If you’re naturally thin, then a proper weight gain diet becomes absolutely crucial in your endeavor to gain healthy lean muscle mass, probably far more so than your weight training program. The purpose of this article is to outline the fundamentals of a good weight gain diet and then we’ll look at specifically what and when you could eat over a sample day.
First up, is something you’ve almost certainly heard before…
Consume More Calories
The only way to gain weight whether it’s fat or muscle, is to consume more energy than you expend. There is no escaping this basic law of human anatomy regardless of how many explanations you hear to the contrary. Admittedly some of us have faster metabolisms than others but that simply means that those who do need to eat even more again.
The basis of any weight gain diet should contain nutritious, high calorie foods. If you find to hard to put on weight then the greatest challenge you face is to consume enough energy without feeling full all the time. Don’t worry it can be done… quite easily!
So how many calories should you consume? Well, there’s probably a separate formula for everyone who asks the question. Some base it solely on your weight and age, others take lean mass into account and the most complicated have you recounting every bit of activity during a typical day…
There’s a short article at the bottom of this page that has some formulas for calculating your caloric needs. It also briefly explains basal metabolism and why it’s important.
To sum up, calorie counting isn’t much fun and this is not something you have to do long term. Once you establish a quantity of food and energy that maintains your ideal weight, you will know instinctively how much to eat each day.
Protein
The issue of how much protein we should consume incites fierce debate between Nutritionists, Bodybuilders and Sports Scientists alike. We’ll leave the debate for another article dedicated to the protein issue. For now…
Just know that Federal Drug Administration (FDA) recommends 50g of protein per day for the average male adult and the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends 56g. But this is for the average sedentary Westerner…
The Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for protein intake is 0.8g per kg or 0.36g per lb of bodyweight. A 140lb person would need to consume about 51g to meet their RDA. Sports Scientists concede that athletes and bodybuilders need more than this and conservatively recommend up to 1.5g per kg or 0.7g per lb of bodyweight. However…
If you talk to the vast majority of bodybuilders they will advocate a much higher intake than this. And they have some convincing arguments. In fact although in the minority at the moment the anecdotal evidence from bodybuilders is being backed up by some credible research. According to many lifters, coaches and some sports nutritionists an ideal weight gain diet should contain up to 2g per kg or 0.9g per lb of protein. This might seem like a lot but don’t forget you are consuming more calories than the general population and those calories have to come from somewhere. Is it unhealthier that they come purely from carbohydrates or just from fat? It’s probably best it it comes form all three.
So why is protein important?
From a weight gain perspective protein is made up of amino acids. There are 20 in total and 8 essential amino acids must come from food. Weight training increases the demand for amino acids and will break existing muscle down if it does not get enough from a weight gain diet. Without adequate protein, and more specifically, amino acids muscle gain is unachievable.
Good sources of protein include fresh and canned fish, lean cuts of red meat, chicken, turkey, low fat milk and yogurt, low fat cottage cheese, egg whites, soy products and whey protein powder.
Carbohydrate
Any weight gain diet worth its salt will contain plenty of unrefined carbohydrates. Just because you’re increasing your protein intake does not mean you should omit or even limit your carbohydrate intake.
Carbohydrate, which is converted into glucose and glycogen in the body, is the only macronutrient that can supply your body with an immediate source of energy – essential for any type of training.
Good sources of carbohydrate for a weight gain diet include whole meal bread, potatoes, brown rice, pasta, couscous, fresh and tinned fruit and dried fruit.
Fat
Certain dietary fats are crucial to both your well being and your ability to gain weight. One gram of fat contains more than twice the number of calories than 1g or protein or 1g of carbohydrate. A tablespoon of Flaxseed Oil contains as many calories as a banana for example so it makes sense to incorporate good fats into your weight gain diet. What is good fat?
Without going into too much detail about how fat is subdivided, the fats you want to consume are monounsaturated fats found in olive oil and avocados, and polyunsaturated fats found in oily fish, flax, sunflower, safflower and cod liver oil and some raw nuts.
Essential Fatty Acids (EFA’s) are what the health care professionals love to talk about. And with good reason. EFA’s also known as Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids are found in polyunsaturated fats, particularly oily fish. As well as having a numerous health benefits they also play an important role in muscle building.
In short, a weight gain diet containing fish like mackerel, tuna and salmon (to name a few) or supplemented with a product like Flaxseed oil will not only help you build muscle but will keep you alive longer too.
Meal Frequency
Finally, forget about eating 3 large meals a day with a few snacks. The best approach to an effective weight gain diet is to eat 5 or 6 small meals a day. Separate them by 3 hours so your stomach has time to digest each meal fully. If your goal is to consume 3300Kcals a day I would eat 3 larger meals of about 700kcals and 3 smaller meals of about 400kcals. You will find an example in one of the articles below.
One last point before we wrap up. Eat a variety of fruits and vegetables. They are the richest source of vitamins and minerals (particularly antioxidants) and have both health and weight gain implications.
The elements above have the most influence of your level and rate of weight and muscle gain. There are other important factors we haven’t touched on such as vitamins and minerals, fiber, water, alcohol and cholesterol… all very important to your health.
Now that you have a good grounding of what an effective weight gain diet should incorporate you can use this article as a starting point for reaching your weight goals.
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can you help me? i am 15, female and only weigh between 4.5 and 5 stone and i am around 5 foot tall. nothing i do helps me put on weight and i eat alot of food. more than most people. i am going to the docs tomorow about it but i doubt they will do anything as long as i am eating. is there anything i can do?
