This article is intended for those who have trouble putting on any weight.
If you are eating correctly the struggle shouldn't be be gaining weight. The real struggle should be putting on more muscle than fat. That comes from training and smart. Here is how I changed the struggle from gaining any weight to gaining more muscle than fat. Keep in mind that I've previous thought it was impossible for me to gain weight.
This is a compilation of useful information I have gathered from many articles.
***The number one rule is to consume more calories than you burn***
"But I can't possibly eat more. I eat until I feel sick and still can't eat more." Here are some tricks to get yourself to eat more.
1) Blend it. You can consume more calories in a liquid than in a solid.
2) Eat every two hours. *Don't* stuff yourself at any given feed. I have found this is counterproductive. Just eat until you feel comfortably full. Then you will be able to eat again in 2 hours
3) Eat calorie dense foods. Don't be afraid of fats and carbs when you are trying to gain weight. They are necessary to get your calories up. For health reasons try to minimize saturated fat. You want to make your ratio of carbs/protein/fat about 50/30/20.
4) Drink tons of liquids in between meals. Try for at least a gallon of liquid a day in between meals. This will help digestion enormously. Drink milk if your body can handle it. Drink fruit juice or water if you can't.
5) Get one gram of protein per pound of bodyweight. This is easier if you use a protein powder.
6) Take flax oil. Great source of good fat.
Tips and extras:
Try digestive aids. I personally like ginger root and acidophilis (in pill format).
Try adding olive oil or peanut butter to your blended drinks. 1/4 cup of olive oil has 500+ calories and is mostly monosaturated fat (the good kind).
If you really are having trouble gaining any weight, focus on making your blender drinks taste good. Maybe try chocolate sauce or peanut butter. Maybe make it out of fruit juice that you like.
Thinner drinks are easier to consume and will digest quicker than thicker drinks. If you are having trouble getting all your calories to gain, try making your drinks thinner. Use fruit juice instead of fruit. Don't use ice (or use less). Use milk instead of cottage cheese. You get the idea.
Supplements:
Notice I put these last? That is because they are supposed to supplement a proper diet and workout routine, not be the focus. Focus on getting your diet and workouts in order, then consider some of the extras. Supplements will do you no good if your diet and workouts are not solid. Even steroids will not work if you don't workout and eat right.
I'm not a supplement expert so I'll defer to others for advice on specific supplements. Research whatever you take to make sure the general consensus is it actually works and investigate potential side effects.
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10-28-2002, 11:06 PM #1
Tips and tricks to gaining weight from a former skinny boy
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10-29-2002, 01:42 PM #2
- Join Date: Mar 2002
- Location: Columbus, Ohio, United States
- Age: 39
- Posts: 2,675
- Rep Power: 4624
Re: Tips and tricks to gaining weight from a former skinny boy
Originally posted by skinnyboy
"But I can't possibly eat more. I eat until I feel sick and still can't eat more." Here are some tricks to get yourself to eat more.
3) Eat calorie dense foods. Don't be afraid of fats and carbs when you are trying to gain weight. They are necessary to get your calories up. For health reasons try to minimize saturated fat. You want to make your ratio of carbs/protein/fat about 50/30/20.
Try adding olive oil or peanut butter to your blended drinks. 1/4 cup of olive oil has 500+ calories and is mostly monosaturated fat (the good kind).
A 50/30/20 ratio when bulking is a bit off, I prefer 40/40/20, protein isnt as essential when bulking as when you're cutting. Up the carbs a bit.
And the "good" fat is either essential fatty acids or polyunsaturated fat, mono is bad, but poly is much better...
Over all good article, Good post.
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10-30-2002, 09:04 AM #3
- Join Date: Oct 2002
- Location: Calgary, Alberta Canada
- Age: 39
- Posts: 182
- Rep Power: 262
Excellent article Skinny Boy!
I really relate to this too, because I used to be skinnier than 10 buggers about 2 years ago.
