Gaining Weight In a Healthy Way?

Striving4Health365

So, here's my issue:

Over the past 2 years I have lost a lot of weight from stress/undereating, and my Dr. is concerned and wants me to gain weight back. My goal weight is between 15-20 lbs right now. My weight has fluctuated up (closer to my goal weight) and down over the last few years. So much turmoil in my life LOL.

Due to depression I have also been EXTREMELY sedentary, spending a lot of time in bed because that's just how I personally coped with it. When I've gained weight back in the past it's not too noticeable because I'm tall (5'9" and a half-3 quarters) but it seemed like the majority of it went to my lower belly. I attribute this to being in bed a lot and not eating healthy things. Now that I have to gain again I want to do it the right way.

I'm going to see a dietician to up my calories and put together a meal plan, but besides that, what are some tips so that I can HEALTHILY gain the weight and not have too much go to my waist? I am especially concerned about Visceral Fat, just because I have been so inactive. My waist measurement right now is a 25.5-26 I believe, and even though I have to put on 15-20 lbs I don't want it to increase too much so I'm not adding "dangerous" belly fat.

I'm a 19 y/o female btw, if that helps any

Striving4Health365

Also, one more thing:

Once I'm up to my goal weight, especially since I'm a "newbie" would it be possible to put on some muscle at maintenance calories? Obviously once I reach my goal I want to maintain, so I was wondering if I could add a little bit of muscle that way...not like a body builder or anything lol. I feel like this can be done, I've seen some friends of mine put on lean muscle with seemingly no change in weight...

j6o4

Do strength training so that there is more of a chance of gaining muscle while eating more calories. If you can gain mostly muscle and minimize fat gains, your bodyfat percentage might drop.

notworthstalking

I agree with doing some strength training and basically any exercise . I suggest finding yourself something you enjoy doing. A sport, or gardening. Try lifting, you might find you enjoy that. Even walking or running is good for the mind. You are actually likely to still be growing at 19 , even as a girl. While we don't have as many of the same growth hormones guys have, it's still a great age to be working on a strong body. Also lifting, or weight bearing exercise, isn't all about getting muscly looking. That look takes a massive amount of work and a low body fat. If that's not your aim, just stay around the 25% body fat. My goal when first losing, was to get my waist lower than half my height. This is considered healthy. So for your not wanting to put on too much fat, that's a measurement to watch.

Basically though, move a bit more, have fun and enjoy life. Hopefully things will sort themselves out. Good luck

GingerLolita

Although you don't need to lose weight, I recommend looking at the Flat Belly Diet. You can certainly apply some of its principles to gain weight without adding too much belly fat. Similar to the Mediterranean diet, the key is to focus on sources of monounsaturated fats, such as nuts and nut butters, oils, avocado, and dark chocolate. These foods are all calorie-dense, which will also aid with weight gain.

I suggest eating six times a day. My boyfriend is very skinny and doesn't have a big appetite at most meal times, but he eats whenever he gets hungry and this often means small meals and snacks throughout the day.

And of course, gaining weight in a healthy way can be done pretty easily through MFP. It helps to evaluate your food diary each day to see what macro- and micro- nutrients you should be eating more or less of. You'll also be able to pick out healthy, high-calorie foods that you eat and incorporate more of them into your diet.

bcattoes

I agree some type of strength training is in order. This is what will keep your body firm as you gain. Weights, resistance bands, body weight exercises.

DrMAvDPhD

Once I'm up to my goal weight, especially since I'm a "newbie" would it be possible to put on some muscle at maintenance calories? Obviously once I reach my goal I want to maintain, so I was wondering if I could add a little bit of muscle that way...not like a body builder or anything lol.

Start lifting weights now while you gain weight, if you are LUCKY up to 50% of what you gain will be muscle. It is much easier to gain muscle while eating at a surplus than try to gain muscle and lose extra fat at the same time. There is no way that you would look "like a body builder" without using steroids so don't waste your time worrying about that.

Showcase_Brodown

I think a moderate calorie surplus and hitting the weights is exactly what you need. And it is important to note that if you are trying to build some muscle, you should be in a surplus anyway. The size will come slowly and you also would be expected to gain some fat in the process. You can do a "cut" at some point to lose some fat and then go back to gaining again.

Striving4Health365

Thank you everyone so much for the suggestions!!!!!

