Gaining weight issue

[Reach9]

Hey all,

I'm having a bit of an issue. I'm a relatively skinny guy, and i've decided to try and change things around for myself. I want to put on more weight, i can barely use a wristwatch without it being as tight as possible.
I've tried eating more, but i guess it's due to my high metabolism i'm not getting anywhere.
I understand that i have to eat more, and eat more carbs. I'm also working out at a local gym, so i'm eating food with high protein as well. But it seems like i'm not getting anywhere.

I've read that i have to eat 5 meals a day, but i don't specifically know what to eat for the meals. I tried asking some professionals, but they want me to pay or join a group to get access to this information.
I was wondering if anyone here could give me an example of meals with food that would help increase my weight and compliment with protein.

Any help would be appreciated! Thanks!

 

[Gebtart]

Pasta or any high carb meals. Mac and cheese, spagetti... Really any whole grain or grain product. Also you can just shove chocolate or ice cream down your throat =P

 

[CalBoy]

You need to gain weight, but eating lots of carbs will only help you gain fat. To gain weight in a healthy way, you need to gain muscle mass.

Do you know how much you weigh and your height? You should be basing your protein intake on how much muscle you'd like to have.

 

[maflynn]

Not what I thought this thread was going to be about

I've been packing some weight on myself and I consider myself a fairly fit type of person.

The other poster who mentioned high carb food is dead on. I've gotten into the habit of snacking again, and with kids its difficult to avoid pasta, breads and what not.

If you want to gain weight, eat more high carb foods, milk shakes and what not.

As you get older your metoblism changes, so while you may have a fast one now, it may change in a few years. I know mine has slowed down more lately, even though I run 5 days a week

 

[scottgroovez]

Training wise you want to be lifting heavy and not too high rep ranges. 4-6 and 6-8 and limit cardio as that will just burn off valuable calories.

Nutrition you need to eat often and eat big. Try and eat clean to minimise fat gain.

Protein:
Beef, fish, chicken, turkey etc
Starchy Carbs:
Porridge oats, wholemeal pasta/rice, sweet potato.
Veggies:
Anything really. Brocolli, cauliflower, carrots etc.

Add in some healthy fat (start with 20% overall) also, so olive oil, flaxseed oil, coconut milk.

Take fish oil with a daily total of 3-6g (combined) of EPA and DHA

Now doing all that at once is heavy going so think long term and do one at a time. If you don't already, start taking a high carb/protein shake pre/during/post workout and do that for 2 weeks. Then once the habit is established you can incorporate another change.

Take a look at precisionnutrition.com and the Scrawny to Brawny program

 

[KnightWRX]

Eat more calories than you burn. No matter how much you stuff your face with protein and protein shakes, if you eat less calories than you burn, you'll lose weight.

Weight control is a very simple mechanic. Calories in. Calories Out. Balance them the way you want to do. (In < Out = loss. In == Out = maintain. In > Out = gain).

Then you can follow the advice in this thread so you don't gain weight in an healthy manner.

Have you had your gym test your body composition and give you your base metabolism yet ? Ideally, I wouldn't put much faith in forum advice, I'd go to a nutritionist. A sessions is somewhere around 50-80$ and she can give you plenty of info in that 1 hour.

but eating lots of carbs will only help you gain fat

That's not true. If you're training, carbs will also help you gain muscle mass. Carbs are either fiber (which is not something you want to ignore) or sugars, which are required by muscles : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glycogen

A healthy mix of protein and carbs is required to properly gain muscle. Absorbing only protein means you'll probably just absorb too much and you'll just piss it away, and you'll be so low on energy during workouts you'll just crash.

It's wrong to say that there's something more important than the other in nutrition. Everything has its role in your body.

I'm personally back on a high-carb diet (lots of fruit/grains/vegetables to complement my protein intakes) and doing this, I lost another 5% body fat over the last 12 months.

 

[eawmp1]

OP - you have a "problem" most would love to have.

In absence of a abnormal medical condition (see your doc to see if you are healthy), if you are eating a balanced diet and doing an appropriate amout of exercise, do not worry. Look at photos of your parents when they were your agre. Likely one of them was of slight build. And don't pay the "professionals" at the gym for some "secret."

