i cant put on weight!

lashman108
lashman108 Posts: 1 Member
edited November 23 in Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
For years people have been saying to me I look thin, witch is just as bad as keep calling someone fat. I lost a stone due to a couple of tummy bugs at the end of last year, witch in my opinion just rid me of a bit of extra timber. I got sick of people calling me thin so decided to try and bulk up bit. Problem is although I seem to be eating a lot I struggle to hit my calorie target and I have only gained 1lb since June. I've been doing weight training aswel as eating more. Any advice is much appreciated.

Replies

  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    eat more.

    that's pretty much the only advice to fix a "not gaining" question. eat more.

    you either eat more volume or eat higher calorie food (frequently referred to as junk food)

    hit a minimum macro with your normal chicken broccoli type foods- and then move on to pizza- snickers- ice cream bagels- gummy bears

    whatever it takes.

    If you're feeling to full- eat less dense food that's higher in calories- drink more of your calories- it's honestly pretty self diagnosing. Not gaining = not enough calories.

    good luck!
  • giantrobot_powerlifting
    giantrobot_powerlifting Posts: 2,598 Member
    edited August 2015
    Eat more.
    Progressive resistance.
    Bigger lifts.
    Bigger appetite.
    Eat more.
    Almonds.
  • AsISmile
    AsISmile Posts: 1,004 Member
    What they said.

    Basically after eating all your micronutrients (the healthy stuff) eat foods high in calories that doesn't fill you up too much.
    Also, you can drink part of your calories. For example add full fat milk to your diet. Actually, replace all the no/low fat with full fat. Same volume, more calories.
  • Giolis
    Giolis Posts: 1,204 Member
    JoRocka wrote: »
    eat more.

    that's pretty much the only advice to fix a "not gaining" question. eat more.

    you either eat more volume or eat higher calorie food (frequently referred to as junk food)

    hit a minimum macro with your normal chicken broccoli type foods- and then move on to pizza- snickers- ice cream bagels- gummy bears

    whatever it takes.

    If you're feeling to full- eat less dense food that's higher in calories- drink more of your calories- it's honestly pretty self diagnosing. Not gaining = not enough calories.

    good luck!

    ^This.

    I think it's also very important to track your calories in a bulk. Guys swear their eating a lot more and can't gain but in reality they're eating a lot of high volume low calorie foods in the false hopes of only gaining muscle and not fat. In reality they just wind up eating at maintenance. If you track you know.

    Good luck.
  • devildogheath
    devildogheath Posts: 40 Member
    Add lots of coconut oil to your shakes, peanut butter, and track your calories on here. I thought I was eating 10k a day until I started tracking them here a couple days to discover I'm only doing 6 to 8k.
  • tyler_slater
    tyler_slater Posts: 1 Member
    If you have trouble eating alot try eating mostly high calorie foods so u dont have to eat as much i find sunflower seeds and nuts to be great! Fruit smoothies are also great and full of carbs fish is also high calories! Pack on the carbs and protien and u will see a gain:)
  • andyluvv
    andyluvv Posts: 281 Member
    Try to eat more fats - since they're higher in calories you'll end up eating "less" but having more calories in your diet.
    A croissant for example, has 300 calories - if I'm hungry I can easily have two (which is why I avoid them!).
    Oil in general - just a couple of tablespoons to your diet would help you gain.
    Also honey - a couple of tablespoons would help and bread.

    Basically go low on the vegetables and high on everything else...peanut butter - if I'm not careful I can eat the jar :pensive:
    Oh, and whole milk - some people bulking eat a whole gallon (though I wouldn't personally advise it)
  • ROBOTFOOD
    ROBOTFOOD Posts: 5,527 Member
    Yep. Eat more, lift heavy.
    Eat 5k/day. You'll gain a lot.
    Liquid calories will be the easiest.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,993 Member
    Calorie dense food is your friend if you're trying to gain weight but can't seem to eat much. I personally bulked up on pizza and fast food along with whole foods when I was in my 20's to put on weight.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,428 MFP Moderator
    Dont be afraid to drink some calories too.
  • teamwellness9119
    teamwellness9119 Posts: 7 Member
    Eat towards your calorie goal. I personally count my calories and keep a track record of my progress. I do also have a mass gainer that I've been using and though I've been gaining some fat while I've been gaining muscle, I have definitely added mass to my original incredibly bony figure. People with fast metabolisms have to check how much they are eating because if it's not enough, the body will start eating its own muscle.
  • Chieflrg
    Chieflrg Posts: 9,097 Member
    lashman108 wrote: »
    Problem is although I seem to be eating a lot I struggle to hit my calorie target and I have only gained 1lb

    You already answered your question. Hit your cal goals coupled with progressive lifting.
    After 2-3 weeks adjust if too little/much weight is gained.



  • RedWolf09
    RedWolf09 Posts: 90 Member
    Focus on eating carbs
  • alexandracoatman
    alexandracoatman Posts: 1 Member
    Inot sure if your a tea/coffee drinker but i replaced all my cups of tea with hot chocolate/horlicks with full fat milk. Get up earlier so you start eating sooner, aim for half your calorie intake by noon, and keep protein snacks like almonds to nibble on between meal..average almond has 7 caloriws, doesnt sound a lot but a few handfuls soon start adding up :)
  • KeepGood
    KeepGood Posts: 386 Member
    OP Use MFP to track what you eat. For years I struggled to gain weight, it really was just down to not eating enough, I didn't realise how little I ate until I saw a log of it. I still struggle to hit my calorie goal every day. Training the stomach to deal with larger amounts of food can be a task but it gets easier as time goes on. You don't need to track everything but use it to make sure you hit your minimum goal.

    Try to find things that will boost your calorie count up easily. My favourites are whole milk and pistachio nuts. :smile:
  • MattJVD
    MattJVD Posts: 1 Member
    I was in the same boat, until I decided to get analytical.
    I bought a food scale and measured everything (meats and veggies by weight, rice, pasta etc by volume) I ate normally for a couple of weeks. Found out I was at around 2500 Cals when I thought I was closer to 3k. It is nigh impossible to guess what your caloric intake is with any accuacy or consistancy. Measure everything and record it in MFP. Get a baseline of what your currently eating so you know your maintence Cals, then increase by 300ish. If, after a month you feel it's too slow, increase you cals again.
  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
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  • gtmfitness
    gtmfitness Posts: 51 Member
    http://gtmfitness.com/muscle-meals-how-to-eat-4000-calories-a-day/


    This is how I did it over the years :)

    I even fast every morning and still hit my calorie goals.

    Hope this helps! Time to make them gains haha
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