gain weight healthily

[AzureMoogle]

Hi,

Since the end of college (2 years ago) I've been losing weight. I've lost 12 pounds in this time. I don't always eat much for lunch because I'm picky and the cafeteria at work can suck. I think I'm beginning to look a little *too* thin.

How should I gain back 10 pounds healthily?

[Deni81]

I have always been on the naturally thin side and would love some tips on a good healthy way to gain weight.

[SunDevil]

Eat protein shakes, and other high protein foods. Also eat breakfast and about 5 other meals a day. Be ready to spend about 50% more on food then you do now.

And if you lift weights, start off slow, but get up to where you can lift 80-90% of your maximum routinely. And you don't need to work out more than two times a week.

Also, it takes a long time to add muscle, unless you go down to Mexico and get some animal testosterone. But that has a bunch of other potential problems.

[NoWomanNoCry]

If you want high calorie food that isn't too filling - peanut butter is perfect! There are a lot of great ways to gain weight without bingeing on junk. Shakes like Ensure are great, as are Power Bar type protien and energy bars. Good luck!

[Tayl405]

Don't forget egg whites! You can make omelettes, scrambled eggs, all kinds of things.

[pink bunny]

I second Sun Devil, except work out three times a week.

[AzureMoogle]

Everyone, thanks for your suggestions! I went to Trader Joes' tonight and got some protein shakes. They don't taste great (they have sugar substitute), but I'll get used to them. I also saw some clif protein bars. I'll look for more shakes when I go to another grocery store.

I've been working out twice a week.

I don't mind egg whites, but I don't cook very well...

[internut33]

amen to this topic... I need to gain weight... I mean i'm kinda where i'm suppose to be for my height.... But I need more weight. Weight gainer shake is thick as hell, and you goda drink a ton of it.

Guess I'll look into the protein bars maybe.

My metabolism is crazy fast!

[NoWomanNoCry]

Mmmm. . . Cliff bars are the best!!!

[SunDevil]

The reason I think twice a week is better for gaining weight is that the day after you work out, you should be sore. Then one day to rest and let the muscle heal. Then work another group of muscles the next day, but you need to have the first group of muscles working properly.

Now if you went Monday afternoon, Thursday Morning, and Saturday night (and have a good diet and sleeping habit) I could see it working. (Or any cobination of evenly spaced out days.) Eating a lot and pushing a lot of weight is the key, along with a lot of time.

[SunDevil]

Also drink a lot of water. Most of our body is made up of water, so it needs a lot to repair and grow.

[Deadend]

Also, it takes a long time to add muscle,

Is this true? Are you refering to girls? For guys it really depends on how you're built. For most people, at first, the muscle will go on nearly overnight. Worked that way for me, I managed to get stretch marks on my arms even. Trick is to work out relatively intensely, and not to overtrain. Muscles grown when you're at rest, so if you work them too hard constantly you can actually shrink them.

[SunDevil]

It depends on your body type, testosterone level, training intensity and metabolism as to how fast you gain muscle. You also need to eat a surplus of calories, or your body won't gain as much.