6ft2, 125lbs, Need to sort this out! Any help appreciated!

Hey Everyone!

First of all, my name is Andy! New to all of this but after having a look around the site and having a little go I am very impressed! I look forward to learning and gaining!

The current situation is, I am around 6'2, resonably active (Walk to uni each day etc) but only weigh around 125lbs!! I know this is a bit extreme. I am starting to feel very unhealthy and run down and need to sort things out quickly!

As I am off on holiday next April, I have made it my goal to hit anywhere from 170 to 200lbs, do you think this is achievable?. I have calculated this at around 4000 calories a day! I am extremly determined to do this as I need to start being healthier!

The next thing I present to you is the fact that yes, I am a student, this means 2 things. I am on some days strapped for time, what with being at uni 9 until 6 on some of these days, second being a budget is needed as I cannot afford to buy 'loads' of supplements and food. I do not want to make this task impossible but I understand it's going to be alot harder due to these factors!

Any help is greatly appreciated as this is something I am extremely keen about! If you would like to help I will keep you updated on how it all goes! I am looking for advice on full diet and a few recommended recipies aswell as any supplements that are recommended or required.

I look forward to your replies!

Kind Regards,

Andy

Hi Andy! Welcome to CC! This is going to be pretty long, so I'm going to break it down into three posts. First, the basics:

Gaining weight can be tricky for people who generally struggle with it or with fast metabolisms, but it can be done! As a general target for gaining, get your calories up to about 3000 and then go up from there. It looks like a lot but this IS a doable number - I have had to eat 3000 to 4000 calories regularly in weight gain and haven't done it with gainer suppliments or anything like that so don't worry about having to buy those!

To help you along:

1. High calorie, low density foods. These are foods that are as the name says - high in calories but low in bulk. These are not only vital in the sense that they can still easily be broken down by a stomach trying to mend itself but also because they add calories without adding bulk. Examples of these would be whole fat dairy, nuts and nut butters, avocado, oils like olive oil and canola (rapeseed) oil as two examples, oily fish, dried fruit and dense fruit like bananas as just a handful of examples. There are two threads stickied at the top of this forum: Support Recipes - while aimed more at recovering disordered eaters these may still help you - and The Official High-Cal Food List. And as another helpful point, a lot of these foods are portable!
   
2. Eat your meals spaced out over the day if you can - aim for about five to six total. Breakfast, a mid-morning snack, lunch, an afternoon snack, and dinner, or switching one of those snacks for an evening snack would be an example. This may make it easier on your stomach and mean you're not cramming calories in at three meals. If it is easier for you, devise a meal plan routine by yourself or with a nutritionist and stick with it.
   
3. This is an important one: do not weigh or measure yourself for two weeks when upping your calories. Why? Because our body will hold to a large amount of water initially. This water shows up on the scale, but is not a true indication of weight gain and will flush out after two weeks. After those two weeks you will have a better indication of whether things are working at the number you're eating at or not.
   
4. If you eat a steady 3000, and then find you are maintaining or even losing weight, you will need to increase. Do not think about this just yet - just aim to get to 3000 first.

Do not worry about specific nutrition at this point. You will probably have a higher intake of everything compared to others - and really, comparing yourself to anyone else at all isn't the way to go. The only thing I personally think is worth watching when upping calories is salt and trans fat, but as for numbers of other nutrients and food groups? Don't worry about it. Aim for carbs, proteins, fruit or veg, healthy fats and dairy in all your meals over the day, get enough fibre, and take a full multivitamin as a buffer, and you'll be fine.

You may want to weight lift and do resistance exercise during your gaining, as it helps build healthy muscle in a surplus, but be aware: cardiovascular exercising is completely counter-productive during gaining unless you are willing to eat back everything you burn. And as with any exercise, if your doctor, nutritionist or another professional tells you not to exercise at all, not even weights or yoga/pilates, then listen to them.

Nnnext, to your point on food costs. This is quoted over from another post I made:

On Food Prices

I've seen a lot of you all saying how hard food costs are hitting you. I, too, know your pain, but I have greatly reduced some of my costs a few ways.

