underweight BMI of 16.1:may you help me gain weight

imusteat2100poLycaloricfudz

hi, I'm a new member of MFP and saw the weight gain community. i find myself to be the same as you are and I'm glad I'm not the only person who would want to gain weight. I felt like I belong.

I'm 23 years old, 40kg (88 lbs) and my bmi is underweight for my 5'2" height. My MFP cal/day goal must be 2050cal/day to reach the ideal weight of 53.32 or 54kg (117.3lbs). So, i keep in mind to gain 13 to 15 kg to my present weight to really reach my goal or exceed.

I find it difficult to have an appetite due to some stress which can be the cause of my losing weight. I was 48 kg (105.6lbs) before and I am Afraid to be loosing more weight than 88lbs. It's not getting healthy anymore. It came to my attention that this is already bad. Moreover, People would see me as a person who "eats nothing." It felt so bad.Others would appreciate my being slim but most often I'm teased as bony. And It hurts a lot.

So, now that I took my vacation from work, I will focus on improving myself by gaining weight (bulking). I have to gain weight and look perfect before going back to work again. I have a month vacation that starts tomorrow...so i hope you may help me to gain weight. May I ask if what high caloric foods i must eat to give me the curves?

I researched and found a "3-meal and 3 snacks" meal plan but the suggested meals are not attainable bcoz of its high cost. I hope you can help me on what affordable specific high calorie foods I should eat during...

breakfast:
snacks:
lunch:
snacks:
dinner:
snacks:

or what high calorie foods that works perfectly for your weight gain diet that I can follow and adapt...hope you may help me.

your recommendations and suggestions are highly appreciated.

thank you so much.

Othelie157

hi, I'm a new member of MFP and saw the weight gain community. i find myself to be the same as you are and I'm glad I'm not the only person who would want to gain weight. I felt like I belong.

I'm 23 years old, 40kg (88 lbs) and my bmi is underweight for my 5'2" height. My MFP cal/day goal must be 2050cal/day to reach the ideal weight of 53.32 or 54kg (117.3lbs). So, i keep in mind to gain 13 to 15 kg to my present weight to really reach my goal or exceed.

I find it difficult to have an appetite due to some stress which can be the cause of my losing weight. I was 48 kg (105.6lbs) before and I am Afraid to be loosing more weight than 88lbs. It's not getting healthy anymore. It came to my attention that this is already bad. Moreover, People would see me as a person who "eats nothing." It felt so bad.Others would appreciate my being slim but most often I'm teased as bony. And It hurts a lot.

So, now that I took my vacation from work, I will focus on improving myself by gaining weight (bulking). I have to gain weight and look perfect before going back to work again. I have a month vacation that starts tomorrow...so i hope you may help me to gain weight. May I ask if what high caloric foods i must eat to give me the curves?

I researched and found a "3-meal and 3 snacks" meal plan but the suggested meals are not attainable bcoz of its high cost. I hope you can help me on what affordable specific high calorie foods I should eat during...

breakfast:
snacks:
lunch:
snacks:
dinner:
snacks:

or what high calorie foods that works perfectly for your weight gain diet that I can follow and adapt...hope you may help me.

your recommendations and suggestions are highly appreciated.

thank you so much.

Have you tried adding a teaspoon of oil to your meals? I've started to add a teaspoon of argan oil (the for cooking kind, not the makes shiny shiny hair kind) to pretty much any meal. It's an easy 40 calories x 3 = 120 calories. And gives a great nutty flavour to your meal.

AliceDark

Welcome! There are a lot of women on here trying to gain weight, and there's lots of support available. I definitely understand that it can feel like every other woman in the world is trying to lose weight and it feels very strange to be the lone one trying to gain.

What are you eating now, and what do you like to eat? Sadly, there are no perfect foods that will make you gain weight. You need to find ways to add more high-calorie foods into your diet, and also eat more of what you like, so nobody is going to be able to give you a meal plan without knowing more about you.

You said one thing that's a big red flag:

So, now that I took my vacation from work, I will focus on improving myself by gaining weight (bulking). I have to gain weight and look perfect before going back to work again. I have a month vacation that starts tomorrow...

