how do you put on weight?

[ed miliband]

i should be a lot bigger than i am: i drink quite a bit, smoke, have a fairly bad diet (like, i had a habit of eating a pack of fucking parma ham a day, usually have a few chocolate bars a day, a few packets of crisps, a few cakes, etc. on top of two to three cooked meals, and then maybe extras), and rarely exercise.

i wouldn't say i'm scrawny, but i want to be a bit bigger than i currently am 'cos i kinda veer between looking healthy and looking like a smackhead. i'm genuinely at a loss as to how to gain weight though, so any tips?

[Vladimir Innit Lenin]

You probably don't eat as much as you think, in calorific terms.

To put on weight, i'd start eating more protein such as lean grilled chicken breast, grilled steak, unsalted cashews and eggs, and match this with brown pasta, brown rice, cous cous, quinoa.

Ideally, you'll want to wake up with a larger meal in the morning - granola would be good in the morning as it's quite a calory-laden food.

During the day you'll want a good mix of carbs and protein as mentioned above. Eat regularly and smaller - try not to forgo food for more than 3 hours, but have smaller meal sizes (not too much smaller, if you want to bulk up a bit). Before bed you'll want to be eating fats - unsalted cashews or a couple of tablespoons of peanut butter would be perfect.

Also, and this may be counter-intuitive, but if you want to put on weight then you're gonna want to bulk up a bit by doing more exercise ; resistance training. Otherwise you'll just end up a fat lump.

If you want to chat about this more then PM me, there's only so much to-and-fro that can be had in a thread like this.

[Krano]

R-vjSOtuvDI

[ed miliband]

very helpful, thanks.

you're probably correct in terms of not eating much in "calorific terms"; i never did pay attention to 'balanced diet' stuff at school and so i don't think in those terms, but perhaps i should start to.

trouble with excercise - only thing i really do is cycle - is that any time i've been to the gym i've always felt sorta overwhelmed seeing all these hench guys around me, and i just look silly trying to lift weights or whatever. ideally i want to round out a little and then start converting that fat into muscle.

[ed miliband]

R-vjSOtuvDI


haha, so i'm basically a textbook example of what not to do. helpful tho.

[Vladimir Innit Lenin]

Smoking probz won't help you put on weight tbh. Nor alcohol. I don't know about the science but I find both kind of draining.

Also re: hench gym guys - just learn to ignore them, they are the ones that look idiotic tbh and it's not all it's cracked up to be. I used to lift heavy weights among their ranks and it's not the route to happiness. Lifting weights can be waaaay simpler than that and, as a beginner, you'd make really quick progress. I recommend it.

[Os Cangaceiros]

I've put on quite a bit of weight recently, I usually weigh around 150-155 pounds, and I currently weigh about 175 right now.

I eat a lot of fish, though. A LOT OF FISH. Especially salmon. I think that helps. For lunch I usually have a couple packs of Ramen noodles and a peanut butter sandwhich...basically just eat things with a lot of protein, I think is a good strategy. Perhaps you should exercise with weights, too, and augment your workouts with protein powder.

Nic Rossi usually had some good advice related to this topic...dunno if he's still active on the site anymore though.

[ed miliband]

Smoking probz won't help you put on weight tbh. Nor alcohol. I don't know about the science but I find both kind of draining.

ya, probably not at all. i was basically just highlighting how unhealthy i am.


I've put on quite a bit of weight recently, I usually weigh around 150-155 pounds, and I currently weigh about 175 right now.

I eat a lot of fish, though. A LOT OF FISH. Especially salmon. I think that helps. For lunch I usually have a couple packs of Ramen noodles and a peanut butter sandwhich...basically just eat things with a lot of protein, I think is a good strategy. Perhaps you should exercise with weights, too, and augment your workouts with protein powder.

Nic Rossi usually had some good advice related to this topic...dunno if he's still active on the site anymore though.

i think nic is touring europe?

but yeah, fish is a good shout, and i've started exercising with weights as per advice from 'the boss' above (sounds like i'm talking about god). my friend has recommended protein shakes too.

[Vladimir Innit Lenin]

Don't have too much oily fish, mind.

