Can you gain weight without getting fat? Please help

blossomofsnow
blossomofsnow Posts: 21 Member
Hello there, my name is Mikaela. I used to be curvy and juicy and did not appreciate that. I always had a good metabolism, but a couple of years ago I started exercising a lot and eating much more healthier and lost a lot of weight (6.5kg) that I now have difficulty taking back. I'm 165cm and used to be 57kg, when I lost the weight I went as low as 50.5kg. I started trying more intensively to gain back the weight about 2 months ago. Now I'm 54kg and my goal weight is 58-59kg. Although I'm happy in gaining my weight back, I eat a lot of chocolates, junk food and fat in order to achieve that and I'm afraid I'm mostly gaining fast instead of bulk and muscles.

My question is, what is the best way to gain weight without getting fat, is it exercising and a lot of proteins? If so, what kind of exercising, weight lifting? I'm really just trying to bring my curves back, but I already feel like I'm gaining the weight in the worst places, I don't know if the fault is my dieting. I understand that when you gain fat you gain it everywhere, I just want to know if you can just gain it in muscles instead of fat and still have a feminine figure. Is that possible at all?

Thank you so much for your help!!!
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Replies

  • pebbleslaura1
    pebbleslaura1 Posts: 146 Member
    im also trying to gain but want to do it without getting fat build muscle love advice also sick of being told to eat junk!
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    Hello there, my name is Mikaela. I used to be curvy and juicy and did not appreciate that. I always had a good metabolism, but a couple of years ago I started exercising a lot and eating much more healthier and lost a lot of weight (6.5kg) that I now have difficulty taking back. I'm 165cm and used to be 57kg, when I lost the weight I went as low as 50.5kg. I started trying more intensively to gain back the weight about 2 months ago. Now I'm 54kg and my goal weight is 58-59kg. Although I'm happy in gaining my weight back, I eat a lot of chocolates, junk food and fat in order to achieve that and I'm afraid I'm mostly gaining fast instead of bulk and muscles.

    My question is, what is the best way to gain weight without getting fat, is it exercising and a lot of proteins? If so, what kind of exercising, weight lifting? I'm really just trying to bring my curves back, but I already feel like I'm gaining the weight in the worst places, I don't know if the fault is my dieting. I understand that when you gain fat you gain it everywhere, I just want to know if you can just gain it in muscles instead of fat and still have a feminine figure. Is that possible at all?

    Thank you so much for your help!!!

    Are you currently working out? If you're not doing any sort of strength training then you will just be gaining fat.
  • blossomofsnow
    blossomofsnow Posts: 21 Member
    Are you currently working out? If you're not doing any sort of strength training then you will just be gaining fat.

    Hello there, I'm doing mostly aerobic exercises for about 3 hours per week, not weights. Is this OK?
  • blossomofsnow
    blossomofsnow Posts: 21 Member
    im also trying to gain but want to do it without getting fat build muscle love advice also sick of being told to eat junk!

    Haha I know right? What good is it going to do me getting the weight in pure fat??? I used to be so jealous of people eating whatever they liked and not gaining weight, now seeing how awful and not healthy my skin looks in regards to junk eating I say it's better to be 2-3 kg above than below. At least in the past cellulite and was not a problem!
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    the answer is no …

    your body is not efficient enough to pack on 100% muscle.

    typical ratio is 1:1 to so if your gain ten pounds five will be fat and five will be muscle.

    my advice.

    set MFP to .5 pound per week gain.
    set your macros to 40% carbs;35% protein; 25% fats
    get on a heavy lifting program like strong lifts, starting strength, new rules of lifting for woman, etc.
    repeat until you get desired results…

    also, calories are king during a bulk….and no this does not mean get 100% of your calories from ice cream, cookies, etc…it does mean that you should be eating nutrient dense foods like chicken, rice, fish, vegetables, steak, and also incorporate high calorie foods to get you in a surplus like bagels, pasta, ice cream, cookies, etc….
  • blossomofsnow
    blossomofsnow Posts: 21 Member
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    the answer is no …

    your body is not efficient enough to pack on 100% muscle.