And print out this thread and file it away. Look at it after middle age. You may chuckle.

 

[KnightWRX]

And print out this thread and file it away. Look at it after middle age. You may chuckle.

What's funny about this thread ? A lot of good info in it. The only thing chuckle worthy was your genetics claim. If he wants to gain body mass, he can, nothing genetics can say about that.

 

[eawmp1]

What's funny about this thread ? A lot of good info in it. The only thing chuckle worthy was your genetics claim. If he wants to gain body mass, he can, nothing genetics can say about that.

1) Genetics does impact body size and competition.
2) I never said he could not gain body mass.
3) When he is older and finds weight loss more difficult, his perpective may change.

I was trying to reassure the OP, not mock him.

 

[leekohler]

1) Genetics does impact body size and competition.

Only to the degree that one let's it.

2) I never said he could not gain body mass.

Good, because he can.

3) When he is older and finds weight loss more difficult, his perpective may change.

It won't change. He'll be battling to keep weight on all his life. I'm 44, and it's still a challenge.

OP- I used to be in your shoes, so I know what it's like and how hard it is. I was 6'3" and 143#- heroin addict thin. I started lifting and that's how I beat the skinny. It will take you years, not months though and it's worth it. I'm now just under 200#. Go find a good trainer- ideally someone with military experience. They will help you learn to train properly and eat right. Also, this is something you should plan to do for the rest of your life. Make it a lifestyle change.

 

[KnightWRX]

1) Genetics does impact body size and competition.

Competition ? Composition you mean. Genetics does impact it, to a point. Both my step parents are as roundish as can be yet their daughter is very slim and petite.

My mother and my father are both very big people. I was big also while following their nutrition education. Funny how I'm now struggling to keep on the weight and I'm down to under 150 lbs at 5'9" when I decided to go to "reform school" on nutrition.

I'd say culture/education/up-bringing are far bigger players in body composition and size than genetics. Genetics will determine things like height, skin tone, hair color and stuff like that. Your body, as a metabolic machine, will weight whatever the nutrition you put into it makes it weight. While some base metabolism might come from genetics, it's not as big a factor as people make it out to be.

It does make a darn good excuse for not losing some extra weight though for fat people.

 

[ActiveApp]

Gaining or losing weight is all about the diet. When bulking up you want to eat as clean as possible to minimize fat gains.

For foods you want to eat chicken breast, fish, lean steak, eggs, brown rice, oatmeal, whole wheat bread, fruits and vegetables. Meal frequency is a personal choice. I find it easier to eat my daily calories broken into 5-6 small meals.

You will want to lift heavy using mostly compound exercises (dead lifts, squats, military press, bar rows, bench press, wide gripe pull ups)

I recommend keeping a food journal everyday until you find the right amount of calories that your bodies needs to grow. If you are not gaining weight increase your calories by 100 each week.

 

[CalBoy]

That's not true. If you're training, carbs will also help you gain muscle mass. Carbs are either fiber (which is not something you want to ignore) or sugars, which are required by muscles : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glycogen

A healthy mix of protein and carbs is required to properly gain muscle. Absorbing only protein means you'll probably just absorb too much and you'll just piss it away, and you'll be so low on energy during workouts you'll just crash.

It's wrong to say that there's something more important than the other in nutrition. Everything has its role in your body.

I'm personally back on a high-carb diet (lots of fruit/grains/vegetables to complement my protein intakes) and doing this, I lost another 5% body fat over the last 12 months.

I was really referring to the poster above me who advised eating lots of high starch and high sugar foods, which on their own are an unhealthy way to gain weight.

Of course we need carbs in our diet (for brain function too in fact), but that usually represents the part of our diets that we don't have any trouble getting these days because virtually every meal is loaded with carbs, absent meals that are exclusively meat.

 

[Reach9]

Thanks for the feedback guys!

Well, my BMI indicates that i'm Normal weight, but i'm on the lower side. I'm a very confident guy, but my body is my weak spot. I'm 5'10" and i weigh about 150 lbs.

