Healthy way to gain weight??

[sara101]

Hello everyone.
I am 19 years old, 5 feet 3 inches tall, weighing about 105 pounds. I had my yearly physical appointment with my doctor last week and told me I was underweight. I would like to put on 10-15 pounds. I have a pretty good metabolism, I can eat junk food and nothing sticks to me and it can get frusturating at times because I really want to gain weight, I personally think women look better with meat on their bones. I am asking if anyone could suggest a diet that could help me gain weight but in a healthy way. It seems like what I eat just helps me maintain my weight but not gain weight. I take a vitamin everyday and I have been recently been drinking Ensure and Boost drinks if I can't get to eat a full meal during the day. Please respond quickly. Thank You

[silvertae]

I kinda think that your doctor is full of it, heh. I'm 5'2" and about the same weight. This is the weight I feel most comfortable at. The one time I put on "serious" weight and got up to 118 I felt miserable and it all went to my stomach area (of course I also put that weight on by eating about 7 full meals a day of really bad-for-you food and being really sedentary...not the way to go). You're still technically just over the underweight mark on the of 18.5 on the BMI scale. But I don't really put much stock into that calculator. It doesn't take enough factors into account. I have a really small frame and that's just the way it is.

But, if you're actually worried I'd say just increase your mean portions and maybe eat some extra carbs. You could also start lifting some weights. Just a couple pounds of muscle would put you higher on the BMI scale.

I just get tired of people seeing my bony wrists and telling me I need to eat a hamburger or something, lol. If I could direct a hamburger's fat to go to my wrists I would, but it all goes to my gut. I'm not one of those people who gets a nice curvy frame with added weight.

[Marci_Lall]

Hi there,

From my experience I would say to ditch those drinks that your drinking as they're full of and make your own, smoothies.

Yuo'll be able to add nutritious stuff into your smoothies and increase your caloric intake quickly, but with healthy calories.

i would also suggest you talk to your doctor about getting a rice based meal replacement supplement. you can have those in between your meals which should increase your caloric intake.

just remember you need to decrease 3500 calories in order to lose one pound...so if you want to increase your weight you need to increase your caloric intake by 500 cal a day if you want to see a weight gain of 1 pound per week.

hope that helps,

Marci Lall

[cherylmcc]

im age 42 im 5,2 and im just under 8 stones im soo thin lookin i deteste it im trying so hard to gain weight i work all day but have no appitite i barley have a meal at the end of the day im takin crash weigh gain drinks i started this week and im filling up when i take a pint of milk with it mixed in , anyone now what foods are high in calories im gettin sooooo desperate now xxx

[sourpuss]

Basically you need to eat more calories than you burn. Seeds and nuts are very in calories and good heart healthy fats.
Just remember not to eat junk, good healthy balanced diet...but just more quantity.

Bananas are good for putting on weight as is peanut butter. And both are still healthy.

(although, OP, I don't think 105 5'2" is terribly under weight) At 19 I was 5'5" and 105. Now I'm 5'6" and 115 and perfectly healthy.

[CraftLass]

Hi! I'm new (literally joined to post this message) here and am always looking for weight gain advice, although right now I'm just under my perfect weight at 94 lbs. My doctor likes me to be about 95-97 as I have a very small frame and am only 5' tall, anything over 100 makes me a little pudgy (which I hit exactly once). Oh, and I'm 32 now, past the age where everyone seemed to think I'd balloon, which was completely inaccurate! LOL

I have the same problem as the OP, I can eat anything from the healthiest food to the junkiest and not gain weight. In fact, in times where I was living on the road and therefore subsisting mostly on junk for the convenience factor, I lost weight like crazy. It's so upside-down and utterly frustrating!

The only thing that really helps me is exercise. If I don't exercise strenuously I hover around 90-92 lbs and sometimes less. If I'm completely sedentary (I've had a few injuries and illnesses that rendered me bed-ridden) I get scary skinny, like 70-75 lbs, no matter how much I eat.

So, how did I get so close to my goal? I'm exercising 5 or 6 days a week. I start with yoga, then every other day I do an intense cardio routine and the days in-between I do a short cardio warm-up (about 10-15 min) and then work on strength training. I try to mix up exactly how I get those types of exercise in, utilizing the Wii balance board (with WiiFit, Jillian Michaels' Fitness Ultimatum, and Wii Sports), exercise DVDs, Pilates, dancing, and just going out to play sports whenever I have the chance. This way I keep myself from getting bored or into a rut, which makes me stop exercising. It takes a lot of discipline to keep it up, especially as a busy entrepeneur, but I find that I work far more efficiently when I've gotten my exercise, so it actually saves me time to spend an hour being active. Strength training is the only way to control your shape at all, we can't control where fat ends up and you don't want to end up skinny with random flabby parts, which can happen quite easily if you only focus on calories added to your diet. On that note, it's really important to work out the whole body, overly targeted training can create muscular imbalance which is the easiest way to injure yourself.

Two key elements that make the exercise most effective are eating a good meal with lots of protein right after my post-workout shower and taking a day or two off to heal each week. This allows the body to repair itself and build muscle. In fact, I take one day completely off per week - no business, no exercise, minimal housework - and do something fun with my boyfriend and/or friends. It has lowered my stress level immensely, which I know has contributed to my recent weight gain. Just the normal levels of stress we carry from living in this modern world is enough to send us underweights spiralling, you know?

I also don't own a car now, as I live in a city, and walk, bike, or rollerblade almost everywhere instead of taking a bus or train. It's amazing how much light exercise you can get if you just cut down on driving! As someone who used to drive to the mailbox it's an adjustment, but a wonderful one. Even when I rent a car I try to park across the lot from stores and such, to add some activity without taking up a lot more time.

As for food, I eat small meals but graze a lot. I prefer healthy snacks, my absolute favorite is an apple, some nuts or trail mix, and a hunk of cheddar or similar cheese. Lots of protein, natural carbs, and absolutely delicious! Still, I do enjoy to the fullest my ability to eat as much cake, pie, or other sweets as I wish, although I try to make my own instead of buying them, so I really know what's inside. Baking is a wonderful stress-relief activity, too!

I'm sorry this was so long, but I really relate to this problem and I know it's very hard to find information and support on healthy weight gain when most people are struggling with the opposite issue. I'm no expert, just a big reader, a former serious athlete, and a person who has tried pretty much everything to gain. As with weight loss, there are no quick fixes or easy answers.

One more thing - my parents thought I was anorexic (which I've never been - I LOVE food far too much) and dragged me to doctors and nutritionists all the time as a teen. I got the same advice from all of them - listen to your body. If you really pay attention, you'll notice your cravings are usually for exactly what it needs. Eat whenever you get hungry at all and try to satisfy your cravings at every opportunity. When I really follow that advice I always seem to end up healthier!