    typical ratio is 1:1 to so if your gain ten pounds five will be fat and five will be muscle.

    my advice.

    set MFP to .5 pound per week gain.
    set your macros to 40% carbs;35% protein; 25% fats
    get on a heavy lifting program like strong lifts, starting strength, new rules of lifting for woman, etc.
    repeat until you get desired results…

    also, calories are king during a bulk….and no this does not mean get 100% of your calories from ice cream, cookies, etc…it does mean that you should be eating nutrient dense foods like chicken, rice, fish, vegetables, steak, and also incorporate high calorie foods to get you in a surplus like bagels, pasta, ice cream, cookies, etc….

    God bless you sweetie, this was exactly the answer I was looking for, thank you so much! :blush: I only have two last questions and I will be out of your hair: when you say macros you mean carbohydrates? And the last one, I put in my goals +0.5kg(1 pound)/week, is this too much?
  • blossomofsnow
    blossomofsnow Posts: 21 Member
    I got what macros are when I went to change my goals :)
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    the answer is no …

    your body is not efficient enough to pack on 100% muscle.

    typical ratio is 1:1 to so if your gain ten pounds five will be fat and five will be muscle.

    my advice.

    set MFP to .5 pound per week gain.
    set your macros to 40% carbs;35% protein; 25% fats
    get on a heavy lifting program like strong lifts, starting strength, new rules of lifting for woman, etc.
    repeat until you get desired results…

    also, calories are king during a bulk….and no this does not mean get 100% of your calories from ice cream, cookies, etc…it does mean that you should be eating nutrient dense foods like chicken, rice, fish, vegetables, steak, and also incorporate high calorie foods to get you in a surplus like bagels, pasta, ice cream, cookies, etc….

    God bless you sweetie, this was exactly the answer I was looking for, thank you so much! :blush: I only have two last questions and I will be out of your hair: when you say macros you mean carbohydrates? And the last one, I put in my goals +0.5kg(1 pound)/week, is this too much?

    yes, carbohydrates are a macro, but so are protein and fats.

    No, that is not too much. However, most people recommend .5 pound per week if you want to minimize fat loss. But I would stay with one pound per week gain and see how it goes if you feel that you are putting fat on too fast then cut back to .5 pound per week gain ...
  • letsgain01
    letsgain01 Posts: 106 Member
    If you eat in a surplus without exercising it doesn't matter if its all carrots. It won't go to the right places. Stay away from cardio bc you'll have to make that up in calories. I'm going to add you so we can motivate each other.
  • blossomofsnow
    blossomofsnow Posts: 21 Member
    Thank you all for replying and helping me, it means a lot to me!!! @letsgain01‌ i would love that)
  • Springfield1970
    Springfield1970 Posts: 1,945 Member
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    the answer is no …

    your body is not efficient enough to pack on 100% muscle.

    typical ratio is 1:1 to so if your gain ten pounds five will be fat and five will be muscle.

    my advice.

    set MFP to .5 pound per week gain.
    set your macros to 40% carbs;35% protein; 25% fats
    get on a heavy lifting program like strong lifts, starting strength, new rules of lifting for woman, etc.
    repeat until you get desired results…

    also, calories are king during a bulk….and no this does not mean get 100% of your calories from ice cream, cookies, etc…it does mean that you should be eating nutrient dense foods like chicken, rice, fish, vegetables, steak, and also incorporate high calorie foods to get you in a surplus like bagels, pasta, ice cream, cookies, etc….

    This answer is all you'll ever need!

    I will add, try gaining only half a pound a week and see how you look.

    Make sure you're really in top of the lifting, because it needs to be good form, and it's going to get heavy quite quickly.

    Strong Curves/Bret Contraras for the booty!

