Hi everyone
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NicoDawg
Posts: 3 Member
Working out and eating right is good for losing weight but so is gaining. I found out junk food will hurt your immune system, most likely affecting your workout. id like to hear more posts on this topic. Id llike some advice. 
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Hi nico
I seem to be in the same boat as you. Although eating junk food is bad for you in the long run it should in theory help with gaining some wieght. Maybe eaten once or twice a week. I currently need to eat about 2480calories a day to gain 1lb a week. I cant even begin to imagine what to eat to reach this target. I found Burger king whoppers to be like 900+ calories. Most heathy food comes up to like 300-500 calories for a similar sized porton. I'm not a big eater so eating the required amount daily is going to be hellish. And to be honest I dont want to eat that much EVER.
Let me know your thoughts on this
Caio0 -
Hey, I'm also looking to gain weight. I've always been under weight, but am very healthy. Have spoken with doctors and nutritionists in the past, and they always say I'm healthy, but could use about 20-30 more pounds.
I've been a long distance runner for a number of years. I track calories to make sure I eat back enough on the days that I run. It's helpful for me. I find exercise makes me hungry!
You guys might also think about adjusting your caloric goals. Maybe reset to gain 1/2 a pound a week. 2400 calories is a lot for one day!
Nuts, nut butter, avocados, smoothies, pasta, things like that are a better option than a whopper! And make sure you track any exercise you do so you eat back those calories!0 -
Hello all. I've just now joined this site. I'm very slim, as well (6'1", 126 lbs.). I'm committing myself to gain weight (I'm hoping to reach 140, the bottom of the "healthy" BMI bracket), but I'm trying to gain lean weight, specifically. I'm shooting for a pound of weight gained per week, but I may adjust if I find it is too difficult (or if I find that I am gaining weight that leans unfavorably toward fat).
I'm certainly not an expert in the subject area of gaining weight (or buffing up, especially), but this is what advice I've gathered, and what plan I'm starting:
For background info, at my workplace, they have an incentive program called "Total Transformation," which involves 4 workouts a week, an hour each, alternating between Cardio/Ab-Routines and Strength Workouts. I estimate that I burn around 300 calories on Cardio days, and around 150 on Strength days. I've been told that a good diet for building lean weight is to take your current weight times 1.1 to find your protein requirements, attribute 30% of intake to fats, and the remaining calories should come from (whole) carbs, like those from fruits and vegetables [less sugars, more fiber, etc].
Goal (Net) Calories per day: 2700
Goal Carbs per day: 338g
Goal Fat per day: 90g
Goal Protein per day: 134g
Especially on days with Cardio exercise (when my goal gross calories is around 3000), that is a LOT of food. My friend recommended a powder from BSN called True Mass. It's a weight gain protein powder that contains 630 calories per shake. I ordered the Strawberry flavor, and it's actually pretty tasty (if you've ever had Carnation Instant Breakfast shakes, it tastes like their strawberry shake). I've now started having one of those after working out each of the 4 workout days, and have been meeting my calorie goal the past few times.
The program at work ends and the end of March; we'll see if I can make any progress by then.
What do you all think of this plan? Do you have any other advice/ideas to offer? I'd love to have a full-on discussion about different approaches from other lean bodytypes trying to gain lean body weight.0 -
Hello everyone, my name is Lauren and i'm trying to gain weight as well. I've always been pretty thin and tall, currently I'm 115 lbs and I am 5'9. Like most of you I want to gain healthy weight- avoiding junk food and getting into a exercise routine that focuses mostly on strength training. I want to get to at least 130. My main problem is with consistancy; I find it hard to reach my calorie goal for the day like some of you guys, because it is well in the 2,000's and I'm thinking about dialing it back to 1/2 a pound a week.
You guys have some pretty good suggestions up as far as what types of food we should eat. I hope that we can bounce meal and product ideas around and just share some encouragement while we all try and reach our goals.0 -
Hey Guys, my name is Adam and I am also a "hard gainer" as well. The last year I have been working on putting on some weight in the form of muscle. Myfitpal has been a huge help. I used to do a lot of endurance type exercises...marathon training, long distance cycling, swimming, ect. I found that I was working out too much for my muscles to recover. I started lifting heavy weights and low reps, although I still enjoy a long bike ride. Anyway, I have put on 25 lbs in the last year and have more energy than ever before. I try to eat 3300-3500 calories a day. To get the right amount of fat I keep a jar of natural peanut butter at my desk that I eat a few times a day. Its tough, but I eat every 1-3 hours.
It can be done! Good luck!0 -
Hello everyone. I am 40 years old and a hard gainer. Used to be consistently around 120#. Have since been steady at around 135#. I am working towards 165#. I have found that whole milk is one of the best and cheapest ways to gain. Along with adding some chocolate to it. Also getting about 1.5 grams of protein for every pound of body weight and your daily calorie intake which will vary depending on your activity level. I also use a TRX suspension trainer for my workouts. It's one of the best workouts tools I have ever owned.0
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My girlfriend has recently brought to my attention the "Eat Clean Diet'. She is on a weight loss journey and she bought the Eat Clean Diet Recharged book. According to the book, eating clean works not only for losing weight but for gaining it as well.
There is an Eat Clean Diet for Men book as well and I am looking into buying that.
The diet plan goes like this.
-Eat 5-6 Meals a Day (Eat every 2.5-3hrs)
-Drink 2-3L (64-98oz) of Water Daily
-Eat Lean Protein
-Eat Complex Carbohydrates
-Eat Healthy Fats
Exercise
-Cardio
-Weights
This is pretty much the basic outline.
