# To gain weight



## bowlingpins (Oct 18, 2008)

I am tired of people telling me I look very skinny, right now I am 5'11, 130-140lbs. I want to gain atleast 20lbs over a period of 2 to 3 months, which comes to an average gain of 2lbs per week, a perfectly reasonable goal, I think.


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## slyfox (Nov 18, 2007)

Good luck bowlingpins! I actually have the opposite goal :lol


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## JS86 (Jun 16, 2009)

Do you have a particular strategy for gaining weight?


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## meghan (Jan 13, 2009)

People are always telling me I'm way too thin too it drives me nuts!! But no matter how much i eat I don't gain weight lol. IDK trying building muscle i guess that's about all us skinny people can do. I guess we cant complain too much though it could always be the opposite.


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## socially inept (Mar 6, 2009)

bowlingpins said:


> I am tired of people telling me I look very skinny, right now I am 5'11, 130-140lbs. I want to gain atleast 20lbs over a period of 2 to 3 months, which comes to an average gain of 2lbs per week, a perfectly reasonable goal, I think.


i dont think thats a reasonable goal cos if you gain that much in that little time it will be fat that you gain and who i there right mind wants to gain fat?)

you wud best aiming for 1lb a week of muscle gained and no fat (12 pound in 12 weeks ) cos ten the weight gain will be healthy gain and not fat gain


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## Kwtrader (Oct 10, 2007)

i'm 5'10" 138lbs right now and one of my friends who use to be skinny and is now buff said he eats a lot of food and lifts weights and he bulked up. but until i get a job i cant really afford to eat a ton of food. when i was working i got up to 152lbs just by eating (snacking) alot/lift weights a little bit. when i get a job again i'm going to eat alot and lift weights.


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## TheDaffodil (Jun 20, 2009)

I'm 5'5" and weigh 105-110 depending on the day. I can't gain weight. My psychologist was worried about me because 105 is right one the line between healthy and unhealthy for people my age and height. I think I might be anemic. I'm not sure though. I've had my blood taken before a few times and they never say anything is terribly wrong. *shrug*
I am going to start lifting weights though.


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## Catching Fire (Apr 23, 2009)

Yeah I'm not sure if thats reasonable. I would maybe start a sport or lift weights to bulk up. I would recomend looking into a personal trainer or a nutrionist to help you gain weight. I have the same problem as you I've always been pretty skinny and been very self concious about it. I started Judo recently to help me bulk up a bit.


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## jak85 (Mar 1, 2009)

sounds like you are an ectomorph. You need to eat a TON of calories everyday. many meals a day..not just 2 or 3. Look around on the internet...there are places you can go to get an idea of how many calories a day you need to eat. But I'm telling you, you can gain as much weight as you want...you just have to eat enough and exercise regularly.


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## alex999 (Oct 21, 2008)

It shouldn't be too much of a problem for you to bulk up considering you're only 5'11. I'm only 5'8" and short guys like us don't have to put on much weight to look bigger. 

And yeah just eat your *** off basically (if you can afford it, lol). 

Remember that gaining muscle takes a lot of time...the human body can only gain about a maximum of 10-15 lbs of lean muscle per year, and that can only be achieved through consistent hard workouts and a strict diet.


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## bowlingpins (Oct 18, 2008)

slylikeafox said:


> Good luck bowlingpins! I actually have the opposite goal :lol


Hey buddy, good luck with your goal.



JS86 said:


> Do you have a particular strategy for gaining weight?


Yes, it is to eat good food and do some strength training, mainly pushups 



meghan said:


> People are always telling me I'm way too thin too it drives me nuts!! But no matter how much i eat I don't gain weight lol. IDK trying building muscle i guess that's about all us skinny people can do. I guess we cant complain too much though it could always be the opposite.


Building muscle is good, we definitely don't need extra fat.



socially inept said:


> i dont think thats a reasonable goal cos if you gain that much in that little time it will be fat that you gain and who i there right mind wants to gain fat?)
> 
> you wud best aiming for 1lb a week of muscle gained and no fat (12 pound in 12 weeks ) cos ten the weight gain will be healthy gain and not fat gain


1lb a week is ideal but I am impatient.



Safeway said:


> i'm 5'10" 138lbs right now and one of my friends who use to be skinny and is now buff said he eats a lot of food and lifts weights and he bulked up. but until i get a job i cant really afford to eat a ton of food. when i was working i got up to 152lbs just by eating (snacking) alot/lift weights a little bit. when i get a job again i'm going to eat alot and lift weights.





