TCNJcystic
New member
I need to gain weight, and no matter how hard I try, I can't seem to gain a pound. What tips can you recommend for me?
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Gaining weight
- Thread starter TCNJcystic
- Start date
Do you have any blood sugar issues?
If not, I HIGHLY recommend a protein shake by Optimum Nutrition. It is called SERIOUS MASS. It is pretty high in sugar, but has something like 1200 calories a shake. My husband has one for "mid-breakfast" everyday (not immediately when he wakes up, but about 1 hour later)
Just so you can kind of see what another CFer who has also had trouble gaining weight eats... I'll write breifly regardig my husband.
As a HS senior he was 6 foot and barely 140lbs. He took to lifting weights at the gym 3 days a week the summer after graduation and also started focusing on eating, eating, eating. He consumes between 5000-6500 calories a day, NEVER less than 5000 calories though. He also consumes 120 grams of protein on days he does NOT work out and 140-150grams on days he does work out-making sure he drinks pleanty of wanter to keep everything flushing through his body.
He is now still 6ft but weighs 192lbs instead of 140lbs. It took him about 2-3 months to start seeing even minor weight gain, so it takes getting past the discouragement of working so hard for what you feel like is NO results, but it's worth it in the end.
Do you eat snacks throughout the day? If so, what kinds of snacks are you eating. You should be eating 3-5 full meals a day, plus snacks inbetween. And these snacks should be things like cottage cheese, the rest of left overs from a pervious meal, a protein shake/boost/ensure shake (2-3 if you can take in that much at one time).
Also, icecream if you don't have a dairy problem, is pretty packed with calories. I've been "Rx'd" to take it by my doctor to meet my current pregnancy calorie needs of 4400 calories a day-so I now know how you CFers feel stuffing your face all the time trying to gain weight <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">
Good luck!!! If you wanted to email me directly (division902@hotmail.com) my husband is really good with this kind of stuff (his dad owns a health food/supplement store and has been around all this health food and supplement stuff since he was 14).
If not, I HIGHLY recommend a protein shake by Optimum Nutrition. It is called SERIOUS MASS. It is pretty high in sugar, but has something like 1200 calories a shake. My husband has one for "mid-breakfast" everyday (not immediately when he wakes up, but about 1 hour later)
Just so you can kind of see what another CFer who has also had trouble gaining weight eats... I'll write breifly regardig my husband.
As a HS senior he was 6 foot and barely 140lbs. He took to lifting weights at the gym 3 days a week the summer after graduation and also started focusing on eating, eating, eating. He consumes between 5000-6500 calories a day, NEVER less than 5000 calories though. He also consumes 120 grams of protein on days he does NOT work out and 140-150grams on days he does work out-making sure he drinks pleanty of wanter to keep everything flushing through his body.
He is now still 6ft but weighs 192lbs instead of 140lbs. It took him about 2-3 months to start seeing even minor weight gain, so it takes getting past the discouragement of working so hard for what you feel like is NO results, but it's worth it in the end.
Do you eat snacks throughout the day? If so, what kinds of snacks are you eating. You should be eating 3-5 full meals a day, plus snacks inbetween. And these snacks should be things like cottage cheese, the rest of left overs from a pervious meal, a protein shake/boost/ensure shake (2-3 if you can take in that much at one time).
Also, icecream if you don't have a dairy problem, is pretty packed with calories. I've been "Rx'd" to take it by my doctor to meet my current pregnancy calorie needs of 4400 calories a day-so I now know how you CFers feel stuffing your face all the time trying to gain weight <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">
Good luck!!! If you wanted to email me directly (division902@hotmail.com) my husband is really good with this kind of stuff (his dad owns a health food/supplement store and has been around all this health food and supplement stuff since he was 14).
L
littlemisssilly
Guest
Hi Steve,
I thought I'd pass on some tips that I have been using the last few months with some success (they sound like common sense tips, so sorry if it sounds patronising but when I finally put them into practice they began working).
