Healthy weight gain meal plan

May 31, 2012

Stephanie M.

Since you all were so helpful with my protein shake question, I figured I'd ask for help coming up with a meal plan =) I'm 22 and weigh from 98-103 pounds. I've been trying to gain healthy weight, just to feel better and look better. I'm always so tired, and stressed which doesn't help at all. I was wondering is there any nice yummy meals I can eat to get back on a healthier track?

Jun 20, 2012

Kenya F.

My dads a biologist and its proven that black people burn protien more efficently. Possibly try eating less carbs, i did this and lost 100lbs in half a year :)
Eat more grilled chicken and shish kebabs with salad and lots and lots of water.
Fruits like watermelon and vegs like cucumber are amazing as they are like 80% water and fill you up. Hope this helped xx

Jun 20, 2012

Steffie J.

Ohh @kenya f. Thats greaf advice. Im gonna try the cucumbers and watermelon. Im trying to change my diet to lose 50-60 pounds. Did you excercise also while doung this? 

Jun 20, 2012

Kenya F.

I hateeee exercise, and did bike riding for about 30mins a day. I did alot of toning to avoid extra stretch marks ect xxx

Jun 20, 2012

Kenya F.

Sorry Steph i thought you said you wanted to lose weight. Basically do the oppisite of what i said and eat loads of pasta and rice. It should work x

Jun 20, 2012

Shelley W.

@Kenya F. eating tons of pasta and rice will only convert to sugar and then she's looking at pre-diabetes. Pasta and rice has no nutrient value whatsoever. White rice especially. Stephanie if you goal is to gain healthy weight of course maintain your intake of the proteins..chicken, seafood and red meat (if you eat red meat). Also, you need to consume 6 meals a day. Three of those being substantial...breakfast, lunch and dinner. The other three smaller meals can consist of protein shakes/smoothies, fruit cups with granola and greek yogurt, half-sandwiches made of turkey,tomatoe, and cheese. But definitely don't load up on the pasta and rice. Carbs are ok in small amounts but to gorge out on that with the goal of gaining weight is a great way to come up with diabetes. If you like rice I would stick with brown rice because you can meet your fiber requirement with that and fiber is important to your digestive system. What is your height by the way? And did you manage to get a BMI done at your gym? 

Jun 20, 2012

Stephanie M.

Aww thank you Kenya and Shelly! I'm glad someone was able to get to my question. Lately I have been trying to eat more proteins. My height is 5'5 as far as my BMI I'm not sure anymore. I would have to check on it again

Jun 20, 2012

Shelley W.

You're so welcome Stephanie M. At 5'5 I'm assuming your target weight goal is to reach 115-120? If you're between 98-103 in weight currently you are pretty lean and your BMI could quite possibly be in the in the 17 range. To get to 120 pounds you will need your BMI to be at 20.0. 

Jun 20, 2012

Fancie B.

Very great thread Stephanie. You are around my EXACT weight and height and I've been trying to pack on the extra pounds like crazy. Thanks for the advice Shelley! Very helpful as well

Jun 25, 2012

Stephanie M.

Lol a lot of people just assume that being small all the way around is good.. but to me, I have always been tiny and felt I looked unhealthy and felt unhealthy. A little weight would do me some good

Jun 25, 2012

Tracey C.

YESSSS finally !! ive been trying to hard to gain weight forever @stephanie M. thanks you so much for asking !! definitely trying out what @Shelley w. suggested ! =^.^=

Jun 25, 2012

Shelley W.

@Stephanie M. I totally understand what you're saying about being small and feeling unhealthy. Its been an unhill battle for me for as long as I can remember. It wasn't till the last few years that I just grew tired of the jokes and rude comments from people that I decided to show them I'm not to be messed with. I went the ultimate route and started lifting weights. From that it snowballed into me becoming a figure competitor (a step below body builder) and it was the best decision I ever made. Its an empowering feeling to go to the bar with a revealing tank top on and see grown men move out of my way. I have so much more energy than I ever had before since I decided to eat healthy and work-out. My weight will be forever an issue though....I took two months away from the gym last year and lost 10 pounds. It sounds to me that you too have a quick metabolism. You don't have to go my route to gain the weight but by diet and exercise you can certainly reach your goals. :)

Jun 25, 2012

Shelley W.

FYI...stay away from weight gain pills. I have yet to see anyone mention those things on this site but they do exist and are super dangerous (heart valve failure, kidney and liver damage). 

Jun 27, 2012

Emelie J.

