I received this question from a reader who was interested to know if weight gain pills will help you gain weight?
Well I have to say that I was a little skeptic at first when I found a number of websites online which are selling weight gain pills and weight gain capsules with claims from the product’s marketers that if you take a couple of pills before every meal you will increase your appetite so you feel the need to eat more and slow down your metabolism. Without having to train or diet they claim it’s possible to gain muscle weight. Saying that I found the claims to be full of hype is an understatement to say the very least.
With such bold claims I wanted to investigate exactly what was in these weight gaining pills. I wanted to know if by popping a few pills you could really gain extra pounds of muscle so I decided to find out what was actually in them. What I found by looking at the nutrition label is that these weight gain diet pills are really nothing more then an average Multi-vitamin with pretty packaging and inflated prices. They cost about 3-5x more then a Multi-vitamin.
Multi-vitamins, although not advertised to show this benefit, are actually a really useful supplement for gaining weight. Small vitamin deficiencies can impact your appetite which affects your ability to gain weight and muscle.
So instead of paying the inflated prices on weight gain pills which are really only a repackaged Multi-vitamin, get yourself a good multi-vitamin supplement. The mistake many people make when getting started with a weight gain program is they skip on important vitamins and minerals which are a good foundation for gaining weight in favor of some glamorous bodybuilding supplement. This is a mistake.
Don’t waste your money on weight gain pills – there is no miracle pill for gaining significant size. Instead, use a good Multi-vitamin. It won’t work miracles, but either will the weight gain pills. Instead, combined with a good workout and proper weight gaining diet program it will ensure that you are successful in your quest to gain weight.
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{ 34 comments… read them below or add one }
Ive tried several weight gaining pills but didnt put on weight. Now this really helps me so Ill try multivitamin with foods that are high in calories.
Thank you
Rose
Weight gaining pills and sadly enough alot of the supplements out there are useless crap. They will not make you gain weight the same way a balanced and healthy food diet will. This article is very helpful: stick to a high calorie diet (of the right foods), a good multivitamin and some whey protein. Creatine is also in my opinion, a great supplement.
Cheers
A few months ago I bought some Vita Salveo weight gain pills from this website weightgainplus.com
They DID NOT help me put on any weight and when I sent them back for my promised refund I never received the money and they simply stopped responding to any of my attempts to contact them.
Just a warning guys.
Cheers
I have been skinny all my life. I have tried to put on pounds but I never could. I have tried to eat lots of fast food, that did not work. I have stuffed my self for days that did not work.
I have taken lots of vitamins and pills, even tryed pot all I got was stoned. I’m still skinny. I have been doing this off and on for years . And yep still skinny.
Now I have a 15 year old son who is skinny and I see he is having a hard time with it. The dr. Say that is because I’m skinny so he will be too. And I had to pay him to tell me that, talk about ez money.
I read that you should take in lots of calories and work out . But if I work out , there go’s my calories. Yep still skinny. So what do you think I can do?
I would love to be fat one time in my life. If you could help let me know. But as of now. Yep still skinny.
Thanks. Skinny Keith.
@ Keith – When you are working out you are expending more energy. Energy is provided by calories. More caloric demand means you will feel hungrier. Anyone who lifts weights regularly will notice an increase in appetite. Also, the additional muscle mass will mean even more calories are required. It just never ends.
The bottom line is you should ALWAYS be eating, and the more you workout, the easier it should become eating because your body will be demanding the nutrients. It’s better to have 6 smaller meals then 3 large meals over the course of a day, because it will allow you to eat more often and you will not get a massice insulin spike. On workout days, it would be a good idea to consume more calories when you are expending more energy. I will always have a pre and post workout meal on workout days.
Keep in mind, as longest your BMI is in the healhy range and you eat healthy you are all set – do not beat your self over it. Consume big breakfast, have a healthy snack and lunch ,protein shake before and after work out following another Healthy dinner and you should be all set. Like David have had mentioned smaller meals but constant eating will help with gain but don’t forget to eat healthy junk food can only harm your body, healthy food will give you better results.