TheDaffodil said:


> I'm 5'5" and weigh 105-110 depending on the day. I can't gain weight. My psychologist was worried about me because 105 is right one the line between healthy and unhealthy for people my age and height. I think I might be anemic. I'm not sure though. I've had my blood taken before a few times and they never say anything is terribly wrong. *shrug*
> I am going to start lifting weights though.


yep, to put on weight fast, strength training is the best type of exercise. It is also good to focus on compound exercises like pushups. machines are pretty much useless because they usually target individual muscle groups. Gluck with your goals.


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## bheslop (Oct 17, 2008)

I was always really skinny. Freshman year in highschool i was 120lbs. By junior year i was 170 and 180 by senior year with very little fat. Like many others have said you need to eat more calories. First off lift weights. And when i say lift weights, really lift heavy. Go lift like 3-4 times a week but lift heavy. Second eat a lot more protein like chicken, fish, and turkey. Also one of the biggest mistakes i see is that people trying to gain muscle and weight dont eat enough fats. I am not talking about fats from butter and all that. But unsaturated fats. The poly and mono basically. A good way to get "good" fats in is eating natural peanut butter. Fats help produce testosterone in the body which is necessary to gain muscle. Also after you workout make sure you get a lot of carbs and protein in you. You could try a cup of oats and a protein shake immediately after you workout out. This helps your body replace the nutrients lost and helps rebuild the muscle fibers you broke down. Good luck!


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## Pelicanbay (Jun 30, 2009)

LOL WOW, im not laughing at you, just the subtle irony in it to me makes me laugh because i am the exact opposite, losing weight is what im doing, losing about 2 pounds per week.

hopefully you reach your goal because i am oh so close to mine, things can change but it takes time and when your close to your goal, you'll be more restless than ever because you want things to speed up but be patient and be sure your doing everything you need to do


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## Banzai (Jun 4, 2009)

Ah its a lot harder than it sounds (for me anyway). I think when you set yourself a goal, eating becomes less of a survival matter and more of something you HAVE to do and so, you end up forcing yourself to eat. I ended up having to force every mouthful in and every time you do, you feel like you're going to vomit it back out.


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## copper (Nov 10, 2003)

bowlingpins said:


> I am tired of people telling me I look very skinny, right now I am 5'11, 130-140lbs. I want to gain atleast 20lbs over a period of 2 to 3 months, which comes to an average gain of 2lbs per week, a perfectly reasonable goal, I think.


We can trade metabolisms. You can have mine. You will gain weight by just looking at a candy bar. :lol But I would freeze to death being too skinny during the 6 month of winter we get. :lol


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## lastofthekews (May 11, 2009)

I'm trying to gain some weight as well, but finding it impossible.

I'm 5'7" and 147 pounds, which to me isn't enough. I don't feel right in myself being this weight. I was about 182 pounds a couple of years ago, which I thought was a too much, but it just dropped off me without me really exercising or changing my diet. I've gone from a size 36" waist to a size 30" - I think its too much of a drop. Ideally i'd like to add about 12 pounds, but it seems however much I eat, when I weigh myself I might go up 3-4 pounds, but the next day i've dropped straight back down - I just can't keep the weight on.

I don't really know what to eat for the best. I don't mind spending a fair bit of money on food, but I just can't manage to eat as much as I perhaps should (I struggle to eat three meals a day - I want to but I just don't feel able to eat that much).


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## bowlingpins (Oct 18, 2008)

It is hard, I am on a weight roller coaster right now, it went up a few pounds sometime back and now it's back to where it originally was. Frustrating.


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## AndrewN (Jun 21, 2009)

i think mammoth shakes have 1000 calories each or something stupid like that


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## bowlingpins (Oct 18, 2008)

You probably don't feel very good after taking in 1000 calories at once. I think a better way to put on weight is to eat more meals (for example: 6, 400-500 calorie meals) spread out over the day. This should be manageable for someone who isn't used to eating large meals and still wants to gain weight.


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## AndrewN (Jun 21, 2009)

so you're scared of the mammoth is what you're saying


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## bowlingpins (Oct 18, 2008)

Scared? no, just being practical. Sure, some people are ok taking in 1000 calories at once, these mammoth shakes would be good for them. They are not for me though. 
Besides, these protein powders and shakes I see in GNC and other stores seem geared towards those people who are very serious about body building. I am not, my goal is to reach a healthy weight, nothing more.


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## AndrewN (Jun 21, 2009)

i was just joking there bowling pins. my friend used to take it, but i always thought it was ridiculous.


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## bowlingpins (Oct 18, 2008)

ok, I regained half the weight I lost on Zoloft. I am still about 15lbs away from my goal. The best way to put on weight was to do pushups. At the beginning, I could do 2 maybe 2.5, now I am upto 15. Looking to increase the count by 1 every 3 or so days.


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