Gaining Weight Females Group

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  • jlawrie12345
    jlawrie12345 Posts: 1 Member
    So... help needed. 5’8 8stone no chance of putting on muscle because any exercise I do immediately makes me loose weight. Can’t seem to get enough calories/protein in a day. Desperately need to gain weight and then will think about bulking in muscle. Meal suggestions? Says on here to gain 1lb per week I should be eating 2600 c a day 😱 struggle to do 1500! No appetite. (Had all tests aswell, thyroid fine etc just don’t eat enough!)
  • Teabythesea_
    Teabythesea_ Posts: 559 Member
    So... help needed. 5’8 8stone no chance of putting on muscle because any exercise I do immediately makes me loose weight. Can’t seem to get enough calories/protein in a day. Desperately need to gain weight and then will think about bulking in muscle. Meal suggestions? Says on here to gain 1lb per week I should be eating 2600 c a day 😱 struggle to do 1500! No appetite. (Had all tests aswell, thyroid fine etc just don’t eat enough!)

    Exercise won’t make you lose weight as long as you’re eating in a surplus and eating back exercise calories. Weight lifting really doesn’t burn that many calories either, at least not enough to make you lose weight doing a few hours a week without also eating in a deficit.

    If you gain weight while doing no resistance training and then focus on building muscle, you’re most likely not going to be happy with the outcome as your gains will be fat and you will have no control over where it goes.

    I would not aim for 1 lb a week. I would aim for about .5lb while following a training program to keep fat gains minimal.

    You’ve identified the issue here, you don’t eat enough. Focus on calorie dense foods such as nuts, but butters, full fat dairy, fattier cuts of meat, avocados, etc. and maybe even some liquid calories in the form of protein shakes if necessary.
  • Allsmiles358
    Allsmiles358 Posts: 11 Member
    So... help needed. 5’8 8stone no chance of putting on muscle because any exercise I do immediately makes me loose weight. Can’t seem to get enough calories/protein in a day. Desperately need to gain weight and then will think about bulking in muscle. Meal suggestions? Says on here to gain 1lb per week I should be eating 2600 c a day 😱 struggle to do 1500! No appetite. (Had all tests aswell, thyroid fine etc just don’t eat enough!)

    I would say to gradually increase your caloric intake. Gaining 1lb might be too much for you since you are struggling with a low appetite. Try to set your goal for 0.5 lb/week for weight gain and if you are consistent with the calories it says to eat you will gain. This means in one month you will put on 2 lb. For example, if you are trying to put on 10 lb, you would reach your goal in 5 months! Take a rest from exercising since you are having trouble eating and once you go a week with consistently eating calories to achieve a 0.5 lb of weight then start easing yourself back into the exercises. I have some more tips for some ways to get in your calories if you need them just let me know if you want them.
  • alexmose
    alexmose Posts: 792 Member
    I’m sure some of you suffer the same problem but how do you get past ‘gaining’ when job were previously ‘fat’ (or thought you were)? I know this is a mental block but I could use some motivation when I see the numbers jumping up. I’m also dreading the cut 😭
  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
    alexmose wrote: »
    I’m sure some of you suffer the same problem but how do you get past ‘gaining’ when job were previously ‘fat’ (or thought you were)? I know this is a mental block but I could use some motivation when I see the numbers jumping up. I’m also dreading the cut 😭

    This sticky with links might be helpful
    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1069962/the-former-fat-boy-girl-syndrome/p1
  • strongbraid
    strongbraid Posts: 2 Member
    So... help needed. 5’8 8stone no chance of putting on muscle because any exercise I do immediately makes me loose weight. Can’t seem to get enough calories/protein in a day. Desperately need to gain weight and then will think about bulking in muscle. Meal suggestions? Says on here to gain 1lb per week I should be eating 2600 c a day 😱 struggle to do 1500! No appetite. (Had all tests aswell, thyroid fine etc just don’t eat enough!)


    Did you see my earlier post? I'll paste it below and hope this helps you :)

    Here are some meal suggestions that have helped me be consistent with eating enough. I've tried planning a ton of meals a day but it gets hard to fit in all those meals on days when I'm really busy. So I've gotten my meal plan down to only 2 meals per day that are 1500 calorie each. These are well balanced, nutrient dense and calorically dense.

