how to gain weight. advice?

[Falkor]

Hi,

I've been losing a lot of weight lately, I'm getting thin, and i don't want this to happen, i used to have an eating disorder in the past, and don't want to get that far again, don't get me wrong, i never counted calories or wanted to lose weight on purpose, i deal with the prob of ''being afraid of getting ill'' and when i think of getting sick, i throw up. because of anxiety, i need to throw up as well.
I really hate it and i just want to gain weight, i want to be at least 60/65 kilogram. Now i'm 50 kg. what should i do, do you guys know some food, which include a lot of calories?

Oh and I'm not buying nutridrink, it's too expensive.. it's a small drink it costs around 11 euro's and it's not much, so I don't think that's worth it even though it could offer a lot of help, but i'm not dealing with anorexia, never did btw, i never got so far, but just too thin and feeling ill.

lately i've been having a bad cold and because of this i have been throwing up twice, i don't know where this is coming from, it's just having a bad cold, maybe it's the flu, but i don't know, cuz i can still eat, i'm not sick of eating, in the evening i eat enough, but in the morning i mostly feel to sick to eat.
i ate a banana this morning, i feel worried about my health, because i don't want to lose weight all the time.

umm.. so yea.. i just need to know what i should do.
maybe a ''gain weight diet'' or something.. or ''food with lots of calories''.
and i'm not going to eat snacks whole day long, just healthy food.
tips would be Very appreciated!!

 

[Remus]

lately i've been having a bad cold and because of this i have been throwing up twice, i don't know where this is coming from, it's just having a bad cold, maybe it's the flu, but i don't know, cuz i can still eat, i'm not sick of eating, in the evening i eat enough, but in the morning i mostly feel to sick to eat.
i ate a banana this morning, i feel worried about my health, because i don't want to lose weight all the time.

I'd see a doctor about this. Being sick and weight loss is not a good sign

 

[AGR]

what height are you?
you look tall to me,about the food some healthy food I know are oats,nuts,almonds,cottage cheese,fish,chicken,rice,beans,carrots,broccolli,tomato,papaya,kiwi,drink a lot of water thats pretty much all the healty food I eat,the amount is what will dictate if you lose weight or gain.
Yes if you feel sick its good to go see a doctor also.

 

[Felgen]

Eat lots of carbs and regular bread in paricular. Consume a few large meals instead of many small ones.

 

[Luke1993]

eat nuts they're small and have a lot of calories in them!

 

[Falkor]

what height are you?
you look tall to me,about the food some healthy food I know are oats,nuts,almonds,cottage cheese,fish,chicken,rice,beans,carrots,broccolli,tomato,papaya,kiwi,drink a lot of water thats pretty much all the healty food I eat,the amount is what will dictate if you lose weight or gain.
Yes if you feel sick its good to go see a doctor also.

i'm 1.72m now
thanks for the food tips, i'll try to eat more everyday, like 4x meal
and not 3x, like a normal daily basis. and eat fruit everyday
i just asked my mom to give me extra's in the dinner

 

[CaptainDaveBeard]

like luke1993 said nuts are very calorie dense and good for you.when i was trying to bulk up i ate a lot of peanut butter and honey on toast

 

[coyote]

consume lots of french fries and snack chips

drink nothing but soda or beer

then sit on your ass all day and move as little as possible

this has proven to work effectively for a large part of the american population

 

[Tuco]

I am trying to gain weight as well. Last year I went from 154 lbs (70 Kg) to 169 lbs (77kg)in less than 2 months; Now I've been stuck at 187 lbs (85 Kg) for several weeks. My goal is to reach 200 lbs, because I am very tall and look like a stick. I started eating 6 times a day, I eat avocado, tuna sandwiches, a lot of milk and bananas, I also eat nuts from time to time because they have a lot of calories like Luke1993 said. I've also been going to the gym for the last two months doing a strength routine.

 

[Feathers]

sorry to hear about it! if you've been sick/throwing up maybe just herbal tea and some salty sticks? to get over it...? maybe it's a virus.. you need liquids and salt.. when you get better, you may work on nutrition more (?)

avocado is good, be careful with other carbs and observe yourself a bit, maybe write a food diary (see if they might cause moodswings, and which ones - if gluten/wheat might cause moodswings, you still have rice, buckwheat, millet, amaranth, corn, maybe oats) potatoes may give you 'short term energy' and may need to be backed up by something stronger (like meat) or to eat another meal sooner than otherwise.. fruit and veggies are very healthy, many may give you 'negative calories' tho, and usually help people lose weight, so I wouldn't depend on them to gain weight, you do need them to be healthy and feel good too tho.. (if you find you might be sensitive to sugar/fruits with regard to moodwings, maybe stay with non-gluten carbs and vegetables first)

some people eat meat/protein and carbs separately if they wanna lose weight, so if you wanna gain weight you might do the opposite and eat them together (?) or at least see how that works

lol Coyote! Saskia, stay away from soda and beer (if in doubt imo beer is still better than soda, for now and then, or very occasionally, though alcohol also reduces magnesium and other good minerals, but beer has B vitamins and can help relax) herbal tea is better.. and can help relax too..

