Are you a hard gainer, please read!

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Replies

  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
    psulemon wrote: »
    @BinaryPulsar I didn't know food intolerance could prevent gain. I guess that makes sense if I think about it....If your body isn't processing the nutrients from the foods they are probably on a quick trip out...Glad you discovered part of the issue.

    Yeah, it appeared I was not able to digest food because my body was freaking out and rejecting foods from reacting to the foods I am intolerant to. But, cutting those out allowed my body to calm down and heal. Now I am digesting my food and everything is getting better.

    The more trouble I had with weight gain, the more food I would eat (the foods I was intolerant to), and it got worse and worse. I was scared to cut out food, but that's what made me better.

    If you don't mind me asking, what condition do you have that cause malabsorption? I have only heard of this one other time and find these kinds of things interesting.

    I don't know what condition I have. I have been to 13 doctors and had tests done. I see a Rheumatologist (because I have elevated rheumatoid antibody factor), and she has been most helpful. She says I have all the same symptoms as celiac disease. I stopped gluten. But, ate tons of quinoa. And I had the worst reaction to quinoa. I can't digest most grains and legumes. It might be temporary. Maybe I will improve. It all started because I had a minor issue that a doctor said was an infection (although my test ended up showing no bacteria). I was prescribed antibiotics. It got worse, not better. So, they prescribed a stronger antibiotic. I had side effects and also scar tissue in the cartilage in my nose from the infection (I would have slight nerve sensations and dizziness). But, the infection was definitely gone. They misdiagnosed the side effects and gave me two, very strong, double strength antibiotics. I had a very bad reaction. I had pain, dizziness, couldn't even stand up, then on the last day every inch of my body was covered in a rash and I had very bad facial flushing. I live in Canada. I went to the United States to see a friend that is an ent. He said I was having a severe allergic and adverse reaction and they had given me too many antibiotics that I didn't need. He said I needed some testing for auto-immune disease and to see a neurologist. But, they referred me to a dermatologist. I was recovering so well. But, the dermatologist very very wrongly prescribed a topical vasoconstrictor. I used it just a few times. It triggered a severe nerve disorder in my face. I had debilitating nerve pain. Eating food increased the pain. Lying down increased the pain. So, I could barely sleep four hours a night. I was in a constant traumatic stressful state because of the pain in my trigeminal nerves in my face. I was eating a very weird diet because of it. Lots of quinoa and chickpeas. Then my belly would swell and food would pass through me undigested in just five hours after eating it. I weighed 95, couldn't gain. I started getting swollen welts all over my face. When I changed my diet, the welts all went away (still healing from it), and I began digesting my food again. I also managed my stress better. And I started some probiotics and fermented foods. I still have nerve pain in my face. But, it's improved a lot. And I can mostly sleep normally again. This happened seven months ago.
  • EvgeniZyntx
    EvgeniZyntx Posts: 24,208 Member
    psulemon wrote: »
    @BinaryPulsar I didn't know food intolerance could prevent gain. I guess that makes sense if I think about it....If your body isn't processing the nutrients from the foods they are probably on a quick trip out...Glad you discovered part of the issue.

    Yeah, it appeared I was not able to digest food because my body was freaking out and rejecting foods from reacting to the foods I am intolerant to. But, cutting those out allowed my body to calm down and heal. Now I am digesting my food and everything is getting better.

    The more trouble I had with weight gain, the more food I would eat (the foods I was intolerant to), and it got worse and worse. I was scared to cut out food, but that's what made me better.

    If you don't mind me asking, what condition do you have that cause malabsorption? I have only heard of this one other time and find these kinds of things interesting.

    I don't know what condition I have. I have been to 13 doctors and had tests done. I see a Rheumatologist (because I have elevated rheumatoid antibody factor), and she has been most helpful. She says I have all the same symptoms as celiac disease. I stopped gluten. But, ate tons of quinoa. And I had the worst reaction to quinoa. I can't digest most grains and legumes. It might be temporary. Maybe I will improve. It all started because I had a minor issue that a doctor said was an infection (although my test ended up showing no bacteria). I was prescribed antibiotics. It got worse, not better. So, they prescribed a stronger antibiotic. I had side effects and also scar tissue in the cartilage in my nose from the infection (I would have slight nerve sensations and dizziness). But, the infection was definitely gone. They misdiagnosed the side effects and gave me two, very strong, double strength antibiotics. I had a very bad reaction. I had pain, dizziness, couldn't even stand up, then on the last day every inch of my body was covered in a rash and I had very bad facial flushing. I live in Canada. I went to the United States to see a friend that is an ent. He said I was having a severe allergic and adverse reaction and they had given me too many antibiotics that I didn't need. He said I needed some testing for auto-immune disease and to see a neurologist. But, they referred me to a dermatologist. I was recovering so well. But, the dermatologist very very wrongly prescribed a topical vasoconstrictor. I used it just a few times. It triggered a severe nerve disorder in my face. I had debilitating nerve pain. Eating food increased the pain. Lying down increased the pain. So, I could barely sleep four hours a night. I was in a constant traumatic stressful state because of the pain in my trigeminal nerves in my face. I was eating a very weird diet because of it. Lots of quinoa and chickpeas. Then my belly would swell and food would pass through me undigested in just five hours after eating it. I weighed 95, couldn't gain. I started getting swollen welts all over my face. When I changed my diet, the welts all went away (still healing from it), and I began digesting my food again. I also managed my stress better. And I started some probiotics and fermented foods. I still have nerve pain in my face. But, it's improved a lot. And I can mostly sleep normally again. This happened seven months ago.