The best tips you gave were:
1: Eating until you're comfortably full, not stuffed
2. Blending your calories more often
3. Supplements come last, but are handy and can provide a good edge after you have your nutrition down.
Keep it up, SkinnyBoy! It was a great read!It takes a big man to cry, but it takes an even bigger man to laugh at that man.
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10-30-2002, 12:25 PM #4
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10-30-2002, 12:27 PM #5
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11-04-2002, 02:41 PM #6
I blend in foods with a protein powder (pure whey concentrate).
It varies quite a bit. But I have been known to add things like cottage cheese, yoghurt, juice, powdered milk. olive oil, flax oil, peanut butter, and even vegetables. Not all at the same time though!
I generally keep my drinks on the thinner side (consistency wise) because it makes it easier for me to down.
YellowJacket:
"The best way to make yourself eat more is conditioning, work up slowly you cant go from eatin 2100 calories a day to 4000 the next, your body just wont allow it, try adding 250 extra calories a day until you hit your target goal of calories."
Great tip!
"And the "good" fat is either essential fatty acids or polyunsaturated fat, mono is bad, but poly is much better... "
Monosaturated is bad? Everything I've read says the opposite (but most of that was from a cardiovascular health point of view). Is monosaturated somehow bad for lean weight gain???
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11-06-2002, 03:48 PM #7
- Join Date: Mar 2002
- Location: Columbus, Ohio, United States
- Age: 39
- Posts: 2,675
- Rep Power: 4624
Originally posted by skinnyboy
"And the "good" fat is either essential fatty acids or polyunsaturated fat, mono is bad, but poly is much better... "
Monosaturated is bad? Everything I've read says the opposite (but most of that was from a cardiovascular health point of view). Is monosaturated somehow bad for lean weight gain???
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11-14-2002, 10:39 PM #8
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11-15-2002, 04:23 PM #9
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12-05-2002, 08:52 PM #10
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12-25-2002, 09:39 AM #11
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02-05-2003, 01:31 AM #12
I would like to seek your opinion whether I should adopt a bulking up attitude.
I am about 5.74 ft and 139lb with 22% body fat. I consider myself an ectomorph due to my narrow shoulders, chest and long arms.
I started this six meals a day nutrition plan for about three weeks and has started workout (only about one to two times a week).
The most noticeable increase is at my stomach area, increased by almost 2 inches (from 30 inches to 32 inches). My weight is now 143lb and body fat is still about 22%.
Should I be on a fat loss programme or simply go on a bulking phase and worry about fat loss later?
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02-11-2003, 09:11 PM #13
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02-15-2003, 08:13 PM #14
GOOD ADVICE SKINNYBOY (EX)
I'm a hardcore ectomorph. I couldnt gain nothing for the longest time. I never ate right or even put a good effort into the weights. In the last 6 months, I've put on 25 lbs. Thats with eating 4-6 meals a day and hitting the gym 3-4 days a week. Thats also without weight gainers or any supps. I'm planning on starting Creatine and a protein powder in the next 2 months. One thing I really noticed is that you get out of the weights what you put in. You want results?, dont half ass it. Right now I'm 6'3" and 210lbs and growing quick. Rock on boyz!
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03-02-2003, 02:02 PM #15
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06-18-2009, 06:00 AM #16
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06-18-2009, 09:07 AM #17
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06-25-2009, 09:59 AM #18
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06-28-2009, 02:41 AM #19
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06-28-2009, 09:46 AM #20
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06-28-2009, 11:33 AM #21
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08-06-2009, 12:41 PM #22
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08-06-2009, 12:54 PM #23
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02-19-2013, 10:20 AM #24
Don't call me skinny...
Form another lifelong skinny boy...
Excellent article, I've learned a lot. At 5'-10",123 lbs, and 11.9% body fat, I’ve struggled with gaining weight for a lifetime.