  • blossomofsnow
    blossomofsnow Posts: 21 Member
    @Springfield1970‌ thank you very much!! I will do that!!! :)
  • Hello there, my name is Mikaela. I used to be curvy and juicy and did not appreciate that. I always had a good metabolism, but a couple of years ago I started exercising a lot and eating much more healthier and lost a lot of weight (6.5kg) that I now have difficulty taking back. I'm 165cm and used to be 57kg, when I lost the weight I went as low as 50.5kg. I started trying more intensively to gain back the weight about 2 months ago. Now I'm 54kg and my goal weight is 58-59kg. Although I'm happy in gaining my weight back, I eat a lot of chocolates, junk food and fat in order to achieve that and I'm afraid I'm mostly gaining fast instead of bulk and muscles.

    My question is, what is the best way to gain weight without getting fat, is it exercising and a lot of proteins? If so, what kind of exercising, weight lifting? I'm really just trying to bring my curves back, but I already feel like I'm gaining the weight in the worst places, I don't know if the fault is my dieting. I understand that when you gain fat you gain it everywhere, I just want to know if you can just gain it in muscles instead of fat and still have a feminine figure. Is that possible at all?

    Thank you so much for your help!!!

  • Hello there, my name is Mikaela. I used to be curvy and juicy and did not appreciate that. I always had a good metabolism, but a couple of years ago I started exercising a lot and eating much more healthier and lost a lot of weight (6.5kg) that I now have difficulty taking back. I'm 165cm and used to be 57kg, when I lost the weight I went as low as 50.5kg. I started trying more intensively to gain back the weight about 2 months ago. Now I'm 54kg and my goal weight is 58-59kg. Although I'm happy in gaining my weight back, I eat a lot of chocolates, junk food and fat in order to achieve that and I'm afraid I'm mostly gaining fast instead of bulk and muscles.

    My question is, what is the best way to gain weight without getting fat, is it exercising and a lot of proteins? If so, what kind of exercising, weight lifting? I'm really just trying to bring my curves back, but I already feel like I'm gaining the weight in the worst places, I don't know if the fault is my dieting. I understand that when you gain fat you gain it everywhere, I just want to know if you can just gain it in muscles instead of fat and still have a feminine figure. Is that possible at all?

    Thank you so much for your help!!!

  • Hello there, my name is Mikaela. I used to be curvy and juicy and did not appreciate that. I always had a good metabolism, but a couple of years ago I started exercising a lot and eating much more healthier and lost a lot of weight (6.5kg) that I now have difficulty taking back. I'm 165cm and used to be 57kg, when I lost the weight I went as low as 50.5kg. I started trying more intensively to gain back the weight about 2 months ago. Now I'm 54kg and my goal weight is 58-59kg. Although I'm happy in gaining my weight back, I eat a lot of chocolates, junk food and fat in order to achieve that and I'm afraid I'm mostly gaining fast instead of bulk and muscles.

    My question is, what is the best way to gain weight without getting fat, is it exercising and a lot of proteins? If so, what kind of exercising, weight lifting? I'm really just trying to bring my curves back, but I already feel like I'm gaining the weight in the worst places, I don't know if the fault is my dieting. I understand that when you gain fat you gain it everywhere, I just want to know if you can just gain it in muscles instead of fat and still have a feminine figure. Is that possible at all?

    Thank you so much for your help!!!
    Hello there, my name is Mikaela. I used to be curvy and juicy and did not appreciate that. I always had a good metabolism, but a couple of years ago I started exercising a lot and eating much more healthier and lost a lot of weight (6.5kg) that I now have difficulty taking back. I'm 165cm and used to be 57kg, when I lost the weight I went as low as 50.5kg. I started trying more intensively to gain back the weight about 2 months ago. Now I'm 54kg and my goal weight is 58-59kg. Although I'm happy in gaining my weight back, I eat a lot of chocolates, junk food and fat in order to achieve that and I'm afraid I'm mostly gaining fast instead of bulk and muscles.

    My question is, what is the best way to gain weight without getting fat, is it exercising and a lot of proteins? If so, what kind of exercising, weight lifting? I'm really just trying to bring my curves back, but I already feel like I'm gaining the weight in the worst places, I don't know if the fault is my dieting. I understand that when you gain fat you gain it everywhere, I just want to know if you can just gain it in muscles instead of fat and still have a feminine figure. Is that possible at all?

