Author Topic: Gaining weight  (Read 22459 times)

Half-Borg

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Gaining weight
« on: October 01, 2013, 06:06:02 AM »
Hello there,
this might sound like a silly question to most people, but I need to gain weight, while I want to maintain a healthy diet.

I'm 1.85m big, male, and currently weight 63kg, that is an all time high, has been down to 55kg, before I started paying any attention to my diet.
I finally bought a kitchen scale the other day and figured out how much I eat a day. I was quite shocked because it came down to 1600 kcal, much less than expected, since it felt like I ate a lot that day.

So for example, what I ate that day:
Stew for lunch and dinner:
450g potatoes and
300g tomatoes and
150g mushrooms and
75g ham and
11g olive oil
and spices
=706kcal

Breakfast:
100g rolled oats
1 banana
200g milk
=362kcal

2 slices of bread
20g nutella
=259kcal

1 Snickers:
=278 kcal

So that's 1605 kcal on an above than average day.
You may have noticed, that I don't eat much meat. That's because of price, enviromental impact and animal welfare reasongs, but I'm not vegetarian.
I also started to work out a while ago, so my daily need should be well above 2000kcal/day, yet I never feel hungry, if do not pay attention I might go without eating anything 'til 2PM, eat some cereal, eat another one at dinner and go to bed, feeling fine.

Any suggestions how to get more kcal down the throat, without changing my diet to chocolate and McDonalds?
Has anyone been in the same boat?

//Edit: I use wolframalpha.com for foods that don't have kcal printed on.
« Last Edit: October 01, 2013, 06:09:39 AM by Half-Borg »

Donovan

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Re: Gaining weight
« Reply #1 on: October 01, 2013, 06:27:53 AM »
My first suggestion would be eggs and butter.  Scramble 4 eggs with a Tbs of butter every morning and you'll add ~380 good calories fairly cheaply.

Out of curiosity, how much do you exercise?  If you follow a good barbell program while eating to gain weight, you will have to eat a little more, but more of the weight will be nice lean muscle.

You can also try the GOMAD (gallon of milk a day) diet if you can handle that much milk.  Just grab a lot of full fat milk and drink it every time you're near the fridge :p (Yes, you will hate milk by the end)

some1

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Re: Gaining weight
« Reply #2 on: October 01, 2013, 06:35:09 AM »
I can totally understand your problem. My weight was also too low until a couple of years ago. I'm still slim, but not too thin any more.

What helped me gain weight is
- first of all realizing the problem and start tackling it actively
- a pair of scales (watching my progress was good for motivation)
- working out (not too much, but a bit surely helps)
- eating as much as I could, even when I was not hungry.

For more calories, I believe (but cannot prove) that what really helped me a lot was drinking a calorie-rich shake before going to bed. I found that drinking a shake when you are not hungry is much easier than having another meal. I would just try out different recipes and see what you like. Of course, there's a ton of weight-gainer products on the market, but I felt better preparing my own, e.g. banana shake with some instant oats and a bit of oil or something similar.

Good luck!

GuitarStv

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Re: Gaining weight
« Reply #3 on: October 01, 2013, 06:56:37 AM »
I have always had trouble gaining and keeping weight on myself.  Some little tips that have helped me go from 175 - 205:

- Lift weights.  I cannot maintain my current body weight without regularly lifting weights, it really effects my hunger levels and thus the amount of food that I eat.
- Cut back on very sugary foods.  This seems counter-intuitive, but eating nutella and snickers bars are garbage calories that your body will burn off with a blast of nervous energy.  Replace those snacks with heartier fare . . . stuff like pasta with meat sauce, avacado (mixed with some milk and a couple scoops of hot chocolate powder) smoothies, a bowl of oats with raisins, a couple slices of whole wheat bread with peanut butter, etc.
- Replace the water or soft drink you normally have with a meal with whole or 2% milk.
- Add cheese to most of your foods.  Seriously, it goes with nearly anything, makes most stuff taste better (which makes you more likely to eat more of it), and is generally awesome.  Mozarella, provalone, swiss, cheddar, gouda, parmesan . . . build up a 'cheese library' in your fridge.
- Cut your coffee/tea/caffinated carbonated drinks.  You burn more calories after consuming them.
- Eat until you feel full, not until you're no longer hungry.  This was a big one for me.  I have a habit of getting hungry, then eating until I'm not hungry and stopping.  You actually want to feel full after a meal when you're trying to gain weight.
- Don't skip meals.  You want to avoid feeling that hungry sensation while you're gaining weight.  That hungry sensation is you shrinking.  :P


Weigh yourself every day at the same time, and record your weight.  You need to do this to get an accurate idea of how much you weigh (I vary by 5-8 lbs depending on time of day).  You need to average this over a week, because some days you'll be a few higher and some lower . . . you need to figure out the long term trend.  If you're gaining more than 2 lbs a week, you need to cut back.  If you're gaining less than 1 lb a week you need to eat more.  Once you get used to it, this method of weight monitoring is a lot easier than counting calories and guessing how much you burn while exercising.

Half-Borg

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Re: Gaining weight
« Reply #4 on: October 01, 2013, 07:43:37 AM »
I'm trying to gain muscles, not much luck yet, that's why I started to count calories in the first place.
I work out 2-3 times a week using body weight and barbells. There is also half an hour cardio each time 'cause well I need that. I can hardly run for half an hour.

My 63kg are stable for over a year now, I noticed that I look different, so I guess I lost the little fat I had.