Keep us updated on how things are going, bro! :)

[roisengn]

Ideally, you'll want to wake up with a larger meal in the morning - granola would be good in the morning as it's quite a calory-laden food.

During the day you'll want a good mix of carbs and protein as mentioned above. Eat regularly and smaller - try not to forgo food for more than 3 hours, but have smaller meal sizes (not too much smaller, if you want to bulk up a bit). Before bed you'll want to be eating fats - unsalted cashews or a couple of tablespoons of peanut butter would be perfect.

[Vanguard1917]

i should be a lot bigger than i am: i drink quite a bit, smoke, have a fairly bad diet (like, i had a habit of eating a pack of fucking parma ham a day, usually have a few chocolate bars a day, a few packets of crisps, a few cakes, etc. on top of two to three cooked meals, and then maybe extras), and rarely exercise.

i wouldn't say i'm scrawny, but i want to be a bit bigger than i currently am 'cos i kinda veer between looking healthy and looking like a smackhead. i'm genuinely at a loss as to how to gain weight though, so any tips?

Figure out your calorie maintenance rate and aim to eat about 300-600 calories above it (meals with lots of carbs and protein and some fats). This calculator (http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm) should give you a rough estimate of what your maintenance rate is, but the only real way of knowing it for sure is through trial and error and tracking your weight gains. Save the money you would spend on Parma ham and use it to join a gym. With a good weight-training programme, you'll make all kinds of muscle gains within your first year. ;)

[Peoples' War]

There's stuff you can get from bodybuilding supply shops called "Weight Gainer". The brand I had while I was working out is called "Mutant Mass".

You could try that stuff, but if you aren't exercising, or lifting weights...it'll make you fat.

[ed miliband]

alright, vaguely related problem.

at times of stress i lose my appetite completely. i've just moved to a new house and have had good days and bad days, and hungover days, and i'm down to living on basically granola and some fruit in the morning, a light snack at midday, and half of what i'd normally eat (whether pasta, curry, whatever) in the evening, plus usually a few bananas or apples (or both) throughout the day. my attitude is as long as i eat enough to keep me going for the day i'm good, but i feel pretty... empty, i guess, despite having literally no will to eat, to the extent that the thought of certain food makes me feel physically sick.

i've had this before so i know it's not out of the ordinary, but any advice on, say, bland but filling/healthy food would be gratefully received.

[Conscript]

Smoke (shitty) pot.

[Vanguard1917]

alright, vaguely related problem.

at times of stress i lose my appetite completely. i've just moved to a new house and have had good days and bad days, and hungover days, and i'm down to living on basically granola and some fruit in the morning, a light snack at midday, and half of what i'd normally eat (whether pasta, curry, whatever) in the evening, plus usually a few bananas or apples (or both) throughout the day. my attitude is as long as i eat enough to keep me going for the day i'm good, but i feel pretty... empty, i guess, despite having literally no will to eat, to the extent that the thought of certain food makes me feel physically sick.

i've had this before so i know it's not out of the ordinary, but any advice on, say, bland but filling/healthy food would be gratefully received.

Google calorie-dense foods (http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=calorie+dense+foods&oq=calorie+dense+foods&gs_l=serp.3..0i7j0l2j0i7l3j0j0i7l2j0.8895.8895.0.9 162.1.1.0.0.0.0.59.59.1.1.0.les%3B..0.0...1c.1.FQ4 VeDZbnFQ). Peanut butter and whole milk are two classic examples. But foods very high in calories also tend to be high in fats, including saturated fat, so bear that in mind if you have any existing health issues.

[SergeNubret]

It is simple: Go on a kcal surplus
If you don't gain weight, you don't exceed you maintenance for kcal.

[Jolia]

I think you should try to take always healthy but balanced diet. That was the most important to stay healthy and also necessary to spend a happy life. But with your diet don't forget to take exercise.

[human strike]

There's a lot of talk of eating meat here, but can anyone suggest any vegetarian foods that would be helpful in gaining weight? I feel like I eat quite a lot - though I've never calculated my calorie intake or anything like that - but I only ever seem to gain weight very slowly (and then sometimes lose it all again very quickly if I'm ill like recently). I rarely smoke and don't drink much, but I also exercise very little.

