trying to gain weight

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sarahkayhaugh
sarahkayhaugh Posts: 1 Member
in Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
I've been trying to gain weight. but nothing is working. I eat all the time, but I just stay the same weight. any suggestions or tips.

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  • chelsea7162
    chelsea7162 Posts: 97 Member
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    Track what you eat for a whole day, accurately (weight everything with a food scale and measure everything). You might not be eating high calorie foods or as much as you thought you were. Do you workout? If so you might be burning off more than you thought or have a higher metabolism.
  • chrismwpcs
    chrismwpcs Posts: 35 Member
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    What is a typical days food intake and what exercise are you doing? With that information it would be easier to formulate some help. :)
  • HamsterManV2
    HamsterManV2 Posts: 449 Member
    edited March 2016
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    I wrote this for someone else, but I think it applies to you as well. This method allows you to have a clear, realistic goal with measurable progress. Good luck and remember consistency is king!
    HamsterManV2 wrote: »
    First off, find out what your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) is. Go on google, put in your age, sex, weight, height, and activity level. This is the number of calories you need to eat to MAINTAIN weight.

    To gain weight, you need to eat +500 calories a week for 1lb /week of weight gain. That is probably too hard, so I recommend aiming for +250 calories over your TDEE for 0.5lb / week of weight gain. Track everything you put in your mouth with a food scale and a my fitness pal account. You NEED to find high caloric foods that are easy to eat. Examples are:

    -Spreadables: Peanut butter, nutella, those flavored peanut butter spreads, etc.
    -Liquid: Whole Milk, Olive oil (filled with healthy fats but lots of calories per tablespoon... I used to just take shots when I was underweight and needed more calories before bed).
    -Shakes: I used to make shakes with whole fat milk, olive oil, chocolate protein, peanut butter, bananas, etc. If you don't mind 'dirty' foods, add in ice cream too! You can easily make 1000 calorie shakes if you want!

    If you are OK with it, you can 'dirty bulk' meaning having high calorie foods that are not exactly known for being healthy. So things like fast food, ice cream, pizza, whatever. If you don't want that, stick to the things I listed above.

    Cheers!

    Edit: Just a reminder to track your calories - underweight people overestimate how much they are eating, and overweight people underestimate it. Tracking what you eat will be a full time job, but you need to do it for at least 3 weeks until you have an idea of how much you should eat daily. 3 weeks is what it takes to build a habit / make it routine. GOOD LUCK! +250lbs each day for a gain of .5lbs per week is good, consistent progress. Aim too high and you will quit the next day.

  • Brandonleite
    Brandonleite Posts: 5 Member
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    The fact is you simply aren't eating as much as you think you are. Eat more, and if after a few weeks you still aren't gaining, eat even more. Good luck!
  • KarolinaSkowron
    KarolinaSkowron Posts: 3 Member
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    from experience, it's not about eating all the time , it is about how much you eat at the specific times. Eating a sandwich for 4 hours did not help my case. I had to learn to consume more in shorter period of time. Try also high calorie snacks, not necessary sweets. Hope it helps x
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,344 Member
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    KarolinaSkowron wrote: »
    from experience, it's not about eating all the time , it is about how much you eat at the specific times. Eating a sandwich for 4 hours did not help my case. I had to learn to consume more in shorter period of time. Try also high calorie snacks, not necessary sweets. Hope it helps x

    It's about how many calories you take in, period. To gain weight, you have to eat more calories than you're expending. It doesn't matter how fast or slow you eat them, or when you eat them. If you burn 2500 calories per day, you need to eat more than 2500 calories per day to gain weight.

    If you think you're burning 2500 calories per day and think you're eating 2750 calories per day and you're not gaining weight, then one (or both) of two things is happening - you're either burning more than 2500 calories per day, or you're eating less than 2500 calories per day. You don't lose weight on a surplus, and you don't gain weight on a deficit.

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