I don't eat much processed sugar, that was kind of random. The chocolate bar was at work, between lunch and going home. Today it's two apples, yesterday was a banana.

Everything else sounds great, already browsing for shake ideas ;)


GuitarStv

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Re: Gaining weight
« Reply #5 on: October 01, 2013, 07:55:16 AM »
You might find that it's easier to gain muscle if you increase your protein intake . . . it can be hard to get enough protein on a vegetarian diet.  The recommended daily intake is for sedentary people and is low if you're active.

My all time favourite shake:
- 2 avocados
- 1-2 heaping table spoons of hot chocolate powder
- 2 scoops of chocolate flavoured protein powder
- 1-2 heaping table spoons of cocoa powder
- fill up the rest of the blender up with milk
- Blend

This makes a tasty, heavy, stick to your ribs kinda night time snack.  Almost like pudding.  I usually down half at night, and half before biking to work the next morning.

Cromacster

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Re: Gaining weight
« Reply #6 on: October 01, 2013, 07:56:02 AM »
It's hard to force yourself to eat if you never feel hungry.  I believe if you continue to workout and start forcing yourself to eat more your body will start to adapt and you will crave it.

A easy shake that I use when in the middle of a hard muscle hypertrophy cycle is the following:

1 serving of protein powder, 3 cups of whole milk, 2 cup of rice krispies, 1/2 cup of peanut butter, and some ice.  Blend and chug.  It doesn't amount to much volume, so its easy to drink it.  Comes out about 1500 kcal.  Granted I would not advise drinking this without following a pretty strict strength training regimen.  You won't have positive changes if you zumba for an hour and drink this on top of eating normal food.

Also, check out:

www.liftbigeatbig.com
www.eattoperform.com

prodarwin

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Re: Gaining weight
« Reply #7 on: October 01, 2013, 08:44:17 AM »
The above is good advice. 

Whole milk is your friend.  You can get a lot of calories very quickly with whole milk.  12oz is ~222 calories.  A 12oz glass with breakfast, lunch, and dinner is an extra 660 calories a day.  Mix it in with some protein powder and its even better.  I'll have to try the above recipie, but I usually do whole milk, some chocolate protein powder, and a banana or two.

Meat is good for the protein to help muscle building.

You really need to workout hard though.  I have a similar problem, but only apparent when I am not working out.  When things get busy at work/home/with family and I am unable to make it to the gym (ultimately, I am too lazy to go after a long day - something I need to work on), I will start losing weight.  Without the workouts I lose appetite and the drive to consume a lot of protein.  Its how I lost about 9lbs in 3 weeks earlier this month :(

Cromacster

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Re: Gaining weight
« Reply #8 on: October 01, 2013, 09:09:10 AM »
The above is good advice. 

Whole milk is your friend.  You can get a lot of calories very quickly with whole milk.  12oz is ~222 calories.  A 12oz glass with breakfast, lunch, and dinner is an extra 660 calories a day.  Mix it in with some protein powder and its even better.  I'll have to try the above recipie, but I usually do whole milk, some chocolate protein powder, and a banana or two.

I use a Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup flavored protein, the rice krispies add some easily digestible carbs and extra vitamins.  You can cut the peanut butter, I like it mostly for the flavor, but if you use JIF or Skippy, it does add alot of unnecessary sugar.  During hard training cycles I shoot for 3800-4000 calories a day.  Its is very hard to hit while eating healthy foods.  So I use this shake to give me the boost.

But yes that is good advice as well.  Just adding a glass of whole milk to every meal can boost your calorie intake significantly.

KittyFooFoo

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Re: Gaining weight
« Reply #9 on: October 01, 2013, 09:44:27 AM »
In the past several years I worked my weight up from 135 to a peak of 180.  Then I cut off a little fat and am back on my way up again.  I went from anorexia mode to intermediate weightlifter, and I'm still working.  It was really hard work for me, and I know I slowed my progress taking a lot of wrong turns in the beginning.  Several points from what I've read so far.

  • You need to eat WAY more.  A lot of us super skinny guys just have no idea how far off our intake is.  1600 calories a day is a weight loss diet for you. I ballparked your daily caloric expenditure at 2300 calories (http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/); that means to gain around a pound a week you need to be at 2800 calories a day.  Your own trial and error might even suggest that you need to be at 3250 or so before you start steadily gaining weight; this is what I found.  Make this adjustment by jumping 300-500 calories every 3 days or so.  The new intake will be comfortable in no time.
  • You need to eat more protein.  You should be aiming for 1 gram of protein per pound; a little more won't hurt.  Cost: 6 eggs cost about 50 cents for 36g protein.  A pound of chicken should run you $1-2 for something like 115g protein.  Throw in some whole milk, nuts or peanut butter throughout the day for pennies more and you've got a nice day of protein for rather cheap.  I suggest that for now you put your politics aside and focus on your health--I am a former vegetarian for ethical reasons myself.
  • There are a lot of time tested, wildly successful beginner strength programs.  Use one and follow it to the letter.  Do not waste your time making up your own thing.  In my opinion, the best program is Mark Rippetoe's Starting Strength: http://www.amazon.com/Starting-Strength-3rd-Mark-Rippetoe/dp/0982522738 A good strength program will put serious demands on your body and it is best to avoid extra work whatsoever so that you can recover (i.e., build muscle) properly.  If can't live without cardio, you'll need to eat even more to achieve a caloric surplus.
  • Another important, often overlooked element is sleep.  There is a saying that no one ever got stronger from lifting weights; people get stronger recovering from lifting weights.  A lot of this recovery, as well as testosterone production and other good stuff, happens when you sleep.  So you need to be getting a lot of it.  8 hours a day should be an absolute minimum; 10 would be nice.