You're not going to gain weight and look perfect in a month. It's just not going to happen. Why are you putting a time limit on it?

Gaining, just like losing, is a long process over time. If you're bulking and working out (not sure, since you didn't mention any exercise, and given that you're severely underweight working out may or may not be healthy), women typically gain a half pound to a pound a week. It's going to take you a long while to go from 88 pounds to 117 pounds and keep it on. Have you spoken with a doctor or a dietician? They would be able to help put together a treatment plan that would help you quite a bit.

imusteat2100poLycaloricfudz

Welcome! There are a lot of women on here trying to gain weight, and there's lots of support available. I definitely understand that it can feel like every other woman in the world is trying to lose weight and it feels very strange to be the lone one trying to gain.

What are you eating now, and what do you like to eat? Sadly, there are no perfect foods that will make you gain weight. You need to find ways to add more high-calorie foods into your diet, and also eat more of what you like, so nobody is going to be able to give you a meal plan without knowing more about you.

Wow thank you for the replying Miss AliceDark.
At present I like eating fruits available inside the fridge are 1 ripe mango and 2 bananas in a meal whenever available. I also like eating commercial chocolate cupcakes in between meals one or two sometimes.

I love fastfoods and chocolates but my mother wont allow me eating much of that because she says its unhealthy for me.

Maybe you can help me if what foods are high in calories that you may suggest to have 2100cal/day?

Im gonna find ways to eat more high-calorie foods and eat more of what I like, I'll take note of this. Uhm, But how many should I have?

By the way Ms. Alice, I havent talked to a doctor or a dietician yet. I think it's more realistic to be having people with same condition.

Graelwyn75

Eat more of the foods you like, but also things like nuts, avocado, eggs, full fat dairy ( like yoghurt and cheese), seeds, peanut butter, salmon, bread, pasta, rice. All of those will help you get your calories up to a better level.
Keep your cupcakes, those are fine.
Add oil to cooking, as suggested, not sure if it is you who cooks or your mother? But oil will help add calories.
Have you told your mother you want to gain weight ?

fificrazy

Given the fact you've lost nearly 20 lbs through what sounds like stress induced, self-imposed starvation, you'll actually want to start with 2100, but eventually make your way up 2500- and this number should still only be treated as a minimum. An optimal amount would actually be 3000 calories but this is something you'll probably have to work up to to avoid refeeding syndrome. You have some repairs to make given how dangerously low your BMI is at the moment. Eventually your metabolism will work it's way out of it's suppressed state with regular meals your appetite will grow to suit your caloric needs.

The most important things to remember right now:
Processed foods are GREAT! They're very easy for the body to digest so try to go for these foods first.
Contrary to what diet-culture might have you believe, the fibrous fruits and veggies should take a backseat for now... Energy should come before the nutritional makeup of a food when you're trying to get out of a major deficit. This means if you want fast food, definitely eat that fastfood! This is the healthiest food for your body atm because it provides such readily available energy.

Rest a lot! Get as much sleep as you can, try to avoid major physical activity. You'll have the rest of your life to lift weights, run, swim, etc. What your body needs now is rest- so it's great that you've got this month off of work. Take advantage of that!

You can get extra calories in without the extra volume. Think nut butters (peanut, almond, sunflower, hazelnut...), oils (olive, coconut, canola...), caloric bevarages (milk, fruit juices, hot chocolate, chais, coconut water, veg juice- can even think outside of the box and melt icecream).

Don't be surprised if you experience a bit of edema- water retention is your body putting up a protective shield to make repairs. Don't mistake this for genuine weight gain, though. It will take more than a month for you to meet your weight gain goal. Just be patient, eat regularly, and relax!

EpsilonGamma

I don't understand why you and a lot of people here are advocating eat over 2000 calories. Unless the weight you want to gain is mostly fat.

First, are you doing any form of exercise?

I would be looking to eat around 1800-1900 at your height and weight with no exercise. Add in some strength work, then go to 2000.

That's my take on it

devil_in_a_blue_dress

I don't understand why you and a lot of people here are advocating eat over 2000 calories. Unless the weight you want to gain is mostly fat.

