Desparately trying to gain weight but can't get past max 2,200 calories a day

JD_hague wrote: »

I CAN'T EAT ENOUGH. Today I ate 1650 calories worth of food, and I am absolutely stuffed, 80 grams of oats in the morning, with whey powder shake, lunch 6 weetbix biscuits and salami and cheese sandwich with another shake, dinner 2 spoons of peanut butter and another shake, and I just cannot eat anything more I definitely feel like I'm eating wayyy more food than I usually do though somehow, but my caloric intake is tiny. I'm really skinny- 137 pounds, 6'1 and 19 (slightly underweight). I have a super fast metabolism as well. I have no idea what's going on, I should be eating 2000-3000 calories easily. Please help, lol.

Have you tried new Detroit style pizza?? It has a lot of calories in 1 slice.
Jokes aside, my brother and sister both face the same issue. Never gained significant weight.. They started having some powder that increases their hunger.. It added probably 4 pounds over the year but it went away soon enough after they stopped eating the powder. they gave up on it now.

You don't have a super fast metabolism. I eat 400-900 cal more than you and I am a small female. If you were eating 4000 and not gaining, that would be a "fast metabolism". Eat more high cal low bulk food. Check out the hard gainers thread, very helpful tips.

@JD_hague Welcome to the MFP Community. Sorry, long reply coming but I hope it helps.

You need to swap or modify your current choices for things that are more calorie-dense. How many calories (or kilojoules) are in your whey shakes and how many mls are they? Are they pre-made or are you mixing them yourself?

80 grams of oats is maybe 300 calories if you prepare it with water. Oats are a food that expands a lot so you'll feel full after eating them. That's why some people like oats for breakfast - because they don't feel the need for a mid-morning snack. If you love your oats and want to keep them, increase the calories by preparing with full-fat milk, and adding some butter and sugar. If you prepare your oats by adding 250 ml milk, 10 grams butter and 10 grams brown sugar for example, you'd wind up closer to 550 calories for the same amount of food. Then you can still have a shake on top of it if you want.

If you're not so attached to your oats, swap them out once in a while. If you do polenta instead, you can still cook with full fat milk and easily add a few rashers of crumbled bacon, some butter and some shredded cheese. Waffles, pancakes, muffins, etc. all tend to have higher calories, especially if you're generous with butter and syrup.

Why are you drinking so many shakes? People often use shakes to _lose_ weight because they also make you feel full and most don't have loads of calories. Swap some shakes for whole foods. At lunch, make a bigger sandwich. Add more mayo, meat, and cheese, and add some avocado too. Eat some crisps on the side. If you want a shake, throw in a scoop of ice cream.

Add some small but calorie-dense snacks to the day, like a cube of cheese, a handful of nuts or a spoon of peanut butter. Use the peanut butter as a snack to add to daily totals, not as a meal. Try to snack often instead of limiting yourself to three very filling meals.

For dinner, hake and chips with the fish drowning in butter is one of my favorites. Have a big side of tartare sauce. If you do a braai, make a sauce with a heavy cream base to put on your steak, like a peppercorn sauce. Braai some fatty pork ribs and slather in your favorite barbecue sauce. Enjoy a baked potato that is covered in sour cream, cheese, and bacon bits.

Don't forget dessert! Desserts are a great way to add calories and they taste good too. Warm malva pudding with custard is always a winner for me. A scoop of ice cream on top is even better. I think I gained a kilo just typing that!

Lastly, drink some calories other than your shakes. Swap one of your glasses of water during the day for an appletiser or coke. That would add 143 kcals (600 kj) to your daily total.

Good luck, let us know how it goes!

That’s a lot of liquid. An avocado on those cracker / meat / cheese things may help — and make the crackers your “chips” and move everything else onto some bread!