Hey Peter, i was hoping you could chuck some advice my way too!
I’ve just turned 19, weigh about 65kg (145lbs) and im about 5ft7. I recently put on about 3 or 4kgs from training (so at 65kg at the moment). Have an athletic build, decent abs, but skinny legs. Ive been gyming training for about 4 months straight now, with previous on and off periods. I have alot of commitment and always work hard in the gym. The one factor for me that is a major flaw, is diet. I know how much of a major component it is to put on size and weight but i don’t quite have the know-how to do it. I would really appreciate some help in planning a diet. I’m hoping to weight up to 70kg and more over the next 8 months. Commitment is not an issue and i have plenty of time to cook meals etc.
I’m trying to write out a mon-sun eating plan. With eating times of 8am, 10.30am, 1pm, 4pm, 7pm and 10pm. If you could give me some pointers on what to eat at these times it would be great. ie. 2 servings of pasta a day, 3 servins of tuna, gallon of milk per day…
I also have protein shakes(mega gainer), need to buy some more this week, but will be taking 2 a day.
My basic goal is to put on size and muscle. Ripping up is something i know i can do once i have achieved my weight gain goals.
My email address is mccoverdoggie1@hotmail.com… if you could get into contact with me it would be much appreciated. Perhaps i can send you the spreadsheet and you could fill it out with foods/meals.
Hi i’m 21 yo 6ft3 11.5 stone training hard now like u have said above but was wondering if you could tell me if i should do different muscle groups in different days or all in a day or what?? and what meals (description) i should be eating and when.Would really appreciate an email or comment back and also which protein/weight gainers should i buy and when should i have them. Thanks.
HELP!
Im a skinny 16 male who is trying to gain some weight. I have decided to eat six meals a day with the carbohydrates and the proteins to help gain weight. Was wondering if I should force myself to do as many push ups as I can everyday to help with muscle growth since you said that working out is important. But you also said something about the recovery phase so I am not sure if doing excessive push ups everyday is a good idea. What do you think?
Good information. I liked how you went explaining protein intake because it is a highly debatable subject. I personally think some bodybuilders say to take way more protein than you really need.
But I believe at looking at all the angles and would say that if you are eating animal proteins then you would have to eat more protein than if you were eating plant based proteins. Since our bodies were not designed to eat and digest meat, I believe allot of the protein never gets digested and absorbed by the body. however if you were to eat plant based proteins like beans, nuts, seeds. Then your body would be able to break down the protein way easier and most of it will be used instead flushed down the toilet. The same thing with the protein powders, if you take 30 grams of protein with whey, you can take 15 grams of protein with hemp protein powder and you would absorb about the same amount as you would with the whey.
Pretty interesting if you ask me, maybe we aren’t designed for animal proteins.
Michele and Amber: Read what I have written to some of the other female members… and try eating a lot of peanut butter.. A LOT! every day, along with 3 days heavy lifting at the gym a week and tons of calories. Should help some, but realize that you guys are teenagers with metabolisms so fast that its going to be real hard to gain real weight until you are in your mid 20’s. Probably upsetting to hear, but there isn’t much way around it.
Irish Steve.. I just emailed you directly
Matt: I work out 4 days a week very heavy and do abs/calves on the 5th day or sometimes do chest again on the 5th day. Im 5′ 10″ weighing 156 which hasn’t increased much since im working so much, but my strength keeps increasing slowly. Benching 235 four times without a spotter, and squatting 265 six times as of now. Let us know where you are in terms of your strength so a plan can be designed for you. I can only tell you what works for me.. I do chest/traps monday, quads/hamstrings tuesday.. off wednesday… shoulders/bi’s thursday, back/tri’s Friday. Eat a good portion of carbs/protein/fat with every meal (though limit fat after workouts) because fat blocks absorption into muscles. eat 4000cals a day broken into 5-6 meals. I use Cyto-gainer for my protein/weight gain shakes. 2 a day adds about 1300 cals.
Timothy.. being that you are 16 I would say that doing push-ups every OTHER day to exhaustion would be ok for you, not every day. Though normally, 1 day of recovery isn’t enough… but since you might only be doing one set until exhaustion.. its not that much stress on the musclesThat is only if you are not working out hard at the gym… because if you are working out at the gym then either forget the pushups for do them after your gym workouts, so as to not fatigue your muscles too early in the day.
Cory Cook: Yes I think bodybuilders say to eat WAY to much protein. Though I have to disagree with your statement about humans not being designed to eat meat. Why would we have CANINE teeth if we weren’t meant to eat meat? Just like dogs and cats have canine’s to tear flesh from prey… we have them too… though through evolution ours have began to look somewhat like our grinding teeth or our front incisors. We are omnivorous.. and I don’t think you would get as much response from your body only eating plant proteins as if you were eating both plant and animal. This is strictly my opinion… im not an expert by any means. Im not here to start a heated debate because I could care less.. Just trying to help some people feel better/look better because I know how it feels to feel skinny all the time. Now I look like a thin bodybuilder, and people sometimes think im on steroids at the gym since im so vascular. I’ve never done steroids and never will, so I take it as a compliment. Good luck to yourself.
Hey Peter,
I really need your help bro!
Im 20, 6 ft 3 and i weigh a measly 135 lbs. I have been at 135 lbs for YEARS (is that even normal?). I tried push ups, going to the gym for 2 months nothing works! After the whole gym thing i lost about 4 lbs, which i regained after i stopped going to the gym. I suspected my problem was the diet, Where i work i cant just take a meal break every 3 hours. Can you recommend a 3 meal plan which can help me gain weight?
