Trying to gain weight(female)

annabencomo9

So here it is, I'm a female who is trying to gain weight. I'm 116 @ 5'6". I eat everything but no matter what I try I can't keep the weight on. I am extremely active and on my feet, moving all day. I can't drink those weight gainer cuz they make me sick. I've increased my calorie intake and still not working. I'll gain a little then within a month it's gone again. I do yoga, strength training, and a variety of 30 day boot camps. The only time I weighted more than 135 is when I was pregnant and even then by the third month after giving birth I was back to my regular size. How do I keep the weight on????

diamondfit1

maybe try to focus on building more muscle. Weight lifting could probably help

erickirb

I would say drop the boot camps and do more strenght training. When trying to gain weight any form of cardio burns cals you need to gain, meaning if you do cardio you even have to eat more.

Have you changed your goal on MFP to gain 0.5lbs/week? Is so, you also need to eat back the cals burned from exercise. If you are doing the TDEE method, I suggest eating at TDEE+10%, if you don't gain then up it to +15%

TavistockToad

how many calories do you net per day?

kittyhasclaws

Are you actually counting your calories? On here, you are given the option for gaining weight, and you'll get a pretty good idea of how much you really SHOULD be eating. Definitely get rid of any low-fat crap, if you're eating it. And I would say cut down cardio (your boot camps) and do more lifting instead. Eating at a surplus and lifting will help you gain some muscle mass, which is the best kind of weight to put on.

JoRocka

eat moar things. ALL the things.

Moar meat- more veggies- moar fat. moar moar moar.
cut down on all the boot camps and start lifting- for realz.

I sautee all my veggies in bacon grease.. it's delicious.avacado- protein + ice cream or protein + greek yogurt. peanut butter (and a banana) avacado- all delicious things.

lizziecheek

How do you feel at that weight? Your BMI is 18.7, the low end of healthy, but still in healthy range per Mayo Clinic calculator. If you feel good at this weight, having your periods then this should be a good weight for you. If you don't feel good and not having periods regularly then try adding more calories. How many calories are you eating per day? One way to not add a lot more food which may be difficult to consume is to add things such as olive oil, nuts, etc. calorie rich but also nutrient rich foods. You don't need to eat a large quantity to eat 100-200 calories. Olive oil can be added to vegetables, soups, sauces, roasted vegetables etc. Handful of nuts several times per day would add around 400 calories, can add them to yogurt, cereal, salads etc. If you added 600 calories extra to diet/day should be able to gain about 3-5 pounds in a month, depending of course on your workouts and total food consumption. Eat often. This won't feel like a lot of extra food and has health benefits. Check out WebMD Healthy Ways to Gain weight. WebMD has accurate reliable information. http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/how-to-gain-weight. If unable to gain weight with added food/calories, may need to slow down on cardio/resistance training which both burn calories. Since this is a life long struggle may be worth your while to see a registered dietitian. Insurance usually won't pay for it but may only need 1-2 visits to receive assistance you need. Keep us posted on how your are doing. Liz

norcal_yogi

calories on average per day...? and prob drop some of the cardio -- boot camps. see what happens.

Sarauk2sf

Drop the boot camps

Trilby16

maybe try to focus on building more muscle. Weight lifting could probably help

Elsewhere, everyone says weight lift to lose weight. Next thing, you're going to tell this person to eat more. Which we all know is the KEY to losing weight.

cpattyson63

A lot of us who are overweight got here from poor food choices or skipping meals or slow thyroid etc. Have you had your thyroid checked? My grandma was like 85 lb and just couldn't gain weight. She ate all the time and still didn't gain. When we eat 3 small meals a day and 2 healthy snacks etc. we lose. So possibly eat calorie packed meals 3x a day and when you eat snacks do the nuts or other nutritious calorie packed snacks. Include bananas in your diet and any fruits with more calories like pears instead of an apple lets say. Hope that helps.

