how to gain weight ?

[longos614]

hi everyone
i know this diet topic but i really need some suggestion for weight gain
actually i am very low weight and slim and now i really required to gain some weight
waiting for your response guys.

[shadowfoot]

I would try eating a lot of food -- lots of starch and fat. Try to keep food natural, but don't skimp on the ice cream when you have a chance. I cannot stress this enough, if you want to gain weight and don't want to mess yourself up at the same time, i.e. eating McDonald's every day, you have to eat a LOT of food. I'm pretty lean myself, not underweight, but hunter-gatherer lean. I can overeat by a thousand calories a day for a week and not gain a single pound. Where does it all go? Increased metabolism and increased energy. A good resource to check out is Matt Stone at 180degreehealth.com and 180degreehealth.blogspot.com for information on healthy overfeeding practices. 

[aelephant]

I'm pretty sure this is a bot selling vacations in Cozumel.

[dee]

Shadow, do you actually follow Matt Stone's advice?

I feel quite sorry for the people who follow it, though he does cater to a very niche market: the people who fail diets and want to blame diets (and want to be justified in eating what is practically the standard american diet).

I'm also not a big fan of Ray Peat's stuff, though I do think he adds some interesting points to the discussion.

[shadowfoot]

aelephant,

dammit! I think I fell for the fact that this was his fourth post. Also, what does this post have to do with selling vacations? Is he trying to get more posts so that he can sound more credible?

dee,

I have a love-hate relationship with Matt Stone. I think a lot of what he says is idiotic and I think a lot of what he says is downright brilliant. I think the biggest problem that people have with Matt Stone, which I had when I was first exposed to him, is that his advice can seem very eat-whatever-you-want-ish, which is pretty much what everyone I know who is unhealthy does. What I like about him is that he is anti-dogma and always serves to provide cognitive dissonance for me. In this way, he has allowed me to get over my fear of fruit (sugar) and grains (in moderate quantities), which has improved the quality of my life (by allowing me to more freely eat with friends) and has not had any negative impacts on my health.

I read over thirty health and nutrition blogs of varying opinions and do not entirely subscribe to the beliefs of any one. I like to consider all the arguments before making my decision. Matt Stone's blog happens to be one of them, and considering that Matt Stones whole approach is about overeating I thought it would be a good resource for someone looking to gain weight.

[dee]

Same shadow, but I feel that he is as inconsistent as Don Matesz (if you've been reading either of their blogs for a while), and while what we know does change, it does show that even he doesn't trust his advice for the long term.

I just feel that "Overeating to gain weight" is also as useful as the whole "undereating to lose weight" thing, which doesn't live up to the hype.

[shadowfoot]

His and Don Matesz flip-flopping around to different ideas is the reason why I don't follow one person, but rather take little pieces from a lot of different people. That way I can assess the new knowledge on my own and decide if it is relevant or not.

As I said in my first response, I have a very hard time gaining weight, muscle or fat, regardless of how much I eat. Possibly if someone really wants to gain weight they should just reverse Stephan's advice on his posts about food reward and eat a lot of ice cream and cookies. But again I come up against a wall. Is it possible for someone who is very lean to gain weight, fat included, without resorting to potentially unhealthy options? I don't know.

[aelephant]

I have a hard time gaining weight too, but I've managed to start making progress without resorting to counting calories.

It is basically just "portion control" but flipped around.

I eat "healthy" foods: lean chicken breast, eggs, broccoli, rice, whey protein powder and plain Saltine crackers.

I eat basically the same thing in the same order every day.

For dinner, I eat whatever I want (usually home-cooked Chinese dishes with lots of oil & salt).

I monitor my weight daily, but instead of making changes based on daily readings, I set a goal for each week and average the readings (I noticed my weight can fluctuate as much as 3kg from one day the next). If my weight is well below the average, I increase my portion sizes (i.e. I eat 2 bowls of rice instead of 1 at each "feeding"). If I overshoot my goal, I decrease portion sizes (usually eliminate morning carbs altogether and switch to eggs vs. chicken to try to take advantage of the fasting effect from overnight).

My goal is to gain MOSTLY muscle and some fat. I think it is impossible for me to gain pure muscle without fat. I am just too "hard" of a gainer.

My weight has been increasing (on average) 0.5kg per week. Strength is going up in a linear fashion.

[Todd Becker]

hi everyone
i know this diet topic but i really need some suggestion for weight gain
actually i am very low weight and slim and now i really required to gain some weight
waiting for your response guys.

Longos, good question.  I agree with Shadowfoot's suggestion of eating lots of starch and fat in combination.  You can also use many of the insights summarized on the Diet page of this blog regarding flavor, meal timing and conditioning "in reverse":

1. Make sure your meals are highly palatable and flavored with your favorite, familiar flavors.  Eat "addictive" foods like chips, ice cream or anything else you've ever craved.
2. Eat often and at very regular times.
3. Associate eating with pleasant surrounds and social reinforcers.
4. Engage in mildly aerobic exercise to generate hunger.

Despite this, be sure to get some balance in your diet with high vitamin and mineral content, and enough protein to build lean body mass at the same time you are adding fat.

[Esmond]

Hi longos614,
There are many famous weight gainer supplements in the market claiming best weight gainers, but most of the supplements have side effects or long term effects so I will advice you to eat eggs and egg related food, boiled potatoes and protein shakes to gain weight.

[Michealleo]

hi if u really wana gain some weight then try to eat more nuts . You should also try peanut butter , eat more bananas and then some boild eggs . Also drink some protien shakes . hopefully u will gain some . Best of luck

[shadowfoot]

Okay, seriously . . . what's up with the last two posts here? I think it's pretty well established that potatoes, eggs, and nuts are simply foods you can consume more of to gain weight. But they are by no means that only foods that can do that and have no special advantages by themselves. Actually, consuming more of those foods without trying to overeat is probably a good way to LOSE weight!

[Benton]

Hi dear,
There are many weight gaining supplements available in the market but most of them have the side effects.
You should take natural healthy foods for the weight gaining and do exercises. You should take more milk, butter, meat, fresh fruits and vegetables and protein shake.

[Todd Becker]

You should take natural healthy foods for the weight gaining and do exercises. You should take more milk, butter, meat, fresh fruits and vegetables and protein shake.

Benton,

Your statements are just opinion without any supporting argument or references.  On the face of it, I don't see why I should believe your claim.  The same exercises and foods are often cited for weight loss, with good justification.

Todd

[shadowfoot]

Seriously Todd, what is up with people on the Diet forum posting completely baseless opinions?