Lost too much weight

I've been looking for support on gaining weight but I'm not trying to bulk up. I've lost too much weight and I'm looking unhealthy. I'm struggling to find help with gaining weight unrelated to bulking up; just gaining 5-7 pounds back so I'm healthy. Any advice or tips? Please post and also add me if you want to. I'm feeling a bit lost. My husband tells me I'm too bony and he's right -- I took my weight loss too far.

Replies

  • Tblackdogs
    Tblackdogs Posts: 326 Member
    Eat healthy, high calorie foods. Avocado and nuts are two good suggestions!
  • Buff2022
    Buff2022 Posts: 373 Member
    I am sorry you got a negative comment. I had a friend who was just skin an bones...ate like a cow. God I miss her and let her RIP. People would give her so much crap. But eat healthy and add maybe 200 calories a day and see if that works. Keep adding till you get that weight you need back on.
  • jenncornelsen
    jenncornelsen Posts: 969 Member
    i have seen this happen with a few of my girlfriends where they became borderline anorexic because they were so afraid to go back to being fat. don't let that happen with u its just a whole new issue and actually worse than being a few lbs overweight. increase your calories on here to gain 1lb a week. it might seem like your eating alot and u might not get there everyday but it truly is important. good luck !
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    How much do you want to gain back? You could do something like aim for .5 lbs per week. MFP will have you set to eat 250 calories above maintenance daily. I think using the TDEE method is a little easier when you're trying to gain though. Are you familiar?
  • jen73fit4life
    jen73fit4life Posts: 24 Member
    I'm wanting to gain 5-7 pounds back. I set my calorie adjustment to gain .5 pounds a week. Thanks for your support, I really appreciate it!
  • AsISmile
    AsISmile Posts: 1,004 Member
    Good luck. Gaining intentionally can be hard.
    Try to eat in a way that will fit the way you eat when you transition to maintenance.
    Your desired gain is not a lot, so increasing portion sizes will most likely do the trick.
    If you already start eating smart now, and adjustment in portion size will help you transition to maintenance.
  • jennifer_417
    jennifer_417 Posts: 12,344 Member
    It's great that you're responding so well to feedback and wanting to be a helathy weight!
    As far as gaining, there are lots of foods that are calorie dense without much volume. Try cooking with oil, adding butter to your food. Mayo has lots of calories, and a little goes a long way. Nutella has 100 cals a tablespoon, and would be an awesome addition to a protein shake or smoothie.(I like it on toast) Full-fat milk, if you like that, is pretty high in calories, as well.
  • auddii
    auddii Posts: 15,357 Member
    You gain weight the same way to bulk as you would to gain some fat, by eating more. To bulk and limit fat gains, people recommend progressive lifting. I'd recommend reading the tips on bulking as they are still going to apply (especially the difficult mindset of trying to gain after trying so long to lose).

    You can either ignore the lifting suggestions or add them in. While you don't want to get "bulky" that's really determined by how much fat you have over your lean mass. Many people bulk and then do a cut to get rid of the fat they gained during a bulk.

    So, you could bulk and lift and put on a mix of fat and muscle and not cut afterwards. This could give you some long term benefits like improved strength and bone health.

    Or you can eat more with no (or little) resistance training and just put on weight, which a good portion of it will likely be fat (which may be what you are looking for).

    While I assume you'll pick the non lifting riute, this might be a good read for you:

    http://bretcontreras.com/how-to-attain-a-slender-look-like-jessica-alba-zoe-saldana/