Here is what I eat in a day:
Breakfast: 6 eggs cooked with spinach.  Serving of potatoes with 2 tbsp of butter.  ~820 cal.
Lunch: .75 lb chicken topped with olive oil, cup of white rice with butter. Random vegetable  ~1200 cal
Dinner: 1 lb ground beef.  Serving of potatoes with 2 tbsp of butter. Random vegetable ~1400 cal.
Snack 1: Pint whole milk ~300 cal
Snack 2: 3 tbsp peanut butter ~300 cal

This clears 4000 calories and costs me $7-8 a day.

Good luck!
« Last Edit: October 01, 2013, 09:49:49 AM by KittyFooFoo »

Cromacster

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Re: Gaining weight
« Reply #10 on: October 01, 2013, 12:13:12 PM »
Just saw this today, posted on www.liftbigeatbig.com facebook page

Lolo Jones gaining weight to be on the US Bobsled Team.  Said she was eating 9,000 calories a day.  Yikes!

http://www.thepostgame.com/blog/chompions/201309/how-lolo-jones-gained-30-pounds-bobsled

Ashcons

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Re: Gaining weight
« Reply #11 on: October 01, 2013, 12:30:56 PM »
Scrawny to Brawny is a book with some Caloric formulas to determine/estimate your basic needs and weight gain needs. John Berardi's site has some informative articles and recipes for healthy and fairly convenient foods for putting on weight. Your library may have a copy.

KittyFooFoo sounds like he's had success in that general vein (knowing what his body needs and feeding it). I never could stomach the amount of food I needed (neither could my wallet), so what meager gains I was able to force on my thin frame eventually dissipated into the ether :)

Mr.Macinstache

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Re: Gaining weight
« Reply #12 on: October 01, 2013, 12:40:05 PM »
My first suggestion would be eggs and butter.

Nope, total myth. Purely anecdotal here, but here's what I eat every week. A dozen eggs, about 1/2 stick of butter and a good amount of real, iodine sea salt. Not to mention a 1/2 gallon of pure raw fatty milk.

I've lost over 25lbs doing so, and I don't exercise.

If the OP wants to gain weight, eat tons of grains, wheat and sugar. You wont be healthy, but weight will be gained.

GuitarStv

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Re: Gaining weight
« Reply #13 on: October 01, 2013, 12:50:20 PM »
My first suggestion would be eggs and butter.

Nope, total myth. Purely anecdotal here, but here's what I eat every week. A dozen eggs, about 1/2 stick of butter and a good amount of real, iodine sea salt. Not to mention a 1/2 gallon of pure raw fatty milk.

I've lost over 25lbs doing so, and I don't exercise.

If the OP wants to gain weight, eat tons of grains, wheat and sugar. You wont be healthy, but weight will be gained.

Weight gain/loss is purely based on the calories consumed vs those expended.  You're losing weight because you're not eating as much as you're expending.  Milk and eggs are great ways to gain weight . . . but I'm just maintaining weight at the moment and typically drink 2-3 gallons of 2% or whole milk a week.  I'll usually eat 6 eggs in a sitting on the weekends.  You are losing weight not because of the food you're eating, but because you're not eating much food.

oldtoyota

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Re: Gaining weight
« Reply #14 on: October 01, 2013, 12:53:04 PM »
I am SO happy to hear people talk about this. This is not a subject I can bring up without receiving comments like, "You're so thin! You're so lucky!" Blah. Blah.

Maybe the trick is to eat when I am not hungry. In addition to regular meals, I've been snacking on TBS of peanut butter and (a la Jacob) olive oil to gain some pounds. I still struggle to keep weight on...

Modifying to ask what protein powder do you all recommend? Those shake recipes above sound good.
« Last Edit: October 01, 2013, 12:56:35 PM by oldtoyota »

Cromacster

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Re: Gaining weight
« Reply #15 on: October 01, 2013, 12:53:51 PM »
My first suggestion would be eggs and butter.

Nope, total myth. Purely anecdotal here, but here's what I eat every week. A dozen eggs, about 1/2 stick of butter and a good amount of real, iodine sea salt. Not to mention a 1/2 gallon of pure raw fatty milk.

I've lost over 25lbs doing so, and I don't exercise.

If the OP wants to gain weight, eat tons of grains, wheat and sugar. You wont be healthy, but weight will be gained.

Not a total myth at all.  If you are working out and following a muscle/strength building regimen you need to eat alot and include alot of protein. 

12 eggs, half stick of butter, and a half gallon of whole milk...per week?  Kittens eat that much.  For breakfast? Now we're gettin somewhere's.  Yes I know people who eat this amount, purely anecdotal I know...

He doesn't need to eat any of the things you listed above, in fact you are basically saying to gain weight just become fat and sloppy.  Consuming the right amount of calories (sounds like 2500+ for the OP) while maintaining a good balance of Fat, protein, and carbs He can gain all sorts of good weight (see muscle).  If he is following a good training program.

Edit:  Also at around 6' 140, adding some fat to his frame would not be a bad thing either.  I would guess his BF is around 10% (or less) with those stats.
« Last Edit: October 01, 2013, 12:57:44 PM by Cromacster »

Cromacster

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Re: Gaining weight
« Reply #16 on: October 01, 2013, 01:04:21 PM »
I am SO happy to hear people talk about this. This is not a subject I can bring up without receiving comments like, "You're so thin! You're so lucky!" Blah. Blah.

