Trying to gain weight sucks

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  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
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    Chadxx wrote: »
    VintageFeline wrote: »
    Most protein powders are only about 100 calories a scoop so for them to be useful in any way in this scenario you're going to have to add stuff like whole milk, peanut butter, peanut butter, peanut butter.

    What happened to the shake upthread you were going to try? Have you tried tracking and eating more at all?

    Actually, most are more like 130-200 and if you actually weight them, you find out a scoop weighs more than it says. I just looked up this one and it says 180 per scoop so probably more like 200.

    Off topic a bit but the two powders I have used are 100 calories for a 25g serving/scoop (I don't use the scoop but tested it and with both of them the way I used the scoop came out spot on.

    So maybe it's just a larger serving making the calorie difference? These were both whey FYI.
  • mtek94
    mtek94 Posts: 21 Member
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    its simple to gain, up your fat n carbs and go over your daily calorie intake, 500 over daily intake, intake is bodyweight in pounds x 20ish rough estimate, adjust towards what works for you
  • jerb00
    jerb00 Posts: 155 Member
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    OP-I am loathe to mention this as I am not a doctor and I really hate when people suggest that others may have a medical/emotional problem -but disordered eating can cause hot flashes. In addition to hormone imbalance, they can also be caused by vitamin deficiency, depression, anxiety, and anemia, and then on to rather serious things that are rather unlikely given statements you have made regarding your perception of yourself.

    You need a doc that will look at the whole picture. Emotional health and physical health go hand in hand. Based on what you have said, while hot flashes may not be out of the realm of possibility for a 19 year old, they are not normal (especially for your case in my non-medical opinion) and could be indicative of an underlying issue.

    83 lbs at 4"11 should have given your doctor pause based on what you have said about happiness with your self and body. I am not sure that increased food intake will fix your issue.

    Good luck!
  • jseams1234
    jseams1234 Posts: 1,216 Member
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    jerb00 wrote: »
    OP-I am loathe to mention this as I am not a doctor and I really hate when people suggest that others may have a medical/emotional problem -but disordered eating can cause hot flashes. In addition to hormone imbalance, they can also be caused by vitamin deficiency, depression, anxiety, and anemia, and then on to rather serious things that are rather unlikely given statements you have made regarding your perception of yourself.

    You need a doc that will look at the whole picture. Emotional health and physical health go hand in hand. Based on what you have said, while hot flashes may not be out of the realm of possibility for a 19 year old, they are not normal (especially for your case in my non-medical opinion) and could be indicative of an underlying issue.

    83 lbs at 4"11 should have given your doctor pause based on what you have said about happiness with your self and body. I am not sure that increased food intake will fix your issue.

    Good luck!

    I was getting "hot flashes" and excessive head sweating. Did a round of blood work - everything including test levels. Found out I was deficient in D - strange since I drink about a gallon of milk a day. Doctor told me that as we get older we start to have trouble absorbing it. Ended up on prescription strength D2 pills and over the counter D3. Hot flashes resolved as did the excess head sweating and maybe coincidentally - I was able to break through a lifting plateau I had been struggling with.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,139 Member
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    kaykay6676 wrote: »
    Im not trying to eat healthy at all. Lol. I don't eat healthy. I should probably eat healthier. But that's not what I'm trying to do. I'm trying to gain weight and do it anyway I can. So I'm going to give it a try. Even if it's filling. It's not like I need to take it all in one drink. Trust me. I'll make it happen. And that's not the only thing I'll bring drinking with lots of calories. That was just one of my ideas I wanna try. Because it's 1,000 right there. Done. I want to gain weight so I'm going to do what it takes. Even if I have to force down a shake. Haha! I'm gonna make it happen. Not trying to sounds rude or anything. I'm not disagree with you. I mean it probably is filling like you're saying. I haven't tried it yet. I need to get the stuff for it. But I wanna give it a try. I was gonna try and drink it before I workout but Idk if I should do it afterwards instead. I just wanna be happy with myself again. I can't even look in the mirror right now I'm so disgusted with myself. Like seriously.. I'm sick of putting myself down all the time. So if it takes lots of filling shakes to get me to where I wanna be then I'll do it. Becuase I can't keep living my life being unhappy with the way I look.

