Tips for gaining weight and muscle?

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ashahl
ashahl Posts: 81
in Fitness and Exercise
Hello, I just recently joined MFP in order to get healthy and gain weight. I have suffered from an eating disorder for the past 3 years and am now finally ready to get healthy. Right now I have managed to get up to 85 pounds (I'm 5 feet tall) but I have now plateaued. I want to gain weight but I also want most of it to be muscle. I've recently started going to the gym, doing only a little bit of cardio but plenty of weights and strength training. I eat very clean and am a vegetarian but I also eat lots of healthy fats like nuts. Is there any advice anyone can give me to help me gain healthy weight and lots of muscle?

Also I was wondering about starting to take protein shakes but I've heard they aren't that good for your health?

Replies

  • stevemcknight
    stevemcknight Posts: 647 Member
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    Big time congrats to you on moving forward and talking about it! I've gone though my own journey with B.E.D. and blogged about it at my site. Coming out about it has been the most positive change of my life.

    Protein shakes are 100% healthy. They aren't weight gainers, most are about 120 calories per scoop of 22-25g protein, but 1 or 2 a day will help you pack on some muscle. I usually drink 1 scoop durin gmy workout, then 1 more with added glutamine following my workout. The biggest thing for packing on muscle is to eat slightly above maintenance calories, if you're eating at maintenance, then you will struggle with adding muscle, regardless of protein/fat/carbs. I'm working on adding weight slowly myself actually, and eating 300-500 above maintenance daily.

    Steve
    KnightFit.com
  • taso42_DELETED
    taso42_DELETED Posts: 3,394 Member
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    Kudos to you for turning things around! You might consider talking to a registered dietitian and/or personal trainer in addition to any advice you get on here. That said... my 2 cents would be: if you want to build muscle - lift heavy and hard. Make sure you're making that ugly face on the last few reps. Protein is your friend here. Protein is the only thing that can add to muscle mass - though of course the body uses the energy from carbs to do the building. Shakes are not a bad idea at all. Not all protein shakes are created equally, so shop around and scrutinize the labels. Some (most) have artificial sweeteners. But others have natural sugars, and others have no added sweetener at all. I think you can probably find a product that would fit into what you're happy and comfortable consuming.

    Best of luck on your journey!

    Edit: Excellent point by stevemcknight above regarding calories. You will want to eat above your maintenance calories for best results building muscle. If all protein/fat/carbs ratios are good you will build the muscle without adding any additional fat. Although since you're sort of just starting out, don't stress too much about fine-tuning your ratios.
  • NoAdditives
    NoAdditives Posts: 4,251 Member
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    You'll need to eat lots of protein and eat more than your maintenance calories. With your weight lifting you'll need to lift heavy with few reps, that's how you'll build muscle. Protein shakes are fine but I recommend one that is made with all natural ingredients and no artificial sweeteners. (I use Bluebonnet soy protein, I find it at a local health food store. Spirutein is also good.) Drink a protein shake (I make mine with soy milk) immediately after working out to deliver protein to your muscles quickly and to replenish the glycogen stores in your muscles. It helps them recovery faster and aids in building muscle tissue.
  • Fat_Chopper
    Fat_Chopper Posts: 97 Member
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    All the protein in the world will not put on any muscle... protein without exercise WILL PUT ON FAT. Your body with take any excess protein (amino acids) and convert it to glucose or fatty acids for storage (fat).

    Go here and read up.... http://scoobysworkshop.com/gainingMuscle.htm
  • atomdraco
    atomdraco Posts: 1,083 Member
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    Glad that you are taking steps to getting healthier.

    Personally I prefer getting protein from food, not protein shake (but I do drink some protein loaded smoothie/shake from time to time, when I don't have access to a real meal, within 45 min of after workout). I've found myself can get loaded protein without need protein shake or bar.

    A general rule of calculating how many protein you needed for you is: 0.5 to 1.0 gram per kilogram of body weight to maintain, and 1.5 to 2 grams to build muscles. In your case, you definitely want the 1.5-2 grams per kilogram of body weight.

    Be careful with "loading up with the protein" thing. It's more about eating them at the right time and right amount. Have some protein before workout helps with the performance of your muscles. You want to "load" those proteins within 45 minutes of the workout. Beyond that, just eat normally. :P

    Another thing for you is definitely eat lots of healthy fat (best is the polyunsaturated, the monounsaturated).
  • ashahl
    ashahl Posts: 81
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    Thank you guys so much, it's really helpful to get information from others who know what they are doing. It's still hard for me to reach maintenance calories especially when I exercise but I know that if I want to make a change I really need to do it. I'll definitely try to increasing my protein with at every meal and snack.

    NoAdditives: I'll look into Bluebonnet; it sounds good do you have any other suggestions for healthy protein shakes?

    So if I have it summarized correctly: eat above my maintenance calories, eat LOTS of protein and carbs to build muscle, lift heavy weight with fewer reps and eat within 45 minutes of a work out?
  • TrainingWithTonya
    TrainingWithTonya Posts: 1,741 Member
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    Congrats on moving past your ED. Gaining muscle is more about the workouts then anything else. High weights, low reps. As for adding calories, carbs, and protein, it's really not as much additional as people think. You shouldn't go more then 2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight to gain muscle. At 85 pounds, you're 38.556 kilograms, so 77.111 grams of protein is sufficient for you to be able to build muscle. As you gain, that will go up, but for now, that is enough. More then that can be dangerous to kidneys that may have been damaged by your ED. Focus on getting healthy and the muscle mass will come without the risks. Carbohydrates for the volume of weight training that is needed for muscle building is a lot more then protein at 8 to 10 grams per kilogram. For you, that would be 308 to 386 grams of carbohydrates per day. You still need fat too, though, so be sure your fat is 15-20% of your total calories. Based on the max for protein (77 grams) and the low end of the range for carbs (308), I'm estimating a calorie intake of 1925 per day with 42 grams of fat to be 20% fat. I don't know what you are currently eating for "maintenance" or "weight gain" calories, but I'm guessing this is higher then what it's been estimated as because it is about 300 more then I get when figuring your maintenance for highly active not counting exercise with the basic formula I've been taught to use. But remember, these numbers are based on building muscle and working hard in the gym for it so it will be higher then you expect. I know that is scary coming from ED. Add in what you can emotionally first and set the higher numbers as a goal. You can do this and we're all here to help you if we can. Feel free to add me as a friend or send me a message if I can help or if you ever just need to vent your way through.
  • ashahl
    ashahl Posts: 81
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    TrainingWithTony - Thank you!!!! That was all so helpful. I"m really trying to incorporate all of that into my meal plan now!
  • Mobstang
    Mobstang Posts: 10 Member
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    You mention having a hard time hitting your maintenance calories daily. This is something that i struggle with from time to time as well. Keep in mind that liquid products, such as the protein shake, aren't going to keep you as full and will allow you to eat more often. Obviously (or not maybe) don't substitute protein shakes for a meal, they don't have the other required nutrients that you get from real food. Find one you like and it becomes a real treat instead of "ugh - i have another ### calories to eat before i got to bed".

    You got some really great advice in this thread - just adding my 2c.

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