How can I gain muscle without gaining fat?
Asked by anonymous on Aug 15, 2008
in Eating Disorders
I´m 18, 5'4" and 90 lbs. Obviously, I am underweight and I DO want to do something about it. I want to gain about 7 lbs but I´m just not sure how to start. What really bothers me is that I lost pretty much all of my muscle, and I want it back! I am not an active person and I do not have energy for sports anyway. How can I gain weight - primarily muscle - without gaining too much fat? I'm scared to death of having that nasty belly fat. Does eating loads of protein help?
Answer
The healthy weight range for your age, height and gender is 102 – 150 lbs, and so you need to gain a minimum of 12 lbs to reach the bottom of the range. Start by eating 2200 calories and 100 grams of protein a day. You can train with weights to build muscle, but training only works if you meet your calorie needs. If you don't eat enough, you will continue to breakdown your tissue and compromise your overall health. Eat this amount of food in one day:
- 3 cups of milk
- 2 cups of fruit
- 3 cups of vegetables
- 7 ounces of grain-based foods
- 6 ounces of meat (cooked portion)
- 3 tsp of oil
- 300 calories to spend anyway you’d like
It would be great if you could work a therapist or dietitian while you are trying to gain.
So you can keep track of what you eat - which enables you to analyze your foods and receive the following:
- Health Score of your overall diet
- Warning when you approach your daily calorie limit
- Overview of the good and bad nutrients