Wow, I didn't think there was anyone but me who tried to gain weight... I agree, people seem to think that I'm lucky because I'm small, but I hate it. I even had to stop breastfeeding my son at 3 months because I lost too much weight. I had ED's when I was in school, and since then I can't seem to gain at all. The pregnancy helped a little at the end of it, but now I'm skinnier than I was before it. Trying all I can think of to gain, but the only thing that seems to work is eating lots of protein and slow carbs and training. And having time for gym when you have a 5 month old baby... Yeah, not so much.

Glad to see I'm not alone :)

Jun 27, 2012

Rachel K.

i have struggled much of my life with weight loss, mainly due to a metabolic disorder that i was diagnosed with as a preteen. all i know is that i was told consistently to eat low carb, low carb, low carb, and i'd deprive myself, and then let loose every so often, and then end up gaining weight without losing any, and being miserable about it. then, i learned that it's actually more important to eat foods with a low glycemic index, which then meant i no longer had to feel guilty about eating whole wheat pasta, brown/wild rice, peas, carrots, fruit, etc, foods that had been off-limits to me. i paid more attention to this and calorie counting and that has given me more success than ever before. i recommend you try to figure out what calorie budget maintains your current weight and then add five hundred to that to steadily gain one pound per week. it really is what causes weight loss and weight gain; 3500 calories is one pound lost or gained. while not all calories are created equal, most foods are broken down into the same polymers and are stored in just a few ways. it really is that simple, as hard and challenging as it can be. i wish you luck with this.

Jun 27, 2012

Emelie J.

Aferdita, you really wanna be so underweight you can't provide for your new born baby? You should never strive to be skinny, it usually ends in depression or worst case in anorexia. You should strive for being healthy. Don't envy people who suffer, whether it is mentally or physically. In this case I find it slightly inconsiderate from your side. But maybe that's just me, I was actually sick (anorectic) for 5-or-so years and might take things a little too personally. But I do not wish that even my worst enemy got that disease, so watch where you tread please. 

Jun 27, 2012

Rachel K.

aferdita: you're absolutely gorgeous and even if you weren't, it breaks my heart a little to read what you wrote. =( i, too, wish i knew what it was like to just want to gain 10-20 pounds (or only have 10-20 to lose) but it's true that some people really suffer from being too thin. 

Jun 27, 2012

Shelley W.

@Aferdita A. I just saw your beautiful pics and I'm sorry sweetie but you are not OVERWEIGHT. You are super slender and I can see that in your face/neck and hands. Striving to be skinny is not something worth trying to achieve. Emelie J. is 100% correct in her assessment of being underweight. I wasn't skinny by choice and let me tell you before I started forcing myself to gain weight depression was big thing for me because my body would burn calories something fierce. You may look at yourself in the mirror and think you're fat but you're not. From what I see I see a very malnourished young woman. No, you don't need to be in our shoes for a week. @Emelie J. No need for you to apologize. What you went thru is an experience you will not forget and I'm glad you were able to overcome it. Anorexia is not something to joke about and I give you a hi-5 for sharing something so personal. :) 

Jun 27, 2012

Shelley W.

@Aferdita A. Girl, don't cry!!! From above post it sounds like you did a lot of yo-yo dieting and that explains why you would lose the weight only to turn around and gain even more. When you deprive your body of certain number of daily calories it actually goes into starvation mode. Then when you eat the things you didn't eat while on diet then you tend to pack on more weight. It is a crazy, insane cycle. I think Emelie and I became alarmed and concerned over your comment because it spoke of eating disorder. I hope I didn't offend you...its just in the pics that you posted on your page you look incredibly slender. The past couple of hours I've been in the gym spotting a few body builders and I read the thread to them. We literally stopped what were doing and it started a serious dialogue (a positive one) about the topic. My trainer mentioned that you might be carb sensitive. She was once 200 pounds overweight, if you saw her now you'd shocked because this women has muscle definition that puts most men to shame. She said that she couldn't look at carbs without gaining weight. Some folks process carbs differently when it comes to weight loss/gain. Your body might just might be sensitive and reacts by putting on the weight. As I mentioned before you are a BEAUTIFUL young lady and shame on your sister for teasing you about your weight. Don't let her get to you...I know that's easier said than done but you keep you head up young lady. And stop crying....tears mess up that pretty make-up. Hugs,XXXXX

Jun 28, 2012

Rachel K.

aw this is so touching to read. i've never had any success losing weight because of my disorder and everything. i lost 8 last summer and this past spring i lost 14 but gained 5 of it back. i am almost jealous of the yo-yo thing, because every year i am heavier than ever before and yet i spend the whole year obsessing and trying to lose weight with no success. so, that being said, i understand why it seems hard not to envy people trying to gain weight. definitely look into possible insulin resistance, that's partly what causes me to gain weight like crazy and be hungry shortly after eating (unless i'm on a higher protein/lower cab diet). i really understand just how painful it is but i sincerely hope you find things to get you through those hardest moments.