    Meal 1: 1500 total cal
    a 1200 calorie smoothie with 3 bananas, 1 c blueberries, 2 tbsp almond butter, 2 tbsp hemp seeds, 2 tbsp chia seeds, 1 scoop vivolife protein, 4 tbsp coconut cream, 1/2 c almond milk, 5 oz greens
    +
    300 calories of oatmeal: (I boiled 1/2 cup of steel cut oats and they expanded to about a cup and a half.)

    (This meal takes me all morning to consume and I can just conveniently sip on the smoothie throughout my morning)

    Meal 2: (1500 total cal)
    A Salmon fillet, 1 sweet potato (sauteed or baked), 1.5 cups of cooked lentils, 1 cup of cooked quinoa, 2 tbsp olive oil, spices, 4 tbsp hummus, 1 avocado

    Meal 3: if I have time or feel hungry later, I'll eat something very light in the evening
    salad or bowl of veggies ~ 100-200 cal


    I have been eating this way for about 5 days and am already 3 lbs heavier :) !!


    Start weight lifting or doing strength exercises so you can build muscle at the same time which will contribute to your weight gain. Avoid cardio for now and just strength train. If you don't do any strength training or exercises, you'll just gain mostly body fat and it won't be as much weight either since fat weighs less than muscle. My lifting routine just consists of compound movements - mostly supersets - 6 days per week alternating push/pull and hip/quad exercises.
  • Teabythesea_
    Teabythesea_ Posts: 559 Member
    So... help needed. 5’8 8stone no chance of putting on muscle because any exercise I do immediately makes me loose weight. Can’t seem to get enough calories/protein in a day. Desperately need to gain weight and then will think about bulking in muscle. Meal suggestions? Says on here to gain 1lb per week I should be eating 2600 c a day 😱 struggle to do 1500! No appetite. (Had all tests aswell, thyroid fine etc just don’t eat enough!)


    Did you see my earlier post? I'll paste it below and hope this helps you :)

    Here are some meal suggestions that have helped me be consistent with eating enough. I've tried planning a ton of meals a day but it gets hard to fit in all those meals on days when I'm really busy. So I've gotten my meal plan down to only 2 meals per day that are 1500 calorie each. These are well balanced, nutrient dense and calorically dense.

    Meal 1: 1500 total cal
    a 1200 calorie smoothie with 3 bananas, 1 c blueberries, 2 tbsp almond butter, 2 tbsp hemp seeds, 2 tbsp chia seeds, 1 scoop vivolife protein, 4 tbsp coconut cream, 1/2 c almond milk, 5 oz greens
    +
    300 calories of oatmeal: (I boiled 1/2 cup of steel cut oats and they expanded to about a cup and a half.)

    (This meal takes me all morning to consume and I can just conveniently sip on the smoothie throughout my morning)

    Meal 2: (1500 total cal)
    A Salmon fillet, 1 sweet potato (sauteed or baked), 1.5 cups of cooked lentils, 1 cup of cooked quinoa, 2 tbsp olive oil, spices, 4 tbsp hummus, 1 avocado

    Meal 3: if I have time or feel hungry later, I'll eat something very light in the evening
    salad or bowl of veggies ~ 100-200 cal


    I have been eating this way for about 5 days and am already 3 lbs heavier :) !!


    Start weight lifting or doing strength exercises so you can build muscle at the same time which will contribute to your weight gain. Avoid cardio for now and just strength train. If you don't do any strength training or exercises, you'll just gain mostly body fat and it won't be as much weight either since fat weighs less than muscle. My lifting routine just consists of compound movements - mostly supersets - 6 days per week alternating push/pull and hip/quad exercises.

