Weight gain and exercise

I am a new member to this site. So far I am very impressed by the level of information and advice that other members are prepared to share. I have learnt alot already...... thankyou!

My current weight is 170lbs which is the heaviest I have ever been. My goal for 2009 is to reach 185lbs which would be a huge result. This requires approximately 3000 calories per day which I barely achieve.

The purpose for creating this topic is that my active exercise regime (weights and cardio related sports) may be .... (is) undermining my weight gain efforts. My immediate reaction is to stop with my exercise but I feel I will suffer in other ways. Alternatively, I could just try and eat more and work closer to an intake of 4000 calories to compensate for my activities.

Do other people have these issues? I am hoping there is somebody out there who may have a suggestion to help me decide what is best to do; i.e -eat more or exercise less.

You can do both. Eat more, and exercise a bit less. I make 3000 to 4000 calories a day quite easily but I encorporate liquid calories and high calorie low density foods in and eat six times a day. You mention that you're new, and I don't know if you've seen it already but here is a link worth your viewing: The Aim is to Gain: Advice on Weight Gain, Whatever Your Reason

In particular, A SAMPLE MEAL PLAN OF 3000 CALORIES - with ideas to take it up to 3500!

And, this is what I ate on Tuesday. I do not count to the exact as I'm recovering from an eating disorder, myself, and find being too finicky makes me anxious. Instead I largely work with portion sizes and visual guides.

Yesterday:

B: A bowlful of sultana bran, soymilk, almonds, a large banana chopped and dried dates. Two hardboiled eggs and a 125g soy yoghurt.

S: A Trek bar (a raw food bar, much like a Larabar) and more almonds.

L: I made spinach and pine nut pasta, but made it with sundried toms instead of mushrooms, and soy parmesan instead of... actual... parmesan. I'm lactose intolerant.

S: Empty 500g yoghurt pot filled roughly halfway with (homemade, whole fat) hummus, eaten with a mix of crudites and olive breadsticks.

D: After making pasta I didn't much feel like cooking. Was also feeling quite woozy and so threw together one tin tinned chickpeas, 250g~ (half a pot) natural soy yoghurt, garam masala, cauliflower and peas with one pack instant brown rice and made a "curry".

S: Grilled banana PB sandwich with honey and a (500ml) glass of warmed up soymilk.

Thanks so much for taking the time to respond. Your advice was great! I realised that one of my drawbacks to meeting my desired calorie intake was breakfast time. In my case, I exercise in the morning and then head straight to work. This means my calorie intake doesn't really start till mid morning or lunchtime.

So today I took your advice and after the gym I went to the supermarket and brought the eqivalent of your Tuesday breakfast (with some minor adjustments) So far I am already over 1000 calories which means I am in a better position to meet my target.

So, is a fried Banana and PB sandwich really nice?? Never tried it.

You mentioned high calorie liquids you incorporate into your diet? Do you have a link where we could get our hands on some of them handy? Would love to be able to just knock back 3 or 4 milkshakes a day with a few hundred calories in each!

To Choc_09 - I would highly recommend eating more and maintaining your current level of exercise. Odds are, if you slow down your exercise and increase your calorie intake you'll just end up feeling sluggish and bloated or something awful like that. If you enjoy exercising, keep doing it! Just eat more while you're at it! Try to carry little packages of food with you during the day. You should never not have a few packages of pop tarts, or other little tid-bits close at hand to munch down when you feel you have a little room in your stomach! The goal is to stay feeling "full" but not "too-full" as often as possible! Best of luck!

Donal: High calorie liquids... as in... whole milk, 100% juices, smoothies and milkshakes made with whole fat dairy (or, well, soya dairy for me) both in ice cream and milk forms with additions like bananas, avocados, seeds, nuts... I don't believe in use of supplements. They're not neccessary to gain weight.

ahhhh understandable! Thanks a million Lala :D

Agree that home made milkshakes are much better than supplements. In the past I have spent lots of dollars on protein shakes. I now conclude that there nutritional content is not all that it is said to be.

As a general question, do you guys have like a set meal plan that becomes your routine. I spent most of yesterday scouring through my kitchen trying to find the next thing to eat. I would feel more in control with a meal plan. Maybe its just a personal choice.