Thanks!
Hi David,
That’s a great introduction to weight gain.
Just picking up from the ‘Fats’ section, i thought some people might find this useful as a way of being able to consume extra calories throughout the day, healthily and easily.
I’m no nutritional expert, and I’m not a doctor or anything like that, so what I’m telling you hear is just from my own experience, but raw nuts, which i believe are beneficial to health in many ways, are a great source of extra calories. Different nuts have different nutrients and vitimins enriched, and they’re pretty much all high in fibre. (Having plenty of fibre in your diet is extremely important for your overall health.)
If you consider raw walnuts. A personal favourite as it’s a good source of fibre and is also a natural source of folacin which helps your body make healthy red blood cells.
A full handful of these nuts contains a whooping 350 calories!
350 Calories – in just one serving!
The average man needs 2500 calories to keep him going throughout the day and to maintain their natural weight. (I’d hazard a guess that the average SLIM man needs far less than that per day to maintain their natural weight)
You’ve just taken care of 15% of your caloric intake for that day in less than 10 minutes of snacking on a handful of raw nuts.
If you were to have just 3 main meals a day and also snack on just one handful of raw nuts (throughout the day), you would easily be reaching 2800 calories per day, far more than you need to just maintain weight, and you would be gaining (healthy) weight almost as quick as you can name every variety of nut there is.
And personally, I have two servings throughout the day. (Anymore than that is a bit extreme, but two servings a day I see nothing wrong with. They’re raw and they’re natural, and they’re full of great fibre and nutrients.) This gives me another 700 calories a day ON TOP of my regular meals.
And also, you’re right about good fats! And how essential they can be.
Walnuts for example contain essential fatty acids that help provide some of the Omega nutrients your body needs to stay healthy. Also, naturally high fibre foods do so many great things (really, you should google it), and one of the things fibre does is protect the body from storing too much fat. It actually helps PREVENT fat retention, so who cares that these awesomely nutritious raw nuts are high in fat?! Your body will only absorb the good fats and will be capable of managing the bad fats away too!
Anyway, check out my website for other similar information. It’s new, but new material will get added to it regularly.
Hey Shade,
I just read your comments and the comment below yours from David. He mentions that the average guy needs 2500 cals. a day to maintain their weight, and to add nuts to your diet to get extra calories. I would agree with adding nuts to your diet to help get extra cals and good fat, but you cannot make a blanket statement that all guys need about 2500 cals to maintain. He also mentions that skinny guys would need LESS calories to maintain body weight. In Actuality, the opposite is true. Skinny guys need MORE calories a day to merely maintain their weight.. this is why we are skinny (because it is very hard to eat more calories than we expend every day) For example if you go to the website FITDAY.com, you can enter your height, weight, age, sex, etc. and it will give you an approximation for how many calories you burn a day without exercise. For myself (5′10″ 158lbs) I burn about 2900 calories a day without exercise… so between the amount of brain power I use at work and the amount I work out at the gym, Im probably at about 3300 calories burned a day. This means I would need to eat 3300 cals a day to simply MAINTAIN my weight/muscle. I would need to add around 400-500 cals a day in order to begin gaining weight/size. I might gain about a pound or two a week for a few weeks, then would eventually plateau.
So shade, like I have mentioned to most others on here, I can’t design an exact meal plan for you…thats your job… But just take the amount of calories you need to eat a day and divide it into 3 meals if that is all the time you have to eat a day. I try and eat kind of often at work, but if i couldn’t, I would just eat a crapload when I got home from work until I went to sleep. Use protein shakes as supplements, and eat food that has the most calories per ounce. I.e. meat, pasta, whole grain breads, yogurts, whole milk, etc. Dont be afraid to eat a crappy fast food meal once in a blue moon, or a brownie if you are THAT skinny, It certainly wont kill ya. In fact, If you eat extremely clean, you wont be able to eat 4000 cals a day or more like you need. Eat a Massive breakfast too. 4 or 5 eggs, whole wheat toast, and a meat with Orange juice and potatoes if you can. This will make you eat more throughout the day. Ok, hope this helps for now.
I’m 25 years old standing 5′7 and weighs 115lbs. I been into the gym for 4 months and gained 15 lbs. But the sad thing is when i started to work I stopped going into the gym and then my weight goes back to 115lbs. So what happened? I believe that my caloric intake is the same when i was at the gym.
Hi Peter i wonder if u can help me, I’m 28 years old about 5ft 8inches and I weigh about 125lb and i find it really hard to gain weight. I would ideally want to get up to 160lb if possible I want a nice toned body and to generally look good. I want start going to the gym very soon to build the muscle however I am finding it hard to find a diet program for me to gain weight and i know this is important. I was wondering if possible if you could find the time to write me out a program that I could follow basically saying what to have for breakfast, lunch and dinner and also what snacks to eat in between meals. I have searched the internet but couldnt find anything useful. Please e-mail me back and let me know. Thanks
Hi Peter,
I have been following a workout regime for a year and a half now, when i started i was 45kgs and in nearly 3 months i managed to gain 4-5kgs making me 50kgs in weight, but after 6 months i discontinued it for about 2 months only to realize that i was losing weight again.
