I need help!!

Im reading all these forums and im geting inspired by all these people! im not the only skinny one out there...i get teased a lot about my weight and it hurts me A LOT!! im trying to gain as much weight as i can in 3 months! because their is a wedding and imma bridesmaid...im afraid imma look funny/scrawny so i want to shut everyone up! i need great tips and foods that help me atleast gain 25 pounds in 3 months...im 5'8 and weigh 98 pounds!! do i have to excercise also when consuming food? i tried making a schdule of what to eat! can u please give me ur ideas and tips on what i can eat! and i need someone to be their to motivate me...thanks a bunch!

You can do it!!!

I'm new here too, our stats are pretty similar and I have a similar short term goal. Summer is coming here and at the moment I'm too self-conscious of my scrawniness to even wear short sleeves in public, let alone a swimsuit. I want to spend the summer surfing not cooped up indoors! Also I LOVE running more than anything, the further the better, but at the moment I'm not up to more than a pathetic short jog. If I gain weight I can start training and competing properly again... yay!

Good luck!!!

Hi!

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 2500 at a speed you feel comfortable with - though not overnight! - 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.

For some general advice:

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.
   
2. Eat your meals spaced out over the day - 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.
   
4. If you eat a steady 2500 after reaching it and then find you are maintaining or even losing weight, you will need to increase. Do not think about this just yet - just get to 2500 first, at your own pace. And don't jump overnight - that can be just as unhealthy and cause complications! Take your time whether it be over a space of days or a couple of weeks. 

Do not worry about 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.

If you have any further questions please ask! Good luck!

 - Ellie.

I think you should aim slightly lower than 25lbs in 3 months.  10 or 12lbs in that time-frame would be a major achievement.....