gaining weight..

[3nm]

Well- that is my face. It's just painted with some rubber horns added. If you want to see what I look like, go to the Macrumors pics thread. There's a ton.

haha, i was just messing around!

anyway, after you've reached your desired weight, did you have to do more cardio to get rid of the excess? i'm trying to gain weight myself, but i'd like to know if there's a way to not look puffy w/ jiggling flabs before getting buff.

 

[leekohler]

haha, i was just messing around!

I know! I forgot my smilie. I just like it when people look at me, especially guys. I'm kind a of jackass that way.

anyway, after you've reached your desired weight, did you have to do more cardio to get rid of the excess? i'm trying to gain weight myself. but i'd like to know if there's a way to not look puffy before getting buff.

I gained all my weight through exercise and diet, so there was no excess and never has been. That's the only way I'd recommend trying to gain weight. I also live in the city and walk everywhere I can. That's all the cardio I've ever really needed. However, I will get on an elliptical frequently and go backward on it. It helps my severely arthritic knees.

 

[angelneo]

Being "skinny" is more likely to get you singled out and ostracized as an adult than being "fat" is.

Perhaps, I am assuming too much, from where I am now, it's far easier to see a skinny person than an overweight person. An overweight person definitely stands out more.

Drink a couple of cups of oil straight out of the bottle each day, I bet that'll get you heavy in no time. Though too much is probably not too healthy and might give you diarrhea and upset stomach. But there are few food substances that are as calorically dense as oil / fats.

(disclaimer: I'm not a doctor, I've never tried this, and I've never heard of anyone trying it.)

You got to be careful with this, some people can be skinny and still suffered from clogged arteries.

 

[Gelfin]

I had plenty of adults say things like that to me as an adult. Have a little respect for others' experiences.

I'm sorry if you feel I'm being disrespectful. That's not the intent at all. It's not a matter of respect for experiences. It's a matter of being honestly shocked that one might encounter anyone beyond college-aged at most being that rude. Children are positively monsters when it comes to that sort of thing, but if I had to characterize people generally, I'd say it's harder to get an honest opinion than a rude comment out of most adults.

But there are those of us who don't change. We have to make change happen. And I think that's what a lot of this thread is about.

We're back to the OP not stating his age. If he's 25 or 30 and skinnier than he wants to be, then yes, there's lots of good advice available for him, but I don't want to assume that because body insecurity is so much more common among younger men. If he's 15, or even 20, then he really needs to leave well enough alone for the time being, not indulge insecurity about a perfectly natural physical shape he will more than likely grow out of. Trying too hard (and especially trying the wrong things) to fight your natural body shape when you're still adolescent can actually do health damage you'll be stuck with for the rest of your life.

 

[Prof.]

I don't understand human thought process. Fat ppl want to be skinny and skinny ppl want to be fat(er). Curly haired ppl want straight hair while strait haired ppl want curly hair.

I guess ppl want what they can't have.

 

[leekohler]

I'm sorry if you feel I'm being disrespectful. That's not the intent at all. It's not a matter of respect for experiences. It's a matter of being honestly shocked that one might encounter anyone beyond college-aged at most being that rude. Children are positively monsters when it comes to that sort of thing, but if I had to characterize people generally, I'd say it's harder to get an honest opinion than a rude comment out of most adults.

That's cool. I just really wanted to impress upon you that people do make these comments as adults as well.

We're back to the OP not stating his age. If he's 25 or 30 and skinnier than he wants to be, then yes, there's lots of good advice available for him, but I don't want to assume that because body insecurity is so much more common among younger men. If he's 15, or even 20, then he really needs to leave well enough alone for the time being, not indulge insecurity about a perfectly natural physical shape he will more than likely grow out of. Trying too hard (and especially trying the wrong things) to fight your natural body shape when you're still adolescent can actually do health damage you'll be stuck with for the rest of your life.

You are correct. Which is why I urged him to see his doctor first and use a trainer.

 

[Iscariot]

My Dad did, but I didn't. I'm 6-2 and 153 lbs. at age 52, which is maybe ten pounds more than when I was in high school. I had major surgery two years ago which at the bottom knocked me down to near 140. Took me over a year to get back to where I am now, which is still about five pounds less than my peak weight before the surgery. I have to work pretty hard to stay where I am. The added complication is that my cholesterol is a bit high, so I can't simply scarf down caloric food.

Cholesterol is only in animal products. Anything that's "vegan" is going to have zero cholesterol in it, and there are a few vegan products aimed at fitness/weight gain, although some are vegan by accident. Clif bars, for example, are cholesterol free and pretty high in protein, and a lot of protein shakes can be made vegan by substituting soy milk for milk and something like Vega protein powder for whey powder. (I'm not suggesting you make some kind of massive lifestyle change or anything, just food for thought.)

That's cool. I just really wanted to impress upon you that people do make these comments as adults as well.

And with a frequency that would surprise most people.

 

[Gelfin]

And, you know, just so folks know where I'm coming from here, I was certainly one of the skinny kids. I'm 6' even, and I couldn't crack 145 until after 25, no matter what I did. The driver's license I got when I was 21 said 130, and IIRC that was a bit of a lie at the time.

After 25, though, the combination of a busy deskbound job, slowing metabolism and enough disposable income to not eat like a poor college student anymore all ganged up on me. I actually realized at some point that I had continued to think of myself as "the skinny kid" well past the point it just wasn't true anymore, and a few years ago I found I needed to shed roughly a quarter of my body weight and significantly revise my attitudes towards eating. This was neither easy nor fun.

I'm back to a little bit on the thin side of average -- I hover between 160 and 165 these days -- but it feels right, my doctor approves and my body does what I need it to do.

That's not everybody's experience, but everybody's experience is an anecdote, so there's mine.