Oishii

How do you feel at that weight? Your BMI is 18.7, the low end of healthy, but still in healthy range per Mayo Clinic calculator. If you feel good at this weight, having your periods then this should be a good weight for you. If you don't feel good and not having periods regularly then try adding more calories. How many calories are you eating per day? One way to not add a lot more food which may be difficult to consume is to add things such as olive oil, nuts, etc. calorie rich but also nutrient rich foods. You don't need to eat a large quantity to eat 100-200 calories. Olive oil can be added to vegetables, soups, sauces, roasted vegetables etc. Handful of nuts several times per day would add around 400 calories, can add them to yogurt, cereal, salads etc. If you added 600 calories extra to diet/day should be able to gain about 3-5 pounds in a month, depending of course on your workouts and total food consumption. Eat often. This won't feel like a lot of extra food and has health benefits. Check out WebMD Healthy Ways to Gain weight. WebMD has accurate reliable information. http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/how-to-gain-weight. If unable to gain weight with added food/calories, may need to slow down on cardio/resistance training which both burn calories. Since this is a life long struggle may be worth your while to see a registered dietitian. Insurance usually won't pay for it but may only need 1-2 visits to receive assistance you need. Keep us posted on how your are doing. Liz

OP, I would like to know the answer to the above questions too. Is it a healthy weight FOR YOU, and what indicators have there been that it isn't?

BeachIron

maybe try to focus on building more muscle. Weight lifting could probably help

Elsewhere, everyone says weight lift to lose weight. Next thing, you're going to tell this person to eat more. Which we all know is the KEY to losing weight.

Some of the messages are not very clear but weight lifting is a good answer either way. One weight lifts to either (1) preserve muscle mass in a deficit (or recomp at maintenance which takes longer), or (2) gain muscle in a calorie surplus. If the OP is trying to gain weight and look good, then presumably she is attempting to gain muscle and not fat.

OP - Do not be afraid of calorie dense foods with a good amount of protein and fat, such as whole milk, pork, steak, and eggs.

Achrya

maybe try to focus on building more muscle. Weight lifting could probably help

Elsewhere, everyone says weight lift to lose weight. Next thing, you're going to tell this person to eat more. Which we all know is the KEY to losing weight.

Because working out/lifting weights is only to lose weight, not for body composition or anything. All things in life have only one purpose! Like water, which is clearly strictly for cleaning and thus not for drinking.

...

BarackMeLikeAHurricane

If you're trying to gain weight but you have a small appetite you need to cut out low calorie stuff or find a way to add calories to low calorie stuff. Like if you want to eat broccoli, smother it with cheese. If you want to eat salad, drown it in ranch and put tons of cheese, nuts, dried fruit, etc. on it.

For high calorie stuff, try to use lots of cooking oils like coconut oil, olive oil, etc. and eat lots of peanut butter. Carbs are also good because they aren't very filling. Try calorie dense protein bars. Muscle brownies are very good. I used to eat them when I was doing >4 hours of cardio a day. It's like 400 calories in two small bites. Sandwich two of them together with peanut butter in the middle. My boyfriend is a seriously hard gainer so I used to bake him a cake at least once a week or whenever he finishes his current cake. That's another easy way to get calories in. You could also do smoothies. Blend some high calorie fruits like banana and mango and dump some flax seeds, peanut butter, ice cream or another fat source in there. You could even add a protein shake or a bottle of ensure to it.

Hope that helps

BusyRaeNOTBusty

Eat more. I ate 3000 calories a day to gain. Full fat dairy was very helpful (unless you are vegan). And yeah you may have to drop the boot camps.

volume77

I wish I had your problem lol

annabencomo9

The weight is fine but I want to be thicker...I eat about 2000 calories a day

TavistockToad

The weight is fine but I want to be thicker...I eat about 2000 calories a day

I eat the same to maintain, and eating more really wouldn't be a problem!

You need 2 things, a jar of peanut butter & a spoon!

annabencomo9

Ok. Peanut butter and a spoon...

neandermagnon

maybe try to focus on building more muscle. Weight lifting could probably help

Elsewhere, everyone says weight lift to lose weight. Next thing, you're going to tell this person to eat more. Which we all know is the KEY to losing weight.

weight training + eating at a deficit = fat loss while preserving lean body mass

weight training + eating at a surplus = gaining muscle mass, and depending on the amount of surplus, maybe some fat as well


eating at a deficit without weight training = risk that you'll lose muscle along with the fat

eating at a surplus without weight training = you'll gain all the weight as fat

----

the "eat more" advice to people who want to lose weight is aimed at those who are eating way too little, as too big a calorie deficit causes all kinds of difficulties that make maintaining the weight lost in the long term difficult. You still have to eat less than you burn off though, just not too much less.