    Thank you so much for your help!!!
    . Lift free weights. Squat heavy you will grow muscle weight.

  • blossomofsnow
    blossomofsnow Posts: 21 Member
    @tylerw86008‌ excuse my ignorance, but what are free weights?
  • chokeslam512
    chokeslam512 Posts: 78 Member
    @tylerw86008‌ excuse my ignorance, but what are free weights?

    Barbells, dumbbells (stay away from the pink ones;), kettlebells etc. Don't be afraid of the iron.
  • @tylerw86008‌ excuse my ignorance, but what are free weights?
    Weights. Like not machines . weights. Lift weights.
  • ryry2169
    ryry2169 Posts: 90 Member
    Best of luck to you @blossomofsnow
  • LiftAllThePizzas
    LiftAllThePizzas Posts: 17,857 Member
    Since nobody mentioned it, this works more than once. After you gain some you can go back and cut a few pounds (while still continuing with the strength training) in order to lose some of the fat you gained, and a little of the muscle. But with each bulk/cut cycle (if you keep lifting) you will end up with more muscle and less fat than the last cycle. You can stop the bulk/cut cycles when you reach the body composition that you really want.
  • blossomofsnow
    blossomofsnow Posts: 21 Member
    @ryry2169‌ thank you so much, best luck to you too!!!
  • blossomofsnow
    blossomofsnow Posts: 21 Member
    @chokeslam512‌ haha got it, I'll stay away from them :)
  • blossomofsnow
    blossomofsnow Posts: 21 Member
    @tylerw86008 thank you, you are the real mvp
  • blossomofsnow
    blossomofsnow Posts: 21 Member
    @LiftAllThePizzas‌ I did think about that, I'm in a bit of hurry to gain the weight fast and I thought maybe start with 0.5kg/week while building muscles and fixing the fat gradually, thank you, now I know it can be done. I think this is the way for me, otherwise I will have to wait 6 months and I just want to be done by summer :)
  • TheGrassBends
    TheGrassBends Posts: 3
    edited March 2015
    What works for me is combining 4 days strength training (30-40 minutes) and 2 days cardio (20-30 minutes). I have MFP set for .5 pound gain per week which I regularly attain. I have no problem gaining muscle and not fat. This strategy may or may not work for everyone - everyone has a different body type.

    I eat "healthy" food at least 6 days a week - meaning good fats (nuts, fish, olive oil, fish oil). I like Kind bars, Fiber One bars, Zone Perfect protein bars or Luna bars for snacks. Wild salmon, mahi mahi, and chicken are my main sources of meal protein. Rice or pasta, with low sodium sauce as my carb. I also incorporate potatoes, and lots of vegetables and fruits into my diet. I work hard to get enough potassium, and fiber into my diet.

    I will have protein shakes at the smoothie shop or Starbucks (yes they have a banana chocolate smoothie on their secret menu).

    I supplement with fish oil, a multi vitamin, glucosamine/chondroiton/msm, and calcium.
  • Wheelhouse15
    Wheelhouse15 Posts: 5,575 Member
    Some good advice here. Many of us are roughly 80/20 split between "clean" and "junk" (in quotes because they really should be). Those who eat less will need to eat more on the "clean" side to get their micros and most of their macros but once you have a basic, well balanced diet taken care of you can eat what you want. If that's more "clean" foods and you can manage to meet all of your calories with that then go for it. Diet needs to be something you can sustain properly for pretty much your entire life so make sure it's something ou are comfortable with.

    Take a look around the forums here and you'll see some more good advice and some heated debates. You can take from it what you like and leave the rest.

    Good luck to you.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    What works for me is combining 4 days strength training (30-40 minutes) and 2 days cardio (20-30 minutes). I have MFP set for .5 pound gain per week which I regularly attain. I have no problem gaining muscle and not fat. This strategy may or may not work for everyone - everyone has a different body type.

