# Putting on weight



## jamest (Apr 8, 2008)

I am 6ft 3 and weigh just under 12 stone.

I used to be 14.5 stone but since moving out from home have lost a fair bit as you can see and that has been over a year.

I have been told by various people that I appear to be getting thinner (always have been thin, but obviously thinner).

Problem is, I eat a lot and don't gain any weight at all.

I easily eat a 600g steak pie with a mountain of potatoes as well as veg (runner beans, carrots, brocolli) and will still feel hungry afterwards, but whatever I eat, I don't put on any weight.

The only difference in my diet from leaving home is not having a fry up every Saturday and Sunday which I don't think can account for the loss and have recently started running and rowing again (although I had lost a fair bit of weight by March/April.

So...best way to put on weight?


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## rich-hill (May 13, 2008)

Post up a typical day as best as you can remember, gives a much better picture then.


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## ahaydock (Jan 4, 2007)

As above post up a typically day and we can look.

Do you work out?


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## jamest (Apr 8, 2008)

Fruit corner (yoghurt) for breakfast.
Ham sandwhich + crips (ready salted or salt and vinegar) for lunch.
Dinner varies per day:
- Pie + potatoes + veg
- Chicken (processed garbage that requires no effort to cook) + chips/wedges + tin of baked beans/spaghetti

Occasionally will have a bacon (2-4 rashers) and scrambled egg (2 eggs) sandwhich before dinner, around 3-4 times a week.


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## Taaffy (May 9, 2006)

Judging the calorific content of your day, that would be roughly...150cals for brekkie,330cals for lunch and circa 700 for dinner.. so in total approx 1200cals max per day and if you add in the bacon and eggs still probably no more than 2000 cals on those days.

So already you are in deficit by about 5-600 cals per day as the rda for an average male 160llb is circa 2500 cals per day.

Add in the extra exercise that you are doing and it is no wonder that you are losing weight.

Factor that you need about 15 calories per pound of bodyweight and you will not be far off. Make them good calories and you will find that you need to eat a lot of food to consume the daily requirement. High energy foods will eat up calories count quickly but will do nothing for fuelling your body.


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## LiveWire88 (Sep 5, 2009)

jamest said:


> So...best way to put on weight?


IMO, join a gym and go 3-4 times a week doing a little cardio and then 1-2 hours of weights, drink a protein shake straight after, then eat a large meal within an hour of leaving the gym.. Also eat well throughout the day.

This should pile on some weight. When I was young I was thin and struggled to gain weight, the only way I found was to follow a weight training program, drink protein shakes and eat plenty of good food..

I wish I still had the time for the gym, lost a lot of weight/size since I stopped. :wall:


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## jamest (Apr 8, 2008)

Taaffy said:


> Judging the calorific content of your day, that would be roughly...150cals for brekkie,330cals for lunch and circa 700 for dinner.. so in total approx 1200cals max per day and if you add in the bacon and eggs still probably no more than 2000 cals on those days.
> 
> So already you are in deficit by about 5-600 cals per day as the rda for an average male 160llb is circa 2500 cals per day.
> 
> ...


The pie I have alone is 1500 calories and I have around 300-400g of mashed potato with my pie and half a pint of gravy.

I eat a lot more than everyone I know and they all seem to put on weight even if they go to the gym as well doing cardio.


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## DCR (Sep 12, 2008)

jamest said:


> Fruit corner (yoghurt) for breakfast.
> Ham sandwhich + crips (ready salted or salt and vinegar) for lunch.
> Dinner varies per day:
> - Pie + potatoes + veg
> ...


you arent eating enough

1 - you should be consuming 3,000 + cals per day, ideally 4,000 - 5,000
2 - you should be consuming 2g of protein per lb of bodyweight YOU WISH TO BE i.e. aiming for 200lbs, then 400g of protein per day
3 - You should be eating 5-6 times per day
4 - Get some decent weight gain powder

Lets be clear here mate, its not easy bulking like this. You have to commit to eating sh*t-loads of food, and the first few weeks will be difficult as you wont be used to eating like this. After a few weeks your body will adjust, and it will become easier. Be warned though, your appetite will increase as well, and you will be hungry all the time.

Eating enough protein is key, and not protein from shakes either. Shakes are great for convienience, but trust me, nobody gets big from shakes. Get friendly with all things (real) chicken.