First of all, and I know this might not be so viable for some of you, we already grow a few things in our back garden. Namely, squash, blueberries, strawberries, chillies and peaches. The squash and chillies are the only things in season right now but we have been using the little squash that are actually growing nicely. It is a good investment in the long term. You might not have a garden, but you can still grow some things in windowboxes. x]

Aim for fruit and veg that is in season and make regular trips. Only buy the fresh produce you know you are going to use within the next two to three days and make sure you use it. For dry staples and cupboard stores, try finding a local wholetrader and buying in bulk as it saves money long term. Do not get picky about brand labels and organic food. Some things it is not worth paying organic for anyway as there is little difference in content of pesticides and what have you. I understand wanting to be eco-friendly and things but it isn't always an option when money is tight.

My dad being someone in a warehouse, he can also confirm that many things that come in a "Value" or cheap line of a store (for Britons, an example of this would be Asda Smart Price, Sainsbury's Basics ranges) come off the same trucks as their better foods. For example we have Value frozen sweetcorn and value cocktail prawns in my fridge/freezer and Value dried fruit right now that I know of that are as good as any from a more expensive line.

If you're buying fish and seafood tinned fish is still good. One thing you can afford to do is look for sustainable, seasonal fish and meat when you shop. If there are worries about mercury look at sardines and pilchards in particular - they are oily fish, contain calcium and vitamin D, and have one of the lowest mercury contents of any fish.

One of the big reasons why I eat mostly cleanly despite having to eat so much is because it costs a lot less to make your food from scratch than to buy lots of processed goods. Look at the cost of a tin of soup and then try to think how much cheaper it would be to just make a massive pot of it that you could freeze and would last you a longer time.

If you can get buy one, get one free type offers on cupboard staples particularly stock up, but if it is on fresh produce stick by the rule that I posted above: are you really going to use that in the next two to three days, before it goes bad? With how much we have to eat we can't afford to waste food - literally.

http://www.eattheseasons.co.uk/ - What is in season
http://www.fishonline.org/advice/eat/ - Sustainable fish and seafood list
http://www.healthcastle.com/organic_foods.sht ml - "What should you buy organic?" Article from healthcastle.com

And, lastly, food ideas! As well as the two lists I mentioned before - Support Recipes and The Official High-Cal Food List - here's some things that might help you:

A PB and banana sandwich can rack you up 550 calories pronto. One large banana is about 110 calories. Four teaspoons of PB are about 60 calories each. Two slices of wholemeal bread will rack you about 90-100 calories per slice. Banana, plus bread? 310. Plus the four teaspoons of PB? 550. Very nice grilled or with a drizzle of honey added in if you're up for it.

You could try making a smoothie with some milk and/or yoghurt, honey, nuts and a banana, and other fruits of your choosing. Smoothies and milkshakes can be bottled and taken places. If you have the time to sit down, an ice cream sundae can be made in the same sort of manner. Oatmeal/porridge is also a good base for denser foods - you can easily stir in nut butters, nuts, and dried fruit into oatmeal and make it with milk and it's still easy on the stomach. Chocolate is awesome too!

Stir fry is easily done. Just do it up in oil and throw in some cashews or peanuts or similar to help bring up calorie content. Peanut sauce works in the same manner, but there are all sorts of nut butters, not just peanuts! Macadamia and cashew are delicious. Pasta bakes can be made calorific. You could also make a grilled cheese sandwich or two!

For portable foods, try making trail mix with nuts, dried fruit, dry cereals and extras like chocolate chips, yoghurty bits and such. Sandwiches, wraps and other similar meals are good for carrying around, as are loaded salads (aka, a salad with a dense protein like oily fish, whole fat dairy or nuts, or certain pulses like lentils and chickpeas as well, and olive oil dressing) in containers. And don't forget to enjoy junkier choices once in a while too. :D

Well, What can I say!