I realize i need to eat more, and more frequently. As well as work out heavy.
I want to try to stay away from supplements or artificial shakes as much as i can.

What do you think should be a typical day for me, food wise?

Should i have bacon for break fast with orange juice and egg?
Pasta for lunch?

@KnightWRX i'm gonna consult a nutritionist. I'm pretty sick and tired of being skinny and it seems like i've become weaker from when i was in high school as well. Totally not cool.

@leekohler, you're right, i'm gonna make a lifestyle change.
Can you give me an example of how a day in a life would be, like what i should eat and how much of it? And then i would be able to mess around with food a bit.

 

[ActiveApp]

Thanks for the feedback guys!

Well, my BMI indicates that i'm Normal weight, but i'm on the lower side. I'm a very confident guy, but my body is my weak spot. I'm 5'10" and i weigh about 150 lbs.

I realize i need to eat more, and more frequently. As well as work out heavy.
I want to try to stay away from supplements or artificial shakes as much as i can.

What do you think should be a typical day for me, food wise?

Should i have bacon for break fast with orange juice and egg?
Pasta for lunch?

@KnightWRX i'm gonna consult a nutritionist. I'm pretty sick and tired of being skinny and it seems like i've become weaker from when i was in high school as well. Totally not cool.

@leekohler, you're right, i'm gonna make a lifestyle change.
Can you give me an example of how a day in a life would be, like what i should eat and how much of it? And then i would be able to mess around with food a bit.

Its hard to make up a meal plan for someone since we don't know what kind of foods you like. As much as I love bacon I would probably stay away from this. I would also stay away from juices and just have the real fruit. I try to stay away from most processed foods.

I am on a cutting diet but this is what I pretty much eat everyday. On weekends I might eat a lean steak or fish. My calorie targert per day is around 2500.

Meal 1
Cup of oatmeal
4 eggs
banana

Workout

Meal 2 (post workout)
2 servings of whey protein.

Meal 3
Chicken breast
cup of brown rice
cup of mixed vegetables

Meal 4
1 serving of whey protein
Apple

Meal 5
Chicken breast
cup of brown rice
cup of mixed vegetables

Meal 6
Peanut butter sandwhich
Salad vinger/olive oil

Meal 7
1 serving of casein protein


When I bulk I pretty much eat the same above but throw in 1-2 homemade builking shakes which consist of the following.
-Oatmeal
-banana
-peanut butter
-whey protein
This would equal about 600 calories.

 

[shneady]

Drink more beer? It seems like it's working for me

I'm 6'2" and weighed 143 pounds 4 years ago at the age of 25. I started drinking beer everyday, not to gain weight but because I love the taste of beer. And nothing else in my diet has changed. Anyway, I started drinking 1-2beers everyday after work and I still do. I still get my workouts and exercise in and here it is, 4 years later and I tend to fluctuate between 175 and 180lbs. I look so much healthier, and it really shows in my face too. My face and neck filled out nicely and no longer do I look so thin and sick... Not only that, 1-2 beers a day is very healthy for you. Especially if you work out. Something in them just replenishes the body. Highly doubt you'll do it, but just an alternative suggestion. No need to eat more than you all ready do, just add a beer to one of your daily meals. It really makes a difference.

 

[leekohler]

Drink more beer? It seems like it's working for me

I'm 6'2" and weighed 143 pounds 4 years ago at the age of 25. I started drinking beer everyday, not to gain weight but because I love the taste of beer. And nothing else in my diet has changed. Anyway, I started drinking 1-2beers everyday after work and I still do. I still get my workouts and exercise in and here it is, 4 years later and I tend to fluctuate between 175 and 180lbs. I look so much healthier, and it really shows in my face too. My face and neck filled out nicely and no longer do I look so thin and sick... Not only that, 1-2 beers a day is very healthy for you. Especially if you work out. Something in them just replenishes the body. Highly doubt you'll do it, but just an alternative suggestion. No need to eat more than you all ready do, just add a beer to one of your daily meals. It really makes a difference.

I can't really say I recommend this.