    Sorry you went through all of this.
    Sounds like the malabsorption was due to the treatment (killing off gut bacteria) and highly restrictive dietary choices. I hope you are able to eat a much larger variety today.
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
    psulemon wrote: »
    @BinaryPulsar I didn't know food intolerance could prevent gain. I guess that makes sense if I think about it....If your body isn't processing the nutrients from the foods they are probably on a quick trip out...Glad you discovered part of the issue.

    Yeah, it appeared I was not able to digest food because my body was freaking out and rejecting foods from reacting to the foods I am intolerant to. But, cutting those out allowed my body to calm down and heal. Now I am digesting my food and everything is getting better.

    The more trouble I had with weight gain, the more food I would eat (the foods I was intolerant to), and it got worse and worse. I was scared to cut out food, but that's what made me better.

    If you don't mind me asking, what condition do you have that cause malabsorption? I have only heard of this one other time and find these kinds of things interesting.

    I don't know what condition I have. I have been to 13 doctors and had tests done. I see a Rheumatologist (because I have elevated rheumatoid antibody factor), and she has been most helpful. She says I have all the same symptoms as celiac disease. I stopped gluten. But, ate tons of quinoa. And I had the worst reaction to quinoa. I can't digest most grains and legumes. It might be temporary. Maybe I will improve. It all started because I had a minor issue that a doctor said was an infection (although my test ended up showing no bacteria). I was prescribed antibiotics. It got worse, not better. So, they prescribed a stronger antibiotic. I had side effects and also scar tissue in the cartilage in my nose from the infection (I would have slight nerve sensations and dizziness). But, the infection was definitely gone. They misdiagnosed the side effects and gave me two, very strong, double strength antibiotics. I had a very bad reaction. I had pain, dizziness, couldn't even stand up, then on the last day every inch of my body was covered in a rash and I had very bad facial flushing. I live in Canada. I went to the United States to see a friend that is an ent. He said I was having a severe allergic and adverse reaction and they had given me too many antibiotics that I didn't need. He said I needed some testing for auto-immune disease and to see a neurologist. But, they referred me to a dermatologist. I was recovering so well. But, the dermatologist very very wrongly prescribed a topical vasoconstrictor. I used it just a few times. It triggered a severe nerve disorder in my face. I had debilitating nerve pain. Eating food increased the pain. Lying down increased the pain. So, I could barely sleep four hours a night. I was in a constant traumatic stressful state because of the pain in my trigeminal nerves in my face. I was eating a very weird diet because of it. Lots of quinoa and chickpeas. Then my belly would swell and food would pass through me undigested in just five hours after eating it. I weighed 95, couldn't gain. I started getting swollen welts all over my face. When I changed my diet, the welts all went away (still healing from it), and I began digesting my food again. I also managed my stress better. And I started some probiotics and fermented foods. I still have nerve pain in my face. But, it's improved a lot. And I can mostly sleep normally again. This happened seven months ago.

    Sorry you went through all of this.
    Sounds like the malabsorption was due to the treatment (killing off gut bacteria) and highly restrictive dietary choices. I hope you are able to eat a much larger variety today.

    Thank you! I still have a challenging time. But, I am definitely doing a lot better and eating more variety. The original restrictive diet choices were because foods would cause flushing and nerve pain, that was because of the vasoconstrictor (topical brimonidine). I would have recovered much better from the antibiotics. But, six months after the antibiotics I was wrongly prescribed brimonidine, and that's what really destroyed me.
  • cypresslb
    cypresslb Posts: 13 Member
    Hard gainer=noneater
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,134 Member
    Bumping for new people.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    Could use a bump.
  • nicdthomson
    nicdthomson Posts: 1 Member
    Great information here. Thanks a lot. I wanted to know if anyone could suggest some drinks that are high in calories (other than protein shakes and easy to make/come by-no time for using the blender :). Some times I just cannot eat anymore, but I am always drinking something (usually water) so that would be an easy way to get in some extra calories. I only drink one whey protein shake per day after pilates. I do not want to drink another one as they fill me up pretty well and then I end up not eating what I should. Thanks again.
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
    edited June 2016
    Great information here. Thanks a lot. I wanted to know if anyone could suggest some drinks that are high in calories (other than protein shakes and easy to make/come by-no time for using the blender :). Some times I just cannot eat anymore, but I am always drinking something (usually water) so that would be an easy way to get in some extra calories. I only drink one whey protein shake per day after pilates. I do not want to drink another one as they fill me up pretty well and then I end up not eating what I should. Thanks again.