    if that is the case then go all in with bagels, ice cream, oreos,etc..

    two servings of most ice cream is 500 calories and easy to get down....
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,139 Member
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    kaykay6676 wrote: »
    What should I eat or drink to give me more energy? I'm always tired and I hate it.

    caffeine..
  • BaileyC36
    BaileyC36 Posts: 19 Member
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    Eating "more" may not be the problem. Just try like someone said eating calorie dense foods, and that way you get more calories and nutrients for the same amount of food. Sometimes you just cant eat more without feeling sick so maybe just switch it up a little.
  • kaykay6676
    kaykay6676 Posts: 80 Member
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    Caffeine makes me tired! And thank you everyone. I appreciate it!
  • eckelsburrows
    eckelsburrows Posts: 17 Member
    edited May 2017
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    kaykay6676 wrote: »
    Is it just me or does it seem like trying to gain weight is way harder then trying to loose it?

    I totally understand where you are coming from. I have multiple sclerosis related gastroparesis and I have a constant battle everyday to take in enough calories to meet the needs for whatever I'm burning and have some left over to try to gain weight.

    I'm 5 foot 3 and in 2000 I was very happy being a big beautiful woman at 220 lb. The day I lost so much weight I couldn't shop and Lane Bryant anymore I cried.

    My weight has been as low as 95 pounds and right now I'm really proud of the fact I've made it to 112.1.

    We count my gains and losses by the ounce every week and my nutritionist managed plan is for 6 meals a day, 350 calorie 7 - 10 g of protein, as high in good fats as you can manage on a dairy-free vegetarian allergic to shellfish diet while also being a low income #spoonie.

    It got particularly brutal after the New Hampshire taxpayers decided to no longer cover the special Ensure Enlive (350 Cal, 20g protein) that I'm supposed to have three times a day.

    Then because I have problems with swallowing All my table food has to be puree or find dice. (Are you ableed folks out there? that means quarter inch by quarter inch by quarter inch pieces) when you add in the 22 oz of water I'm supposed to drink a day I spend upwards of 5 of the 18 hours a day I am awake with food or water in my mouth.

    As you might imagine it makes a little difficult to talk on the phone which is rather ironic because both my primary care doctor office and the Medicaid transportation service that I used to have wheelchair van cart me to my appointments only work by being called on the telephone.

    So kiddo you're not the only one.

    You definitely should get to a doctor if you haven't already because it is highly unusual if you are eating more than thousand calories a day and your height is 5-3 or less to be losing so much weight. But you're not alone and since I happen to be the end of pending old Catholic who's also a lay Franciscan religious I said a prayer for you. And don't worry if you don't believe I do that's enough.

    Whatever ends up being the solution to your problems with gaining weight I hope that it goes well for you.

    Everybody else? Just remember that for every one of you on MyFitnessPal because you want to have a really trimmed and cut abs there's probably one or two of us out here tracking every last calorie every last bit of exercise because our lives depend on it.

    We could use your support and yeah I'm talking about giving your a local and national politicians a call and having a conversation with them about what they're doing to help people who can't use their food stamps for the ensure because it's not food, but can't use their Medicaid or their Medicare to pay for their ensure because it's not considered medicine.

    If enough of you "ableed" speak up maybe some of us who we really do need help can get it.
  • Eloise2968
    Eloise2968 Posts: 5 Member
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    I agree that it's difficult but I find the mental side difficult to eat more than you want and even when you're not hungry. I'll admit I find it very difficult but I find telling someone that outloud and being able to reason why it's in your benefit to gain weight it can become slightly easier, maybe you should look at what mental barriers you have to gaining weight and tackle them too
  • 1AutumnDay
    1AutumnDay Posts: 17 Member
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    kaykay6676 wrote: »
    Caffeine makes me tired! And thank you everyone. I appreciate it!

    I can drink coffee in the morning for an energy boost. I can also drink coffee in the evening and fall right to sleep
  • rheddmobile
    rheddmobile Posts: 6,840 Member
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    livingleanlivingclean wrote: »
    kaykay6676 wrote: »
    I'm 19 years old. I'm not a child. I reacted that way because I'm sick of people saying that. It's kinda rude. Especially when you don't even know the person. So like I said... Maybe I do need to eat more. But don't be rude about it. Im here for help. Not drama.