I have started to gym again and have been a regular since 2 months but nothing seems to change, my weight has not been increasing. I choose 2 body part everyday to exercise on and do not take breaks (7 days gym), I think my diet is not what it should be like with a workout regime and recently my trainer encouraged me to start taking protein supplement – Whey Protein.
right now my weight is 47kgs and i m 5 feet 3 inches tall. Please suggest what all shall i eat so that i can get back to being 50kgs :(
Rish
Hi there,
I’m 6ft tall and about 65kg (143lb), I have a slim athletic body shape and am attempting to gain a fair amount of weight, hopefully to reach around 75-80kg. I’m quite fit and regularly do cardio training due to playing a soccer. I have just joined a gym and was planning to go 4 mornings a week and 2 nights. Was wondering if anyone could help me in planning a diet as well as telling me what kind of training to do and whether it is better to training in the evening or morning etc. Please email me if anyone has any information that could be handy for me. Thanks :D
Everyone listen… Re-read some of the responses I have given to other people and take the same advice for yourself. I can’t keep retyping the same thing to everyone, cause its boring to readers.
Workout 4-5 days a week…NO MORE than that! YOU will be burning too many calories and not giving muscles enough time for recovery!!! 3 Might even be ok if you are training extremely heavy weight. Eat like its your job! Count your calories! Eat 4000 calories a day…( including 2 protein shakes a day). It does not matter whether you are working out early or late in the day.. unless you have more energy at one time than the other (In which case you will benefit more by working out with more energy since you will lift harder and heavier which is best). Don’t work out on an empty stomach either or your body will burn off your muscles for energy for the workout instead of the food in your stomach and you will not make any progress/ or lose weight!.. Try and fatten yourself up with food, and bulk your muscles with heavy lifting … rep ranges between 5-8 reps per set, depending on the exercise. Some exercises may need 10-12 reps (calves, traps etc.)
Also Try and never go down in the amount of weight you are lifting. Remember strength and size are directly proportional… so If you are getting stronger, you are probably getting bigger… and getting bigger means weighing more!!!!! Always use this principal…and try and outlift your last workout, even if its by a slight amount of weight.
You never see a skinny/puny kid bench pressing 250 pounds (113kg) like its nothing…. simply because his thin arms/chest cannot handle the load. Most of the time when someone is enormous, they have a lot of strength… even if they don’t lift weights at the gym.
Its a numbers game, just like everything is in life… focus on the numbers (weight, calories, reps etc.) Thats all for now
Thanks David,
And i read all of your comments to other & already trying to practice some.
I have realised that when i m hungry i can not chew so much, i take smalls meal..no matter how hungry i m, i jus cant eat alot at one go.workouts are suppoed to increase diet, right? I m sure i would be able to gain weight soon as i m doing wat is required but i woudl like to know wat all i shall do to stay there and not go down once i stop working out!
Thanks, you were a good help! God Bless!
Hey
I’m 26 and weigh about 155 pounds. I’m quite tall so I naturally look skinny. Ive been going to the gym on and off for the past 6 months and not really seen much progress. I’ve started drinking 3 protein shakes a day (METRX) which give me 20g of protein per drink. Is it safe to drink so may based on some comments above about kidneys?
Also when I do go to the gym I tend to do a whole work out (mainly because I think I’m neglecting some muscles if I don’t work them out) rather than focusing on 2 or 3 muscle areas per session – is this where I’m going wrong? Is 4000 calories a day too much or too little?
Thanks
Hello,
I’m 17yrs old, 6′5 and 163 lbs. I have been working out for about 4 weeks, and I’ve noticed myself getting a little toned, but I want to create strength and power, and of course, size. I also run everyday and I have a very high metabolism, and I stopped all my bad food intake. I want to start eating healthy, but gaining weight while doing it. I’m asking for a weekly diet, what food intake should I have? I already have routines of working out everyday, and I do different things everyday. I joined that fitday website, and it says I burn around 3,000 calories per day. But, that site is to LOSE weight, not gain weight.
But my main question, Peter, is what do you eat daily/weekly?
Hey all, Reading over all this page lets me know I am not alone, maybe skinnier than most of you but still, I am 21 year old male 125 Pounds, It is really hard for me to gain weight I have a really high matabolism I have tried multiple diets, but never really stick to much. So I have decided to give this diet a try, I workout usually early in the day which I was reading earlier on some other websites and books is not a good idea due to weight gaining should only be done at night every other day, 6 meals a day, I am wondering if anyone has any good advice I could definately use as much as possible it would be much appreciated, if anyone knows any plans I could follow that are more in detail (Such as food, times when you should work-out, a whole plan is what im looking for) I would appreciate it investin@live.com Thanks, Chad
First I would like to start by saying, Peter Moran who ever you are you have been the most help I have found online.
I don’t have the chance to get to a gym and work out nor do I have the funds to get a full weight set for my apt. so I am opting to do P90X, its on its way and should be here with in the week. I am excited about getting some extra muscle on. I am 5′6″ and a whole 110 pounds on a good day. I want 145 by the time I am done with the 90 days then see how it goes from there. I have already tried to start bumping up my cal intake but with my schedule it isn’t easy to get 3 meals in let alone 5 but I have been pounding down pasta like its going out of style. Once again thanks so much Peter you rock!
SEAN: Stop running every day. You’re burning too many calories to gain weight. Run twice a week for only a mile or two if you simply must run.
