Any advice welcome!

bittybootrout

Hi! I've always been pretty active and very thin but I'm wanting to gain some healthy weight and strength. I do regular weight training, yoga, and dance.
Age: 19
Weight: 107
Height: 5'6"

I've always struggled with my weight seeing as I get full very quickly. I'm trying to use very high calorie healthy foods (like nuts and quinoa) to get my intake up but I think I need to start drinking protein shakes again. If anyone has any advice for how to gain more effectively, please feel free to chime in!

psuLemon

This thread has a list of high calorie foods that can aid in increasing calories.

This thread will give you plenty of choices of good lifting programs. You want to follow a structured progressive lifting program to maximize your muscle growth.

HamsterManV2

Hi there,

I wrote this for someone else, but I think you will benefit from this:

HamsterManV2 wrote: »

Calculate your TDEE - this is how many calories to eat to MAINTAIN weight. Scientifically, 3500 calories = 1lb. So if we divide 3500 calories by 7 days of the week, you need to eat TDEE plus 500 calories to gain 1lb per week.

So that means you need to log and measure EVERYTHING you put in your mouth, and eat TDEE + 500 calories. I assume you are lifting during this time, as the caloric surplus will greatly aid in strength and muscle growth. I would not recommend going any more than that, as you can only build a certain amount of muscle and any excess will turn into fat.

i.e. I am a 27/male/5'7", gymming 4 days a week. I put in my stats and my TDEE comes out to 2300 calories. To bulk, I have to eat 2800 calories DAILY for +1lb per week. If I wanted to gain 10 lbs, that's roughly 3 months of bulking. If I wanted to lose weight, I'd cut and eat 1800 calories daily for -1lb per week.

If +500 over your TDEE is too much, do +250 instead for +0.5lbs per week, or +2lbs per month. This is usually the case for ~100lbs individuals, where +500 calories is very difficult.

Remember, consistency over intensity. Skinny people overestimate how much they eat (and overweight people underestimate). The scale and food tracking keeps us all honest. It's not how much you eat in 1 meal or 1 weekend, but what you do day-in-day-out.