Underweight and want more muscle

racheltomasek360

Hey everyone! This year I became really involved with fitness and cross country running, but throughout the process I have lost a lot of weight and want to gain weight and muscle in a healthy way. Right now I am 5'7.5" and I weigh 110 lbs and last year at this time I was the same height but 137 lbs. I eat a lot of food but it's mainly all healthy (I eat a ton of fruit) and I'm having a hard time finding an accurate calorie intake to achieve my goal. Does anyone have any advice/tips/info??

TavistockToad

Eat more calorie dense food, full fat dairy, nut butters, nuts, seeds, fattier cuts of meat, avocado...

racheltomasek360

Thanks for the advice I eat TONS of peanut butter but I guess I haven't tried full fat versions of dairy.

zoeysasha37

I'm 5'8/135 lbs . I eat around 2300 per day right now. To find the calories that suite you best, it may take some trial and error. Start with a small surplus and reevaluate every so often if your not gaining. I would begin a progressive strength training program while eating at a surplus, if I where you. I'd look up higher calorie foods and make a list of those that you like.take your list to the grocery store and then start a meal plan of all the high calorie foods you enjoy. Sometimes it helps if you eat several calorie dense meals per day instead of trying to cram in a bunch of calories at once.

DaddieCat

To gain weight, barring some health issues, you just need to eat more... however that looks for you. More full fat foods, things more calorically dense, whatever. To gain weight you need to be in Surplus.

To gain muscle, you need to eat adequate protein (along with the other macros in proportion) and do some kind of progressive overload program, via weights or body weight, etc. To build muscle, you need adequate protein, caloric surplus, and progressive overload in your workout routine.

ndj1979

thorsmom01 wrote: »

I'm 5'8/135 lbs . I eat around 2300 per day right now. To find the calories that suite you best, it may take some trial and error. Start with a small surplus and reevaluate every so often if your not gaining. I would begin a progressive strength training program while eating at a surplus, if I where you. I'd look up higher calorie foods and make a list of those that you like.take your list to the grocery store and then start a meal plan of all the high calorie foods you enjoy. Sometimes it helps if you eat several calorie dense meals per day instead of trying to cram in a bunch of calories at once.

BecomingBane wrote: »

To gain weight, barring some health issues, you just need to eat more... however that looks for you. More full fat foods, things more calorically dense, whatever. To gain weight you need to be in Surplus.

To gain muscle, you need to eat adequate protein (along with the other macros in proportion) and do some kind of progressive overload program, via weights or body weight, etc. To build muscle, you need adequate protein, caloric surplus, and progressive overload in your workout routine.

both of these..

I would advice looking into a good beginner lifting program like strong lifts, or all pro beginner routine.

also, make sure you are hitting macros which should be set to .6 to .85 grams of protein per pound of body weight; .45 grams of fat, and fill in rest with carbs.

oh and take beginning measurements and re-measure every two to four weeks to track progress.

racheltomasek360

Thanks for all the advice! I lift weights about 5 times a week but I still never feel that I'm gaining muscle because I somehow burn it off by not eating enough. Do you guys have any beginners weight programs that you would recommend?? I don't think I'm seeing any progress in my arms for strength, but in my legs I'm fine.

adamhendrickson92

You said it yourself, you're not gaining muscle because you burn more calories than you consume. If you want to continue doing cross country running while attempting to build substantial muscle, your calorie intake will have to be amped up. You need to eat more protein!

As far as routines, I would recommend looking for a full-body workout and sticking with it for several weeks until you can see how you are progressing.