Once Again… I can’t really sit and design a meal plan for everyone on here (or you guys would have to pay me ha) since it would take a billion hours to do that for everyone with the same problems as us. But, I do want to help you guys. I am going to list the types of foods you all should be eating.. and everyone break down 3500-4000 calories of these foods a day into however many meals you can eat a day. For example if you only have time, because of school or work, to eat 3 meals a day… make sure the meals are around 1200 cals each (which is ALOT). Or if you can eat 5 meals a day… make sure each meal is around 750 cals.
FACT: Without consuming more calories than you burn a day… there is no hope of gaining weight…. but there is some hope of gaining strength.
TOM WANNEMACHER– You would probably look awesome at 5′6″ 145 lbs. Thats a big jump from your 110lb body. Its a good goal for you. Firstly, how old are you? If you are in your teens you are going to have trouble gaining that much weight. If you are in your 20’s you have a better chance. You have to lift heavy at the gym and eat like its your job everyday in order to meet this goal. Also, take a weightgainer such as Cytogainer (my muscle milk)… to help get the right amount of calories and vitamins.
JACK: whole body workouts are pretty good also. I alternate between doing 2 body parts a day for a few weeks and doing whole body workouts for a few weeks. Lift heavy though. People become complacent often and just do the same weight they are used to…then they wonder why they aren’t progressing. The muscles already know they can lift this amount of weight.. so why would they get bigger?
RISH: Stop working out 7 days a week! (4-5 days max) Rest the other days and eat like a champ on the days off!
I started high school at 110 lbs and graduated at 152lbs (5ft 10). The thing that helped me out a lot was working out every other day for about an hour or 2. I would do multiple lifts for the same muscle groups because to every major muscle there are many smaller muscles surrounding it and you need those different lifts to put emphasis on all of those smaller muscles. A muscle group that helps you look bigger and gets skipped over a lot is the traps, if you gain 10 lbs add an inch to your biceps and build your traps it will make a world of difference in your overall appearance. Don’t shy away from the red meats either, there is nothing better for you than a thick beef steak and a pile of potatoes.
Hello, I am 5-9 and 135 pounds and am in the Army as an infantry soldier and need to gain weight to keep up with the intense physical demands of the job. I am expected to carry in excess of 100 pounds over long distances, and still be able to run and fight afterwards. I am able to keep up with the demands but I think if I don’t gain some weight in muscle I’ll risk injuring my self. I hit the Gym 3 times per week, do cross fit onces a week and run 2 days a weeks. My calory intake is around 3000, maybe a little under per day. I have been exersizing and eating like this for about 5 months and have only gained 5 pounds. Any suggestions?
Hey, I’d like some help with starting to build up on what I’ve got, I’m 16, 6ft 2 and 140lbs. Because of my height it makes me look more thinner than it would if I was, I don’t know.. smaller? I have a very active lifestyle and my metabolism is extremely high, currently I work out at the gym a couple of times a week but I’m sick of looking as thin as I do as it effects my self esteem, etc. So I’m looking to gain weight & bulk up basically as it’d make me more confident and help me with the sports I play.
Help would be appreciated;
rawrskill@hotmail.co.uk
Peter,
I like what your saying, to some extent, but what are your credentials and experience in nutrition or physical training? I have been in the Personal Training and Nutrition Industry for many years and hold an undergraduate in Exercise Physiology with a minor in Nutrition. I have yet to see two people, man or woman, who are exactly the same in physical appearance or eating habits. Is it true that to SOME EXTENT men and woman can gain the same…….yes, but there are MANY genetic differences between the two genders that greatly influence this occurance. Although I find some of your information on this forum to be factual, I would stay away from giving nutritional advise to people without having first a certification or degree related to the industry. Also, as for telling the younger population (13-17 yrs old) how to gain weight and bulk up, please be very careful. What most dont realize is that until the ages of 18-23, your body does not fully mature and too much of lifting, eating, etc… can have a VERY bad effect on that person later in life. It is nice to see so many people interested in improving their body, but remember that each person is and always will be different in what works for them. Good luck with all of your ambitions to have a stronger mind, body, and spirit. Thanks!!
BodySmyth,
I have mentioned several times in my Responses to people that I am talking to about what has worked for ME to gain weight, and that Im not an actual NUTRITIONIST… I have personal trained for many years with clients and friends and have seen what works. Anyone who wants to read this and listen to it may, … or may not if they so choose. Im merely trying to help these people who are similar to myself in that we are sick of being “skinny” and want to look and feel good. I am now quite muscular and no longer skinny from training in this fashion. This is why I have repeatedly declined to people about setting up specific meal plans for them since I am not a nutrutionist, I don’t know what they look like, what their genetic background it, etc. I am merely stressing the principles that bodybuilders have been using for centuries. Weight load and calorie intake. Having said that, I do have quite a bit of knowledge of food and exercise… and if I was able to post pictures of my before and after I would for proof. In response to your comments about helping teens… I believe each person has the right to make the decision of when to start training, or training heavy for that matter. Obviously it is not an exact science of when would be “healthiest” to begin weight training for an individual… for it may alter for each person. I do not recommend training Heavy until you are at least 16 or 17. Would a doctor disagree? probably, but many doctors don’t have any justifications for this either. If the greatest athletes in the world got together and spoke with doctors about how they have trained in the past and what ages they began training… surely the doctors would strongly recommend against the amount of strain they were putting on their bodies. Though we aren’t talking about the “greatest” athletes in the world here,… we still need to apply the same message. Lastly, you have read incorrectly to the message I am sending through some of my posts about men and women… I never said that any two or more men or women are the same. To the contrary, I have written the exact opposite actually. I have stated that each person needs to figure out how many calories they burn a day, and add a certain amount over that in order to gain weight. This is a fact. When animals eat less then they are supposed to eat, they lose weight.. when they each what they are supposed to, they maintain weight… and when they eat more than they are supposed to, they gain weight. Its mainly about calorie intake. When someone has extenuating circumstances (health related) that are not the norm.. it might be more complicated than this.
