Little background here: I’m female, 5’ 5" or thereabouts, and weigh between 95 and 100 pounds. Usually I have no problem with that, but last night I went shopping for a bathing suit and :eek:! Words like “gaunt” and “wasted” spring to mind. So I decided to channel my body hatred into a mighty force for good and gain about 10 pounds. Thing is, I’m a vegetarian, and I also try to eat healthy foods. I’m not going to start cramming in Twinkies and soda. So what the heck am I going to eat? I thought you guys might have some suggestions on how to bulk up a little without throwing my health out the window.
I started last night with 2 bowls of spaghetti, some creamed spinach, a few handfuls of animal crackers, and a bowl of ice cream. For breakfast I had a baked potato with tomatoes, butter, and sour cream. (I think I’m gonna be sick!)
I’m thinking you could eat things rich in cream and butter, like Alfredo sauce; eat a lot of cheese, that sort of thing. Perhaps things like protein weight-gain (BEEFCAAKE) powders like bodybuilders use.
I’m SO not a doctor. I just know what I can’t have to eat, since I’m overweight and trying to fix it.
Move to Jupiter, thus gaining weight but conserving mass.
Sorry, geek humour leaks out from time to time like a suppressed fart.
Yes: Carbs & proteins (pasta, rice, milk, butter, cheese, eggs, beer). All in moderation, of course.
Should you be very definitely underweight and find gaining weight impossible, it might be that you need to cut a certain food type out of your diet altogether. (However, Crohn’s disease is very rare and can be picked up in diagnostic tests.)
So, Dung Beetle, you want to gain weight while eating healthy? Not to put too fine a point on it, but that’s like trying to wage war in a pacifist way.
10 pounds isn’t all that much. Go nuts on the candy and Twinkies, and then go back to your regular healthy eating regime. This is a problem many would kill to have.
You can also try adding muscle cells, if you’re in this for the long haul. Cecil speaks on the subject.
I have terrible trouble gaining weight, and so I sympathize. Most people won’t…the fatties don’t understand that gaining weight for skinnies is the same struggle as losing weight for fatties is. Until we get older and our metabolism slows down enough, that is.
Here’s my advice:
Lots of bananas. Eat a bunch a week. Bananas are easy to eat and help add weight. (My dad’s HS football coach recommended this to him when he needed to bulk up for the team.)
Pastas are good.
Meat is ideal. Sadly, you have restrictions. Look for protein wherever you can, though you won’t find much good protein as a vegetarian. Lots of soy, which has tons of protein, though your body won’t be able to absorb much of it. Beans are excellent. Spinach is pretty good. If you are interested I’ll dig up my source and list the best sources of vegetarian protein.
How vegetarian are you? Dairy is great for gaining weight. Lots of cheese and whole milk is good. And eggs. Lots of eggs. Eggs are the best source of protein in existance.
Avoid empty calories like the plague. People with high metabolisms burn off empty calories just sitting there. Any sweets/candy/ice cream you eat will do nothing to gain weight (until your metabolism slows down) and will take up valuable stomach space that could be used for weight-gaining food like bananas and pasta. (Cheesy pasta. mmmm, cheese.) Not to mention that your teeth will thank you.
Go high on carbs as well. Lots of breads and pastas and cheese.
Now, while doing all this, you must be doing some sort of exercise. If you don’t have an active lifestyle, you need some form of aerobic workout, but not too much. 10 minutes a day might be enough. Some weight training wouldn’t hurt, either.
I just clicked on that Cecil column. Being the first Cecil writing I’ve ever read, I must say I’m disappointed. He was flippant and incorrect. Never a good combination.
Have a gander over here for a couple diets that are pretty proven weightgainers. In particular, check out the Skinny Bastard diet, which is engineered to make it easier for you to eat a lot.
Also, please note that if you want to add new muscle cells through weight training, you need to lower the weights slowly (think 4-10 seconds). Other kinds of training don’t stimulate new muscle cell growth anywhere near as well.
Here is the lightingtool weight gain program. (Well, it worked for me.)
Get a promotion.
That’s it. I went from an active job where I was running up and down ladders, pulling ropes, and climbing stairs to a desk-type management job. No need to change your diet, just sit back in your comfy office chair and watch the pounds roll in.
stupid new job
Develop massive life stress that would send any reasonable person off the deep end (or onto antidepressants). Instead, self-medicate with large bowls of ice cream. That’s what worked for us
Trashing your thyroid works well too, as I’ve found. Problem is, there isn’t really a good way to do that intentionally. A friend did it by dint of being in a massive car wreck but that’s kind of extreme :eek:. And there’s that whole “tired all the time, can’t think coherently” thing too…
More seriously: Yes, 100 pounds at 5’5" is quite slim. However - are you otherwise in good health? Is your doctor at all concerned over your low weight? Is there any evidence that you’re actually malnourished?
Seems like studies have shown that lower weight (I mean, at or below the low end of “normal”, that is) is associated with health benefits in general.
I guess what I’m getting at is this: you may not love how you look, but do you really need to gain weight for you health? Your metabolism will certainly slow down as you get older so it’ll be a self-correcting problem…
I’m certainly on the other end of the spectrum (what’s your address? I’ll send ya 10 pounds!!) but what got me to finally work on changing my weight was health-related issues, not appearance. So that’s how I tend to look at this sort of thing.
Dung Beetle - if you look gaunt and wasted because your hip bones, ribs, and collar bones stick out, you may be stuck.
I’ve gotten bigger as I’ve gotten older, but certain bones still stick out. Basically, my ass is bigger and softer, and my legs and arms are bigger and softer. You can’t control where the weight goes.
On the other hand, if you look “gaunt” and “wasterd” because your knees are the largest part of your legs, and your elbows are the largest part of your arms, you could use some muscle/fat.
