Weight gain help?

skinnyguy1982

Hi guys

I have been doing some research on the best ways to gain weight, as I believe I am unhealthily underweight at 120 pounds for a 29 year old. A lot of the different websites I have been visiting seem to contradict each other so I was just wondering if anybody could shed some light on a few questions on the situation, and about MFP in general

1) at 5'9, 29 years old and 120 pounds.... is the MFP daily calorie goal of 2370 appropriate or should I even attempt to eat more?
2) Will I have to up this daily calorie intake as I progress in weight?
3) Are the micro nutrient database entries for the foods accurate and is it important to reach the provided goals for those, or should I manually change them for my particular needs?
4) Any particular foods/shakes in which would help me gain weight?
5) How often should I lift weights? Which strength training exercises, and how heavy should the weights be to begin with?

If anybody could take the time to give me some hints or a link to a credible source it would be appreciated. And good luck to everybody on their missions.

zafferFL

Very simple, eat more.

Lifting weights will help for sure, there's a ton of threads on here already on newbie lifting. I would worry about macros with a high protein intake and at least 20% surplus on calories over your maintenance.

skinnyguy1982

Very simple, eat more.

Lifting weights will help for sure, there's a ton of threads on here already on newbie lifting. I would worry about macros with a high protein intake and at least 20% surplus on calories over your maintenance.

thanks, simple and straight to the point. I had previously been eating less than the provided 2370 calories, so I will see if this increase helps me any. I have no idea what my previous amount of maintenance calories would have been

zafferFL

Very simple, eat more.

Lifting weights will help for sure, there's a ton of threads on here already on newbie lifting. I would worry about macros with a high protein intake and at least 20% surplus on calories over your maintenance.

thanks, simple and straight to the point. I had previously been eating less than the provided 2370 calories, so I will see if this increase helps me any. I have no idea what my previous amount of maintenance calories would have been

Use MFP calculator, set weight loss to 0. Good news is that its easier to gain than lose. Just do it slowly and try for as much muscle as possible.

ninerbuff

I started at 19 years old and weighed 122lbs at 5'7" out of high school. I quickly learned the basics of compound lifts (squats, deaddlifts, dips) and was told to do them for 3 months straight and nothing more. I ate 3500 calories per day and in 3 months I gained 14lbs. I kept increasing my intake and within a year I was up to 155lbs. but you could definitely see I was way more muscular.
Eat up and hit the weights.

A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

skinnyguy1982

Thankyou very much, the problem is im struggling to even eat the supplied 2400 calories in a day. I have never been a great eater and to be honest trying to hit around 2500 in a day honestly makes me feel sick trying to consume that much. Are there any decent supplements I can take to easily boost my calorie intake?

ninerbuff

Thankyou very much, the problem is im struggling to even eat the supplied 2400 calories in a day. I have never been a great eater and to be honest trying to hit around 2500 in a day honestly makes me feel sick trying to consume that much. Are there any decent supplements I can take to easily boost my calorie intake?

Try eating more calorie dense food. I ain't going to lie.................you will add fat. It's practically impossible to gain weight and not add fat to the body, but if you're adding muscle along with it, fat can be deleted later.
Foods high in calories like nuts, cheeses, and even fried foods to help. Meats that aren't lean are calorie dense, but you don't want to do too much saturated fat.
Also if your exercise is intense, you WILL be hungry.

A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

tracy337

I believe when you set your goals on here there is an option for gaining I think up to 2 pounds a week.