Bottom line: Use common sense when lifting and always have a spotter… and if you are lifting weights that your muscles are used to.. they have no reason to grow very much. Eat Healthy, often and incorporate sports or cardio for good overall health… just not too much or you will burn too many calories to gain weight. This does not apply to overweight people. Have a routing, but do not work out too often, or your muscles will have no time to recover.
Too often doctors or professionals speak in technical terms and regular people don’t understand whats going on. I try to speak clearly, plainly, and to the point. In no way to I claim to be a PROFESSIONAL TRAINER OR NUTRITIONIST…. but I gotta tell ya, Theoretically, I would sure rather be trained in the gym by a guy who physically looked incredible, but didn’t have any degree than a fat guy with every degree/accreditation possible… but thats just me.
Thanks for the insight!
good to see the questions asked by so many people,and now i m going to be a part of them…
i m 20 years old and 5′4″ tall,now i m 47 kg,my face and skin has no glow and that’s why sometimes my confidence level goes down just due to my weak physique even i have played so many games like throw all, volley ball, bad minton, my spirits are so high and my heart is so strong but only my physique cheats me..i wanna gain 8 kg ,as i do boxing i need muscle power and internally strength as well.i m a student and walk 3 km daily… i’m vegetarian so i wanna have a proper diet chart and some guidelines for exercise so that i can have a physique like soldier… because i will be a journalist in near future and have to struggle so much.
i will really feel honored if u will help me ….
Hi, I’m 6ft1 and 165 pounds. im tryin to gain about 10lbs more being that i am naturally slim, i hit the gym like 5 times a week and take a protien powder mix. I notice im gaining alot of muscle mass, i been following the diet plan eating 5-6 times a day but the only problem is that im getting a belly on me. Cardio isnt mandatory if im tryin to gain weight, but since im getting a belly should i be doing alot more cardio to tone my stomach?
Hi. I’m 16 years old and play lacrosse for a travel team in tampa. im 6 foot 4 in and weigh 164 i want to be in the 190 – 210 range. i have an extremely fast metabolism and practice hard 3 times a week on top of working out in the gym on a regular basis. i try to fit in as much protein and carbs but it doesn’t seem to work.
any suggestions?
Hi
As my screen name suggests i am a woman. Albiet a small one, too damn small, but i do NOT want to get ripped. I just wanna put back pounds i have lost due to surgeries and tons of stress. Every diet i run across suggests the (or assumes) that i (we) all want to get ripped. I would truly appreciate help, and lots of it on how to gain back my 20 pounds so i can have a body again!
Thanx, Rosemary
hello there,
I am 14 years of age, 4′10 and I only weigh about 75-80 lbs. I’ve stayed the same weight for quite awhile now. & It seems like I can never gain anything. I do think I’m really thin because I have a big gap in between my legs when I put my feet together and I have very long and skinny arms. You can’t see my ribs but my hip bones do stick out. My mom says it’s just because I was born 3 months prematurely , but I think differently. Does me weighing less relate to me being born prematurely? Please tell me what I can do to gain weight because I’m tired of people starring at me & just assuming that I’m anorexic (Which I’m not) plus my weight makes me have low- self asteem.
Thanks for you’re help I appreciate it very much.
Hey Jase,
The advice i have for you is simple and plain. Make sure you eat breakfast, lunch and dinner and snacks inbetween. Make sure when you eat your three main meals make sure you eat until your full. Another thing is to make sure your consuming alot of carbs and protein. When your working out try to break up the muscles groups for the different days of the week. Like chest and tris one day, back and bis the second day, legs and abs another day, shoulders a different day. Stay away from doing a lot of cardio work outs like basketball, running, pretty much anything that gets your heart racing and making you breath heavy. There are also protein shakes and weight gainers you can buy as well to help you gain weight.
hey,
i am 6 foot 4 and 225 pounds, currently out of season and lifting twice a day monday-thursday and fitness on friday! looking to bulk up big time and need advice, conditioning coach covers my lifting but need help with diet!
Hey guys, you just wanted to pop in with an update, i’m up to about 71kg now!
To be honest i just wanted to come and thank pete for his advice but also for the fact that coming to this page has changed my whole outlook. The reason for this is an advert i clicked on on the top right hand side(normally i would never bother with these scams and what not) but yeah i clicked it and eventually after a few days of research decided to go with buying the package. Cost my $80 australian dollars. Best investiment i’ve ever made! Pretty much what comes with it is a 29 week workout program(tells you what exercise to do, how many reps, how many sets and how many days a week) and all the calorie eating plans you can handle. These also tell you exactly what to eat and at what times! I dont know about you other skinny guys but this is golddust information to me. I figure i NEED something written down by someone who knows what they’re talking about so i can follow it word for word! And to top it off, instead of workouting 5-6 times a week, i’m now only workin out 3 times a week and seeing better results. The idea is that your body really needs recovery and also you need to hit the certain amount of calories you need every day to allow your body to repair and grow.(it also comes with a daily calorie calculator)
Well now i gotta go to work but i’ll leave u with the name of the ad. Its Vince del monte fitness, and the thing i bought was ‘the no nonsense muscle building book’! I know i prob sound like some jerk trying to scam a product to you guys but this is genuinely me letting ya’s know that i’ve been havin really good results from this program!
