Underweight & need advice
denahrocks
Posts: 7 Member
I'm 19 years old, 5 foot even, and usually weigh 95 lbs. I never vary in weight but recently I've gone down to 88 lbs. My typical day is oatmeal with a banana for breakfast (with chia seeds on top). I eat quite a lot of snacks throughout the day, Apple with peanut butter, avocado toast, trail mix, ect. Lunch is usually a turkey and cheese sandwich. And dinner is whatever mom makes. Last night it was chicken Alfredo with broccoli. I also always eat a bowl of cereal before bed. I'm lightly active, but I don't know what I'm doing wrong? My goal is to be 100 lbs and healthy.
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Replies
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Yes, I do everyday to make sure I'm getting enough nutrients. But I don't seem to be getting enough calories @amyrebeccah1
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Maybe make a visit with your primary care physician..?
Or eat more bacon?1 -
Your problem is simply the opposite of most on mfp. I have to count calories going in and those being burned. I have knee, back, and shoulder problems from over twenty years in the Army. My activity level is limited to very light. Your activity level needs to be more so you can be "healthy" as you want. Your intake of calories has to exceed the amount of calories you burn everyday, and not just empty calories, or they will be burned off too easily. What you say you eat, sounds as though you listen to the wrong people's advice. Grains have been pushed to the detriment of most people. Excessive intake of grains (cereal, toast) can lead to joint pain and inflammation. It's also been said to reduce fats. This is wrong. The brain's food is the fats in our diet. But, there too, they need to be good fats. Lack of fats in the diet, are also being linked to the rise in Alzheimer's and other brain related deficiencies. "Healthy" can't be looked at as a today or tomorrow thing. It has to be considered in our diet today, for our health 10, 20, 30, and even 40 years in the future.3
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All I can suggest is to eat more, obviously. If you feel like you can't eat much more than you already are, then try adding some nuts throughout the day. 1 oz is typically around 160 calories, so it doesnt take many to bump up your calorie intake that way. peanut butter is also good.
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How long have you been trying to gain weight and how long have you been counting calories? (I noticed you just joined today). Just like losing weight doesn't happen overnight, weight gain doesn't happen overnight either.0
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I've been trying to gain weight for about a month, and I've been counting nutrients for the same time period. Haven't noticed a single change. My thought are to add more nutrients into my diet and just push myself to eat more @MichelleLei10
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The grains I mentioned I eat were a small part of my diet. I do love my breads don't get me wrong, but I do also eat a variety of "healthy" fatty foods. Like nuts, dried fruit, peanut butter, avocado, ect. I would consider my diet very healthy in the means that I don't eat out much and stick to eating at home. It feels (from what this app says) that I should be consuming 1,700 when I am only able to consume 1,300-1,500. I'm trying to just push myself to eat more if that's the case. @tgriffitg540
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What's your breakfast, lunch and dinner like?0
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The food you're describing in your post sounds delicious OP. I'm hungry now!
When I wanted to gain a few pounds I kept my meals largely the same, except for little tweaks like using whole milk, adding cheese to pasta/potatoes, sprinking brazil nuts on cereal etc. That helped a bit, but I also added a calorific smoothie/shake to my mid-morning snack (when I personally am hungriest) which topped up my intake by about 400-500 calories and was much easier to fit in than solid food. I made mine with whole milk, protein powder, banana, dates and sometimes yogurt.
Gradually I think it will feel easier to eat more, just as when we lower our calorie intake at first it feels horrid then starts to become normal.0 -
You're completely right, and the smoothie idea sounds great. I make my own acai bowls at home which is frozen fruit with granola on top and that's usually about 500 calories! I'll gradually be able to eat more I think @yesimpson1
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denahrocks wrote: »The grains I mentioned I eat were a small part of my diet. I do love my breads don't get me wrong, but I do also eat a variety of "healthy" fatty foods. Like nuts, dried fruit, peanut butter, avocado, ect. I would consider my diet very healthy in the means that I don't eat out much and stick to eating at home. It feels (from what this app says) that I should be consuming 1,700 when I am only able to consume 1,300-1,500. I'm trying to just push myself to eat more if that's the case. @tgriffitg54
While nutrients are good for health, it wont help you gain. At some point you need to add more calorie dense foods or drinks to hit your calorie goals. The below thread might help that.