Maybe the trick is to eat when I am not hungry. In addition to regular meals, I've been snacking on TBS of peanut butter and (a la Jacob) olive oil to gain some pounds. I still struggle to keep weight on...


For any lady out there who feels pressued to be thin...heres a new outlook.

http://strongisnewskinny.blogspot.com/

Modifying to ask what protein powder do you all recommend? Those shake recipes above sound good.

I get my protein from www.truenutrition.com

Nice because you can order small quantities to try it out and then order bulk quantities if you find one you like.  It is also all customizable so if you do some research and/or know some things that work for you, you can tailor around your preferences.

I go with 80% grassfed whey protein, 10% Egg white protein, 10% maltodextrin, with protease enzyme complex, and added vitamins and minerals.  Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Flavor is my favorite (cinnabun is also good).

Ashcons

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Re: Gaining weight
« Reply #17 on: October 01, 2013, 01:11:56 PM »
Modifying to ask what protein powder do you all recommend? Those shake recipes above sound good.

The only flavored protein I can stand is regular old chocolate. I like the Optimum Nutrition - 100% Whey Gold Standard Natural Chocolate, 5 lb powder, ordering from Amazon or Vitamin Shoppe.

For unflavored, I go with    NOW Foods Whey Protein Isolate, 100% Pure 5Lb (from Amazon).

ON and the NOW Foods brands have a lot of fans on various weight lifting forums around the Internet. The ON Natural line doesn't have synthetic sugars and has a very low sugar content. Both that and the NOW protein seem to be instantized pretty well (i.e. I don't get clumps of powder floating around).

I really used to love my Magic Bullet for making shakes. One that really hit the spot was a serving of chocolate protein powder, a banana, 2 TB of smooth peanut butter, and whole milk to fill the blender cup. It was amazingly delicious!
« Last Edit: October 01, 2013, 01:17:20 PM by DebtStubble »

Mr.Macinstache

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Re: Gaining weight
« Reply #18 on: October 01, 2013, 01:16:20 PM »
My first suggestion would be eggs and butter.

Nope, total myth. Purely anecdotal here, but here's what I eat every week. A dozen eggs, about 1/2 stick of butter and a good amount of real, iodine sea salt. Not to mention a 1/2 gallon of pure raw fatty milk.

I've lost over 25lbs doing so, and I don't exercise.

If the OP wants to gain weight, eat tons of grains, wheat and sugar. You wont be healthy, but weight will be gained.

Weight gain/loss is purely based on the calories consumed vs those expended.  You're losing weight because you're not eating as much as you're expending.  Milk and eggs are great ways to gain weight . . . but I'm just maintaining weight at the moment and typically drink 2-3 gallons of 2% or whole milk a week.  I'll usually eat 6 eggs in a sitting on the weekends.  You are losing weight not because of the food you're eating, but because you're not eating much food.

Not entirely true, it's not that simple.
http://www.runnersworld.com/the-starting-line/calorie-count-not-all-calories-are-created-equal?page=single

In general its the content of the calorie and how it affects your body.


Russ

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Re: Gaining weight
« Reply #19 on: October 01, 2013, 01:29:33 PM »
Not entirely true, it's not that simple.
http://www.runnersworld.com/the-starting-line/calorie-count-not-all-calories-are-created-equal?page=single

In general its the content of the calorie and how it affects your body.

Yes it's that simple. Every single calorie you eat is worth of 1/3500 pounds of fat on your body. Different ratio for muscle, but same idea. Nothing in this article refuted that.

Also calories don't "contain" anything, they're a unit of energy. In this context, that energy is stored in food, un-stored by your digestive system, and re-stored or used to do/build something in your body.

anyway, I'm not a big fan of the pseudoscience and misunderstood real science that gets thrown around as diet advice. If you want to gain weight, eat more. If you want that weight to be muscle, use your muscles more too.

Devils Advocate

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Re: Gaining weight
« Reply #20 on: October 01, 2013, 01:38:02 PM »
If you live in an area that has legalized marijuana that may help stimulate your appetite...try to avoid the junk food and/or whitecastle
DA

GuitarStv

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Re: Gaining weight
« Reply #21 on: October 01, 2013, 01:46:36 PM »
Of course it's that simple!  You can't cheat thermodynamics with soft science.

Granted some foods are metabolized differently so your body may burn extra calories metabolizing a high protein/fat diet in comparison to a low fat, low carb one, but the formula still holds.  It's also a lot easier to keep motivated and expend more calories in the gym if you're eating food that makes you feel good and helps your recovery . . . so a steady diet of chocolate cake is probably going to effect your workouts negatively.  Fiber and fats tend to make people feel full for longer so you end up consuming fewer calories by default which effects your caloric surplus or deficit . . . Hell, if you constrict your diet too much your body (being the efficient machine that it is) will start to reduce your metabolism to conserve food which in turn has an effect on the calories expended.

None of this effects the fact that weight gain/loss is purely based on the calories consumed vs those expended (through exercise and metabolic change) though.  I defy you to find any research claiming otherwise.

You've said that you're losing weight.  That means you're keeping yourself at a caloric deficit.  You've also said that you don't exercise at all . . . that means that you're losing muscle mass which slows your metabolism down further.  The fact that you're eating eggs and drinking milk doesn't make your diet effective . . . it's simply tied to the fact that your body is burning more than it's taking in.

