Need help GAINING weight...

**Posts:** 2 · by **stop_time4eva** » Mon May 24, 2010 11:26 pm

Hello, my problem is weight gain. 25 years old, 5'9, 135pounds.
I smoke ganja, cigarettes, and don't really drink. My eating habits are bad and have been pretty bad for many years now. I don't eat in the mornings. Sometimes I'll be up at 7 am, and wont eat my first meal till 4pm or later, and thats just terrible. I'll eat 2-3 times in a day, if I'm lucky. I eat most in the evenings/night time, its like an endless pit. But most of the time, I have to force myself to eat. I don't get enough fluids in the day either. I mainly drink water. Ill go hours without nothing, and then all of the sudden have like 8 glasses within a 2 hours time span. I'm also picky with what I eat, sometimes, it feels like the only thing I'm able to force down is a McDonalds burger, and that's awful too. Maybe growing up eating too much fast food, a fast metabolism, and bad eating habits are the result of my current weight, well, who are we kidding here, it all is. (smoking doesn't help either)
Anyways, Ive done my research, and now that eating is health and properly, while keeping a close eye on ones daily calorie intake is key. All with proper exercise, ie, resistance training. I did well for a while, but found it difficult to not only stay motivated for working out, but forcing myself to consume so much food in one day to reach a certain calorie amount.
I eventually got some help from "weight gain powder" drinks. One drink, was about 1000 cal, containing 50g of protein! Not bad, did that twice a day, plus trying to eat regularly, and working out. Got to bout 145 in a month!
The problem was, in the mornings, Id get woken up my these stomach aches, and had to go straight to the washroom. I guess it was all that protein consumption throughout the day. In a day, id consume about 150-200g of protein (that includes food and weight gain powder combined).
Anyways, thats kind of my story. I guess Im not sure what Im looking for.....A few questions though. Im in the process of once again trying to put on some healthy weight. I know what I have to eat. ie, chicken, fish, eggs, nuts, seeds, blabvlabla, high calorie/protein food, though not fast food. In addition, I was wondering what would be better to use,"weight gain powder" or straight protein powder. I dont find it easy eating 4-5k calories every day. So ya, I guess Im just looking or some advice or knowledge that I haven't come across yet. My goal would be 160, so I got some work to do. Thanks for reading, feel free to share your thoughts.

**Posts:** 14140 · by **jurplesman** » Tue May 25, 2010 7:28 am

You seem to have the normal weight for your height. What's the worry?

But if you want to put on more weight have a look here.

**Posts:** 12 · by **Dean_Winchester** » Tue May 25, 2010 8:13 am

Your Body Mass Index is 19.5, which is normal. You are not underweight. You wouldn't want to weigh more than 150 pounds.

**Posts:** 395 · by **hhh79bigo** » Tue May 25, 2010 8:41 am

I think rather than gaining weight you should be trying to look at a more healthy lifestyle, your weight is relatively ok for you height, I would recommend that you look at the quality of food rather than the quantity, and the time of day that you eat.

Is it a problem that you want to gain muscle mass or just gain weight in general? Because if you wish to gain muscle mass then you need to increase your protein intake and take up resistance exercises.

If you wish to build muscle I have a few routines that may help.

**Posts:** 823 · by **Nigel** » Tue May 25, 2010 11:12 am

Hi stop_time4eva,
Welcome to the forum

As has already been mentioned, your BMI - and that's a healthy weight taking your height into account - falls within the 'normal' range. There are loads of online calculators you can use to check.

"I don't eat in the mornings. Sometimes I'll be up at 7 am, and wont eat my first meal till 4pm or later, and thats just terrible."

It's not the healthiest of lifestyles

They say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, so it would be help to make time for a good healthy one.

It sounds like you have a good idea of what makes up a healthy diet, and I would try and stick with that rather than the various 'weight gain powders' on the market. It's just a personal thing really - I prefer the natural options whenever possible.

"I dont find it easy eating 4-5k calories every day."

And so you shouldn't :shock:

I believe the recommended daily calorie intake for an active male is around 2500 (2000 for women).

