Any WEIGHT GAIN success stories???

STLBADGIRL

I ask b/c my daughter is desperately trying to gain weight... and I would like to show her before and after pictures of people gaining weight by choice. Thanks

macelmer

I do not have any before-after photos to show you, but when I started this journey ( 2 years ago) I weighed 105 lbs and now I am at 132 lbs. It is a hard road for me to gain weight, I have crohn's disease. Anyway, my advice is to slowly build up the calories. At one point I got to 150 lbs due to steroid use for my disease, but after stopping my body returns to "normal" and I have a hard time maintaining gained weight. So, since this past fall, I ate 1800 calories a day and stayed there for a month, then started adding 50 calories every few weeks until I hit 1900, now I will stay there for a month, and continue on until I hit 2000 cal/day. I personally would rather drink some of my calories, so I choose drinks that I can tolerate....but Bolthouse Farms makes good tasting, high calorie drinks that you can find in the produce section of the grocery store, some are even coffee based. If your daughter likes a particular food, have her eat it. I find that I eat more when I like the foods rather than when I eat what the dietician prescribes. Feel free to message me, if you want. I have always had trouble gaining weight and keeping it on, even before my diagnosis.

likitisplit

Check out Amber at GoKaleo: https://gokaleo.com/

STLBADGIRL

I do not have any before-after photos to show you, but when I started this journey ( 2 years ago) I weighed 105 lbs and now I am at 132 lbs. It is a hard road for me to gain weight, I have crohn's disease. Anyway, my advice is to slowly build up the calories. At one point I got to 150 lbs due to steroid use for my disease, but after stopping my body returns to "normal" and I have a hard time maintaining gained weight. So, since this past fall, I ate 1800 calories a day and stayed there for a month, then started adding 50 calories every few weeks until I hit 1900, now I will stay there for a month, and continue on until I hit 2000 cal/day. I personally would rather drink some of my calories, so I choose drinks that I can tolerate....but Bolthouse Farms makes good tasting, high calorie drinks that you can find in the produce section of the grocery store, some are even coffee based. If your daughter likes a particular food, have her eat it. I find that I eat more when I like the foods rather than when I eat what the dietician prescribes. Feel free to message me, if you want. I have always had trouble gaining weight and keeping it on, even before my diagnosis.

Thank you for your response. I even took her to the doctor b/c I was concerned. She weighs 94lbs and she almost depressed about it. When I took her to the doctor they asked if "she was trying to be thin" and tested her for everything. I know for a fact that she's always hated when people would call her thin, or skinny (I didn't get that b/c I've always had the "fat" problem). She's even scared to exercise for sports b/c she is scared she is going to lose weight. We have upped her calories, but I like your suggestion on gradually adding calories. Thanks for your help....

STLBADGIRL

Thanks...I will check this out.

likitisplit

When I was young and underweight, I drank the Carnation Instant Breakfast powders in whole milk with every meal.

I still had strangers giving me literature on anorexia.

Sports and muscle might actually help her body regulate her weight better, but that's something her doctor should weigh in on.

milileitner

In my profile, I have some side-by-side pics of a 40 lb weight gain.

SparkoShell

Nice to go through this thread. i always use to weigh myself daily. It tells me in which direction i am going and what to do next.
I have some scales for my self . I frequently use them some time in kitchen as to proportionate my food and some times to weigh my body.
Here are the a link from where you can get any kind of scale.
http://www.hcscales.com/food-scales/portion-control-scales/

SparkoShell

Online Scale Providers is the best option to buy scales.

kitlynnJ

Staci on Nerd Fitness is a good weight gain story. She lost a bunch of weight through unhealthy means, then gained a bunch of it back while lifting. There is a side by side shot of her at 117 and then at 131.
http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/07/21/meet-staci-your-new-powerlifting-super-hero/

STLBADGIRL

Awesome.... Thanks all for your response.

Seemberg

Hello, I, too, have been struggling to gain weight, and in Jan/14 my doc sent me to a nutritionist. I was shocked when she told me to forget about eating healthy for now, and to add all the fat and sugar I can to my diet. My goal has been to gain a lb per week, which I have achieved. She had me change to whole milk, (no low fat anything). At her suggestion I add cream to my smoothies, lattes, casseroles, pasta sauces, I fry everything, eat cookies, crackers, muffins. I'm not a fan of pop, but drink a lot of pure, unsweetened fruit juices to up my calories. I still try to get my healthy foods in, but as my nutritionist says, there are almost no calories in salad. I remind myself that this diet is temporary until I reach my goal weight. I've found that tracking my calories eaten on this site everyday motivates me to eat more, and try hard to get those extra calories. Sorry I don't have any pics to share, but I can see the difference just 9 pounds has made.

patriciaprice334

I am and was a hard-gainer. I don't have any before/afters, but I can tell you this..people will try everything they can to keep her from gaining because of the stigma on obesity.