I expect to put on another 10 kg and more over the next 29 weeks!
Irish steve
Hi Irish Steve
Firstly its great to hear the progress you are making! Unfortunately I’m one of those people still struggling to reach my goals. Could I ask what supplements you use and where you get it from? What kind of progress are you making with the workout you purchased?
Sean
hi peter
ive just turned 17 years old i am currently 6ft 4 and weigh in at around 15.7 stone.
i am looking to gain muscle size and also strenght and power and i would like to become over 16 stone september when the rugby season starts again
could you give me a few ideas on how my diet should be please.
my wegith training isnt to bad as my coach used to be a strongman and his dad won worlds strongest man twice :)
any geuss’s who ??? ;)
hi..this is ashu……im 5ft 9 tall …and weight is only 52 kgss…i m doing gym for last 3 mnths bt there is no improvement i m seeing i my body ..i m really disappoint….so plz help me how do i get body mass….how to eat ……my confidence is going down….i dont know wat to do…so give some tips so tat i could work better
Guys please help me, am very skinny and too tall, so to tell the truth i hate the way i look,as i keep growing taller and taller and even more skinny and disgusting. plz help me and tell me wat i should do to gain weight and to do something about the growth which makes me look even more skinny.
You all are not very fit in the brain.
READ THE ARTICLE!!!
It clearly says that if you want to gain weight in muscle, there are 2 main factors.
Diet and Excercise
(oddly enough, the same factors a weight LOSS expert will cite…hmm…interesting?)
Make your muscles grow by pushing working them silly..with proper rest of course… and feed them with protein, carbs, fruits and veggies.
I only wrote this post because in reading it appears that everyone is asking pretty much the same thing. “Help, I’m skinny…what do I do?”
hi there,
i am a 25 year old 6ft 3 thin 70kgmale like most on the site having problems gainin weight,even taking on board most of your advice for others by eating healthy with plenty of protein and carbs i am stil gettin nowhere in my goals of bulking up,il be honest and even say that a course of steroids didn even help me,would this suggest i have a problem with my metabilism?the only thing i can think of is that i play football at least 3 times a week although i feel fitter from this the only part i can see a difference in weight in my stomach(FATTER from all the food im eating)i eat about 3-4medium sized meals a day and 2 protin shakes while taking creatine too.
is there somethin in the above that im doing wrong?
Help is greatly appreciated thanks,
Bob.
Thanks for all the good information. I’m a 54 year old whose weight hasn’t changed in 35 years. I’m 6′ tall and weigh 160 lbs. (same weight I was in high school). I try to gain weight to no avail, and to top it off, I’m an executive chef. I have all the food I want at my disposal, but just don’t seem to ever be hungry. Maybe the fact that I work with food all day just turns me off to eating. When I do eat, I seem to get full very fast, and usually don’t eat much. I recently purchased a very good home gym, and I’d like to gain weight and use the home gym to increase my muscle mass. I’m more interested in toning up rather than bulking up . Any suggestions as to how to most effectively succeed at my goal would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Mark
Hey
So upon reading the previous articles, plus what my doctors, friends and family have all suggested about the same thing. I am 24 years old and am 5ft 10 and my weight floats between 110 lbs and 125 lbs, and I have always had a problem gaining weight. I am skinny but toned, but I have a very fast metabolism and have trouble keeping up with it. I know that based on the previous articles I don’t eat enough to gain weight as desired. I am not looking to gain a lot of weight but at least gain 20 to 25 lbs. My question isn’t about diet per say. I am an active person, on a daily basis I walk anywhere between 5-10 miles, as I like to walk rather than take public transportation. I have also recently begun running as it is summer and the weather permits. I don’t like the gym atmosphere and am not really interested “bulking up”, my goal is to gain a healthy weight while keeping the tone I already have with possibility of gaining some muscle.
I prefer to do out door exercise as mentioned I do enjoy jogging. Any suggestion on a work out routine that would fit this particular criteria?
My email is bakerw58@yahoo.com, please let me know if you have any suggestions.
Ayy. I’m a 15 year old guy, 5′8″, and 130 pounds even. I’m totally physically fit, I have plenty of muscle everywhere, quite athletic. I’m already a healthy weight, but I’d really like to gain some. I workout every night, a few small rotations (Core: 3 sets of 10-15; Leg raises, sit-ups, & oblique twisters.) (Chest/Arms: 3 sets of 12 on a bench press [it's a bowflex, so I don't know the exact weight]. 2 sets of 10: pushups, diamond push ups, then again, with legs elevated.) For legs I just run. I guess what I’m really ocncerned with is my diet, I wanna gain weight, but I come from a family with crazy metabolisms… I started working out 6 months ago, gained 12 pounds since.. but that’s not fast enough for me. I drink whey protein about every other day, go through 2 gallons of milk a week, eat nonstop, but what can I change in my diet or workout to gain more weight? Please&Thanks
I’m really skinny to the point where everyone I meet thinks I have an eating disorder and my. I do, but that’s not the point. My BMI is 15. My doctor and family want me to put on weight, but is there a way I can do this without eating?
Bit of an update.
I took a look at a hardgainer’s diet. Think I found my problem. I was getting plenty of protein, working out enough, but I was hardly getting the calories I needed. I took a day off of working out & counted my calories. 2200. Not nearly enough. According to a Hardgainer’s diet, I need 3200. Did it yesterday, but I’m afraid it’s not the easiest thing, to eat that much. but that was my own fault. So just for the record, if you’re going to eat a pound of steak, Don’t Stir-fry it… and hotpockets? as much as I hate them, at 340 calories & 10 grams of protein, they do make a decent snack.
