Gaining HEALTHY weight

22sylvester22

So I understand that you have to eat more to gain weight. It can be quite difficult though considering after eating so light for so long, your stomach tends to shrink. Does anyone have any advice on how to gain healthy weight over time while building muscle without feeling so stuffed that you feel like you're going to puke?

worldofalice

Nutritious, calories-dense food (and un-nutritious calorie dense foods if you like, but I personally find the former make me feel better in my body and are better for my energy levels etc). I eat lots of things like avocado, nuts & nut butters, add oils to my cooking (I like coconut oil) dates, etc. Switching to full-fat dairy is easy calories. Adding flaxseed/chia seeds etc to your porridge or yoghurt or whatever is also a good way of slipping in calories. Slowly train your stomach to hold more food by gradually increasing your portion sizes - an extra slice of toast here, an extra bit of pasta there - and you shouldn't feel too stuffed! Good luck

ndj1979

there is no such thing as healthy weight …weight = weight ..

eat nutrient dense foods like chicken, fish, vegetables, etc, and then fill in the rest of your day with calorie dense foods that you like, like pizza, ice cream, etc.

Just make sure that you hit your micro and macronutrient needs.

AsISmile

I've had issues eating enough calories in the past because I just couldn't eat more without feeling sick. This is what I've learned

AsISmile wrote: »

My list of tips:
1) eat calorie dense food (see sticky in nutrition section)
2) drink your calories (proteine shake, milk, soda, doesn't matter)
3) full fat everything. (So full fat milk, real butter, full yoghurt. Fills about the same for extra calories)
4) eat at regular times, your body will now come to expect it, creating the hunger feeling. Increasing portion size is easier when hungry.
5) take it real slow. Your body will gently adjust with you.

Also, here on the forum one of the most repeated things is eating spoons of peanut butter. Very calorie rich.
There is nothing wrong with eating "unhealthy" foods like chips, ice cream, etc to reach those calories as long as you also get your micronutrients in.

But imo 1&2 are most important. It takes a pretty large volume of vegetables to get a large amount of calories, so go for the foods with smaller volumes that still contain plenty of calories.

ryanflebbe

ndj1979 wrote: »

there is no such thing as healthy weight …weight = weight ..

eat nutrient dense foods like chicken, fish, vegetables, etc, and then fill in the rest of your day with calorie dense foods that you like, like pizza, ice cream, etc.

Just make sure that you hit your micro and macronutrient needs.

Explain this, weight =weight? fat, muscle, bone, connective tissue, skin, all the same? Do you subscribe to the BMI unconditionally. So most NFL linebackers, running backs, tight ends, defensive ends, even some defensive backs and wide recievers are obese, or close to it? Even though they are lean and muscular for te most part? Fat isn't even fat. There are different kinds and more and less preferable locations to store it. I have to hear your reasoning for this idea.

IsaackGMOON

ryanflebbe wrote: »

ndj1979 wrote: »

there is no such thing as healthy weight …weight = weight ..

eat nutrient dense foods like chicken, fish, vegetables, etc, and then fill in the rest of your day with calorie dense foods that you like, like pizza, ice cream, etc.

Just make sure that you hit your micro and macronutrient needs.

Explain this, weight =weight? fat, muscle, bone, connective tissue, skin, all the same? Do you subscribe to the BMI unconditionally. So most NFL linebackers, running backs, tight ends, defensive ends, even some defensive backs and wide recievers are obese, or close to it? Even though they are lean and muscular for te most part? Fat isn't even fat. There are different kinds and more and less preferable locations to store it. I have to hear your reasoning for this idea.

lol wut

worldofalice

IsaackGMOON wrote: »

ryanflebbe wrote: »

ndj1979 wrote: »

there is no such thing as healthy weight …weight = weight ..

eat nutrient dense foods like chicken, fish, vegetables, etc, and then fill in the rest of your day with calorie dense foods that you like, like pizza, ice cream, etc.

Just make sure that you hit your micro and macronutrient needs.