    I eat "healthy" food at least 6 days a week - meaning good fats (nuts, fish, olive oil, fish oil). I like Kind bars, Fiber One bars, Zone Perfect protein bars or Luna bars for snacks. Wild salmon, mahi mahi, and chicken are my main sources of meal protein. Rice or pasta, with low sodium sauce as my carb. I also incorporate potatoes, and lots of vegetables and fruits into my diet. I work hard to get enough potassium, and fiber into my diet.

    I will have protein shakes at the smoothie shop or Starbucks (yes they have a banana chocolate smoothie on their secret menu).

    I supplement with fish oil, a multi vitamin, glucosamine/chondroiton/msm, and calcium.

    so you gain 100% muscle?
  • Wheelhouse15
    Wheelhouse15 Posts: 5,575 Member
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    What works for me is combining 4 days strength training (30-40 minutes) and 2 days cardio (20-30 minutes). I have MFP set for .5 pound gain per week which I regularly attain. I have no problem gaining muscle and not fat. This strategy may or may not work for everyone - everyone has a different body type.

    I eat "healthy" food at least 6 days a week - meaning good fats (nuts, fish, olive oil, fish oil). I like Kind bars, Fiber One bars, Zone Perfect protein bars or Luna bars for snacks. Wild salmon, mahi mahi, and chicken are my main sources of meal protein. Rice or pasta, with low sodium sauce as my carb. I also incorporate potatoes, and lots of vegetables and fruits into my diet. I work hard to get enough potassium, and fiber into my diet.

    I will have protein shakes at the smoothie shop or Starbucks (yes they have a banana chocolate smoothie on their secret menu).

    I supplement with fish oil, a multi vitamin, glucosamine/chondroiton/msm, and calcium.

    so you gain 100% muscle?

    That's nothing I've gained 150% muscle. ;)
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    What works for me is combining 4 days strength training (30-40 minutes) and 2 days cardio (20-30 minutes). I have MFP set for .5 pound gain per week which I regularly attain. I have no problem gaining muscle and not fat. This strategy may or may not work for everyone - everyone has a different body type.

    I eat "healthy" food at least 6 days a week - meaning good fats (nuts, fish, olive oil, fish oil). I like Kind bars, Fiber One bars, Zone Perfect protein bars or Luna bars for snacks. Wild salmon, mahi mahi, and chicken are my main sources of meal protein. Rice or pasta, with low sodium sauce as my carb. I also incorporate potatoes, and lots of vegetables and fruits into my diet. I work hard to get enough potassium, and fiber into my diet.

    I will have protein shakes at the smoothie shop or Starbucks (yes they have a banana chocolate smoothie on their secret menu).

    I supplement with fish oil, a multi vitamin, glucosamine/chondroiton/msm, and calcium.

    so you gain 100% muscle?

    That's nothing I've gained 150% muscle. ;)

    yea, well I gained 1000% muscle...
  • AKDonF
    AKDonF Posts: 235 Member
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    What works for me is combining 4 days strength training (30-40 minutes) and 2 days cardio (20-30 minutes). I have MFP set for .5 pound gain per week which I regularly attain. I have no problem gaining muscle and not fat. This strategy may or may not work for everyone - everyone has a different body type.

    I eat "healthy" food at least 6 days a week - meaning good fats (nuts, fish, olive oil, fish oil). I like Kind bars, Fiber One bars, Zone Perfect protein bars or Luna bars for snacks. Wild salmon, mahi mahi, and chicken are my main sources of meal protein. Rice or pasta, with low sodium sauce as my carb. I also incorporate potatoes, and lots of vegetables and fruits into my diet. I work hard to get enough potassium, and fiber into my diet.

    I will have protein shakes at the smoothie shop or Starbucks (yes they have a banana chocolate smoothie on their secret menu).

    I supplement with fish oil, a multi vitamin, glucosamine/chondroiton/msm, and calcium.

    so you gain 100% muscle?

    That's nothing I've gained 150% muscle. ;)

    LOL.... I love this! Great progress!!! :)