First, are you doing any form of exercise?

I would be looking to eat around 1800-1900 at your height and weight with no exercise. Add in some strength work, then go to 2000.

That's my take on it

Please do not give out advice to people struggling with eating enough, you are very bad at it. Terrible, actually.

Op, take your time and be good to yourself. Think about foods you enjoy eating and eat those. You can focus calorie dense foods like cheese, nuts, avocado. I wish you well. :flowerforyou:

jazzcatastrophe

I don't understand why you and a lot of people here are advocating eat over 2000 calories. Unless the weight you want to gain is mostly fat.

First, are you doing any form of exercise?

I would be looking to eat around 1800-1900 at your height and weight with no exercise. Add in some strength work, then go to 2000.

That's my take on it

Because it's more dangerous to be severely underweight than to have a little extra fat.

OP, go for calorie dense foods (nuts, avocado, oil, etc) and aim to include at least one serving of one in every meal/snack.

maddiejp

Fificrazy pretty much said it all. Essentially you'll want to incorporate more carbohydrates and fats into your diet, along with an adequate amount of protein to repair and improve bone and muscle structure. SImply add one more helping of pasta or whatnot to your plate when you have it. Peanut butter is great, as it has a good deal of protein and fat. Simple carbohydrates are best as opposed to more complex ones such a fibrous foods like fruit and veggies. You'll want to go for the bagels, pasta, rice, chips, crackers, nuts, oils, cereal, bread (sandwiches are great since they pack so much into one place), etc.

Also, I HIGHLY recommend you drink a nutritional supplement. It will help you regain a lot of the nutrients you lost, and will help you gain healthy weight. The best are Boost and Ensure. The come in all sorts of flavors, but do NOT get the clears. Get the Ensure PLUS. Dietitians/Nutritionists/Doctors most always tell their patients to drink ensure when needing to gain back weight.

You'll want to aim for around 1900 calories at first so to not shock your body with the food (refeeding syndrome). Then slowly increase your caloric intake to around 2,500-3,000. No, you won't be gaining just fat like another post said, your body needs these calories (calories are units of energy) to repair and fuel itself. Also, rest! Lay off the exercise. Definitely very minimal. Instead of walking, try to take a bus, train, taxi, car, what have you. Your body needs to conserve all the energy it can.

Good luck my dear. YOU CAN DO IT! and drink that ensure! (ps the vanilla is horrible don't even try it. Chocolate seems to be the most popular, but I preferred the strawberry)

imusteat2100poLycaloricfudz

Wow! Thank you very much for the support, suggestions and recommendations you offered to me,

I will take note all of that, I even come up with acronyms ; ):

REMOTER CHAMPPPIONS WAFFEY

R-egular
E-ating
M-eals
O-n
T-ime & in
E-xcess
R-ice

C-hocolate
C-ereals
H-oney
A-vocado
M-ilk
P-asta
P-eanut Butter
P-rocessed Foods
I-ce Cream
O-il when cooking
N-uts (Granola Bars)
S-weeteners (sugar)

W-heat Bread
A-lmonds
F-astfoods
F-ruitJuices
E-ggs
Y-ogurt

As of March 7, I always check on the calories & nutritional facts of the food I eat. And I started to eat more of what I like than the usual.

imusteat2100poLycaloricfudz

Welcome! There are a lot of women on here trying to gain weight, and there's lots of support available. I definitely understand that it can feel like every other woman in the world is trying to lose weight and it feels very strange to be the lone one trying to gain.

What are you eating now, and what do you like to eat? Sadly, there are no perfect foods that will make you gain weight. You need to find ways to add more high-calorie foods into your diet, and also eat more of what you like, so nobody is going to be able to give you a meal plan without knowing more about you.

Wow thank you for the reply Miss AliceDark.
At present I like eating fruits available inside the fridge.
One ripe mango and 2 bananas in a meal if available. I also like eating one or two commercial chocolate cupcakes in between meals sometimes.

I love fastfoods and chocolates but my mother wont allow me eating much of that because she says its unhealthy for me.

