A lot of people have said a lot of things here. In response to anyone being concerned I want to do some sort of reverse anorexia, let me repeat myself.
“My goal is too reach whatever weight is considered average for my age and height, I dont want to become a superstar athlete but I want to be healthy and not look like a pencil.”
Based on the responses here I think I will start doing some basic weight training at the local YMCA and start drinking protein shakes (as long as they arent disgusting).
I dont think I am particularly unhealthy in my current state and me gaining some pounds is more a mental thing for me because I feel skinny. Feeling healthy is very important (I think we can all agree on that) and I right now I’m not feelin’ it.
i have a friend who was less than 140 and about 6ft tall too
hes up to 150 now…
his plan? well… his apartment is close to 7-11 so every night he just eats a pint of ben and jerry’s ice cream…
might i also suggest a bowl of blue bell’s mocha almond fudge… mmmm…
btw i used to weigh 235 and i lost 80lbs over the summer by doing 300-500 crunches every night and eating a whole lot less, if you do the exact opposite maybe you can gain 80lbs in 2 months
i just remembered this…
“How to gain 30 lbs in 30 days”
Yeah, you’re not really into weightlifting, are you?
Without using steroids, it would take about seven or eight years to go from Woody Allen to Arnold Schwarzenegger, and that’s assuming an ideal diet and training regime, plus no major setbacks (injuries, disease, work, etc.).
It’s true that you don’t want to gain weight too quickly. But the human body is very capable of regulating weight gain, even if you’re eating a lot. I knew a girl who was in the hospital for anorexia. She’s about 5’6", probably average weight for that height. They had her taking in 4200 calories a day, and doing nothing–and she was under constant supervision, so she really wasn’t doing anything. She only gained about three pounds in two weeks on this regime. Granted, that is an extreme situation, but a similar principle applies in general.
As far as “supplements that deliver more nutrients and calories than it would be practical to get from food” go, I think you’re underestimating just how many calories you can get from fast food.
If you don’t already have a healthy appetite, develop one. Eat!
Also, begin each day (before a hearty breakfast) with a protein smoothie. Eat lots of beef and chicken and workout everyday. Not every otherday. Everyday.
blah, post did not go through i gotta write it all over again …
i would not advise fast food. sure it would be just as effective for gaining weight as any normal food but all hydrogenated fat in those fries will put you into early grave.
i would advise about 4000 calories and 200 grams of protein per day. does not matter if you get your protein from meat or protein shakes. just make sure that you do not count stuff like beans as valid protein sources … that is a different kind of protein … not as effective as animal sources. some good sources of protein are meat, fish, eggs, milk and as far as powders/shakes whey and caseinate are good.
do short workouts with heavy weights, do NOT do cardio. by short i mean 1 hour long. ( i work out 3 hours per day, but i am trying to get leaner, not gain mass )
get a good meal within an hour after finishing your workout. and never go for more than like 4 horus without a good meal, this means at least 5 meals per day.
you may think this is a lot of work but that is what it takes.
if you manage to get the results you’re after you will think all the hard work was more than worth it.
Yeah, you’re not really into weightlifting, are you?
Okay, I was exaggerating about Woody and Arnold… I don’t think I’m underestimating how many calories can come from fast food, but I may be overestimating how many calories and how much protein and such you get from those bulking-up supplements.
Supplements vary a lot, but one of the most consistently recommended is whey protein. A scoop of the type I use is 100 calories, and roughly 17 grams of protein. That’s pretty much it for me, but I’m not looking to gain weight.
As far as calories from food go, I’m not all that active when I’m not working out, and I make a point of eating foods that are generally considered healthy (lots of fruit and vegetables, a decent amount of dairy, olive oil in preference of other oils, very little red meat) and I have no problem whatsoever downing 3000 calories per day. Going to 4000 would require me to eat some lower quality foods along with my current diet, but it’s definitely feasible. 5000 would be a little trickier.
Oh, and soy protein has (I think) 18 of the 20 known amino acids, including all of the essential ones. It’s as good as meat for your nutritional needs.
The weight gain powder has a day’s worth of calories for most people (or more, depending on the brand). It generally has a decent amount of protein, very little fat, and a fair amount of simple sugars. I wonder how much of it is absorbed, and how much is just passed through.
you kids are too funny, you think if you read some bullshit online then its a fact and if i tell it to you then it isnt ?
a human body has a very limited ( basically none ) ability to store protein. protein is either assimilated into muscle or it is burned for energy, you can’t store it effectively for even a few hours. a muscle cannot grow when there is no protein so you must make sure you never run out of protein even though you tend to run out of it very fast.
there are 2 ways to do it.
1 - use slow-release proteins such as Caseinate.
2 - take protein very often ( every 2 - 3 hours ) so that before your previous intake has fully been digested you already are taking in more.
whey is the fastest digesting protein, this is both its advantage and disadvantage. however whey is also cheap, best-tasting of all proteins and has excellent amino acid profile which explains why it is the most popular protein type.
i try to use Caseinate as much as possible because of its slow release ( which is beneficial most of the time, except immediately after workout when you best take whey ) but Caseinate does not taste as good as whey.
egg protein tastes like shit, and so does soy protein.
vasyachkin, I believe what I read from a reputable source, whether it’s online, in print, or from someone on a messageboard. But I always look for corroboration–even reputable sources get it wrong sometimes. Don’t take it personally…
Is there a generally accepted upper protein limit? I know that the RDA for protein is something like 55-65 grams per day, but the RDA for anything isn’t necessarily the best recommendation for specific nutritional goals. From what I’ve read, if you have a very high protein intake, you’ll need to be careful about getting enough calcium in your diet, and I’m curious about what effect an extremely high protein intake has on the kidneys over time.
Boy, it’s difficult to get hard facts about nutrition online. Searching for articles about protein intake leads me almost exclusively to sites that have some kind of stake in advocating one kind of diet over another, and gee, there sure is a lot of interest in weight loss out there.
the only adjustment you have to make for whey is take it more often and in smaller amounts because it digests faster.