Mr.Macinstache

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Re: Gaining weight
« Reply #22 on: October 01, 2013, 01:54:37 PM »
Not entirely true, it's not that simple.
http://www.runnersworld.com/the-starting-line/calorie-count-not-all-calories-are-created-equal?page=single

In general its the content of the calorie and how it affects your body.

Yes it's that simple. Every single calorie you eat is worth of 1/3500 pounds of fat on your body. Different ratio for muscle, but same idea. Nothing in this article refuted that.

Also calories don't "contain" anything, they're a unit of energy. In this context, that energy is stored in food, un-stored by your digestive system, and re-stored or used to do/build something in your body.

anyway, I'm not a big fan of the pseudoscience and misunderstood real science that gets thrown around as diet advice. If you want to gain weight, eat more. If you want that weight to be muscle, use your muscles more too.

I agree with all of that but what is overlooked is how the foods affects your body. Here's a story based on a study from the Journal of the American Medical Association:

Not all calories are created equal
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505269_162-57461579/study-not-all-calories-are-created-equal/

Thoughts?

oldtoyota

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Re: Gaining weight
« Reply #23 on: October 01, 2013, 01:58:41 PM »
This is my all-time favorite thread. I'm going to try and gain 8 pounds, and maybe I will keep nut butter at my desk at work to help me along.


Zaga

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Re: Gaining weight
« Reply #24 on: October 01, 2013, 02:10:31 PM »
I've always been super skinny, and am able to lose weight very easily.  In fact, when my husband went on a low carb diet, just by eating dinner with him, I lost 10 pounds in a month.  When you only weigh 105 to begin with, that's a problem!

Anyways, for me, I need to eat carbs, fat, and protein every day to not lose weight.  But not crap, for some reason when I eat junk food I gain nothing and sometimes lose weight.  I have to eat healthy proteins, fats, and carbs.

In addition, to go to the next level and start gaining, moderate exercise is what works for me.  Too extreme, and I just become a food machine, but gain nothing.

Some days I hate my crazy metabolism.

Half-Borg

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Re: Gaining weight
« Reply #25 on: October 01, 2013, 02:27:08 PM »
Not a day old and already all-time fav? Great :D
Thanks for all the advice so far.

You need to eat WAY more.
Yep, I knew that ;) Im quite good with the theory, reality, not so much. Your advice is great. Now I know how much I should actually eat. So I need to double my intake and you need to triple those prices (non US).

I just went grocery shopping and bought a weeks supply. Now I need to eat that in three days...
Protein powder does not work for me, I gain some weight, hate that stuff and stop taking it and am back to the start. I need to change my regular diet. I will make some shakes while I'm in the process to up my intake.
I also added some meat for protein and will enrich everything with eggs and cheese. I don't think I need more than 100g protein/day, there are some studies, but I'm too lazy to look right now, they are in the wrong language anyway.
//Edit: Look here for some protein calculations, it breaks down to max 100g protein need for me.
« Last Edit: October 02, 2013, 01:58:32 AM by Half-Borg »

capital

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Re: Gaining weight
« Reply #26 on: October 01, 2013, 07:57:03 PM »
It might be worth looking for more beans and lentils and the like to your diet-- they're good vegetarian protein.

Gray Matter

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Re: Gaining weight
« Reply #27 on: October 01, 2013, 09:09:23 PM »
You can have some of mine.  How much do you want?

Simple Abundant Living

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Re: Gaining weight
« Reply #28 on: October 01, 2013, 09:23:13 PM »
My first suggestion would be eggs and butter.

Nope, total myth. Purely anecdotal here, but here's what I eat every week. A dozen eggs, about 1/2 stick of butter and a good amount of real, iodine sea salt. Not to mention a 1/2 gallon of pure raw fatty milk.

I've lost over 25lbs doing so, and I don't exercise.

If the OP wants to gain weight, eat tons of grains, wheat and sugar. You wont be healthy, but weight will be gained.

My son has been working with a nutritionist to put weight on.  The foods she recommends are the same foods for her clients trying to lose weight.  The difference is portion size.  He doesn't want to be fat, he wants more muscle for football.  He's 6'3 and weighs 175lbs with 2-3% body fat (he would like 15-20lbs more). 

He eats

Green juice
Protein shake (whole milk, powder, banana, frozen berry, frozen spinach)
5 egg omelet
2 slices whole grain (Dave's killer bread) toast with butter

we pack him snacks for the school day/practice in addition to school lunch.
3 layer PB&J on whole grain
turkey or ham sandwich or wrap
2 string cheese
bag of carrots/ranch
apple and/or banana
protein shake for after lifting
slim fast for snack
bag of almonds/nuts/dried fruit (mango is his favorite)
Zone bar or protein bar

Dinner
Usually big bowl of pasta, sauce, chicken w/garlic toast or a huge portion of what we made for dinner

Another big (blender full) protein shake before bed.

:) I probably forgot a lot of things.

He has taken creatine.  I think it's best if you go on it for a few (3?)months, then give yourself a month off, then back on.  You have to drink tons of water if you take it.  And of course, lift weights a lot!