I am anemic will the weight gain pills have any affect on me?
Also, how long will it take for me to gain some weight with the pills?
I am also anemic. And I was 156 pound in june 29th 2008. I remember because I weighed my self on that day cause that was the day I started taking weight gain plus pills and eating cookies. Now this advise is for anybody who is really desperate to gain weight like I was. It took me only 5 months to gain over 60 pounds. That’s over ten pounds a month but here is the secret if you are like me you cannot eat three packs of chips ahoy chocolate chip cookies a day. That would mean you have to eat one whole pack for every meal, trust me its hard so I just blended and drank it, a lot easier and faster. It’s like drinking chocolate milk. Now take two pills 30 minutes before every meal will make you very hungry making it easier for the drink to go down.
Now I am going be honest with everybody this is guaranteed to work but its only for those who do not care about any concequences. I mean that will be a lot of sugar you will be consuming. But if you just want to gain weight by any means neccesary so you can get cute girls which am getting now lol LOVING IT. And yea I have lots of friends now and the best part is I JUST BEAT UP MY NEXT DOOR NEIGHBOR WHO USED TO CALL ME SKIN AND BONE AND SKELETIN AND ALL SORTS OF BAD NAMES FOR BEING TOO SKINNY. NOW AM SLIGHTLY BIGGER THAN HIM AND I WOOOOPED HIS ASS lol.
Hi all
i have been skinny most of my life untill i started working out 3 days a week very intense short bursts squats deadlifts overhead press are the best for weight gain. my dad is slim has allways been he is about 10 and half stone he is 45. the doc said the same i would be ALLWAYS be skinny.
i have been eating lots of protein based foods and ive been taking multi-vitamin tablets . along with the GOMAD diet = Gallon of milk a day! do a search for it. ive got to say i im only 10 stone now from a skinny 8 stone. but its all in the mind!! exercise!! eat healthy be FIT live long! and Enjoy life to the max!
I appreciated your honesty, I will try to find a new Multi-vitamin. Im looking to gain 10 – 15 lbs muscle or just weight I can tone. Im thin and have been all my life. Thanks for saving me from spending money unneccesarily. Good Job!
@Nafiysa
You’re welcome you have to be careful with marketing hype. You don’t need weight gain pills to “increase your appetite” and “slow down your metabolism” to gain weight. As soon as you start lifting weights you will feel hungrier and have more energy. Make sure you are eating lots of protein and lifting heavy in the gym, fast fix solutions are never the answer.
I am a 16 years old female whose 95 pounds and 5 feet 6 inches tall, from i was born i have always have a very small body and now i am tired of it people keep telling me i need to eat but i eat a lot and it hasn`t changed, my doctor even gave me and iron supplement to help me gain weight but it isn`t working all at happened is my belly got big nothing else, so please help me i need your help badly cause its now taking a toll on my performance in school that because the students trouble me about how i look sometime i don`t want to go to school… so please help me.
David,
What kinds of meals do you eat every day? What foods exactly? What do you weigh now and how many calories do you take it in each day?
I’m 135-lb and 5-ft 11-in tall. :( I haven’t gained a pound since I was 16 and I’m now 26.
i have been skinny all of my life . my dad is slim has allways been he is about 10 and half stone he is 78. the doc said the same i would be ALLWAYS be skinny.
i have been eating lots of protein based foods . along with the GOMAD diet = Gallon of milk a day! do a search for it. ive got to say i im only 10 stone now from a skinny 8 stone. but its all in the mind!! exercise!! eat healthy be FIT live long! and Enjoy life to the max!I hate the way i look always stressin an depressed.Reali need to start puttn on sum weight now im 22 years old.Can u please help me.
Hi every one ,
I have been skinny from when I was 17 years old and Now I am 25.BUt I did not felt need to seriuosly think about it.But now as I am going to marry now I feel it very much that I must do something to gain some weight.You guys plzzz tell me from where I start.Should I take short cut of weight gain pills or natural diet etc.If natural then what in specific I should take so that I can be having some weight sooon,…plzzzzzzzzzzz help me
I always found it extremely difficult to gain weight, throughout my high school years.
