I need help gaining weight

I am sorry if this post doesn't go here, but it sort of fits in three different places but it just seems that this is the best forum for it.

I am very thin (I weight about 35Kg and measure 1.65m) and I am strugglng a lot in order to gain weight.

I am 22 and due to economical issues I haven't been able to eat every day, much less three times a day for the past 7 years. I am very very skinny and pretty much look as if I just came out from a concentration camp. Even though I menstruate the rest of my body looks like a child's not a woman's (ex. I don't have any boobs they never "came out").

Anywqys I would like some council on what should I eat and how and when. I need to mention I also suffer from narcolepsy, so I can't follow a strict eating schedule because sometimes I just fall asleep, but of course I can make up by eating later or staying up until late and stuff like that.

I would like to learn to use the tools given by calorie count to keep track of my nutrition I just don't quite know how.

I was also wondering if I can do exercise, like swimming for example. I am afraid of screwing things up.

Thanks for your help in advance.

To sum it up: eat more than you burn.

1) Log what you do eat in a day.  It should be at least 2000, especially as your trying to gain weight, but it's probably not.

2) If you want meal plans, you can check on the "what did you eat today?" threads on the maintainers', young calorie counters', or weight gainers' thread.  These will usually have anywhere from 1500-4000+ calorie plans, and you can choose the food you like.

3) You can exercise if you would like, just make sure you eat enough calories to cover what you burn.  If you're seeking to gain muscle, try lifting weights instead of cardio.

4) You need to eat an extra 500 calories a day to gain a lb a week.  If you aren't gaining, up your calories by 500.

Ok I'm not sure if those meal plans will suit me for I am vegtarian but I will check.

As for the exercise, can I swim? or will that make me loose weight? how do I even know how many calories I burn when I swim or lift weights? I'm not sure if I wll have the time or money to lift weights(besides I don't know ANYTHING about gym, so I wouldn't really now what to do everyday...)... so it would be easier for me to simply swim.

Thank you for the rest, thanks so much for your reply.

Original Post by bhumiji:

I am very thin (I weight about 35Kg and measure 1.65m) and I am strugglng a lot in order to gain weight.

Am I reading this correctly?! You're 35kg and 165cm tall? That would put you at a BMI of 12.9, which is severely underweight. I'm surprised you have not been admitted to a hospital, because at that weight I would be expecting your internal organs to be shutting down and for your body to cease functioning properly.

Sorry, but I would ignore what clickymouse said about exercise. You shouldn't be thinking about exercise at this point - you would most likely do more damage to yourself than you would good. At this point, you desperately need more fat on your body. When you start gaining, though, you will of course gain muscle as well - in addition to essential organ tissues!!

Forget swimming. While it is both cardio and resistance training, the cardio aspect would make you lose fat. When you are at a much, much healthier BMI is when you can start thinking about exercising to build more muscle. Until then... please, don't.

I see that you have 'economical issues', but there are many kcalorie-dense, cheap foods that can help you gain weight. Peanut butter is a classic example, and is packed with healthy fats and isn't that expensive.

I would second the idea of looking at the weight gainer's thread (and the young weight gainer's thread) for ideas on what to eat. You won't find meal plans less than 2,500kcals there, however, and that is exactly the way it should be. You should be eating more than that to gain.

I probably haven't very accurately answered your question - feel free to reply + message if you need help. At your BMI, though, I would highly recommend going to see a medical professional. At the very least, you should increase your intake of kcalories immediately to start gaining to a safer weight.

Original Post by coeurage:

Original Post by bhumiji:

I am very thin (I weight about 35Kg and measure 1.65m) and I am strugglng a lot in order to gain weight.

Am I reading this correctly?! You're 35kg and 165cm tall? That would put you at a BMI of 12.9, which is severely underweight. I'm surprised you have not been admitted to a hospital, because at that weight I would be expecting your internal organs to be shutting down and for your body to cease functioning properly.

Sorry, but I would ignore what clickymouse said about exercise. You shouldn't be thinking about exercise at this point - you would most likely do more damage to yourself than you would good. At this point, you desperately need more fat on your body. When you start gaining, though, you will of course gain muscle as well - in addition to essential organ tissues!!

Forget swimming. While it is both cardio and resistance training, the cardio aspect would make you lose fat. When you are at a much, much healthier BMI is when you can start thinking about exercising to build more muscle. Until then... please, don't.

I see that you have 'economical issues', but there are many kcalorie-dense, cheap foods that can help you gain weight. Peanut butter is a classic example, and is packed with healthy fats and isn't that expensive.

I would second the idea of looking at the weight gainer's thread (and the young weight gainer's thread) for ideas on what to eat. You won't find meal plans less than 2,500kcals there, however, and that is exactly the way it should be. You should be eating more than that to gain.

I probably haven't very accurately answered your question - feel free to reply + message if you need help. At your BMI, though, I would highly recommend going to see a medical professional. At the very least, you should increase your intake of kcalories immediately to start gaining to a safer weight.

Wow...I didn't catch that.  Sorry, ignore what I said.  You are at a potentially fatally dangerous weight.  Everthing that bhumiji said.