I’ve got my problem sorted out, good luck everyone.
ok the problem i have is that over the past two years i have lost a lot of muscle/weight. i don’t do many daily activities at all mainly working on my computer and this is the reason i have lost a lot of weight. so i’m a bit confused that if i’m not using much energy and still consuming food to a daily/recommended amount why have i lost the weight and how do i put it back on if i’m not burning energy and still eating?
i’m a bit confused help me out please :)
ok so i’m 22 years old, 5 feet tall, and about 94 lbs, so about two years ago i was struggling with finances and wasn’t able to eat properly i weighed 85 lbs, little by little i’ve gained wait and got out of debt now i exercise regularly about every other day and try to eat as much as i possibly can. i want to weigh about 105lbs. now the problem is that my weight seems to have froze and wont move from there. i drink ensure too now i know i shouldn’t use it as a meal replacement but sometimes that is all i have time for… i really want to gain those extra 10lbs what else can i do?
Timothy: Personally I wouldn’t advise what your doing at all. You need around 3 days rest between each heavy workout, to give your muscles the chance to rebuild, especially at 16yrs old.
Basically I would just eat a diet as written above – heavy on protein, EFA’s and basically all high calorie food. Plenty of eggs; things like omelettes everyday are very good.
Regarding your workout, just doing push ups to exhaustion each day isn’t very wise either. You need a variety of exercises for your variety of muscles, and unlike what you see on TV, squats are much more important than pressing.
I first started out when I was around 15, and I did a routine some thing like this:
Upper Body: Mon, Fri, Wed (alternating)
(Sit Ups)
Bench Press
Rows/Pull Ups
Military Press
Curls
Wrist Curls
Rev. Curls
Lower Body: Wed, Mon, Fri
(Sit Ups)
Squats (!!)
Deadlifts (+Shrugs)
Leg Raises
Leg Extension
Calf Raises
Vary as you may
Peter,
I apologize for this long post, unfortunately this required a lengthy explanation.
I’m a 58 year old male, 6′0 tall and I recently dropped from 240lbs to 150lbs.in a few months.
I was diagnosed with throat cancer in December of 2009, they removed a lymph node from my neck and soon after that surgery they removed both tonsils. Within a couple weeks they removed all my teeth prior to the radiation treatments beginning
After the seven weeks of radiation treatments ended it was realized that the radiation technicians had messed up and I had been over-radiated. My stomach and intestines were severely affected by the over-radiating, as they stopped functioning completely, putting me in the hospital for two months. I lost over 80lbs. in a very short amount of time. I also learned that the chemo treatments had made me lactose intolerant. I also found out that all of the weight gaining nutritional drinks on the market contains iodine of which I am extremely allergic to.
The nutrition drink supplier, through my insurance provider, came up with a powdered weight gain shake called Scandi-Shake, but I’m having a very difficult time digesting it, making me nauseous after each shake, often unable to keep it down.
In the last several months I have talked to several “nutritionists” and now realize they are incapable of advising me in proper weight gain, especially having these allergies. The nutritionist that works for the supply company which also supplied the hospital with the Scandi-shake during my two month stay, almost killed me. She misinformed the unknowing nurses to pump the shakes into my stomach feeding tube for 23 hours non-stop in order for me to take in 2300 calories in order to “maintain” my low weight. I threw up constantly and I lost more weight fast. The problem with her directions to the nurses was that my intestines were not working and I was also on Morphine around the clock, which also stops the intestinal process.
I left the hospital two months ago after being told by the doctors that I was going to die, that I wasn’t going to survive the non-functioning intestines and the significant weight loss. They sent me to a nursing home to die. I was there about four hours and I had my brother remove me. Once I returned home, a Home Health Nurse, provided by the insurance company, told me at our first meeting how stupid the nutritionist was and also the nurses for following her directions. She slowed down the pump feedings, having my stomach and intestines take an hour break between feedings. I stopped throwing up. I then forced myself off the morphine and soon the intestines and stomach began working again.
I was told to start adding 100% whey protein to the shakes, but because it is a milk bi-product, I began having problems with it and had to stop.
Everyone I have spoken to as well as in the articles I’ve read on weight gain are basically focused on building muscle mass. I’m hoping you have a wider knowledge other than just muscle building.
The good news is that I’m getting dentures in about 2 1/2 weeks. Hopefully, this will increase more calorie intake options as my throat continues to heal. I’ve started looking at egg protein powders and the question between egg whites versus egg yolks and now I’m completely confused as what to do for protein intake. I have cases of small liquid protein packages supplied by the same supplier of the shakes, but they taste nasty and it makes the shakes very sour tasting.
I’m allergic to peanuts as well, but I am able to put Nutella, a hazelnut and chocolate spread, into the shakes, along with a little chocolate syrup, flax oil, honey and lactose free milk which makes about a 700 calorie drink. I’m realizing that if I add too many things to get the calories up to around 1500 that it makes me sick. Apparently, I’m unable to process that many calories at one setting.
Peter, I’m in a very desperate situation, as I’m still losing weight. I have yet to be able to get in more than 2000 calories in a 24 hour period without getting ill. I need to replace the Scandi-Shakes with something, or possibly a combination of things that’s easier on my stomach.
Thank you for any assistance
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