Firstly, I'm not sure if you have diabetes (I do, controlled by insulin), but blood sugar levels need to be perfect (most of the time) in order to gain weight. I have always had good control but I have been particularly vigilant with my insulin dosages etc to maintain my sugars.
If you can, consume full fat milk, in fact full fat anything.. (I hated the taste of full fat milk so I would only ever have skim milk but now I switched to soy milk, which I love and drink about a litre daily... it has about 9grams of fat / glass!). This was an easy way for me to introduce fat / calories without having to eat 'bulk'. Like the others have said, milkshakes etc are great.
Cheese is a great source of protein / fat / Kj, so hopefully you can tolerate cheese.
Avacados, nuts are also great, they're packed full of nutrition and have lots of good fats / protein for a relatively 'small sized' food. Also dried fruits like apricots, sultanas are loaded with kilojoules and are handy to carry around.
I don't want to offend anyone on this site, but I have always stayed away from fried foods / take aways, I know they're packed full of fat / calories but I prefer to get my fats etc from more healthier foods, I just feel sick from hot chips or McDonalds etc.
Oh and lastly, I make my mashed potatoes with lots of butter and cream (with some cheese on top also)..Mmmmm !
I thought I'd pass on some tips that I have been using the last few months with some success (they sound like common sense tips, so sorry if it sounds patronising but when I finally put them into practice they began working).
Firstly, I'm not sure if you have diabetes (I do, controlled by insulin), but blood sugar levels need to be perfect (most of the time) in order to gain weight. I have always had good control but I have been particularly vigilant with my insulin dosages etc to maintain my sugars.
If you can, consume full fat milk, in fact full fat anything.. (I hated the taste of full fat milk so I would only ever have skim milk but now I switched to soy milk, which I love and drink about a litre daily... it has about 9grams of fat / glass!). This was an easy way for me to introduce fat / calories without having to eat 'bulk'. Like the others have said, milkshakes etc are great.
Cheese is a great source of protein / fat / Kj, so hopefully you can tolerate cheese.
Avacados, nuts are also great, they're packed full of nutrition and have lots of good fats / protein for a relatively 'small sized' food. Also dried fruits like apricots, sultanas are loaded with kilojoules and are handy to carry around.
I don't want to offend anyone on this site, but I have always stayed away from fried foods / take aways, I know they're packed full of fat / calories but I prefer to get my fats etc from more healthier foods, I just feel sick from hot chips or McDonalds etc.
Oh and lastly, I make my mashed potatoes with lots of butter and cream (with some cheese on top also)..Mmmmm !
I am with Little miss missy on this one. I do not eat fried foods. I love getting good nutrition with healthier choices.
Macadamian nuts with salt on them. YUMMY but if you eat too many watch out.....
avocados. I love Cottage cheese, yogurt, pria bars, cascadian farms makes a granola nut and fruit bar (loaded with too many carbs)-great for sleep.
There is a drink called Balanced that is sold in some markets. It is tasty and has fifteen grams of protein.
Be careful of sugar alcohols unless you can tolerate them.
Macadamian nuts with salt on them. YUMMY but if you eat too many watch out.....
avocados. I love Cottage cheese, yogurt, pria bars, cascadian farms makes a granola nut and fruit bar (loaded with too many carbs)-great for sleep.
There is a drink called Balanced that is sold in some markets. It is tasty and has fifteen grams of protein.
Be careful of sugar alcohols unless you can tolerate them.
I started eating again
cashew butter, almond butter and hazelnut butters(taste similar to chocolate)
with some jelly on a rice cracker or some toasted spelt or kamut bread.
I try and stay away from wheat products but sometimes I have a little.
Very fattening. Oh time for one of these snacks. I just gave myself an appetite
cashew butter, almond butter and hazelnut butters(taste similar to chocolate)
with some jelly on a rice cracker or some toasted spelt or kamut bread.
I try and stay away from wheat products but sometimes I have a little.