    You're right. We don't know you. We don't know your activity level, anything about your personal life, your food intake, your medical history.

    What we do know is that to gain weight, people need to eat in a caloric surplus. SIMPLE. You may have a medical condition that means your caloric needs are more than a normal person, but you don't know that so you can't expect us to either. Telling you that you're not eating enough and that you need to eat more is not rude. It's the answer.

    Okay, I haven't finished the entire thread, but I did want to address this, because it is not always that simple. As a recently diagnosed diabetic, in the month before my diagnosis I lost 25 lbs while eating an entire basket full of leftover Halloween candy - I wasn't tracking at the time but my guess would be I was eating 4000 cal / day while entirely sedentary, and I felt like I was starving to death, because I was.

    It does not matter how many calories you take in, if your body is not functioning to use those calories. In diabetes, there's either no insulin to turn sugars into energy (type 1) or the body doesn't use insulin properly (type 2). You can eat all the sugar in the universe, and you will still lose weight, because those sugars will remain in your blood until they are excreted by your kidneys. There are other medical conditions which cause weight loss, diabetes is just one.

    It's very disturbing that a doctor would ignore sudden weight loss in a patient who claims to be eating normally, because that is often one of the first symptoms of diabetes.
  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
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    rheddmobile wrote: »
    livingleanlivingclean wrote: »
    kaykay6676 wrote: »
    I'm 19 years old. I'm not a child. I reacted that way because I'm sick of people saying that. It's kinda rude. Especially when you don't even know the person. So like I said... Maybe I do need to eat more. But don't be rude about it. Im here for help. Not drama.

    You're right. We don't know you. We don't know your activity level, anything about your personal life, your food intake, your medical history.

    What we do know is that to gain weight, people need to eat in a caloric surplus. SIMPLE. You may have a medical condition that means your caloric needs are more than a normal person, but you don't know that so you can't expect us to either. Telling you that you're not eating enough and that you need to eat more is not rude. It's the answer.

    Okay, I haven't finished the entire thread, but I did want to address this, because it is not always that simple. As a recently diagnosed diabetic, in the month before my diagnosis I lost 25 lbs while eating an entire basket full of leftover Halloween candy - I wasn't tracking at the time but my guess would be I was eating 4000 cal / day while entirely sedentary, and I felt like I was starving to death, because I was.

    It does not matter how many calories you take in, if your body is not functioning to use those calories. In diabetes, there's either no insulin to turn sugars into energy (type 1) or the body doesn't use insulin properly (type 2). You can eat all the sugar in the universe, and you will still lose weight, because those sugars will remain in your blood until they are excreted by your kidneys. There are other medical conditions which cause weight loss, diabetes is just one.

    It's very disturbing that a doctor would ignore sudden weight loss in a patient who claims to be eating normally, because that is often one of the first symptoms of diabetes.

    Did you miss the bits about medical conditions, and if she really was eating an excessive amount of calories but still losing weight that getting to a Dr. to demand more tests and answers would be a grand idea?
  • LAT1963
    LAT1963 Posts: 1,375 Member
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    I think whichever way your metabolism is built, going against your spontaneous tendencies is difficult.

    I gain weight just reading a cookbook, and its all fat, not the kind of weight you want.
  • JusticejamesbMBA
    JusticejamesbMBA Posts: 25 Member
    edited May 2017
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    If you would like to gain weight, at any age, it's really simple: cut out all cardio, lift heavy, never above 4-reps. 3 times a week max! Combine that with 2,500 kcal's, 60% carb, 30% protein, 10% fat, you'll put on ~4 - 5 lbs a week. This isn't rocket science y'all.
  • rheddmobile
    rheddmobile Posts: 6,840 Member
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    livingleanlivingclean wrote: »
    rheddmobile wrote: »
    livingleanlivingclean wrote: »
    kaykay6676 wrote: »
    I'm 19 years old. I'm not a child. I reacted that way because I'm sick of people saying that. It's kinda rude. Especially when you don't even know the person. So like I said... Maybe I do need to eat more. But don't be rude about it. Im here for help. Not drama.

    You're right. We don't know you. We don't know your activity level, anything about your personal life, your food intake, your medical history.