Hedge_87

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Re: Gaining weight
« Reply #29 on: October 02, 2013, 10:32:45 AM »
You can have some of mine.  How much do you want?
I agree lol. I used to do jujitsu completions and I walk around at about 225. My weight class was under 200. That means 6-8 months from a competition I would ramp up the cardio work (really hard for someone who try's to avoid cardio like the plague) and really restrict calories (again really hard I love to eat until I feel like I'm going to throw up and then ask for dessert). I always made weight by the skin of my teeth. The last competion I went to I just went in the next class up which was 235. That ment I needed to bulk to around 240-245 (you can cut the last 8-10 pounds in water weight). This was considerably easier for me and I didn't feel like chewing on my arm during the day. However it did take a lot of heavy lifting which for me is way better than cardio. I mean who doesn't like pickin heavy shit up and throwing it over your head. However I did have to increase my calories to around 9000 (partly because I have a very physically demanding job) by the time I was a couple weeks into it I was so sick of eating so much just the smell of food would trigger gag reflexes. I agree with most of the suggestions above. Eat/drink a shit ton of milk, eggs, protien shakes, meat, high fat foods like nuts and avacodos, and all the fruits and veggies you can possibly eat without throwing it back up.
Ps. I've been lazy as of late and have about 20 pounds of unwanted weight I could give you if you want lol.

Hedge_87

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Re: Gaining weight
« Reply #30 on: October 02, 2013, 01:49:06 PM »
Wanted to add one last thing. If you have access to Olympic liftng bars look up catylist athletics. They have a great website with tons of info and lots of different work outs. I know when I was training really hard in the Olympic lifts I could not believe how much more athletic I felt. I'm hoping to start back up this winter when things slow down. Word of caution though improper lifting techniques can cause injury. It might be a good idea to get some instruction from someone who knows a lot about the lifts. At least for the first few months

ivyhedge

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Re: Gaining weight
« Reply #31 on: October 02, 2013, 02:43:09 PM »
What do all y'all suggest for someone who has battled kidney stones since 2005? Heavy amounts of sugar, protein, and calcium (there goes that milk) are NOT good for the stones I've had, or the one I harbor.


But yeah: 5'7" and 120-125lbs (low end now following a multi-week trip abroad).

oldtoyota

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Re: Gaining weight
« Reply #32 on: October 02, 2013, 03:00:01 PM »
Anyways, for me, I need to eat carbs, fat, and protein every day to not lose weight.  But not crap, for some reason when I eat junk food I gain nothing and sometimes lose weight.  I have to eat healthy proteins, fats, and carbs.

Same here! Nice to know I'm not alone. I have to eat healthy. I look on the bright side and figure it keeps me healthier. But, sometimes it still stinks.

GuitarStv

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Re: Gaining weight
« Reply #33 on: October 03, 2013, 06:15:30 AM »
I wonder if there's a whole subset of humanity that tends to lose weight when eating junk food . . . I know that I do for sure.  The sugar makes me feel full and then I get jittery and end up skipping meals and burning off more than I ate.

Mr.Macinstache

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Re: Gaining weight
« Reply #34 on: October 03, 2013, 10:40:47 AM »
What do all y'all suggest for someone who has battled kidney stones since 2005? Heavy amounts of sugar, protein, and calcium (there goes that milk) are NOT good for the stones I've had, or the one I harbor.


But yeah: 5'7" and 120-125lbs (low end now following a multi-week trip abroad).

For kidney stones? Here, hope this helps.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDYN8UcsTKg

Also, try drinking Braggs apple cider vinegar.. not mentioned there. Here's another article
http://pharmacistbensblog.blogspot.com/2011/12/disease-of-kings.html

Mr.Macinstache

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Re: Gaining weight
« Reply #35 on: October 03, 2013, 10:44:04 AM »
I wonder if there's a whole subset of humanity that tends to lose weight when eating junk food . . . I know that I do for sure.  The sugar makes me feel full and then I get jittery and end up skipping meals and burning off more than I ate.

I'm the opposite... I used to drink 2 sodas a day... the HFCS increased my appetite like crazy. According to the book Wheat Belly, so does the protein Gliadin that's in modified wheat which is in darn near everything.

That's why I suggested wheat and sugar (HFCS) products... it tends to increase your appetite.
« Last Edit: October 03, 2013, 11:49:30 AM by Mr.Macinstache »

jpo

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Re: Gaining weight
« Reply #36 on: October 03, 2013, 11:36:22 AM »
My son has been working with a nutritionist to put weight on.  The foods she recommends are the same foods for her clients trying to lose weight.  The difference is portion size.  He doesn't want to be fat, he wants more muscle for football.  He's 6'3 and weighs 175lbs with 2-3% body fat (he would like 15-20lbs more).
Somehow I doubt this, that is unsustainable bodybuilding competition level body fat if I'm not mistaken.

KittyFooFoo

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Re: Gaining weight
« Reply #37 on: October 03, 2013, 11:52:16 AM »
My son has been working with a nutritionist to put weight on.  The foods she recommends are the same foods for her clients trying to lose weight.  The difference is portion size.  He doesn't want to be fat, he wants more muscle for football.  He's 6'3 and weighs 175lbs with 2-3% body fat (he would like 15-20lbs more).
Somehow I doubt this, that is unsustainable bodybuilding competition level body fat if I'm not mistaken.

Haha yeah, at 2% you're about to die.  Here's what different body fat percentages look like:

http://www.healthygrad.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/body-fat-percentage-men-women.png

Crash87

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Re: Gaining weight
« Reply #38 on: October 03, 2013, 01:24:46 PM »
My general rule of thumb is maintenance calories are roughly equal to your body weight x 15. So if you are 145 lbs you need to eat roughly 2175 calories to maintain your weight. Whenever I try to gain weight I eat my body weight x 18, so if I were 145 lbs I would eat 2610 calories/day. If you're still not gaining weight or adding too much too quickly then adjust the calories/lbs number up or down by 1 or 2.

