I want to gain weight.... help me

lourduraj90
lourduraj90 Posts: 6
in Food and Nutrition
i don't exercise much. I am a working person and my job is mostly sitting and programming work... I want to gain 6 to 7 kg... I want to gain weight in healthy way. Can you guys give me some suggestions?

One more help,

I look thin but i have a tiny belly... I want to remove belly fat or atleast reduce a bit because it looks odd when i wear t-shirt.

Replies

  • iron93
    iron93 Posts: 22
    Take it you're an ectomorph. You can either gain weight from gaining fat or muscle. I take it you want to go via the latter route.
    I am in the same boat and i know what you are going thru.

    Diet alone will not help so I'm afraid you would have to hit the gym and hit the weights - to gain muscle in the right places.
    Key in what you are eating on myfitnesspal each day and if you find that you are not putting on weight, increase the cals by 500... everyone is different so adjust accordingly.

    The biggest problem most people have is under estimating just how much they are eating. you are clearly not eating enough... i thought i was eating enough. I logged my food intake .. was 3000 cals and still could not put on weight. so i upped it to 4000 cals a day and finally with weight lifting i was putting on weight for the first time!

    Check on twinmuscleworkout for training, nutrient advice. they have also gone from skinny to brawn. be realistic, it will take time. they managed to do it in 3yrs. its no easy fix and it'll be well worth it.

    Hope that helps and stick at it.
  • Blackthorne99
    Blackthorne99 Posts: 250 Member
    Ab exercises will help flatten your belly. You can't spot reduce fat, but you may find that as you redefine your shape by adding muscle that what you perceive as a belly may go away.

    What *kind* of weight do you want to add? What kind of exercise are you willing to do? Just adding weight won't help, as you can already see, because excess in the wrong place won't help. From your pic, I would say that you need to bulk up shoulders and upper arms to help create the masculine V (broad shoulders to thin waist).

    P90X or something similar would be a good place to start. You can buy the chin-up bar & bands on Amazon for about $60,P90 can be purchased or similar workouts like that can usually found on You-Tube, and you can set up work-out schedule for free on P90X/Beachbody's website.

    I make a post-workout protein shake that is an equal balance of protein, fat and carbs - it's 6 oz of half & half, 2 oz of water, 2 scoops of Muscle Milk Protein powder, half a box of powdered sugar-free pudding, and some sugar-free flavored syrups like you would add to coffee. My personal favorite combo of flavors is Vanilla protein powder, butterscotch pudding and caramel syrup (Starbucks SF Caramel is the best). Shake it up in a Blender Bottle (with the wire wisk inside) and it tastes like a Butterfinger Blizzard.
  • MDWilliams1857
    MDWilliams1857 Posts: 315 Member
    Spot losing fat is an absolute myth and doing ab exercises will do nothing to flatten your belly.
  • lourduraj90
    lourduraj90 Posts: 6
    thank you all... i will try for sure :)
  • iron93
    iron93 Posts: 22
    Disagree Blackthorn99 and I know you are only trying to help.

    P90X is for fat loss, he is trying to bulk. P90X will not help him.

    Quickest way for him to put some size on is
    lift big
    eating big (and clean food)
    and rest (at least 8hrs of sleep a day)

    Agree with MDWilliams, ab exercises only sculpt them not make them visible. Abs are built in the kitchen ;)
    Besides the OP has more to think about than abs right now - put the weight on first. With his metabolism (like me) he only has to look at a running machine and the weight will drop off.
  • shelbyfrootcake
    shelbyfrootcake Posts: 965 Member
    Spot losing fat is an absolute myth and doing ab exercises will do nothing to flatten your belly.

    ^^ This.

    Need to lose the fat over the muscles before any work you do to those muscles will show at all. Fat loss doesn't come from ab exercises.
  • Martucha123
    Martucha123 Posts: 1,089 Member
    I would recomend bulking first
    and then once you have the muscles you want, cut to get rid of the extra fat

    to bulk:
    you can set mfp goal to gain 1/2lbs per day - and eat your kcal goal.
    Get lots of protein (minimum 1 g per lbs of body weight) and some healthy fats (monosaturated and fish fats)
    lift 3 times per week - compound moves, look into stronglifts program or starting strenght
  • kiachu
    kiachu Posts: 409 Member
    Don't do any cardio. Do not do PX90. Find the book Starter Strength by Mark Ripptoe or something similar. Find a program that emphasis basic/compound lifts. Lift hard and heavy in the gym. Eat and eat lots. Healthy fats, lean meats red meats, eggs with the yolls, whole milk, oats, sweet potatoes, frui, rice, just not junk. Lots of leafy greens. Take a multivitamin. Find maintenance cals. Add 500 calories to that progressively so your adding weight. Maybe a lb a week or every 2 weeks. You'll have to put on some fat to gain muscle. I say do this for at least 6 months or until you can't stand the fluff. You have to eat and gain a little bit of fat to gain muscle. But don't just get fat. Then spend a month or so eating under maintenance, still maintaining intensity with the weights and shed the bit of fat and reveal your work. If your not where you want to be do another round
  • Zichu
    Zichu Posts: 542 Member
    I'm currently bulking and about to get back into a routine of lifting.

