Mental challenges of gaining

ophelia200

Hi everyone,

Just wondering if anyone has any tips regarding the mental challenges of gaining. I gained a significant amount of weight in a period of 3 months and then immediately lost it all, and then some. I am now at a point where I am underweight but have a mental fear of gaining or eating over my calorie allowance even slightly - it feels wrong and as though I will slip back into my old habits and end up exactly where I started! Have managed to maintain this weight for around a year now but I am aware that it is probably unhealthy and best to gain a few pounds.

Thanks a lot

Danieltenor

This is a very real thing; after losing weight, the idea of putting it back on is scary and counter-intuitive. What I would suggest is this: start on a strength-building routine (Starting Strength and Stronglifts 5x5 are both quality ones) and don't count calories; eat according to hunger. Eat a varied and generically "healthy" diet (although you should eat more meat than most people would believe). Once your strength is up to par (it takes a while, but shoot for a squat of 1.5X body weight), then you can worry about getting rid of any fat you might have put on.

What you'll be doing at that point will be different than 95% of diets out there; you'll be on what's called a "cut". This website has the best information I've ever seen on the subject: http://rippedbody.jp/

Best of luck!

AliceDark

I'm in the same boat and am still trying to figure it out. The biggest thing that's helping me is to remember that I know how to lose, so I can always take the weight off if I don't like it. I'm trying to remind myself that my body doesn't defy the laws of physics and I won't gain 50 pounds instantly when I start eating more.

I'm also trying to focus on things like strength and muscle instead of just the number on the scale. My BF is sick of me flexing and going "check it out -- new muscles!", but any positive results are worth celebrating, since seeing the number on the scale go up and being happy about it is still a head trip.

HarolDean

A lot of people have this fear. The only way to beat it is to put a plan in place.

The first thing you want to do is get on a strength program. This is something you can put together yourself with a little research or I'd be happy to share my opinions on it as I'm sure many others will as well. Don't be afraid to lift heavy b/c women simply do not naturally have enough testosterone to get bulky, it actually takes most guys a while to get bulky and our testosterone levels are 15-20 times higher.

On your diet you want to continue to eat as healthy as possible. Make sure you're getting enough protein 1.2g per lb of body weight.

This approach requires a lot of patience but I find it the best approach for those who are afraid to gain weight just b/c you don't really see yourself gaining fat.

Anyway it's easier to map it out in steps so here you go.

Step 1 Start at maintenance for the first week. One of three things will happen
- You will lose weight, in which case you should up your dci by 100
- You will remain the same weight and this means you have found your maintenance and should stay here another week.
- You will gain weight and this means you should drop your dci by 100
If you do anything other than maintain the same weight here you want to continue either dropping or adding calories until you've had 2 steady weeks at the same weight.

Step 2 Once you've maintained your weight for 2 weeks you can start upping your dci by 50-100. To start or until you know how much of an impact the extra calories make on your body I'd go 50 cals to your dci per week. The goal is to gain about 1 lb every 4 weeks.

Step 3 If you've gotten to the end of the 1st 4 weeks and you've gained a lb then you should maintain your current dci for the next 4 weeks. One of 3 things will happen
- You'll start to lose weight which means you want to start adding calories again immediately, don't weight for the end of the 4 week cycle.
- You'll maintain the same wait over the next 4 weeks and this is fine you just want to start adding calories again over the next 4 weeks.
- You'll gain another lb and you should stick with the current dci until you go a 4 week cycle without gaining weight.

The reason for the continued process of step 3 is because sometimes a persons metabolism is boosted or set back on track and the other thing is that you will be gaining lean muscle that will burn more calories.

Step 4 is the last step and this is once you get to your desired weight or if you've gained more fat then want to, you shouldn't gain much fat at all. You want to cut back your calories at the same rate that you added them until your maintaining weight or losing weight if that is what you desire.


*- I like the "weigh yourself daily then average it out at the end of the week method" just b/c of how much the body tends to fluctuate at times.
*- dci means daily caloric intake

Sorry for the typos I'm sure I made. If you decide to go another way just make sure you take an organized approach into gaining weight, it's always less scary when you know what is going on.