about nuts: you may wanna soak or grind almonds or hazelnuts or such, if they are too 'hard' to eat (and if you have any amalgam fillings in your teeth), walnuts are okay to eat as they are.. you could even make 'nut milk' yourself, there are recipes online..

fried cheese or such can help gain weight quickly too (if you're not sensitive/intolerant to milk)

Thing is, with healthy food, it's not so easy to gain a lot of weight, with your height, 60/62kg is a good target.. It may also be stress-related (some people lose or gain weight if under stress) so you might wanna work on getting RELAXED! and maybe read a good book or take it easy etc. You've been doing a lot lately and maybe your body got 'overwhelmed' a bit..? Are you at all hungry (sometimes I could 'forget' to eat...) If not, maybe walking/exercise could make you more hungry? (my sis used to get really hungry when she got back from the fitness gym) Otherwise maybe get reminders to go and eat..?

colds & flus suck, hope it gets better soon!! ((hugs))

 

[Falkor]

@Tuco:
Good to see someone's really motivated to gain weight,
6x times a day huh, that's a lot, what times do you eat?
good luck and keep it up!

@feathers:
i drink a lot of tea , so that's no problem
about beer, i don't like it, lol, so no beer for me
i love cheese, here in holland it's a typical thing to eat cheese at night
i just ate chinese food, ate more than usual, I will eat some extra tonight too.

magnesium, well i did a blood test, i don't have a lack of magnesium, also not a lack of Vitamin B, I do have less iron though..

thnx for the tips feathers, always very helpful thnx

 

[Phoenixx]

Sorry to hear about your cold, hope you feel better soon!

As far as gaining weight goes, try eating foods that are high in carbohydrates, like whole grains, potatoes, beans, and corn. If I were you, I wouldn't go with any refined grains, like white flour, white rice, etc. Just stick to whole grains since they are much more nutritious (And I find that they taste better too, but that's just me. :. Also increase your dairy intake, since the fats help with weight gain too.

I'm thinking, if people keep track of calories when they lose weight, why not keep track of calories and foods to gain weight? Like, keep a food diary, track what you eat and see if you make progress with gaining weight. I think it would help quite a bit because if you end up not making much progress, then you could easily go back to see what you've eaten so far, and then make changes from there. Back when I used a food diary, I did it online. Even though I used it to track what I ate to lose weight, the site I used can also help you track foods to gain weight. >> http://www.livestrong.com/thedailyplate/

 

[Falkor]

Sorry to hear about your cold, hope you feel better soon!

As far as gaining weight goes, try eating foods that are high in carbohydrates, like whole grains, potatoes, beans, and corn. If I were you, I wouldn't go with any refined grains, like white flour, white rice, etc. Just stick to whole grains since they are much more nutritious (And I find that they taste better too, but that's just me. :. Also increase your dairy intake, since the fats help with weight gain too.

I'm thinking, if people keep track of calories when they lose weight, why not keep track of calories and foods to gain weight? Like, keep a food diary, track what you eat and see if you make progress with gaining weight. I think it would help quite a bit because if you end up not making much progress, then you could easily go back to see what you've eaten so far, and then make changes from there. Back when I used a food diary, I did it online. Even though I used it to track what I ate to lose weight, the site I used can also help you track foods to gain weight. >> Calorie Counter, Calorie Tracker & Food Journal | MyPlate on LIVESTRONG.COM

thanks for the advice, phoenixx! and thanks for the site, i'll take a look at it!
I'll eat lots of rice, nuts, bananas, kiwi's, chicken and drink a lot of milk.
and I will eat more meals, to gain weight more easily.
Thanks all for the advice, I will fight to gain weight, and won't stop with eating more extra's, just keep pushing myself to eat.
if I just eat regular meals like at breakfast and afternoon 12PM, and between dinner a little extra, it's easier to eat because it's divided.
and ofc, eat a regular dinner, i'll try to eat two plates :] no not the plates themselfes, haha XD
and at the evening, snack timeee haha

 

[coyote]

try this - it has worked wonders for my weight gain:

 

[Mokkat]

Im studying nutrition and health, so I want to leave a helpful comment

First of all, you should think about your behavior regarding food. If you receive good advice about what to eat, it doesn't help much if deep down you have an unhappy relationship with food, anxiety while eating in front of family, etc.
I can't imagine how a previous eating disorder and a fear of getting ill can affect ones relationship with food, but I can tell you that you are much more likely to get ill with that low of a BMI so its a good thing that you are asking for help with it.