    To begin with, I thought I needed to lose weight because I had quite a bit of fat on me and I was only 145lb. I got to like 121lb and I still had fat around my stomach, chest, arms, legs, glutes, etc. I wasn't to happy with what I looked like, but I was happy I was able to lose weight because I know people had trouble doing that.

    I found out that lifting weights would help with essentially getting rid of that fat and building the muscle. I heard about bulking and cutting, I read more into it.

    I calculated my maintenance weight which is around 1800 to 2000 calories, I'm the same as you, I sit down nearly all day, but I'm still working towards becoming a programmer lol. I tried eating at 1800 a day, weighed myself and lost a bit more, so I upped it to 2000 and I think it didn't drop at all. I try to drink enough water to clean my system and stick to a more accurate weight when I weigh in.

    I decided to up my calories to 2250 or so to gain 0.5lb a week and it was working. I was lifting and my muscles were getting harder, I was getting stronger each week. I only had dumbbells and I knew I had to get something heavier to get stronger and build more muscle. I upped my calories to 2600 or so to gain about 1lb a week. I weighed in on Saturday and I'm currently at 131lb and I don't look any fatter or chubbier than I did at 121lb. I've been on holiday a couple of weeks during the holidays, so I wasn't lifting weights, I've also been quite ill for the past week and not been eating properly. Starting Monday, everyone is at work/school, I will hopefully feel 100% better and get back into my routine. I also bought a Barbell, so I will be able to start some real squats and build muscle on my legs, glutes and maybe even my abs a bit.

    Get some dumbbells and a barbell. I followed this routine:
    http://www.muscleandstrength.com/workouts/dumbbell-barbell-home-workout.html

    Some of them I wasn't able to do, so I found a workout with dumbbells to replace them. I wasn't weak, but I wasn't exactly strong. The hardest one I found on that list was the Dumbbell Lateral Raises, but after a while, you get used to lifting heavier weights. My brother wanted to get into weight lifting, he didn't in the end, but he started on a lower weight and I was doing this workout with weights I struggled with at the start with ease.

    You can follow a different routine if you want, some people pick 5x5 StrongLift and I was thinking of doing that, but on top of what I am doing already.


    You will notice your stomach will tighten up, your chest will get a bit bigger, but won't sag down and will be solid. This will take the focus off of your stomach and instead of your tshirts being pushed up because of your stomach, your chest will stick it out and it does look good.

    Just eat at 500 calories more than your maintenance. Eat a good amount of protein. Lift heavier every week and follow a routine. Once you get to a point where you feel you are strong, your weight is good, do a bit of cutting to reduce the amount of fat on your body.
  • rogerbosch
    rogerbosch Posts: 343 Member
    Great post. I'm also trying to convert a swimmer's body into a sprinter's one…. Thought a hybrid of P90X, Insanity and Les Mills Pump would get me there, but it only tones, does not add. I'll see into some heavier weights...
  • Helloitsdan
    Helloitsdan Posts: 5,564 Member
    Find TDEE and eat 15-20% above it while lifting 3x5 or 5x5 3-4x a week.
    Rest on off days.

    www.stronglifts.com and download the report.
    Its a beginners method that works!
  • rogerbosch
    rogerbosch Posts: 343 Member
    Excellent tips and helpful links here, I especially liked http://www.muscleandstrength.com/workouts/dumbbell-barbell-home-workout.html
  • PercivalHackworth
    PercivalHackworth Posts: 1,437 Member
    Here is a sheet you could use for figuring your TDEE :
    http://interzone.kicks-*kitten*.net/Calculating_calories.xls ( or .ods)

    I had the same problem, unable to put weight, though by cutting on cardio (I limited on walking) and upping to 3800 calories, weight starting to come. The first weeks, it'll be a pain in the *kitten* if you are not used to eat those amounts, but stomach adapts :)
    good luck sir
  • gain2bfree
    gain2bfree Posts: 4
    I can't believe I have found someone who wants to gain weight. I am 55 and 110 pounds and want to gain about 15-20 pounds total. I have a hard time with having meals n snacks consistently and often skip meals. I work, have a 1 year old who's very active am married and a business woman. I always put others b4 me n then realize later oops I missed breakfast or oops I missed lunch. I really want to gain weight. After I had my baby I felt great with the weight minus my stomach. but overall I enjoyed the extra pounds, however in a year I lost it all n then some UNINTENTIONALLY! N I HATE IT! Now I realize I Hav to do sumthing to make changes n B CONSISTENT. any motivation will be off help as I will do the same.motivation from weight gainers or weight losers are both appreciated as the goals are the same.
  • TexasTroy
    TexasTroy Posts: 477 Member
    Spot losing fat is an absolute myth and doing ab exercises will do nothing to flatten your belly.

    ^^ This.

    Need to lose the fat over the muscles before any work you do to those muscles will show at all. Fat loss doesn't come from ab exercises.

    Dont worry about that lil bit of belly fat...once you start weight training and eating properly, it should melt right off.

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