I eat roughly 1 gram of protein/lbs and split the remaining calories 30% fat and 70% carbs, but that's just me. I'm NOT saying you need to eat a gram of protein/lbs to gain muscle. I just read a study that suggested there is no point in consuming more than 1 gram/lbs.

In case you didn't know: 1 gram of protein/carbohydrate/fat/alcohol is 4/4/9/7 calories, respectively.

Foods I eat a lot:
eggs, olive oil, oatmeal, almonds, whey protein powder, skim/2% milk, greek yogurt, fruit, veggies, natural peanut butter, brown rice, beans, and salsa (salsa is for taste). Candy bars and ice cream won't do you any favors. Beyond the fact that they provide minimal nutritional value, diets high in sugar can lower testosterone levels over time. Low T has all sorts of unpleasant effects.

I've been using the 5/3/1 exercise program to build strength and I'm pretty happy with the results.

Simple Abundant Living

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Re: Gaining weight
« Reply #39 on: October 03, 2013, 02:34:58 PM »
What do all y'all suggest for someone who has battled kidney stones since 2005? Heavy amounts of sugar, protein, and calcium (there goes that milk) are NOT good for the stones I've had, or the one I harbor.


But yeah: 5'7" and 120-125lbs (low end now following a multi-week trip abroad).

Have you checked your parathyroid?  If it has a tumor (even benign), it can mess up calcium levels in your blood and make your bones brittle.  Just an idea...

Yonco

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Re: Gaining weight
« Reply #40 on: October 03, 2013, 03:48:51 PM »
Im in the same boat as you, having trouble gaining weight. Im 6'1(we dont use that metric bs in america) and 135 lbs.  Ive tried a lot of protien shakes and the healthy eating but it all boils down to getting more calories and being a little lazier. I walk 10+ miles a day at work and do a fair share of manual labor, plus is have a kickass metabolism, so i have a very hard time gaining weight. Thus, I invented the beer and pizza diet. Some may call it alchoholism, but i can add a hefty 500 calories a day from beer alone and pizza 2x a week helps a bunch!

Simple Abundant Living

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Re: Gaining weight
« Reply #41 on: October 03, 2013, 04:41:35 PM »
My son has been working with a nutritionist to put weight on.  The foods she recommends are the same foods for her clients trying to lose weight.  The difference is portion size.  He doesn't want to be fat, he wants more muscle for football.  He's 6'3 and weighs 175lbs with 2-3% body fat (he would like 15-20lbs more).
Somehow I doubt this, that is unsustainable bodybuilding competition level body fat if I'm not mistaken.

Haha yeah, at 2% you're about to die.  Here's what different body fat percentages look like:

http://www.healthygrad.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/body-fat-percentage-men-women.png

2% was on his bicep and he had 3% everywhere else.  (Taken by caliper).  The nutritionist said she's only seen one other patient with a similar body composition, and he was training for a national body building competition.  It's not as accurate as other measurements, like a bod pod, but that is what he measured at in her office.  I'll brush off your insinuation that I'm lying, because it's the truth.  My son is just built that way.  He is extremely "cut" and has bulging veins, but he is small/tall framed.  I was just sharing what we are trying to do to get him to the size he needs to be to be recruited for college football.

Kriegsspiel

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Re: Gaining weight
« Reply #42 on: October 03, 2013, 07:00:21 PM »
2% was on his bicep and he had 3% everywhere else.  (Taken by caliper).  The nutritionist said she's only seen one other patient with a similar body composition, and he was training for a national body building competition.  It's not as accurate as other measurements, like a bod pod, but that is what he measured at in her office.  I'll brush off your insinuation that I'm lying, because it's the truth.  My son is just built that way.  He is extremely "cut" and has bulging veins, but he is small/tall framed.  I was just sharing what we are trying to do to get him to the size he needs to be to be recruited for college football.

That's not how BF% is calculated. Maybe those were the mm readings from the caliper? Either way, I'm sure it doesn't really matter. You can tell visually when you are really lean, whether 5% or 9%... who cares?

Crash87

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Re: Gaining weight
« Reply #43 on: October 03, 2013, 07:04:47 PM »
2% was on his bicep and he had 3% everywhere else.  (Taken by caliper).  The nutritionist said she's only seen one other patient with a similar body composition, and he was training for a national body building competition.  It's not as accurate as other measurements, like a bod pod, but that is what he measured at in her office.  I'll brush off your insinuation that I'm lying, because it's the truth.  My son is just built that way.  He is extremely "cut" and has bulging veins, but he is small/tall framed.  I was just sharing what we are trying to do to get him to the size he needs to be to be recruited for college football.

He's not 2%. Men need 3-5% just to survive. If he somehow survived at 2% he certainly wouldn't be playing sports! I doubt you're lying. You're just misinformed. My guess is that he's 12%. If he is 12% he would be very cut and potentially quite an athlete.

Cromacster

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Re: Gaining weight
« Reply #44 on: October 04, 2013, 05:59:19 AM »
Im in the same boat as you, having trouble gaining weight. Im 6'1(we dont use that metric bs in america) and 135 lbs.  Ive tried a lot of protien shakes and the healthy eating but it all boils down to getting more calories and being a little lazier. I walk 10+ miles a day at work and do a fair share of manual labor, plus is have a kickass metabolism, so i have a very hard time gaining weight. Thus, I invented the beer and pizza diet. Some may call it alchoholism, but i can add a hefty 500 calories a day from beer alone and pizza 2x a week helps a bunch!

This is anecdotal but.....