Explain this, weight =weight? fat, muscle, bone, connective tissue, skin, all the same? Do you subscribe to the BMI unconditionally. So most NFL linebackers, running backs, tight ends, defensive ends, even some defensive backs and wide recievers are obese, or close to it? Even though they are lean and muscular for te most part? Fat isn't even fat. There are different kinds and more and less preferable locations to store it. I have to hear your reasoning for this idea.

lol wut

It's true - not all body fat is created equal. Healthy amounts of body fat are good but you want to avoid having to much visceral fat, or having loads around your stomach as the health risks are really high. I think that's what @ryanflebbe was trying to say. Quality not quantity.

ryanflebbe

worldofalice wrote: »

It's true - not all body fat is created equal. Healthy amounts of body fat are good but you want to avoid having to much visceral fat, or having loads around your stomach as the health risks are really high. I think that's what @ryanflebbe was trying to say. Quality not quantity.

Yes, this is what I was getting at. Thanks.

JoRocka

worldofalice wrote: »

IsaackGMOON wrote: »

ryanflebbe wrote: »

ndj1979 wrote: »

there is no such thing as healthy weight …weight = weight ..

eat nutrient dense foods like chicken, fish, vegetables, etc, and then fill in the rest of your day with calorie dense foods that you like, like pizza, ice cream, etc.

Just make sure that you hit your micro and macronutrient needs.

Explain this, weight =weight? fat, muscle, bone, connective tissue, skin, all the same? Do you subscribe to the BMI unconditionally. So most NFL linebackers, running backs, tight ends, defensive ends, even some defensive backs and wide recievers are obese, or close to it? Even though they are lean and muscular for te most part? Fat isn't even fat. There are different kinds and more and less preferable locations to store it. I have to hear your reasoning for this idea.

lol wut

It's true - not all body fat is created equal. Healthy amounts of body fat are good but you want to avoid having to much visceral fat, or having loads around your stomach as the health risks are really high. I think that's what @ryanflebbe was trying to say. Quality not quantity.

but that has very little to do with teh food you put in your pie hole.

Saying I want to put on healthy weight is a little like saying "lean muscle"

while getting obese is bad for you- the actual food had nothing to do with it- merely the quantity.

HOW one gets to a surplus (small or large) would dictate if it's to much- not enough weight training. But that isn't about the weight- that's about the training and planning.

ryanflebbe

Lean muscle usually refers to putting on muscle with minimal fat gain. So it's kind of a misnomer, but intramuscular fat levels do differ. Exercise and drugs are the only way I know of to change it though. While a lot of fat storage is genetic, I believe how and what you eat affects body composition and fat storage location. To what degree I don't know. I know what you eat to put on that weight can affect health. At least measurable markers for disease or disease risk. It may not alter mortality rate much if any. A lot of times it seems like improving indicators of things like cardiovascular disease, ultimately doesn't alter mortality rate, in studies. What I'm really getting at is that saying "calories are calories, they all put on weight. How much and what kind of weight isn't influenced by where they come from", macronutrient-wise, is stupid.

JoRocka

ryanflebbe wrote: »

Lean muscle usually refers to putting on muscle with minimal fat gain. So it's kind of a misnomer, but intramuscular fat levels do differ. Exercise and drugs are the only way I know of to change it though. While a lot of fat storage is genetic, I believe how and what you eat affects body composition and fat storage location. To what degree I don't know. I know what you eat to put on that weight can affect health. At least measurable markers for disease or disease risk. It may not alter mortality rate much if any. A lot of times it seems like improving indicators of things like cardiovascular disease, ultimately doesn't alter mortality rate, in studies. What I'm really getting at is that saying "calories are calories, they all put on weight. How much and what kind of weight isn't influenced by where they come from", macronutrient-wise, is stupid.

The body just isn't that picky- if you're getting a broad range of food and hitting close to a macro split that works for you it's fine. Esp for people at this level. The higher you go in terms of performance the tighter your perameters have to be- the closer the margins for error. But- I could be stage ready in a few months if I had any interest- I'm in a pretty good way physicall. And I maintain, cut and bulk just fine and quiet frankly I've never had any issues what so ever with composition fleshing out my day with ice cream and snickers.