@notworthstalk -- How do you calculate the "waist lower than half your height"? Like is it your height in cm? I'm sorry if that's a dumb question lol!

@GingerLolita -- It's funny you recommend that book!!! I live in the NYC area and I'm actually considering working with the dietician that wrote that, she's EXCELLENT!!! Not just specialized in weight loss either, but I can bring that up to her!!!

Striving4Health365

Also, once I gain weight, if I want to add more muscle at that point, the "newbie" thing I was referring too I read on a great blog,
http://muffin-topless.com/ ...There was an article on the blog about that phenomenon, and the passage was this (when she says "exception to both of these" she is referring to bulking and cutting):

""There is an exception to both of these that I learned about from a couple very well known bodybuilders many moons ago. When you are FIRST starting out and your body has never experienced resistance training or clean eating, it is possible to drop body fat and build muscle at the same time. I bet you’re feeling pretty good right about now if you’re just getting started! Also, for very experienced competitors/models or individuals who have good coaches or know their bodies well, they can manipulate their training and nutrition to do this as well."


...Does this sound accurate??

DrMAvDPhD

Also, once I gain weight, if I want to add more muscle at that point, the "newbie" thing I was referring too I read on a great blog,

...Does this sound accurate??

This is true but I still don't understand why you would wait until you gained weight (which will be almost all fat if you do it without resistance training) to try to build muscle when you are already in the perfect position to do a "bulk cycle".

Striving4Health365

I'm not going to do that lol, I'm going to do strength/pilates and only a little bit of walking while I gain, and then if I'm still not satisfied w/ the end result, I'll worry about it then. I beat myself up every day for what I did to my body. I basically just stayed COMPLETELY sedentary and ate nothing but junk (although in tiny portions) and dropped weight. I would say a HUGE amount of that weight was muscle mass, and now I'm Skinny Fat and SO unhappy with my body :sad: ...I'm definitely going to bring in professionals for this (nutritionist, personal trainer, etc.) because I have NO idea what I'm doing and hopefully having a professional team will make the whole process go a lot more smoothly and quickly. I worry that I've screwed my body up so much and now it will take FOREVER to get it back.

Another question: Is there any possibility that since I am so new/unfit that with a completely clean diet/ resistance and pilates that I could drop a little bit of this extra fat to make me look less "Skinny Fat"?

Are there any other tips for making this go well that anyone has?

P.S. When I mentioned about gaining weight in my belly, JUST the lower belly, I read something today that it could actually be a build up of toxins in my liver. That or a Gluten Allergy. I'm going to get this checked out as well!

DopeItUp

I'm not going to do that lol, I'm going to do strength/pilates and only a little bit of walking while I gain, and then if I'm still not satisfied w/ the end result, I'll worry about it then. I beat myself up every day for what I did to my body. I basically just stayed COMPLETELY sedentary and ate nothing but junk (although in tiny portions) and dropped weight. I would say a HUGE amount of that weight was muscle mass, and now I'm Skinny Fat and SO unhappy with my body :sad: ...I'm definitely going to bring in professionals for this (nutritionist, personal trainer, etc.) because I have NO idea what I'm doing and hopefully having a professional team will make the whole process go a lot more smoothly and quickly. I worry that I've screwed my body up so much and now it will take FOREVER to get it back.

Another question: Is there any possibility that since I am so new/unfit that with a completely clean diet/ resistance and pilates that I could drop a little bit of this extra fat to make me look less "Skinny Fat"?

Are there any other tips for making this go well that anyone has?

P.S. When I mentioned about gaining weight in my belly, JUST the lower belly, I read something today that it could actually be a build up of toxins in my liver. That or a Gluten Allergy. I'm going to get this checked out as well!

Most people put on fat in their lower belly first, I wouldn't try to overthink that part of it. It's pretty much your center of mass and your body wants to efficiently carry the weight so that's where it puts it first. That's why people trying to achieve a six pack often complain about their lower abs being the hardest to expose.

Anyway, eat in a moderate surplus and do some good strength training programs. You will add some amount of muscle and some amount of fat. Just the way it is. But that's all it is. Don't worry about these ridiculous things like toxin buildups in your liver, your liver is on the right side of your body under your ribcage, not in your lower belly area. Clean eating makes no difference either. Newbie gains? Yes they are real but you'll add maybe 2lbs. It's not a huge amount. Just get in some extra calories and get your butt in the gym and work on a good training program. Evaluate results on a monthly basis. Done.