I am going to try clean eating and exercising and see if that helps me build some lean muscle.0 -
@NicoDawg:
That sounds a lot like my current program. My program also advises to avoid high-fructose corn syrup (see end of this message for an explanation). If something is going to have sugar or fructose corn syrup, it's better to choose the sugar option. Let me know if you get that book and what differences it has with the standard diet.
I think the most important part of the diet is to get an abundance of protein. Protein is going to make the difference between gaining weight and gaining lean weight. Eating healthy fats in lieu of saturated fats is good for heart health, which is also important. Gaining lean weight and keeping your cholesterol low in one diet is a good goal.
Now, about high-fructose corn syrup. There are a few things we have to understand: nutritionally high-fructose corn syrup is the same as sucrose (table sugar); however, the two are NOT the same thing. In normal sugar, fructose and glucose are paired off, 1 for 1, and bound together. In high-fructose corn syrup, there are fructose and glucose molecules, but they are free-flowing. With normal sugar, the body has to take an extra step to separate the molecules before they can be digested—this is how the body was meant to process sugars. With high-fructose corn syrup, the fructose gets processed much quicker, which confuses the body and hinders its ability to process food correctly. This is still a researched issue; the details of how this affects the body are very muddy, but it appears that fructose corn syrup contributes to fatty weight gains and muscle breakdown. Hopefully, we'll have this researched and a firm answer in the next few years, but until then, it's a good idea to keep away from the stuff just in case the current research is valid.
(There is also research about high-fructose corn syrup and ADD/ADHD, but that's a story for another day)0 -
Hello-
Another thin one here...barely hanging on to 110 lb.
I have been using a protein powder, one scoop with some cultured milk and some juice first thing in the mornings, to wash down my supplements. It hasn't very many calories (87?), but a dose of protein, and no added sugar.
I'm not gaining yet, but I'm also not losing!!
I've been feeling a little down lately, not knowing what to eat or how to eat enough ("enough" is yet to be determined). Today, I decided to make myself a weekly menu, so I could plan ahead of time.
You could probably say I'm eating "clean"; no more packaged foods that have more than two or three ingredients. I do eat goat cheese occasionally, and nut butters and milk alternatives daily.
I usually snack on nuts or granola, but could use some more snack suggestions. I'm currently avoiding wheat, dairy, and soy. What are your snack or "between meal" meal ideas?0 -
Hi, I'm in the same predicament as all of you.
I'm 20 years old 5' 3.75" and 106 pounds, but when I was in 5th grade I was 120 pounds and I looked very healthy and I want to go back to that and maybe slightly beyond.
I get what you mean with the junk food thing. Junk food is the "easy way out." I'm a nutrition major and everything we learn about the food industry makes me avoid fast-food like the plague. What I do now, instead of getting a million calorie burger from McDonald's or Burger King, I just make my own. Granted, it's going to be slightly more expensive but at least you know exactly what's in your food and you can choose your own oil (if you're going to use oil) then add up the calories of the meat + bun + tomato slice + cheese slice etc.0 -
Hi everyone! I just joined the group after reading through tons of weight gain forums. Im 23 years old and weigh 120 lbs. I have weighed around 130 (+/-2 or 3lbs) for the past year or so, which is already underweight. Im getting married in about two months and a new job + going back to school + moving across the country has been really stressful which I think is what lead to my 10lb weight loss. I can't seem to put it back on though and it's been about 4 months.
What Im concerned about is being able to healthily eat about 2500 calories per day.. I do have a slightly overactive thyroid which I have opted not to take medication for right now because I don't want to start screwing with my hormones at this stage of my life. And the overactivity is very slight, but it does contribute to more difficult weight gain.
I decided to start counting calories when I put on some jeans that I used to have to squeeze in to and they fall off of me now...
Anyway, just looking for support like most of you and hopefully I can share some tips once I make any progress!0 -
Hello! I'm 23 and tres petite (4'11" and 78 lbs), and I'm hoping to gain some healthy weight. I eat a pescetarian diet (or as I like to think of it, vegetarian with a touch of sushi), dance the Lindy Hop, drink my weight in tea daily, and would love to meet some people on a similar journey.
I'm trying to eat well (i.e. get enough protein, healthy carbs and fats, drink more water) and enough (at least 1700 calories a day according to the doctor). I've started taking Vitamin D supplements because goodness knows I don't get enough sun. I'm also taking a bunch of other vitamins and supplements. Ginger tea is my new best friend while I try to expand my stomach and eat more fiber (I highly recommend it if you find yourself feeling uncomfortable after eating). I've started eating flax seeds (ground up) in my oatmeal every morning and trying to eat at least one cup of blueberries a day.
My main concern, which aejaygoehring addressed so nicely, is the difference between gaining lean weight and just gaining weight. On such a small frame the difference of 2 or 3 pounds can really start to show and I would rather it be in the form of lean muscles then just general "fluff" filling out my shape. I know I need to start exercising more, especially strength training (I try to walk 30 blocks at least 3 times a week in addition to my dance classes, which is great for my legs but my arms are like toothpicks).
Like smgwa said, just looking for support and to share my experiences as time goes by.0 -
I'm in the same boat as Linamichaels! I'm 4'11, 86lbs. My goal weight is 94lbs but I'd like to gain some extra in muscle mass. MFP said I needed 1900 calories a day, but I disagreed and made a custom setting of 2500. Sometimes I find it extremely hard to eat that many calories, since I never eat fast food/processed food, and no sugar or gluten. Nice to find support groups on here for weight gain!0
