Tips for gaining weight when I'm currently underweight?

If you're eating at a surplus and working out you will probably gain 50/50 fat and muscle which is fine because you are underweight. You should take your measurements and find out you body fat percentage because it is never safe to assume. If you want to be 120 pounds and lean then you will have to gain more than that and then shred the extra pounds off.

Hey @labnikki,

Something that I've done recently is looked at my food logs to find all of the days were I ate at or above my caloric goal, then wrote the observations in a Word document. Mine's gonna go on the fridge for reference. I noticed that I was relying on desserts and candy a lot to get calories in the smallest packages, but also doing some things aside from the actual chewing and swallowing that have helped.

Here's some ideas:

• Have a change in regular routine: distractions, travel, meet with friends, wake up early, stress, chores.
• Try for more protein and less sugar (my goal is <40% of total calories, <30% is a victory.)
• Something sweet/munchie food 1-2x a day: doughnuts, cookies, ice cream, cheesecake...
• Some veggies, sometimes fruit.
• Burritos containing beans are easy to nuke and high protein
• Deli cuts meats and cheese
• Cheese containing appetizers esp. midday. Frozen appetizers are a staple right now.
• Fried foods
• Eat out, and/or with other people, especially those who eat more than you.
• Go shopping, use restaurants, freezer meals and appetizers and delis. Someone else does the cooking.
• Buy from bulk sections and food bars where you can try small amounts of stuff with little pressure and get more if it works.
• Snack on grains – popcorn, chex mix, chips, cereal, pancakes
• Eggs (hardboiled from deli section are convenient)
• Pasta/rice, potatoes (fried, mashed, baked)
• Cereal/oatmeal
• Buttered bread/ French toast/ biscuit. Try as much butter as you can, and use it for sandwiches too.


There's a lot of processed and individual portions of foods in my pantry right now, and I feel that helps to create less food waste when the appetite is low. If you feel alright about eating occasional low calorie stuff, then trying to get fruit or veggies in there even just once a day will help the digestive "flow". I feel a difference with as little as .5 cup.

Good luck out there.

labnikki wrote: »

psulemon wrote: »

When you gain weight, as a women its going to be 25% muscle and the reaminder fat. Do to this, you bulk passed your goal weight and cut back.

All of this should be done in conjunction with a solid lifting routine.

How much should I bulk past my goal weight before I cut back?

I would bulk at least 3 months but it depends on how your body responds to the training stimuli and how you look.. if you are new, you have greater potential to gain a few lbs of extra muscle. So personally, i woulf go until i was getting a bit unhappy with my body but no less than 3 months. But since your end state is 120 and lean you might want to bulk to 130, slow cut and then do another cycle to achieve the body you want.

Eat a big breakfast and good sized lunch and dinner and snack throughout the day to ensure you are getting enough calories. I've struggled to put on weight for years but since getting this app I've finally managed to gain and maintain extra lbs. Things such as nuts are very good at getting extra calories on board because I want to gain weight in a healthy way not just loading up on junk. Good luck. Everybody on here will give great tips and advice so something should work for you. Also consider how active you are. I hadn't realised how many calories I was burning just in my work role alone!! Adjust calorie intake according to how active you are