Good luck,
Nigel

**Posts:** 2 · by **stop_time4eva** » Tue May 25, 2010 6:05 pm

Hmmmm, I guess I just find my upper body skinny looking... sigh
I guess besides muscle mass, Im looking to gain some healthy weight in general.
By the time I get old, Ill be a stick,lol....
Im just going to try and eat healthy, 3-4 cals a day, lots of protein, resistance exercise, and I guess we'll see how it goes.
Question, which is harder. A fat person trying to loose weight, or a skinny person(hard gainer) trying to gain it?Both same age , lets say 25, same height, blablabla...
Thanks for the input. Statistically speaking, I may not be underweight. But I look and feel as if I am, thus impacting my confidence, self esteem, etc.
sigh...........

**Posts:** 823 · by **Nigel** » Wed May 26, 2010 10:36 am

Hi stop_time4eva,

"Question, which is harder. A fat person trying to loose weight, or a skinny person(hard gainer) trying to gain it?"

Hmm... :roll:

Dunno really. Probably both.

Maybe you're already doing this, but if not, have you ever considered joining a gym? They have experts who could advise on exactly what a person like you needs to be doing - with both exercise and supplements - to gain some 'healthy' weight. Although I try to keep active, I've never been into the weight gain or physical exercise stuff, so it's hard fro me to advise.

"Statistically speaking, I may not be underweight. But I look and feel as if I am, thus impacting my confidence, self esteem, etc."

I wonder if that might be part of the problem - even quite a big part - and physical appearance promises to compensate for other things that seem to be lacking in your life.

BTW, I've always been rather a skinny person too - some people are just that way. I've gained a little these last few years since being made redundant and spending probably too much time in front of the PC, but I'm still comfortably within the normal BMI range.

I mention that because I too don't feel that good about my confidence and self esteem. I've never turned to my weight or appearance to try and 'fix' that, but I do have my own ideas of what would help. But when I think about it, those things are a sort of mask rather than addressing the real issues.

Good luck,
Nigel

**Posts:** 395 · by **hhh79bigo** » Wed May 26, 2010 11:43 am

To be honest with you I think the BMI is purely an indicator, because it doesn't take into consideration build etc. If you find it difficult to gain weight it is because you could have a high metabolism.

I would also suggest that you quite smoking aswell, because not only is is bad for you through inhaling, nicotine is also a hunger suppressant.

On a calorific point of view, I would suggest you consume around about 2500 calories a day with the following ration of protein:Carbs:Fat; 40:50:10 which means that on your plate, you should have 40% protein, 50% carbohydrates and 10% fats. I would also consider eating more regular aswell. i.e. eating 6 meals a day!!! this would mean that based on a 420 calorie meal around about 168 calories should be protein, 210 cals should be carbs and 42 calories taken up by unsaturated fats.

On an exercise point of view, start off with small weights and do the usuall arm curls, bench pressess, lat pull downs, dumbell flies, etc and of course the usual cardio.

Hope this is of some help

**Posts:** 54 · by **drywater** » Fri Jun 04, 2010 3:38 pm

when i graduated highschool i weighed 120 lbs 5'9. it didnt really bother me because i was so used to being small my whole life but i still wanted to get bigger.

basically youve got to force yourself to eat eat eat. working out is also good but mainly eating is going to help you grow. i also had a problem not eating breakfast... that is the most important meal because you havent eaten for like 8 hours or so beccause you were sleeping.

to make it easier for you... wake up EAT.. snack atleast once every two hours... then EAT lunch.. snack again... then EAT dinner.. you should use those snack time to drink those protein shake. if it upsets your stomach then take half doses or try a new brand. make sure you work out 3/4 times a week starting off light then increase gradually. make sure you work out your legs since thats where alot of weight and power comes from. JUST EAT

as years go by youll gain a little.. but after a few years it all adds up. i was never consistent with my eating and working out but over the past 8 years ive gaineed 40 lbs avg 5 lbs a year. you could gain more if u stuck with it more.

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