[Os Cangaceiros]

^Soybeans have a high protein content. 20+ grams of protein in a cup.

Broccoli and lentils contain a decent amount of protein too, I believe.

[Quail]

There's a lot of talk of eating meat here, but can anyone suggest any vegetarian foods that would be helpful in gaining weight? I feel like I eat quite a lot - though I've never calculated my calorie intake or anything like that - but I only ever seem to gain weight very slowly (and then sometimes lose it all again very quickly if I'm ill like recently). I rarely smoke and don't drink much, but I also exercise very little.

Nuts and seeds are healthy but calorie dense. Peanut butter is good. I make something a little like this (http://theveganstoner.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/peanut-stew.html), only I use sweet potato and chickpeas and add spinach.

[baz]

never had this problem in my life.

simple solution: junky carbs

[Atilla]

Work out your calorie maintenance (plenty of places on the web you can do it for free :) ).

This figure is the number of calories you would eat to maintain your weight.

Then add 500 to the number in order to gain between 0.5lbs and 1lbs a week, a figure generally considered safe and healthy (you would not put on that much fat, assuming you're on a good training and weights program). So if my maintenance is 2000, I'll eat 2500 to "bulk up", coupled with a good weight training program.

BUT, there's more. Try and get a break-down of your calories as possible: 40% from protein, 40% from carbs, and 20% from fat. This is an optimal break-down for your macro nutrients.

Finally, make sure you meet your micro-nutrient requirements (vitamins, minerals) for your age. :)

If you have any further questions on nutrition or want me to give you some weight training advice, PM me.

[Doflamingo]

I weigh 245lbs or so last time I checked. I was about 200lbs until I was put on anti-depressants and they caused me to gain 60lbs. I've lost 15 since then though :)


So, yeah. If you wanna weigh too much, just go on anti-depressants.

[Geiseric]

Think american. If I were an American what would I do? Drive instead of walking. Eat cheeseburgers. And ice cream, lots of ice cream.

[MarxArchist]

Think american. If I were an American what would I do? Drive instead of walking. Eat cheeseburgers. And ice cream, lots of ice cream.

Not everyone lives in San Fransisco where muni/bart/ac transit etc are readily available. It's more of a city/community planning thing than it s laziness. Especially in the suburban sprawl towns in the east bay where one would have to walk for 30 minutes just to get some milk. I can ride my bike in Oakland to pretty much anywhere I need to go but when I visit the suburbs it's almost out of the question.

[Os Cangaceiros]

Stuffing your face with tons of cheeseburgers & ice cream will work for many people, it'll turn you into a tub o' lard, but for people with high metabolisms like myself it does not work. I'll just continue to be skinny, but I'll be skinny and unhealthy. The only way I can gain weight is if it's in pure muscle.

[The Feral Underclass]

Eat shit loads of ice cream.

[The Feral Underclass]

Stuffing your face with tons of cheeseburgers & ice cream will work for many people, it'll turn you into a tub o' lard, but for people with high metabolisms like myself it does not work. I'll just continue to be skinny, but I'll be skinny and unhealthy. The only way I can gain weight is if it's in pure muscle.

It won't last forever.

[Ele'ill]

i should be a lot bigger than i am: i drink quite a bit, smoke, have a fairly bad diet (like, i had a habit of eating a pack of fucking parma ham a day, usually have a few chocolate bars a day, a few packets of crisps, a few cakes, etc. on top of two to three cooked meals, and then maybe extras), and rarely exercise.

i wouldn't say i'm scrawny, but i want to be a bit bigger than i currently am 'cos i kinda veer between looking healthy and looking like a smackhead. i'm genuinely at a loss as to how to gain weight though, so any tips?

Add extra meals at the beginning and end of your day. Oatmeal with peanut butter and blueberries in the AM and potatoes and veggies in the PM. Do that every single day. Although imo you should just quit the shitty diet because diets like that are so erratic that it's going to be hard to keep track of whether you are eating enough to gain weight and it's just not very realistic or successful. The best way to gain weight is a healthy diet that you can keep track of and exercise that builds muscle. Three meals a day isn't really all that great either.