    While these are good ways to get in some extra calories pretty effortlessly, keep in mind that if you want to keep fat gains at a minimum when strength training you shouldn't aim for any more than .25-.5lb of weight gain a week (optimally these gains will be about half muscle and fat). It's also important to remember that the average beginner women can gain about 1-2 lbs of muscle a month if training and eating appropriately and intermediate women's gains are reduced to about .5-1lb a month or less. Additionally you should be following a structured lifting program which most often has you training 3-4 days a week. Remember rest is important and overtraining doesn't mean that you'll gain more muscle, in fact it can hurt your gains.
  • mochipat
    mochipat Posts: 1 Member
    I just wanted to say hello, and tell you I am on this boat. I have never had much of a weight problem. But after trying to treat Candida, I lost about 25lbs... So, I am trying to reach my calories eating healthy, it's not easy, and at the same time trying to include strength training into my schedule. I am 49. My height is 5.2 (I think) and weight is 92.2
  • AthenaBosi
    AthenaBosi Posts: 27 Member
    edited January 2019
    So... help needed. 5’8 8stone no chance of putting on muscle because any exercise I do immediately makes me loose weight. Can’t seem to get enough calories/protein in a day. Desperately need to gain weight and then will think about bulking in muscle. Meal suggestions? Says on here to gain 1lb per week I should be eating 2600 c a day 😱 struggle to do 1500! No appetite. (Had all tests aswell, thyroid fine etc just don’t eat enough!)

    @jlawrie12345

    I was where you were at 6 months ago and still going. It's definitely hard but possible! Things I've learned from here that I feel worked:

    1. Start early!! Get a snack in or something right when you get up.
    2. Don't wait till your stomach tells you to eat. Set times.
    3. You can go the 5-6 smaller meals route
    4. Something that's recently helped me is to set a goal each time you eat. I try to eat about 400-500 calories every 2-3 hours. If I focus on those small goals through out the day instead of the entire picture (day) it's not as overwhelming.
    5. I would suggest since you're only able to eat 1500 right now, gradually increase it up to 2600. Or even only do .5 lb gain which I believe would be 2350. So maybe the first week do 1500/day, following week do 1750/day, next 2000/day, etc. Or whatever your speed for stretching out that stomach. Jumping to 2350 right away is tough, so no shame!


    If you wanna work out to at least get your blood going you can do something as little as those 30 day challenges (squats, push ups, sit ups), like the one going right now on mfp. Or find some 10 min videos on YouTube. It won't burn too many calories and you'll feel like you're at least doing something. For me I know I gotta work out to keep up my appetite but do remember you gotta eat back the burned calories! Just an idea if you wanna work out.

    A few high calorie snack ideas:
    Protein bars
    1/4 cup of almonds, (any nut is fine really)
    Apples and peanut butter
    Anything with peanut butter
    Whole / multi grain bread dipped in olive oil
    Olive oil is a great cooking add on.
    Dried fruit (no added sugar cuz I'm a health freak lol)
    Jerky...

    Snacking while you work is nice too cuz you're not so focused on what you're eating.

    Anyways, I hope that helped!! It's definitely a journey so don't be too hard on yourself. Feel free to add me if you want a friend in the same boat. Good luck!!

  • JulsBra
    JulsBra Posts: 7 Member
    Hey, I‘ve successfully gained the weight I needed to gain and am now struggling with maintaining it, would like to join the group :)
  • preciousleks
    preciousleks Posts: 213 Member
    JulsBra wrote: »
    Hey, I‘ve successfully gained the weight I needed to gain and am now struggling with maintaining it, would like to join the group :)

    You are welcome to the group. I still need to gain. At least you are satisfied with your weight. Hope to be there soon.
  • JulsBra
    JulsBra Posts: 7 Member
    well, satisfied with my weight is kind of exaggerated, i had to gain it against my will, so that’s why it’s hard for me to maintain it now, but i don’t want to lose all of my progress, so i’m at least trying to do it 🙈
    and i theoretically know, that it would be healthy for me to gain even more, so i‘m seriously considering that now, but i don‘t really know if i‘m ready for that yet

    and you will make progress too, at least you WANT to gain the weight, that are good conditions to start your journey and i‘m sure you‘ll make it 👍🏻💪🏻
  • preciousleks
    preciousleks Posts: 213 Member
    edited January 2019
    JulsBra wrote: »
    well, satisfied with my weight is kind of exaggerated, i had to gain it against my will, so that’s why it’s hard for me to maintain it now, but i don’t want to lose all of my progress, so i’m at least trying to do it 🙈
    and i theoretically know, that it would be healthy for me to gain even more, so i‘m seriously considering that now, but i don‘t really know if i‘m ready for that yet

    and you will make progress too, at least you WANT to gain the weight, that are good conditions to start your journey and i‘m sure you‘ll make it 👍🏻💪🏻