Very fattening. Oh time for one of these snacks. I just gave myself an appetite
I've been focused on gaining weight lately too. What works for me is having desert after dinner. I either have fried bananas (sautee bananas in lots of butter, then pour on top of a mound of french vanilla ice cream), or go to the desert isle in the market and pick out whatever has the most calories that looks good.
I also try to have many snacks throughout the day.
I'm gaining now. You just have to stick with what works so you don't lose it.
I also try to have many snacks throughout the day.
I'm gaining now. You just have to stick with what works so you don't lose it.
thelizardqueen
New member
I cannot stress enough about peanut butter. Peanuts or peanut butter is good for weight gain. I also add butter to all of my cooking, and when I fry stuff up, I fry it with bacon grease. I also drink 2 Scandishakes a day and that adds weight to me. Here's a recipe for the shakes I drink:
1 pkg of Scandishake (chocolate), or carnation breakfast drink
1 cup of half and half cream
1 tablespoon of chocolate syrup
1 whole banana
1/2 cup of peanut butter
1/4 cup yogurt
Blend it all up and drink.
1 pkg of Scandishake (chocolate), or carnation breakfast drink
1 cup of half and half cream
1 tablespoon of chocolate syrup
1 whole banana
1/2 cup of peanut butter
1/4 cup yogurt
Blend it all up and drink.
My husband comes from a super skinny family!!! So he has always been about 120. I've been making him shakes every morning with whole milk, I use a Scandi Shake with 600 calories per serving and I also put a Myoplex deluxe nutrition shake with 330 calories in with that. He drinks this every morning for breakfast, although recently I've stoped using the Myoplex shake because he was getting indigestion. Also he has started a meal service at his work, he gets 3 meals a day at work at 11:30, 3:00 and 5:30, there all really healthy meals with stuff like turkey, bison, steak, potatos, rice and some form of vegitable. He then comes home and I make him 2 grilled cheese sandwhiches and then we have dinner around 7:30 and he usually takes like a bowl of popcorn at 9:30. The meal service also makes him extras to take home during the weekend. He has put on 12 lbs in the last few months. He has totally noticed a difference in not eatting fried food he said it always made him feel gross. I also prepair meals with extra butter and put like a whole cube of cream cheese in the mashed potatos. Hope this helps.
thelizardqueen
New member
I never thought to add cream cheese to mashed potatoes. I know I add sour cream and cream to my potatoes, along with butter, but I think I'll have to try cream cheese as well.
Years ago I found a garlic mashed potato recipe that was great. Mash up the potatoes with an 8 ounce package of cream cheese, add some minced garlic and put the contents in a casserole. Throw a pad of butter on top, some paprika and bake until it's heated through. I wish I could remember the exact recipe, 'cuz I'm almost thinking that it also had a half cup or so of sour cream....
Liza
Liza
Scarlett81
New member
I dont have any weight issues-and you probably think lucky me, but AHHH it drives me nuts. When I read these threads I find them very interesting and informative, but man-take some of my buddha belly or thigh fat!!
Anyway-I don't know what you've tried or what you can tolerate, but I love a bowl of warm mashed potatoes with butter and gravy-homemade are best but even KFC will do. And lots of calories there. Fried chicken, stuffing with gravy...
And those high calorie coffeish shakes that were mentioned sound like a good idea. I love them-but for me they have too much caffeine, which makes me very anxious.
Anyway-I don't know what you've tried or what you can tolerate, but I love a bowl of warm mashed potatoes with butter and gravy-homemade are best but even KFC will do. And lots of calories there. Fried chicken, stuffing with gravy...
And those high calorie coffeish shakes that were mentioned sound like a good idea. I love them-but for me they have too much caffeine, which makes me very anxious.
thelizardqueen
New member
I wish I could drink more of the sugary coffee's at Starbucks, but ah - diabetes. I can only stick to the expressos, sometimes cappucianos, and lattes. No frapaciano's or cafe mochas for me.
TCNJcystic
New member
Thanks for all of your help! I'm a huge fan of the Chai Cream Frap at Starbucks, so I'll be checking those out more frequently. Julie's husband looks like he put a lot of effort into his weight gain, so I'll be modelling a bit after him (as far as the eating goes...not enough time to work out with my schedule these days.)