One nutritionist once did a personal study of an "all beer diet".  He actually lost weight while on it (not suprising I guess).  Pretty stupid though haha, you need around 13 average beers just to obtain 2,000 calories.  If I can find the report of news article about I will update this post. 

randymarsh

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Re: Gaining weight
« Reply #45 on: October 04, 2013, 06:12:24 AM »
Great thread. I'd be happy to gain just 15lbs so I don't look like a stick. Is there any trick to making yourself want to eat so much? I try to eat breakfast, but most days I'm not hungry at all. Food just doesn't seem appetizing until I've been up a couple hours.


Cromacster

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Re: Gaining weight
« Reply #46 on: October 04, 2013, 07:23:21 AM »
Great thread. I'd be happy to gain just 15lbs so I don't look like a stick. Is there any trick to making yourself want to eat so much? I try to eat breakfast, but most days I'm not hungry at all. Food just doesn't seem appetizing until I've been up a couple hours.

Don't eat breakfast.....All the hype about eating breakfast is overrated.  In the morning I will have coffee and wait to eat until I am hungry, which is usually around 10am (I wake up at 5am).  My breakfast usually consist of 5 hard boiled eggs and some homemade salsa.  I still eat lunch around noon.

To do this it just takes some extra planning.  I pack a breakfast and lunch for work.  I work a desk job so that allows me some freedom to take time and eat breakfast whenever.  If you are looking to gain weight I would try to incorporate some higher fat foods as well.  If I was gaining I would probably have the 5 eggs, an avacado, 5-6 strips of bacon, and an orange or banana for breakfast.  And I would still eat lunch around noon.

jba302

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Re: Gaining weight
« Reply #47 on: October 04, 2013, 09:32:00 AM »
All, the weight gain discussion. I think these conversations load more bullshit than the weight-loss ones do. I wonder who of us have actually gained significant weight on purpose? I went up 55 pounds in 9 months and took my squat from 95 to 350, so I will provide some perspective on how I handled this.

Breakfast:
Protein shake - Ice cream, whole milk (2% milk is basically a vegetable), peanut butter, scoop of whey protein, some instant oats, maybe a drizzle of EVOO. Do not measure the amount, fill the blender and drink it as quickly as you can. Eggs are bullshit unless you are a good volume eater (you are not since you are 6' 140#) and you can put down 10 or so at a time.

While driving to work:
Handful of almonds or peanuts. Not a "12-14 almonds" type of thing, a handful. You should be chewing most of the time you drive.

Lunch:
I was partial to Chipotle double meat with everything when I didn't bring food from home. When I did bring lunch from home it was something with a combination of pasta, meat, olive oil / butter, and cheese.

Snacks during work:
Target has 5 lb containers of peanuts and almonds for about 10 bucks. Buy one of these weekly. It should be around a pound or more a week of peanuts, almonds, etc. Another option to trade things up would be a peanut butter sandwich with honey on it. A lot of honey.

Dinner:
So this is your time to shine. Here's one way to look at it - get a medium pizza (diagorno's style) and pour some evoo on it. Eat at least half of it. Then, after lifting, eat the other half. And then have a protein shake before you go to bed, similar to breakfast.

The "bonus" round:
Do you get up in the middle of the night to pee? Protein shake. This is seriously a free calorie boost, because you are right back to sleep and don't have to deal with the overeating feeling.


The trick with good weight gain is two-fold:
1. You have to eat fast. To overcome your body's "stop doing this to me" response, you get a good solid 20 minutes of cram time before gherlin drops and you start feeling sick.
2. You have to make a priority of high calorie foods. Mostly good foods, but there needs to be a good healthy amount of crap in there. Ice cream, sugary shit, etc. If you are actively lifting, you will be needing it anyway.
3. The negative effects of obesity are not in your line of sights. I have my bloodwork done at 5'11 210 (borderline obese) and had 0 negatives, not even testostone. An active person who lifts and is consistently engaged in activity is not going to have the HBP, blood sugar, etc. issues of a long term fatty. Squat a lot, do some sprints (do NOT do long slow cardio) and you'll be fine.



The fun part of this is the bodyweight reset point. Once you put your body into a new stratos of weight, it really likes being there (non-scientifically). So you stomp on the gas for 9 months, get strong, then back off a little to cut some fat. Presto, you are now 180 pounds lean and it is no harder to maintain your new set point then it was at 140#.

randymarsh

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Re: Gaining weight
« Reply #48 on: October 04, 2013, 11:20:25 AM »
I feel full just reading that!

For my biology lab last semester we had to record everything we ate/drank over 3 days. I was amazed how little it all added up to calorie wise. This was even a weekend with heavy drinking and I eat pretty much anytime I'm hungry. I guess to gain weight I should probably never get to the point of feeling hungry!

prodarwin

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Re: Gaining weight
« Reply #49 on: October 04, 2013, 08:18:20 PM »
An active person who lifts and is consistently engaged in activity is not going to have the HBP, blood sugar, etc. issues of a long term fatty. Squat a lot, do some sprints (do NOT do long slow cardio) and you'll be fine.

I agree with most of your post, but I wish this part were true.

I'm an extremely active person, I lift frequently, crossfit 2-4x a week, run (sometimes... I hate it, but have a 12mi tough mudder in a month), and mountain bike a ton.  I'm 6'0 " my weight fluctuates between 170 and 185 depending on what mix of the above I've been doing.   Unfortunately I have HBP.  Not insanely high, but 130/85-150/90 ish...  only thing the doc has to say is:  its genetic  :(