    Maybe kefir? I drink that. You can get different flavors. It's like drinkable yogurt.
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,134 Member
    Bumping for mid-summer folks
  • Kellikat80
    Kellikat80 Posts: 591 Member
    Great info! Thank you for sharing!
  • Tedebearduff
    Tedebearduff Posts: 1,155 Member
    Is there another post for people who are in fact hard gainers, work desk jobs, not active at all and can still weigh 90lbs at 5"8 while eating pizza, boxes of cookies, all you can eat sushi... etc etc?

    Trying to help a friend and can't seem to find any info, everyone talks about peoples misconceptions and "they're probably more active then they assume" what about the exceptions?
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    Is there another post for people who are in fact hard gainers, work desk jobs, not active at all and can still weigh 90lbs at 5"8 while eating pizza, boxes of cookies, all you can eat sushi... etc etc?

    Trying to help a friend and can't seem to find any info, everyone talks about peoples misconceptions and "they're probably more active then they assume" what about the exceptions?

    the same rules apply... if they want to gain they need to eat more.

    they also might want to get checked out for medical conditions, juuuuuuuuuuuuust in case they are one of the few special snowflakes.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,372 MFP Moderator
    edited July 2016
    Is there another post for people who are in fact hard gainers, work desk jobs, not active at all and can still weigh 90lbs at 5"8 while eating pizza, boxes of cookies, all you can eat sushi... etc etc?

    Trying to help a friend and can't seem to find any info, everyone talks about peoples misconceptions and "they're probably more active then they assume" what about the exceptions?

    the same rules apply... if they want to gain they need to eat more.

    they also might want to get checked out for medical conditions, juuuuuuuuuuuuust in case they are one of the few special snowflakes.

    Agreed

    If you do fall within the 5% of people who would have a medical condition (e.g., hyperthyroidism), the same methods would still apply. But the magnitude of consumption wold be much greater.

    I would also ask them to baseline the data. Get them to start tracking calories to see where they stand. Also, we would need to know what kind of exercise, if any they are doing. For what it's worth, many people they are hard gainers because they eat pizza, burgers, etc... but when you start looking at the supporting data, you find it's not at the quantities required.
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
    edited July 2016
    Is there another post for people who are in fact hard gainers, work desk jobs, not active at all and can still weigh 90lbs at 5"8 while eating pizza, boxes of cookies, all you can eat sushi... etc etc?

    Trying to help a friend and can't seem to find any info, everyone talks about peoples misconceptions and "they're probably more active then they assume" what about the exceptions?

    I had this problem eating foods like this because I had a malabsorption disorder. When I kept a food diary tracking my symptoms in relation to food I was able to understand what was happening. And I gained all my weight back with diet change. I have a good Rheumatologist (I have elevated auto-immune markers in my blood test). If the person has GI problems. That would be something to look at. There are various things that can cause malabsorption. Auto-immune disorders such as celiac disease, Crohn's, Ulcerative colitis. Dysbiosis (there are many different types). It can be triggered after overtreatment with antibiotics. Pancreatic disorder (sometimes occurs along with other auto-immune disease when parts of the pancreas are damaged by the immune system), and there are pills you can take if that's the case (it's tested by fecal elastase test). Or damage can be caused by excessive alcohol. It may be rare to be ill. But, some people have illness and excessive weight loss can be a symptom of illness. Might be worth checking with a doctor. Sometimes people struggle undiagnosed. It's not like we live in Star Trek times and they can use a tricorder to diagnose people. It takes investigating. I was tracking my calories for three years before I developed the malabsorption disorder.

    http://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/gastrointestinal-disorders/malabsorption-syndromes/overview-of-malabsorption
  • inspiration2443
    inspiration2443 Posts: 2 Member
    I'm a hard gainer, but my question is simple. If you eat more calories than what they suggest to you, and the amount after the equals is negative, does that mean I'll gain weight if I keep going negative?
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,372 MFP Moderator
    I'm a hard gainer, but my question is simple. If you eat more calories than what they suggest to you, and the amount after the equals is negative, does that mean I'll gain weight if I keep going negative?

    What mfp is an estimate. You may need to eat more or less depending on your actually metabolic rate and energy expended. I am not following on the negative thing though.
  • inspiration2443
    inspiration2443 Posts: 2 Member
    Ok thanks
  • klove808
    klove808 Posts: 346 Member
    Another thing that is quite prevalent, but not necessarily in the general medical realms eye (unless severe and immediately life threatening) is something else inside ones body macking out on all the lovely food put in - parasites. I've known many people myself included that have had this issue.
  • janejr2016
    janejr2016 Posts: 9 Member
    Pour olive oil in the pizza
  • jeremys325
    jeremys325 Posts: 10 Member
    Well I'm a carpenter/construction worker tryna bulk, preferably without supplements this go round, I always bulk during the year to lose it during summer, guessing cus I cut out the supplements. Idk why but it's hard to keep my supplement regiment going in the summer. Increasing my calorie intake, but no results. Should I increase more or what, and how can I gauge the calories I burn during a day of work