Lila9

How to gain weight effectively?

10 posts in this topic

Hey everyone,

I'm a woman in my mid 20's and I'm pretty skinny.

By BMI, I'm underweight.

I weight 52/53 and my height is 173.

I'd like to gain at least more 5 kg but ultimately I'd to gain even 10 kg

Why I want to gain weight? I can't say that I feel particularly bad, but I do experience low energy, fatigue, concentration problems. I can't say that it has a major effect on my daily function but I see some effect and I suspect that it's because of my weight.

My periods are normal which is an indication that my body isn't in that bad state.

As you've probably assumed I have fast metabolism and it's hard for me to gain weight.

I don't have problems with my appetite, usually I have good appetite and I enjoy eating and this is why I feel so frustrated because I can spend days on eating a lot of calories and see no change in my weight.

It might be that I don't eat as much as I think I eat, but it also can be something in my body, additional to my fast metabolism, that might be the reason I struggle to gain weight such as illness or some other dysfunctionalities in my body that I'm not aware to.

Also:

1. I'm usually an healthy person with no health problems except of skin irritation from time to time, runny nose at springs and some mid stress that I'm experiencing at work. 

2. My diet is vegetarian and I don't eat eggs

3. I work 5 days a week for 7-8 hours in a sitting job and usually I eat less at work than I eat at home

4. I have some natural urge to move and do something with my legs like walking, and moving my body even when I'm sitting, I'm also naturally walk fast and I find it harder to walk slowly (and also to eat slowly)- by Indian Ayurveda I'm probably the type Vata.

5. I want to gain fat. I less care about gaining muscle mass

Given that info, I'd love to get some advices on how to gain weight in an effective way but also without damaging my health. Especially from those who are vegetarian, have a fast metabolism and successfully gained weight (if this even possible to gain weight in my situation and I'm not deluding myself).

 

Thank you❤️

 


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You want to eat high calorie dense food because you can eat a lot of them before you get full. Pretty much all junk food is suited for that but you want to do it healthy which severely lowers the options but here are a few that come to mind. Nuts, nut butter, olive oil, dates, liquid food (banana, oats, peanut butter weight gainer for example).

I would track calories for a few days so you can see how much you actually eat.  

Edited by Jannes

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@Lila9 I recommend looking into ways to stimulate hormones that are involved in gaining weight. I think weight gain and loss are largely hormonal, so looking into how to influence the underlying hormones is likely going to be productive.

And yeah also I would say track your calories now, to get a sense of your baseline. And then work to add foods that high in calories but still healthy, and see if that doesn't lead to weight gain.

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It’s going to be tough to gain weight as a vegetarian…

As mentioned above calorie dense foods will be your friend. Increasing things like but butters and dairy products would be a good place to start 


The game of survival cannot be won. 

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I would definitely suggest adding some strength training in the mix. I know you said you mainly want to get fat but imagine that at 52kg you will gain 10kg of fat. That means increasing your body weight by nearly 20% by fat tissue. While you will get to a BMI of about 20.5m - 21.5 which is considered "normal", carrying all that fat which is not natural to your body may cause you issues down the road once you get older. 

It would be good idea to try doing some strength training instead. The primary reason being that if you are of lighter weight and mostly sedentary, your risk of osteoporosis by the time you hit 50 is significantly higher than it would be of a heavier person so regularly putting strain on your bones will protect you from that. Also gaining muscle mass is a relatively easy way to gain healthy weight - it is better for your brain, better for your menstrual cycle regularity & hormonal health, better for your immune system and it protects your heart and cardiovascular system. If you have never been in the gym, get 2-3 sessions with your local gym PT to show you what and how to do stuff. If gym does not resonate, there are other ways to get moving and exercise so definitely don't limit yourself to one thing. 

In combination with gym, it is important to be in caloric excess to gain weight, means eating slightly more than is required for your height/weight. You could work with someone to help you define your goals and where you need to be calorically speaking. I know a few female nutritionists who specialise in female health & athleticism in women if that sounds interesting, I can give you a few recomms. 

Others have already suggested similar thing. As a vegetarian, you need to put slightly more attention on your diet but it can easily be done as at 52 kg your protein requirement for healthy weight gain is going to be about 52*1.4g = 72.8g. Then you will match that with eating sufficient amount of healthy carbohydrates (legumes, wholegrains, vegetables, sweet potatoes etc) and with each portion add some healthy fats. 

Sleep is important too but that's really the basics of it. 

Remember that you want to gain that weight very slowly, maybe over  period of next 24 months. Allow your body to adapt to that metabolic switch. 

Good luck 

 


“If you find yourself acting to impress others, or avoiding action out of fear of what they might think, you have left the path.” ― Epictetus

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On 7/20/2022 at 11:26 AM, Michael569 said:

I would definitely suggest adding some strength training in the mix. I know you said you mainly want to get fat but imagine that at 52kg you will gain 10kg of fat. That means increasing your body weight by nearly 20% by fat tissue. While you will get to a BMI of about 20.5m - 21.5 which is considered "normal", carrying all that fat which is not natural to your body may cause you issues down the road once you get older. 

I'm not that educated about this subject so it's kinda surprised me but at the same time that makes sense.

I put an emphasis on getting fat because I don't want to have this gym body with developed muscles and almost no fat like a man, but to have more rounded and curvy body.

On 7/20/2022 at 3:04 AM, Raptorsin7 said:

@Lila9 I recommend looking into ways to stimulate hormones that are involved in gaining weight. I think weight gain and loss are largely hormonal, so looking into how to influence the underlying hormones is likely going to be productive.

I'm a bit cautious about dealing with my hormones but that's an interesting idea, I'll look into that.

 

@Jannes

@King Merkrk

 This is what I've been doing for some period of time lately but I see no gain and this is what frustrating me. 

 

Thank you for all your comments, that was helpful ❤️

Edited by Lila9

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On 7/19/2022 at 3:19 PM, Lila9 said:

but I do experience low energy, fatigue, concentration problems.

 

On 7/19/2022 at 3:19 PM, Lila9 said:

2. My diet is vegetarian and I don't eat eggs

there you have it.

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3 hours ago, Arcangelo said:

 

there you have it.

I felt worse when I ate meat and eggs, then I really felt sick. There are people who can't feel healthy without it, but for me it's the complete opposite. 


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I was stuck at 79kg for a long time. What helped me break through this plateau was oatmeal. Not a friend, but you could also try potatoes.

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Try eating more of your calories from fat. Fat is over twice as many calories by weight compared to protein and carbs. Protein and carbs are also more satiating in general, so you’ll be able to get in a lot more calories easily by upping the percentage of calories you get from fat. For losing weight, the inverse advice would work. Less fat, more protein and carbs. 


Everybody wanna be a mystic, but nobody wanna dissolve themselves to the point of a psych ward visit. 
https://youtu.be/5i5jGU9wn2M?si=-rXSAiT1MMZrdBtY

 

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