney disease or damage I would highly recommend that you discuss with a RD since your macros will need to be tightly controlled. The only way to really gain muscle weight is to have adequite protein intake to put you in a positive nitrogen balance but if you are restricted this might be an issue.

An RD can give you a medically appropriate diet and is the only person licensed, let alone qualified, to really do this.

Good luck to you.

What I have is a horseshoe kidney. I don't have a disease but am more likely to get one than other people who don't have horseshoe kidney. Basically, my two kidneys are fused together, so if one gets damaged, the other one gets damaged as well. So I have one huge super kidney I guess!

ndj1979

stormintormenta wrote: »

Wheelhouse15 wrote: »

You have a medical issue then? If you are on a restricted protein diet due to kidney disease or damage I would highly recommend that you discuss with a RD since your macros will need to be tightly controlled. The only way to really gain muscle weight is to have adequite protein intake to put you in a positive nitrogen balance but if you are restricted this might be an issue.

An RD can give you a medically appropriate diet and is the only person licensed, let alone qualified, to really do this.

Good luck to you.

What I have is a horseshoe kidney. I don't have a disease but am more likely to get one than other people who don't have horseshoe kidney. Basically, my two kidneys are fused together, so if one gets damaged, the other one gets damaged as well. So I have one huge super kidney I guess!

definitely talk to your doctor before thinking about a higher protein diet..just to be on the safe side...

coralraelamb

You should talk to a dietician, but as long as you don't eat massive amounts of protein you should be good with a normal amount. You need to calculate your average daily caloric burn, make sure you are eating more than that. Also do strength training and eat, eat, eat. I would not follow the advice of the 40% fats, unless you want to gain fat. I'd stick to no more than 30% fats and the rest-probably 30% protein, 40% carbs. Do console a professional about your protein intake though. Again it may be fine to get more as long as it isn't extreme.

Papatoad194

coralraelamb wrote: »

You should talk to a dietician, but as long as you don't eat massive amounts of protein you should be good with a normal amount. You need to calculate your average daily caloric burn, make sure you are eating more than that. Also do strength training and eat, eat, eat. I would not follow the advice of the 40% fats, unless you want to gain fat. I'd stick to no more than 30% fats and the rest-probably 30% protein, 40% carbs. Do console a professional about your protein intake though. Again it may be fine to get more as long as it isn't extreme.

You're my hero

Brolympus

stormintormenta wrote: »

Wheelhouse15 wrote: »

You have a medical issue then? If you are on a restricted protein diet due to kidney disease or damage I would highly recommend that you discuss with a RD since your macros will need to be tightly controlled. The only way to really gain muscle weight is to have adequite protein intake to put you in a positive nitrogen balance but if you are restricted this might be an issue.

An RD can give you a medically appropriate diet and is the only person licensed, let alone qualified, to really do this.

Good luck to you.

What I have is a horseshoe kidney. I don't have a disease but am more likely to get one than other people who don't have horseshoe kidney. Basically, my two kidneys are fused together, so if one gets damaged, the other one gets damaged as well. So I have one huge super kidney I guess!

Yeah, I agree. Talk to a doctor first if a high protein diet might cause kidney issues.

In the meantime, you don't need protein powder to get bigger. In fact, I would start out just hitting your macros with normal food.

I used to be a distance runner like you all through high school and college. Did lots of competitive meets, several marathons. It really isn't going to be possible to put on muscle with that type of exercise, at least not the type of muscle fiber that has high-volume & high-strength properties. Adding weight lifting to the miles you already put in is just going to be more over-training and will not help. You muscles need recovery time to grow.

*Some advice from a former distance runner to a current one: Switch to a different sport now, while your joints are still in a recoverable state. I'm 25 with the joints of a 40 year old. Premature cartilage damage in the right knee. Chronic tendonitis in the left. Distance running is not good on the body. Couple of studies linking long term distance runners and couch potatoes as having roughly the same lifespan. It is not worth it dude. Start lifting, take up swimming or something, switch to shorter races like 800's or sprints if you really want to keep running. Just anything besides the mega-distance runs you train for in cross.