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10326769/are-you-a-hard-gainer-please-read/p12 -
similar to your case, i m 152cm and weight at 84lb 2 months ago. i m also trying to gain weight and start to increase my protein intake everyday. i usually have eggs for my breakfast.e.g. 2 boiled eggs (one with egg york removed) or egg sandwich. for my lunch or dinner, i eat rice and chicken breasts or pork. during breakfast and lunch time i try to have a banana. and during tea break i have a avocado.
at the same time i start to do some weight training with a personal trainer. about twice a week. i also do yoga in between my training. after exercise i have some light snack such as a small chicken/salmon sandwich. now i have gained 4 lbs after 2 months.0 -
I think eggs are a good choice to a diet because of their protein and fat. I'll switch up my normal real fast and try to add those in more often. Also weight training will help with muscle mass which might work for me as well. But I'm not sure how much I can take considering how small I am @ivylfc0
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denahrocks wrote: »I think eggs are a good choice to a diet because of their protein and fat. I'll switch up my normal real fast and try to add those in more often. Also weight training will help with muscle mass which might work for me as well. But I'm not sure how much I can take considering how small I am @ivylfc
Two eggs are only roughly 140-160 calories. If you can't add more calories, than you wont add weight. Weight training will add muscle if you can give it adequate nutrition (calorie surprlus) and adequate stimuli (progressive resistance).0 -
@denahrocks
You should add me. I'm going through the same thing. I currently weigh 102lbs (up 5lbs from when I started this whole weight gaining process a month ago). I am also lifting weights and trying to build muscle as part of my weight gain. I've rarely been over 100lbs my entire life and I am a 31yr female. Ensures and exercise have definitely helped me take in more calories (my goal is 2400-2600 per day). I'm now regularly doing 100 squats a day and adding 5-10lbs of weights each week to my workout. I also do arm exercises with weights but skip any cardio since I will lose weight super quick with it.2 -
denahrocks wrote: »The grains I mentioned I eat were a small part of my diet. I do love my breads don't get me wrong, but I do also eat a variety of "healthy" fatty foods. Like nuts, dried fruit, peanut butter, avocado, ect. I would consider my diet very healthy in the means that I don't eat out much and stick to eating at home. It feels (from what this app says) that I should be consuming 1,700 when I am only able to consume 1,300-1,500. I'm trying to just push myself to eat more if that's the case. @tgriffitg54
You're not eating very much. 1300-1500? Many of us eat that little to lose.
Eat more. And if you aren't able to gain, talk to your doctor. Add a scoop of peanut butter after your cereal, add a half an avocado to whatever your mom is making for dinner. Add some dark chocolate. Add some ice cream. Eat more calories.1 -
Eat more. Up your daily calories by 100, log for 1 to 2 weeks and see if you have any positive changes. If not (or not enough), add another 100 calories.
Keep adding until you see steady weight gain (0.5lbs per week is good for your size). Slow and steady = long term and permanent results0 -
Eat pizza? Profit!0
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You want to gain muscle not fat, keep that in mind when choosing your foods I would limit my processed foods.0
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Runngurl43 wrote: »You want to gain muscle not fat, keep that in mind when choosing your foods I would limit my processed foods.
Processed food will have zero impact on the ratio of muscle to fat gain when compared to "clean" foods.
OP, you are not consuming enough calories to gain. See psulemon's link above for good resources on increasing calorie intake.2 -
Make a shake n blend two scoops of peanut butter, one banana, one thing of yogurt, strawberries and milk n if you want you can add peanuts, that's like 650 calories right there.0
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Could you perhaps add a small bit to each of your main meals? It seems adding something new and large wouldn't suit you as you seem to be quite contempt with how your diet is now when it comes to hunger satisfaction. Small additions to your main meals might suit you better and not feel like a hassle.0
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When my weight starts to drop I add oil. So I'll add 2 teaspoons of olive or hemp oil to my veggies or I'll add sesame oil over my fish etc.
It is a quick way to increase them.
And wine, wine always help me gain a little
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This maybe something you are already doing, but eat yogurt that is NOT low fat, Whole Milk, No substitute sugars. Ice creams, and Meats.... BUTTER. Add butter (real butter) to as many things as you can. I worked w mom's who had underway children and these are the things that were listed for them to help the child gain. Even if it is home made PB& Jelly sandwich u can add a thin layer of Cream cheese to it b4 the PB.1
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I find that more exercise and strength training will increase my weight. It seems like that would not true, but it is for me. Have you tried strength training?0
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amyrebeccah wrote: »
It can also temporarily cause a water weight gain, so depending on how long this person tried it, they may not have had time to see it level out.
True that.0 -
I'm trying to gain weight too, I'm 5ft 6 & 99lbs (the last time I checked 2 weeks ago) and I've never been over 110lbs. I've been trying to gain weight for a month now and I'm finally figuring out what's working for me. instead of having 3 meals I day I have around 5 and then snacks too. I'm not concerned about being healthy/unhealthy right now I'm focused on going over my calories daily (2,060). eating ice cream, chocolate, chips, butter on everything. eating out at fast food places and restaurants at least twice a week and eating lots of stuff like pizza, pasta, vegetables, cheese, chicken, potatoes etc is really helping me!1
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Depending on how your day has gone you can have an evening snack to compensate. You are eating nutritious foods so anything extra is bonus. How about ice cream at bedtime?0
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