    What we do know is that to gain weight, people need to eat in a caloric surplus. SIMPLE. You may have a medical condition that means your caloric needs are more than a normal person, but you don't know that so you can't expect us to either. Telling you that you're not eating enough and that you need to eat more is not rude. It's the answer.

    Okay, I haven't finished the entire thread, but I did want to address this, because it is not always that simple. As a recently diagnosed diabetic, in the month before my diagnosis I lost 25 lbs while eating an entire basket full of leftover Halloween candy - I wasn't tracking at the time but my guess would be I was eating 4000 cal / day while entirely sedentary, and I felt like I was starving to death, because I was.

    It does not matter how many calories you take in, if your body is not functioning to use those calories. In diabetes, there's either no insulin to turn sugars into energy (type 1) or the body doesn't use insulin properly (type 2). You can eat all the sugar in the universe, and you will still lose weight, because those sugars will remain in your blood until they are excreted by your kidneys. There are other medical conditions which cause weight loss, diabetes is just one.

    It's very disturbing that a doctor would ignore sudden weight loss in a patient who claims to be eating normally, because that is often one of the first symptoms of diabetes.

    Did you miss the bits about medical conditions, and if she really was eating an excessive amount of calories but still losing weight that getting to a Dr. to demand more tests and answers would be a grand idea?

    I was addressing the specific fallacy in your post in particular, that to gain weight all that is required is to eat a surplus of calories - simple - and that although she might have a medical condition which made her caloric needs more than those of a normal person, but eating more than that would still cause her to gain weight. Because with diabetes, no amount of calories will fix the issue, as long as those calories are not being turned into something that can be used by the body. Regardless of this poster's specific situation, the statement that eating at a surplus will always cause weight gain is not truthful and needed to be addressed.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,395 MFP Moderator
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    rheddmobile wrote: »
    livingleanlivingclean wrote: »
    rheddmobile wrote: »
    livingleanlivingclean wrote: »
    kaykay6676 wrote: »
    I'm 19 years old. I'm not a child. I reacted that way because I'm sick of people saying that. It's kinda rude. Especially when you don't even know the person. So like I said... Maybe I do need to eat more. But don't be rude about it. Im here for help. Not drama.

    You're right. We don't know you. We don't know your activity level, anything about your personal life, your food intake, your medical history.

    What we do know is that to gain weight, people need to eat in a caloric surplus. SIMPLE. You may have a medical condition that means your caloric needs are more than a normal person, but you don't know that so you can't expect us to either. Telling you that you're not eating enough and that you need to eat more is not rude. It's the answer.

    Okay, I haven't finished the entire thread, but I did want to address this, because it is not always that simple. As a recently diagnosed diabetic, in the month before my diagnosis I lost 25 lbs while eating an entire basket full of leftover Halloween candy - I wasn't tracking at the time but my guess would be I was eating 4000 cal / day while entirely sedentary, and I felt like I was starving to death, because I was.

    It does not matter how many calories you take in, if your body is not functioning to use those calories. In diabetes, there's either no insulin to turn sugars into energy (type 1) or the body doesn't use insulin properly (type 2). You can eat all the sugar in the universe, and you will still lose weight, because those sugars will remain in your blood until they are excreted by your kidneys. There are other medical conditions which cause weight loss, diabetes is just one.

    It's very disturbing that a doctor would ignore sudden weight loss in a patient who claims to be eating normally, because that is often one of the first symptoms of diabetes.

    Did you miss the bits about medical conditions, and if she really was eating an excessive amount of calories but still losing weight that getting to a Dr. to demand more tests and answers would be a grand idea?

    I was addressing the specific fallacy in your post in particular, that to gain weight all that is required is to eat a surplus of calories - simple - and that although she might have a medical condition which made her caloric needs more than those of a normal person, but eating more than that would still cause her to gain weight. Because with diabetes, no amount of calories will fix the issue, as long as those calories are not being turned into something that can be used by the body. Regardless of this poster's specific situation, the statement that eating at a surplus will always cause weight gain is not truthful and needed to be addressed.

    A surplus is needed. That is 100% required. But if your body doesnt have the ability to convert food to energy, then it actually isn't counting against your intake. Calories in is defined by calories comsumed that can be metabolized into energy.

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