Recently (starting 6 months ago) I focused on consuming a hearty 3500 – 4000 calories a day.
Coupled with a weight lifting regime consisting of compound movements as well as pull ups, curls, and all the other easy to do at home exercises I have gained 14 pounds of solid muscle in 6 months.
How do I know it’s muscle? I can still see my washboard abs.
The key is to eat big, eat healthy, sleep well and never give up on your training ( also cut cardio to gain).
p.s. I started at 12 stone and am now 13 =]
Cheers, Nath.
Well I’ve been small all my life. I was about 110 pounds at 5′5. Even after I had my son, I was still only 118 pounds, having gained only 10 pounds throughout my pregnancy and that was with MUCH effort. Around 2000 or 2001, I went to my doctor and told him that I wanted to gain weight. I was given Periactin (generic Cyproheptadine). I went from wearing 2’s and 3’s to size 9 in 7 weeks. I loved it. One thing he told me was to exercise because if I didn’t, the weight would come on as flab. I did as I was told. The only side effect I experienced was for the first 2 weeks, it made me really drowsy. So if any of you decide to go this route, be certain you don’t take it before driving or doing anything that would require you to be alert. After the first 2 weeks, I was fine. And it wasn’t something I had to keep taking constantly. Because it also ended up being my migraine medicine years later, I created my own regimen that works for me. I’ll also add…when I got a 2nd doctor to prescribe it for me when I moved out of town, her script was for me to take one pill 4 times a day. DO NOT DO THAT! At least not in the first 2 weeks, you will be close to comatose. One a day is more than enough. What the pill does is increase your appetite. You simply eat more and thus gain the weight. Since the article suggests a multivitamin, it would be a good idea to include that in your regimen as well. There are some pills that actually work.
Oh and I forgot to add, it costs me $30 and I usually get 60 pills. It lasts because once I reached my ideal weight, I would only take half a pill, sometimes every other day (seeing as how it was also a migraine preventative). Hope this helps. Good luck to you all. I know what it likes to want to gain weight and have a hard time doing so.
Nicole
hi nicole, just read your comment about… Periactin , please could you tell me were they the 4mg as went to the chemist and they reffered me to the tablets you mectioned which starting tomorow i will take 1 a day regarding as you stated , fingers crossed , i will hopefully put my weight back on, thanks x
Periactin does work. I’ve been taking it off and on for years (mainly around summer time) and it’s amazing. I just started taking it two weeks ago and already I gained 10 pounds. I would like to gain 20 more at most and then I will stop.
Ruth, yes they are 4 mg. As everyone who uses it says, it really does work. Just lower your dosage once you reach your desired weight so that you can maintain the weight. Good luck. You’re going to love the results!
hi Nicole….I am 25 years old. And I am underweight too. I am just 45 Kg. So silly…… ;(
May I use these pills? I mean if they have any side effect or something. And if I can use them without consulting to a medical specialist?Thanks before for your advice.
thankyou nicole for getting back too me, i have took my first one this morning, i will let you no how i get on thankyou so much for the advice THANKYOU , ruth x
when taking periactin after a while does the weight wear off? Some people have said it wears off after a few months
Hey guys. I’m from Iran and I just stumbled upon this site cuz I was hoping to find the ingredients of this magical powder that helped me gain 6 kilos (13 lbs) in just 21 days! I still haven’t figured out what they put in it but one thing is for sure. It works like a charm! They way it acts is exactly like these weight gain pills are supposed to act: increasing your appetite and lowering your metabolism. Here’s how it affects your body: within the first week you don’t feel any significant changes but in the second week you gradually start eating more and more. Your appetite increases to a point where you eat 3 courses with lots of bread in one sitting! It’s awesome. What’s even cooler is that you get a little extra strength working out. But there’s a less awesome side to it: it makes a lot of gas, and I mean A LOT! I guess it’s again a good sign because it means that the intestines are trying to squeeze out that last bit of nutrients out of whatever you eat instead of just passing it from your body, usually only partially unabsorsed which was another reason why I had so much trouble putting on weight. So it ultimately means more gas and a lot less number 2! What was troubling about it though was that on the package it sorta warns you of renal damage if overdosed ortaken for longer than the 21 day treatment period. I kinda felt the impact it had on my kidneys and was tryingto drink as much water as I could to counter any harmful effects it may have had on my precious kidneys!