L
littlemisssilly
Guest
Hi Liz,
I don't add cream cheese to my mashed potatoes, I sprinkle grated parmesan on top (when it's served on the plate)....... I just love grated parmesan!! But come to think of it....... cream cheese also sounds good, I'll try that next time.... good thinking! <img src="i/expressions/wine.gif" border="0">
I don't add cream cheese to my mashed potatoes, I sprinkle grated parmesan on top (when it's served on the plate)....... I just love grated parmesan!! But come to think of it....... cream cheese also sounds good, I'll try that next time.... good thinking! <img src="i/expressions/wine.gif" border="0">
Steve,
Mark would appreciate that <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">. THe others have suggested some great ideas too!!! Just as Ricky said, Mark drinks 3-5 boost shakes a day (same as ensure, just a bit less $$$$). You might be surprised to find that a LOT of insurance companies will cover boost/ensure shakes. In the past, we've had to jump through hoops to get coverage but it was well worth it. Now we have a different insurance and I am on appeal #8 and just had a hearing with a federal judge, again, it will be all worth it if we win because those are essential to a diet where you are trying to gain weight.
As others have said too, Peanuts or peanut butter is great. Mark use to have 1-2 HUGE scoops of peanutbutter in his protein shakes (once he got use to the shakes of course), it's a great source of calories and healthy fats. Peauts are great to put in a baggie and take to class for a snack or something like that.
Best of luck and even if you can only make it into the gym once a week, it's something. Last year there was a period of time during school for him where he could only go once a week and it just helped him to maintain the weight he was already at. Things got a lot better and more open as far as time goes for him when he started his upper level classes and started going to the same school online. He spends a lot more time with his nose in a book than he ever did before, but not quite as much time as he spent sitting in all of the classes, so seeing both sides of it for him, I think it frees up as much as 2-3 hours a day for him. Also, no getting marked down for not attending (even when you are sick) is a HUGE plus for him. He went from a 2.8 GPA overall (mainly due to absences because of being sick/feeling run down) to 3 straight semesters of 3.8 each semester. Just some ideas to maybe help you out in the future.
Mark would appreciate that <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">. THe others have suggested some great ideas too!!! Just as Ricky said, Mark drinks 3-5 boost shakes a day (same as ensure, just a bit less $$$$). You might be surprised to find that a LOT of insurance companies will cover boost/ensure shakes. In the past, we've had to jump through hoops to get coverage but it was well worth it. Now we have a different insurance and I am on appeal #8 and just had a hearing with a federal judge, again, it will be all worth it if we win because those are essential to a diet where you are trying to gain weight.
As others have said too, Peanuts or peanut butter is great. Mark use to have 1-2 HUGE scoops of peanutbutter in his protein shakes (once he got use to the shakes of course), it's a great source of calories and healthy fats. Peauts are great to put in a baggie and take to class for a snack or something like that.
Best of luck and even if you can only make it into the gym once a week, it's something. Last year there was a period of time during school for him where he could only go once a week and it just helped him to maintain the weight he was already at. Things got a lot better and more open as far as time goes for him when he started his upper level classes and started going to the same school online. He spends a lot more time with his nose in a book than he ever did before, but not quite as much time as he spent sitting in all of the classes, so seeing both sides of it for him, I think it frees up as much as 2-3 hours a day for him. Also, no getting marked down for not attending (even when you are sick) is a HUGE plus for him. He went from a 2.8 GPA overall (mainly due to absences because of being sick/feeling run down) to 3 straight semesters of 3.8 each semester. Just some ideas to maybe help you out in the future.
I add this product to my soy or milk daily. Helps with added calories and taste great
<a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://www.outletnutrition.com/041648078006.htm
">http://www.outletnutrition.com/041648078006.htm
</a>
It is called "Better than milk'
<a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://www.outletnutrition.com/041648078006.htm
">http://www.outletnutrition.com/041648078006.htm
</a>
It is called "Better than milk'