In the last 6 weeks, I've been very focused on consuming everything in sight to put on some weight. Combined with an aggressive workout 4 times a week, I implemented the following temporary regime:
* Drink Ensure after every meal (3x)
* Never go to bed hungry
* Compromise that junk food is better than starving
* Drink whole milk instead of water with meals
* Eat three square(ish) meals, not snacks
* When snacking between meals (up to 3x a day), eat more proteins (beef jerky, hotdogs, cheese sticks, nuts, etc) instead of carbs (bread, Oreos, candy bars, doughnuts).
Six weeks later, I've put on 9 lbs! At 132, I'm the largest I've ever been in my entire life (it's interesting to see my body change).
At this point, I've switched to "learn & maintain" mode, which means I've eliminated the Ensure and curtailing my carbs (as in, lay off the Girl Scout cookies). Now I'm focused on learning proper nutrition for building muscle.
The only downfall is that I feel it's all gone to my stomach. I've measured my chest and arms, they are indeed bigger, but my stomach has shown the greatest increase. Does anyone have advice on what to do about that? My weight has stabilized, so I don't think I’m packing on any more fat.
Thank you!
Scott
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02-19-2013, 11:59 AM #25
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06-05-2013, 08:33 PM #26
skinnier than all y'all
Just so everyone knows, i was called "pre-mie" for my entire life, as in born premature.
I am skinny as ****. very thin boned and hardly any fat.
But i used to be skinnier. I tried gaining weight all through high school, but until now I didn't realize that I didn't try hard enough.
You can read about people who got huge, be duped into buying stuff and get your hopes up like a 12 yr old girl, but this is what it takes to gain weight as someone with a freakishly fast metabolism.
1) Motivation. How motivated are you? You have to go 100% to gain weight as a guy with a fast metabolism.
2) Discipline. Don't skip days, and don't quit after two months.
3) Know what you're doing. Don't go to the gym and do random **** for 2 hours. Learn how to lift correctly.
Here is what you do:
-Lift 4-5 times a week. Whatever muscle group you are doing that day, kill it. Leave the gym after a chest day only able to do 5 push ups. If you can do a pullup at the end of back day, you didn't work hard enough. Do another 9 sets.
-After you work out, eat a ton of protein--from fish, protein powder, milk, milk, milk, etc. Also replace your carbs.
-I started out 130 pounds at 5'10. Eat 4000 calories a day. The game changer for me was this, and not lying to myself (I use DB tracker every day. Download it on your phone/computer right now)/
-Eat good, healthy food. CHicken and broccoli, fruit, vegetables, peanut butter. If you ate only this, you'd be great.
-Squats. Only pus***s skip leg days. Be a man and do squats with high weight-low rep routines. SQUATS INCREASE TESTOSTERONE LEVELS, LEADING TO MUSCLE GROWTH EVERYWHERE. AGAIN, SQUATS HELP MUSCLE GROWTH IN ALL BODY PARTS.
Sack up, don't lie to yourself, be disciplined, and be in it for the long haul. If you actually workout high weight low rep consistently, eat 4000 calories EVERY DAY, and do it for a few months, there is no way you won't put on some serious weight and finally fill out a t-shirt!!!
Good luck dudes.
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06-12-2013, 09:35 AM #27
- Join Date: Jun 2013
- Location: Cary, Illinois, United States
- Age: 39
- Posts: 4
- Rep Power: 0
Sounds like a plan. I like to eat snacks like, fruits and veggies and eat those throughout the day. I then have meat at the main meals and add a protein shake either breakfast or dinner.
Getting use to eating every 2 hours was the toughest part for me. I recommend to start at 3 hours or in between breakfast and lunch and dinner, have a small snack, and as said previously increase your caloric intake about 200 calories each day or so.
I am looking to get to 150lbs, started last week. And I'm off!
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06-22-2013, 02:06 PM #28
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06-22-2013, 02:26 PM #29
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06-23-2013, 09:17 AM #30
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