Jun 28, 2012

Rachel K.

www.loseit.com
it's calorie counting but really easy and simple to use. my cal. budget is pretty small and that's what's difficult, but other than that, i love it. that's how i lost 14.7 pounds this past spring! (i've only ever lost 8 before and that was on a crazy ridiculously hard diet; it's the only thing that's ever worked). i'm starting back on it tomorrow. 

Jun 28, 2012

Nia H.

This thread is so helpful! Thank you @Stephanie M. for starting it. I've always been underweight and have struggled with gaining some weight. I have a really small appetite and a fast metabolism--horrible combo--which just leads me to a whole galore of unpleasant things, especially dizziness and fatigue. It's so hard to find people who understand me about this issue. I often get comments from people about how I should not complain about this which really bothers me because its really not fun being light headed most of the day or feeling really tired even when I have barely done anything all day. In fact one of my biggest fears is what @Emelie J. said about childbirth and breastfeeding. I do have a few years before I plan on having kids so I want to be a lot healthier by then. I'm going to try out some tips all of you wonderful people have posted here! Thank you! Let's keep our fingers crossed.

Jun 29, 2012

Emelie J.

Ok, first things first.
@Aferdita A. - if you, in a thread concerning healthy weight gain for people who are suffering from being underweight, say that you want to be like us for a week, I will interpret it as it sounds. You can't blame me for reading what you write, and not reading what you mean. And I was very polite in my reply, so I must say I find lashing out like this was slightly unnecessary.

I understand that there are loads of people having a hard time with weight loss, you included, but the issue here, in this thread, is not to lose weight. Stating what you did is just what I dislike about being on this side of my situation. People think I should be happy about being this skinny naturally, they think I shouldn't be complaining because they think I have what everybody wants and should aspire to be.

But just as there are people who are suffering from trying to lose weight, there are people who are suffering from not being able to gain. It's the balance of nature. However, since media does what it's so good at, we all think that being on the skinny side of this scale is better than being on the other, we who suffer from being too skinny can't get any help.

There are THOUSANDS of weight-loss plans, diets and so on, but how many weight-gain diets and programs have you seen outside an ED recovery clinic? There are always plus-size options in clothe stores and catalogs, but how many come in minus-sizes? I have to make all my own dresses because I'm too small for in-store dresses (and yes, that includes my wedding dress!). I'm just too skinny for what's normal.

And how come every time one starts to talk about weight gain, people attack you saying things like "you don't know what it's like to be like me!" and "you shouldn't be complaining" and "but at least you look good" or "at least you fit in your clothes". We all don't know what it's like to be whatever it is we haven't been, because we've never been there. The grass is ALWAYS greener on the other side, mostly because there's more shit there to manure that lawn.

Wishing to gain weight is never taken seriously, because it "ought" to be something to strive for, and it drives me absolutely nuts. But we can go on forever saying that "my situation is way worse", and we will never understand each other fully. It's sad, and I for one know how terrible it is to not be happy about the body you have. You feel locked up in it, and no matter what you do you're still trapped and it laughs at you for trying to break free.

I'm glad you don't wish for underweight, just be careful. Weight and age are just numbers, as long as you feel good and look good you shouldn't focus on the numbers. I wish you all the best of luck with finding your true self and state. If there's anything I can do, let me know. I got out of hating my body, it's (part from childbirth) the hardest thing I've accomplished and the thing I'm most proud of. It's all "in your head", after all. No hard feelings?

@Nia H., it sounds as if you and I are very similar when it comes to metabolism, the dizziness and fatigue (do you faint on a regular basis too?). Childbirth was the worst thing I have ever been through, and I doubt I'll have the courage to do it again. I hadn't slept for three nights before I finally went into labor because of the Braxton Hick's contractions. If I hadn't been in a hospital, and if my husband had not been there, I am positive my body would have given in completely. Being pregnant was also quite terrible, because the baby took all the nutrition I could get (I was very nauseous through-out the pregnancy). But, it's important to remember that all women are different, and even one woman's pregnancies are different, but preparing your body for a pregnancy is something I recommend regardless the gear your metabolism is in.

And on weight-loss in general, the best way is to use up more calories than you take in. A simple rule, a hard task, but fool-proof. :)

Jun 29, 2012

Emelie J.

"Wishing to gain weight is never taken seriously, because it "ought" to be something to strive for, and it drives me absolutely nuts." = Wishing to gain weight is never taken seriously, because it (=being skinny)* "ought" to be something to strive for, and it drives me absolutely nuts. 

Jun 29, 2012

Nia H.

@Emelie J., wow that sounds terrifying.. I'm so sorry to hear you had to go through that. I wish you and your baby good health.