Maybe you can help me if what foods are high in calories that you may suggest to have 2100cal/day?

Im gonna find ways to eat more high-calorie foods and eat more of what I like, I'll take note of that. Uhm, But how many should I have?

By the way Ms. Alice, I havent talked to a doctor or a dietician yet. I think it's more realistic having people with same condition.

Thank you.

skinnyinnotime

I don't understand why you and a lot of people here are advocating eat over 2000 calories. Unless the weight you want to gain is mostly fat.

First, are you doing any form of exercise?

I would be looking to eat around 1800-1900 at your height and weight with no exercise. Add in some strength work, then go to 2000.

That's my take on it

Of course it's going to be mostly fat, she needs to put on weight as she's very underweight and this will cause her body/organs problems.

She wants to get to a healthy weight not become a body builder.

pamt1999

hi, I'm a new member of MFP and saw the weight gain community. i find myself to be the same as you are and I'm glad I'm not the only person who would want to gain weight. I felt like I belong.

I'm 23 years old, 40kg (88 lbs) and my bmi is underweight for my 5'2" height. My MFP cal/day goal must be 2050cal/day to reach the ideal weight of 53.32 or 54kg (117.3lbs). So, i keep in mind to gain 13 to 15 kg to my present weight to really reach my goal or exceed.

I find it difficult to have an appetite due to some stress which can be the cause of my losing weight. I was 48 kg (105.6lbs) before and I am Afraid to be loosing more weight than 88lbs. It's not getting healthy anymore. It came to my attention that this is already bad. Moreover, People would see me as a person who "eats nothing." It felt so bad.Others would appreciate my being slim but most often I'm teased as bony. And It hurts a lot.

So, now that I took my vacation from work, I will focus on improving myself by gaining weight (bulking). I have to gain weight and look perfect before going back to work again. I have a month vacation that starts tomorrow...so i hope you may help me to gain weight. May I ask if what high caloric foods i must eat to give me the curves?

I researched and found a "3-meal and 3 snacks" meal plan but the suggested meals are not attainable bcoz of its high cost. I hope you can help me on what affordable specific high calorie foods I should eat during...

breakfast:
snacks:
lunch:
snacks:
dinner:
snacks:

or what high calorie foods that works perfectly for your weight gain diet that I can follow and adapt...hope you may help me.

your recommendations and suggestions are highly appreciated.

thank you so much.

Have you tried adding a teaspoon of oil to your meals? I've started to add a teaspoon of argan oil (the for cooking kind, not the makes shiny shiny hair kind) to pretty much any meal. It's an easy 40 calories x 3 = 120 calories. And gives a great nutty flavour to your meal.

Coconut oil also has lots of calories, and if you like the flavor, great flavor! You could make smoothies or milkshakes and add the coconut oil to it.

pamt1999

I think it's great that you recognize that there is a problem with being underweight and are looking for healthy ways to fix that issue.

I can tell you that I'm really good at gaining weight (but not in a healthy way). I love carbs . . . and ate lots of bread, cheese and sugar (m & m's is my favorite snack). However, with counting calories, you really start to see the "higher calorie" choices.

Can you add more lean protein to your diet? Chicken, fish, and even beef? In moderation, of course.

What about snacks like almonds or something with almond butter? It's expensive but is a good protein. Walnuts are also touted as being really healthy.

We've been making kefir smoothies at my house. I make mine with 2% nonfat milk because I don't want the extra calories. I make my daughter's with whole milk because she is underweight. I add sugar to hers (but not to mine) and I wanted to add coconut oil but she doesn't like the coconut flavor.

Keep healthy snacks on hand at all times so anytime you feel hungry you can eat. For my daughter, her medication suppresses her appetite. We try to make sure she eats in the morning before she takes it and then let her eat when it wears off and she's hungry again.

If you're going to eat bread, eat whole grain bread . . . better for you and has more calories than white bread.

Make sure that the yogurt you're eating is "full calorie." Don't buy one with sweetener.

If you eat salads, can you add protein? Eggs, ham, turkey, cheese, sunflower seeds? Maybe toss in some pecans or walnuts or slivered almonds?