What a great start, I greatly appreciate this speedy reply! I will be shopping next on Sunday, I shall therefore be buying plenty of the above mentioned! Getting into the routine should be ok as I have a bit of time to be making these foods so thats good!

Do you recommend things like salmon/tuna or tikka chicken wraps with salad etc for uni? I have a blender already so can start making some nice little smoothies to bottle up. Will look at getting some berries etc. I already eat alot of bananas but will broaden my horizons :)

What sort of yoghurt would you recommend to mix with cereals, nuts etc? Once again thank you for such a great reply!!

Andy

Hi Andy!

It sounds like you're really up for this so good for you!  I'm at Uni as well, and I don't know what it's like for you, but a lot of the day I'm on my feet, rushing from class to class, to the library, to see friends and everything, which means I burn a lot more calories than I actually think I do, something to keep in mind!  Your idea of a smoothie bottled up is a great one, I'm also addicted to the eat natural bars because they're tasty and semi-good for you!  As for the wraps, I think it's a really good idea, but as an afternoon snack!  Often I'll take a bit of what I've had for dinner in as a lunch, that can be a pasta salad or, more likely for me, a couscous salad.  Soups in a thermos with a roll are great as well, especially with the cold weather coming....make sure you're eating though, eat through lectures, eat through classes, eat while walking, raisins and little bagsof fruit and nuts are great....and don't forget to eat either.  I have a three hour seminar that runs right through afternoon tea - I went to see the tutor about it, and now it's a seminar ritual - we stop half way through for tea and biscuits...we're the envy of the department!  But any way you can, just make sure you keep it up!  Bananas are great in porridge, as for smoothies, strawberries and blackcurrants are yummy made with yogurt and honey! in the morning, also, greek yogurt with honey and muesli is really nice, and, as I'm sure ANYONE on this thread will say: NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE VALUE OF PEANUT BUTTER!  seriously, I think we should get t-shirts.

Hope this ramble somehow helps

-T

Something I need to say....

NUTS!!!!! Try almonds, cashew, peanuts, or whatever nuts....just grab and walk with it. For the past month, I have been overeating on them because the portion are tiny and I forgot how much I already eat....result for me was....5 lbs gaining...yeah...

And banana...and raisin....there are so many healthy food that could make you gain weight!! By the way, you might also want to do a LITTLE bit of weight training...just make sure that what you gain will also make you look tight and strong, not flabby gaining. 

Actually, I'm on a weight lost/maintaining site but in case these might help. (Im 16 years old, 5"1, 113 lbs....used to be 108 and trying to get back on that.)

Hey Andy!

        Everyone is right in suggesting nuts and nut butters. You'll find they're high in calories but also high in the heart-healthy fats, making them a good idea nutritionally speaking. I'd like to suggest a few other things, too.

        When I discovered my (picky eater!) kids weren't getting enough calories in a day, I started giving them milk (abt. 120 cals. for an 8 oz./ 240ml glass of 2% lowfat) and unsweeetened fruit juices (100- 110 cals per glass, depending on variety of juice) with their meals instead of water. I also started putting real butter on their sandwiches, toast and vegetables, which is 100 calories per (1 TBSP/14g) serving. These are great ways to add some fast calories without feeling like you're having to eat a lot of extra food. And it really helped my kids significantly with their calorie intake.

        Also, thick crust pizza has WAY more calories than thin crust pizza, and the cheese is high in fat and calories, making that a sure bet for weight gain. So if you're buying pizza at the cafeteria for lunch, "get more bang for your buck" as we say in the U.S., and order the thick crust kind.

        Finally, I've heard (though I haven't researched it personally) that some of those protein powder drinks the weight lifters use are high in calories. They can also be quite expensive. But if your family celebrates Christmas & birthdays, maybe you could ask them to buy you some of those giant containers of protein powder as a gift, for shelf- stable snacking while you're away at school. Come to think of it, even if they don't celebrate Christmas & birthdays, they might enjoy getting that for you as a gift if they knew you'd really use it.

       &nb sp; I hope this helps. Blessings on your weight gain venture... bubbasgirl.

       &nb sp;