    I have already gained 3.5kgs in the last 4months and I currently weight 65.5kgs which is good considering that I was 54ks in 2015. My current goal is 68kgs and am 5'8 tall. Hope to reach there before this year ends. I have been inconsistent in December and this January because of sickness but I will be back to my best soon. Good luck
  • JulsBra
    JulsBra Posts: 7 Member
    wow, you already made lots of progress, so be proud of that while working on the next few steps 👍🏻😊
  • grimanis93
    grimanis93 Posts: 1 Member
    Hey everyone, I’m new to this app. I am a female that is 25 years old and I struggle with gaining weight. I fluctuate from 130 to 135. My goal weight is 140. I also struggle with eating a lot of calories , but I’m doing my best. My question is can I still go to the gym and lift weights. I would lift higher weights at a lower rep. I just don’t want to lose the weight that I have gained but idk how else to gain more weight . Any suggestions anyone ??
  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
    edited January 2019
    grimanis93 wrote: »
    Hey everyone, I’m new to this app. I am a female that is 25 years old and I struggle with gaining weight. I fluctuate from 130 to 135. My goal weight is 140. I also struggle with eating a lot of calories , but I’m doing my best. My question is can I still go to the gym and lift weights. I would lift higher weights at a lower rep. I just don’t want to lose the weight that I have gained but idk how else to gain more weight . Any suggestions anyone ??

    Lifting is a great idea while you gain so some of the weight you gain will be muscle and your body composition and health will be better as a result. Rather than focus on reps, I highly recommend you focus on an established program focused on your goals.

    Lifting typically doesn't burn an insane amount of calories so you should be able to keep up with the intake. Liquid calories like juice, milk, smoothies can help.
  • preciousleks
    preciousleks Posts: 213 Member
    JulsBra wrote: »
    wow, you already made lots of progress, so be proud of that while working on the next few steps 👍🏻😊

    Thanks
  • missmince
    missmince Posts: 76 Member
    Grr I lost 2 lbs so now 103 at 5'8. I am eating and get 1650 calories through my Jejunostomy (j) tube every day so no idea what's going on.
    Grr I lost 2 lbs so now 103 at 5'8. I am eating and get 1650 calories through my Jejunostomy (j) tube every day so no idea what's going on.

    Are you in the hospital at this point? I'm surprised you're not getting IV nutrients, not only a tube, but of course I don't know your medical issue. It sounds miserable.

    I don't even know what's wrong with me, but I'm still losing and am afraid I won't get a diagnosis. I'm hoping to get an abdominal scan soon, and have an appointment with a gastroenterologist in a month. My hopes aren't high. I've had pain, nausea and bloating for over 20 years, and all I ended up with was powerful antinausea pills to take almost daily. Pain doesn't count to doctors, only the most obvious symptoms. Now that the problem (Crohn's?) has continued up to the stomach or higher, and I've been unable to eat much for almost two months, something will have to be done.

    Meanwhile, most of my hard earned muscle and aerobic capacity have gone, and will be very hard to get back (48 year old female, formerly quite fit). I've gone from a healthy 129 lbs before Thanksgiving to 110 and still losing (at 5'4"). I'm only able to do some upper body work, at pathetic weights, my lower back exercises, and some walking to maintain a bit of health. I'm able to get a bit of protein powder in applesauce, and can eat a hard boiled egg and protein/banana/soy milk smoothie at times. I've tried hard, but 30 grams protein and under 800 calories is typical. This is SO discouraging (plus winter in Maine is rough). My sister has Crohn's and is really skinny. I just want this to stop, and go back to fighting inner thigh fat through leg definition and getting strong, toned shoulders. (I have a thing for well defined shoulders.)

    I feel bad whining when others are worse, but I really sympathize, and Mfp doesn't have a lot for those needing to gain for health. Groups about it never seem active.