Here and now, I think you should try to identify if there is any of the specific things you eat that make you more sick than others - it can be certain things (my perfectly normal sister gets a bad stomach when she eats pork for example), maybe something to do with the feeling of fullness, like feeling very full and then bad from eating much oatmeals, or maybe other things. If there are anything, you can avoid those.
I also think you should start encouraging yourself to enjoy eating to the fullest. Keeping in mind that you need to eat more to increase your weight again, let yourself eat what you want, and eat when you want to - don't force yourself to eat a fruit for breakfast if you could be enjoying a bowl of chocolate musli or something. A lot of people specifically think about specific foods when talking about being "healthy", but it has a ton to do with lust/urge and generally being happy about eating. For example, a lot of people, especially elderly, are undernourished at big hospitals because of inflexible eating times and boring processed and very unpersonal meals - people simply arent comfortable and dont eat, costing lives and fortunes for the health-sector.



General food advice:
as you are underweight, you should get as many carbs and fat as possible. Dont avoid empty carbs (candy, drinks, etc) and saturated fats because you need the energy. Don't focus on eating protein foods, like chicken and low fat fish - proteins make you full the easiest, and encourages the metabolism of body fat.
If you only get a low amount of energy daily like you do now, you will not be covering your micro-nutrient need effectively anyway without supplements. Focus on getting back to at least 60kg as fast as you can.
If you are low on iron - pretty normal since you have periods - you can take supplements to prevent tiredness

 

[Feathers]

Mokkat, some good advice on trying to identify the triggers... As for empty carbs (candy, soda drinks etc) Saskia has had moodswings so sugar is a BAD idea!! (Also bad for teeth etc and she's a singer and wants to have pretty and healthy teeth! )

lol Coyote, are you recommending the sundaes? I think occasionally/in moderation if they don't cause moodswings they might be okay.. personally I went yo yo after sugar tho.. (first feeling high up, then feeling down..) so Saskia, observe yourself..

Saskia, good to hear you had blood tests, sometimes the tests are not 100% reliable, some countries have different measures too, did you find out the amount of magnesium they measured?
Iron is in meat and some other foods, google it up if you don't have a list of foods yet, better to try to get it with nutrition first, only take supplements if really needed..

It is good to know what kind of metabolism one has: some people do well with vegetables+carbs, some may need protein too.. It's good to observe oneself and how one feels..

Phoenixx, does the livestrong/dailyplate count your minerals/vitamins too? I haven't tried this yet, I used FitDay - Free Diet Journal that also calculates approximate vitamins/minerals.. (and calories too) It's not just for weight loss, it's for general keeping track of what you eat.. Kinda more American foods in there, but I really liked the vitamin/mineral charts

Oh, I remembered 2 other good 'fatty' healthy foods: hempseeds (omega 3 in them, so you can eat those instead of tuna/fatty fish or flaxseeds) and pumpkinseeds (yum! zinc and magnesium in there) also pumpkinseed oil... (for salad, yum!) If you have any health concerns (other than sa) do a bit of research before introducing any new foods or herbal teas... some can be good for some conditions and not so recommended for others..

 

[coyote]

I had the double cheddar butterburger, french fries, and a root beer

minty chocolate shake for dessert

 

[Phoenixx]

Phoenixx, does the livestrong/dailyplate count your minerals/vitamins too? I haven't tried this yet, I used FitDay - Free Diet Journal that also calculates approximate vitamins/minerals.. (and calories too) It's not just for weight loss, it's for general keeping track of what you eat.. Kinda more American foods in there, but I really liked the vitamin/mineral charts

^ I'm not sure. They've updated the site since I last used it, so they might now. I know before they didn't keep the best track of vitamins and minerals.

 

[Mokkat]

Feathers, about soda drinks you are right about it corroding the teeth - exactly why I dont drink much soda myself. The context of allowing sugar-carbs is more of a "happy" thing in my eyes - personally, in a situation of being sick and having appetite problems, I would rather allow myself that fantastic bag of liquorice and take the spike and drop in blood-sugar than forcing myself to eat a fruit I dont particularly care for with a frowny face

4 megajoules of healthy food and a couple of mjs from candy or potato chips, is still a lot better than only 4 megajoules of healthy food, when the needed intake is 8 megajoules. This is why old people get a lot of fat in their food and cake and stuff, when they are commited

disclaimer: I am a large guy though, so I need a lot of sweets to cause major moodswings - coffee is worse for me. "Build your own sunday"?! yum Coyote you always bring the best suggestions


Those are pretty smart websites you guys linked - simple and convenient. Precise info and suggestions to live by are easily calculated, so I find it strange that my country dont have anything like that yet.

 

[dottie]

energy drinks = insta-fatass, too.

"Experts say adding even a single can of energy drink a day to your liquid intake could cause more than 29 pounds of weight gain in a year!" Are Energy Drinks Dangerous to Your Health?