I do have some tips:

Eat more carbs and calorie-dense foods.

Balance the exercises. However many calories you burn off, eat the same amount.

Ignore the nay-sayers because they are just jealous!

iorahkwano

I was underweight my whole life until I was 17. I gained weight by adding these snacks:

1) 2 cups of cereal (with milk) as a snack at night (I liked Almond Crisp or Branflakes with raisins/bananas)

2) Eating whole wheat toast with 2 tbsp peanut butter or jam

3) Eating more nuts/seeds (Almonds, salted cashews, sunflower seeds)

4) Eating frozen yogurt

In addition to that, I was already eating 2 eggs & toast every day for breakfast, a turkey wrap with some fruit at lunch, and dinner was 6oz of chicken or fish & 1 cup of veggies. I drank lots of 2% milk during the day too. I joined kickboxing classes which seemed to increase my appetite & help me build muscle on my scrawny pole bean body (I got a BUTT!)

I went from 5'7" and 110lbs, to 130lbs in one year. I looked so much better! No more boney scarecrow arms & knobby knees!

tmaryam

I almost asked this same question yesterday! I wish I could post pictures, but I can't. I used to be severely underweight due to genetics. I used to have a fast metabolism and I was constantly swimming and running and rollerskating, so I never gained weight until my thyroid went bad. (But I needed that weight.) My sister is still extremely thin after having 9 children. I should have her join this forum because she's always trying to gain weight. This would be such an inspiration to her.

likitisplit

Hello, I, too, have been struggling to gain weight, and in Jan/14 my doc sent me to a nutritionist. I was shocked when she told me to forget about eating healthy for now, and to add all the fat and sugar I can to my diet. My goal has been to gain a lb per week, which I have achieved. She had me change to whole milk, (no low fat anything). At her suggestion I add cream to my smoothies, lattes, casseroles, pasta sauces, I fry everything, eat cookies, crackers, muffins. I'm not a fan of pop, but drink a lot of pure, unsweetened fruit juices to up my calories. I still try to get my healthy foods in, but as my nutritionist says, there are almost no calories in salad. I remind myself that this diet is temporary until I reach my goal weight. I've found that tracking my calories eaten on this site everyday motivates me to eat more, and try hard to get those extra calories. Sorry I don't have any pics to share, but I can see the difference just 9 pounds has made.

Calories ARE healthy. As long as they don't make you obese.

STLBADGIRL

I CAN'T THANK YOU GUYS ENOUGH.... YOU WOULD THINK I WOULD KNOW WHAT TO TELL HER SINCE I AM OVERWEIGHT....BUT I HAD NO CLUE, B/C I AM NOT TRYING TO BE OVERWEIGHT....LOL

ChriJMitch

Not sure what kinds of food she is eating, but empty calories can just go right through some people. I know a lot super skinny people that eat nothing but sugary foods and drink pop constantly. It absolutely does not mean they are healthy.

If she wants to gain useful weight (muslce mass) make sure she is taking in lean proteins and some carbs. Not tons of carbs, but some. A good balance of calorie intake would be 45% from carbs/25% from fat/30% from protein for somebody that is a hard-gainer. That is a good balance to gain a lot of lean mass back without too much fat.

Calculate her BMR for her height/weight/activity level (http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/) then make sure she is eating at a bit of a surplus (maybe 300-500 calories a day).

Best of luck!

BlackCatNinja

I don't have a success story yet but getting there!

I'm currently 26 years old, 5'7" and 119 lbs.

I've always been thin, my mother is thin, my grandmother is thin... you get the idea it's genetic! I also have Irritable bowel syndrome, which have been a big issue during the past years for gaining weights, I have to watch what I eat, because if I'm not careful, I can suddenly lose a few pounds within a week.

I never really liked being skinny, it's more an appearance thing than health to be quite honest.
My ideal "healthy" weight for my height is around 125 pounds, so that's what I'm aiming for.

A year and a half ago, I've decided to take action and started going to the gym and do mainly weight training, with cardio and yoga. Being going since then at least 4 times per week. I was 107 pounds back then... now I'm 119, and i've been that weights for a while so i've moved on to eating more + going to the gym. Now i'm waiting for results! Hopefully, I'll be 125 by this summer

I've been eating a lot of nuts, oatmeal, cottage cheese, milk, pasta and I also added protein shakes which I hope will get some results.

Never thought I've ever gain weights, so there's hope for everybody!

ovi212

I once gained 40lbs by drinking ensure (2-3 a day), eating trail mix (1/2c 3x a day) and 2 pieces of bread with every meal. ON top of the usual 3 meals, and snack.