You could have crackers (or bagel chips) or even vegetables dipped in hummus as a snack. Or vegetables in a vegetable dip or ranch dressing.

At your weight, I wouldn't worry too much about overeating. I suspect that it's very difficult for you to eat enough.

geekyjock76

I don't understand why you and a lot of people here are advocating eat over 2000 calories. Unless the weight you want to gain is mostly fat.

First, are you doing any form of exercise?

I would be looking to eat around 1800-1900 at your height and weight with no exercise. Add in some strength work, then go to 2000.

That's my take on it

Of course it's going to be mostly fat, she needs to put on weight as she's very underweight and this will cause her body/organs problems.

She wants to get to a healthy weight not become a body builder.

He's certainly grossly underestimating the substantial energy needs of a person trying to recover 30 lbs. However, she isn't underweight just due to a lack of fat mass; she also lost a significant amount of lean mass which needs to be recovered. With that said, once she is approved to be a candidate for strength training, she can begin doing light resistance for her upper body and body weight exercises for the lower to return her to baseline strength and lean mass. Recovery of muscle not only helps recover strength but also protects bone tissue. Thus, recovery of lean mass is considered a high priority in weight restoration of severely underweight populations to restore optimal health.

Fithealthyforlife

She wants to get to a healthy weight not become a body builder.

He's certainly grossly underestimating the substantial energy needs of a person trying to recover 30 lbs. However, she isn't underweight just due to a lack of fat mass; she also lost a significant amount of lean mass which needs to be recovered. With that said, once she is approved to be a candidate for strength training, she can begin doing light resistance for her upper body and body weight exercises for the lower to return her to baseline strength and lean mass. Recovery of muscle not only helps recover strength but also protects bone tissue. Thus, recovery of lean mass is considered a high priority in weight restoration of severely underweight populations to restore optimal health.

Very true. The goal is not to add as much fat as possible with no regard to muscle tissue. This means working out and eating sufficient protein...not just eating a certain number of calories each day.

And what is posted in the quote above is an excellent way to go about doing so. People say that one can't gain muscle doing such lght training. However, people who are more advanced forget that at the outset, a person just starting can indeed gain muscle from very light exercises, especially an underweight person. There is no need to go lifting heavy right from the beginning in such a case. There is plenty of time to build up to heavier resistance as time goes on. But for now, light weights/bodyweight exercises would be more than sufficient, coupled with proper diet, to gain muscle and fat. The bones, tendons, ligaments, and other connective tissues take months to adapt to training anyway.

yourfitnessenemy

This advice is all good, but you may also want to supplement with a shake like Ensure esp since you're not getting the nutrition you need. I had to when I was pregnant and gained well, had a healthy baby.

livinmyhappilyeverafter

Definitely peanut butter. That is what our under-weight military people were to eat aside from double rations.

megan_elizabeth8

I put crushed nuts in my breakfast. Also definitely agree on peanut butter and avocado!
I'll often have something like rice, tuna and veggies as my lunch and then I'll have a big tea as well, and the snacks I have throughout the day are quite substantial. For example one of my snacks is an english muffin with peanut butter.
One of the most helpful things for me is that my dietitian has put me on a supplement shake that adds 400kcal a day. It's complete nutrition so it gives me lots of vitamins and minerals, and it is only 200mL so it doesn't feel like I'm having much, but it's giving me a substantial calorie boost. It's called ensure twocal.
I'm nearly finished gaining weight now, I'm almost at a healthy BMI again - you can do it too!
Good Luck!

ETA: Have you considered seeing your GP? Just asking because I know that when my BMI was similar to yours my heart rate was very low and I was told to stop exercising because I was putting my health at more risk to do so. Once my weight went up a bit I was allowed to start exercising again and that was when I started focusing on building muscle again. I'm not saying that this is the case for you, I know that everyone's different, but I just thought I should mention that.

Sarauk2sf

Nothing to really add here as you have got some great advice regarding how to get your calories up and the importance of resistance training (when cleared to do it) from geeky, but I just wanted to say well done for recognizing that you had a problem and to wish you good luck.