I’d love it if any of you guys here could enlighten me as to the contents of this powder.
Hi all,
Im a petite 24yr old and ive had alot of weight issues recently. I drop a few KGs at the first sight of stress or illness like cold/flu. My average has been 45-46kgs (5′4″) but i have been stuck between 41- 43kgs for so long now and have gone as low as 39kg if i have bad fever.
I took Cyproheptadine (main ingredient of Periactin which is actually an antihistamine used to treat allergies) for about a yr. It worked on me for the first 2 months where i put on 12kgs. Then i had to reduce my 1 pill a day to 1/4th of a pill a day because i was eating and SLEEPING so much. When you reduce it, it also reduces the drowsiness it causes. But eventually it looses its power to make you eat and sleep so much.
I stopped it for a year and now and tried to start again since i am below my average weight, however it is not working on me anymore. I have found different brands which are weaker, as they say the ones i used to take before are too strong and have been discontinued.
Does anyone know of any other pills that help put on weight?
change in diet and exercise have not worked on me so far…
Wow, I thought I was about the only person in the world with being too skinny, apart from my sisters. Our problem is a genetically high metabolism. I’ve been consulting a dietitian for the past 6 months in hopes to gain weight. So far, I’ve only managed 4 kilos whereas the target weight gain is 14 kilos (the amount of weight I need to gain to reach a BMI of 18.5). Well, I’ve got to say this article, plus many others on this site have given me a clearer understanding on what I have to do to gain weight the HEALTHY way. Here’s to gaining weight and sustaining it! Cheers!
Well I have been so skinny for a while too. & im so tired of it I looked up periactin (generic cyproheptadine) & it turns out to be an allergy medicine. Is that it?
Hi, I recently started using Periactin for about 3 weeks now & i started noticing my appetite getting larger. But now, im starting to realize that I’m back to eating about a meal a day. I’m not getting much hungry and Im taking the 4mg twice a day. Did this happen to anyone else? Is there something I can do about this?
Yeah, I got the same thing when I looked it up. Is it an allergy medicine and does anyone else have any other suggestions?
Hi tiffany,
yes it happened to me too! After a certain time it stops working. Its different for everyone.
And yes Lisa, it is an anti-histamine used to treat allergies.
Okay, thnks Mona.
Oh, & thank you Nicole for helping me out with one of the medicans that I can now try
Hi I am about 6 feet and only a size 3/4 and i have had weight gaining problems for many years. then sometime last year a friend of mine told me about Periactin. The pericatin is an allergy medicine its just that the sides effects of it causes the weight gain. I took pericatin and in the first day or two it made me very drowsy. I started off taking the pill 3 times a day and by the ending of the first week i noticed the incease in my appetite. After about 2 weeks i had gained about 10 pounds and within a months time i had gained almost 30 pounds. It really works but i reduced my intake of the pill to twice a day then eventually to just 1 a day and after about 5 months i stopped taking it and my appetite slowly decreased and i slowly started loosing what i had gained. Not everyones’ body has this side effect of weight gain so it may not work for everyone but it did for me. You just have to continuously take the pill in order to keep your appetite up.
Hi I am 5′7″106lbs. After years and years of being add my doc finally put me on adderrall. Since I have lost. I don’t have any appetite. Everything makes me want to vomit. I have always been slender, and have always had a high metabolism. Prior to adderrall treatment I weight a constant 120 to 125 lbs. I don’t know what to do. I have been taking boost and always multi vitamins, omegas, etc. Please help. I feel like I am wasting away.