Thread: I need help gaining weight...

Hey Guys. I am new to this place, obviously. I weigh about 103-105lbs. I would love to gain weight, but I have a hard time doing so. I can eat anything and not really gain a pound except for in my abs. What should I eat or take to gain the weight & what are some good excerises to keep me from gaining fat around my abs?

Originally Posted by BugD0utBunE

Hey Guys. I am new to this place, obviously. I weigh about 103-105lbs. I would love to gain weight, but I have a hard time doing so. I can eat anything and not really gain a pound except for in my abs. What should I eat or take to gain the weight & what are some good excerises to keep me from gaining fat around my abs?

103 pounds!!?? Dear Lord. I hope you are about 4 foot tall otherwise I hope you watch closely where you walk - you could fall through drains!!

Gaining WEIGHT is simply talking in more energy than you expend. So what do you eat at the moment?? Are you doing lots of cardio type exercise?

Gaining MUSCLE is slightly harder as you have to try to 'partition' that energy you take in to go mostly to your muscles and not your fat. This is where eating GOOD food (at strategic times) and training with weights will help.

About the 'exercises to keep the fat of your abs' - well, there is no such thing. When you eat over your calorie requirements (which you need to do to gain weight and to gain muscle) you will gain SOME fat as well - you will never get 100% of the nutrients going to your muscle...

Also, if you have been sick (anorexia, illness etc) then, when you initially gain weight you WILL gain more around your stomach. It is kind of a 'protective' thing that your body does. But, if you keep at it and do things correctly you will eventually correct your body symmetry. So you may just have to battle through the initial 'discomfort' stage before you get the body-beautiful.

Anyway - Some quick tips:
1. Eat 5 to 6 well balanced meals a day.

2. Eat low glycaemic carbohydrates like oats, barley, rye, chick-peas, sweet potato, red kidney beans, black beans, buckwheat, sprouted breads. You do not want to limit these when you are trying to gain weight! You especially want these before you workout at the gym (~1 hr before hand) and then in the meal after you workout (after you have a post-workout whey shake of course). Other good carbs are in fruits and skim dairy.

3. Eat proteins in every meal. About 25g per meal for someone your size would be more than enough. That is equal to (cooked weight):
1 whole egg + 5 egg whites (24.5g protein, 5g fat)
3.5 oz Tuna (25g protein, 1g fat)
3 oz Chicken (23g protein, 1.7g fat)
1 scoop protein powder (usually ~25g protein)
1c Fat free cottage cheese (roughly 6g carbs, 28g protein, 2g fat)
3 oz Sirloin beef (26g protein, 5g fat)
3 oz pork (23g protein, 3.8g fat)
3 oz Salmon (24g protein, 6g fat)

Skim dairy (milk, yoghurt) and tofu will also offer you good protein.

4. Eat healthy fats. Especially omega-3 fats. These are from flaxseeds, walnuts and fatty fish... Other nuts and seeds as well as avocado and olive oil offer you healthy fats too.

5. Post-workout (weight training) you want to have a protein shake + some good carbs. For someone your weight 1 scoop of whey would be plenty. Then, you could add something like a banana, some thinly rolled oats, some skim milk....

6. Vegetables are still important, so make sure you have these too! Aim for at least 5 serves if you can.


For weights - What you should do will depend on your experience. Have you trained before?

For cardio - If you are doing a lot then drop it down to 2 times a week. You want to reserve your energy for growth.