Check out the link

http://www.muscletalk.co.uk/article-mass-gaining.aspx

Great site not only for weight lifting and BB'ing advice, but loads of advice on diet


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## Mirror Finish Details (Aug 21, 2008)

I wish I had that problem, I put on a pound just thinking of eating a pie.


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## ahaydock (Jan 4, 2007)

Mirror Finish said:


> I wish I had that problem, I put on a pound just thinking of eating a pie.


Me too


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## rich-hill (May 13, 2008)

DCR said:


> you arent eating enough
> 
> 1 - you should be consuming 3,000 + cals per day, ideally 4,000 - 5,000
> 2 - you should be consuming 2g of protein per lb of bodyweight YOU WISH TO BE i.e. aiming for 200lbs, then 400g of protein per day
> ...


Thanks for writing this out, aved me retyping it haha.

You definitely need to eat more!

Ref the shakes.... They are a supplement, so shouldn't be used for just that...Supplementing a perfect diet, if you don't have a good diet they are a waste of money


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## Taaffy (May 9, 2006)

jamest said:


> The pie I have alone is 1500 calories


Sorry I read that as steak .....missed the pie bit .......doh

Simple way to look at it .....the more calories consumed than you use = weight gain

So eat more and with the exercise eat even more.....what type of weight do you want to gain.....muscle...fat ...a combo of both.

To build quality muscle you need lots of protein and a lot of carbohydrate so that your body does not eat into the protien for energy......

It's not rocket science...


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## jamest (Apr 8, 2008)

To be honest, I don't really mind. I feel fine and healthy, it's just everyone else that has been commenting.

I do weights occasionally, but have been having some problems with joints in my right arm and I don't want to just to weights on my left arm.

Just been reading up on how much calories I am likely to be burning off while running and due to the hill that I run up and down, (according to this http://thismanruns.blogspot.com/2008/01/calories-burned-running-hills.html) I am likely burning double the calories I would running on a flat. It is a 100ft ascent over 0.4 miles.

Going to cost a fair bit to put on weight though, how long would you expect it to take if I say ate 1.5/2 times what I am at the moment?


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## mwbpsx (Jun 23, 2006)

theres no beer in your diet


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## Bigpikle (May 21, 2007)

It does seem like you maybe need to consume more calories, but make sure they are from quality foods.

What worries me the most is that you seem to be relying on processed junk food and simply eating more might make you more unhealthy in the long term. Pies are full of saturated transfats, the processed chicken stuff you describe will likely be as well, not to mention salt and sugar as well.

I really think you need to take a little time to learn some simple and fast cooking skills (or use the ones you might already have...) to make more meals with lean meats, fish (dont see it mentioned anywhere above) and continue to consume as much fruit and veg as you can get. If you like rice, pasta etc then look for low GO versions (usually wholemeal/wholegrain versions) as its the 'mountain of high GI potato' itself that contributes to the hungry feeling after the meal, as is the case with pasta, rice and breads. Some careful menu planning and shopping can mean you can cook a couple of core meals a week that can provide major components for other meals the rest of the week with little time and effort needed. I suspect that increasing the amount of fresh meat, fish and fruit and veg in place of the processed stuff you are eating will also make a huge difference to your weight gains, general energy and health levels. Humans are simply not made to consume processed foods over time...

BTW, if you are worried about the calories burned by your short runs, then make sure you have a snack within 30 mins of finishing. It doesnt need to be huge, but some carbs and protein is a good idea (scrambled egg on toast etc) as the 30 min window after sport is when the body is most efficient at storing glycogen in the muscles to replace the stores used during the exercise session. This ensures your muscles are well fueled for the next run. This is one time when a few high GI foods are a good idea as they are quickly turned into blood sugar and absorbed by the muscles.


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## Taaffy (May 9, 2006)

Bigpikle said:


> the 30 min window after sport is when the body is most efficient at storing glycogen in the muscles to replace the stores used during the exercise session. This ensures your muscles are well fueled for the next run. This is one time when a few high GI foods are a good idea as they are quickly turned into blood sugar and absorbed by the muscles.


Stawberry jam on white bread is ideal for post workout glycogen replacement.....

You really need to just do some research and as has been said above unproccessed food is far better than the fat loaded pies high GI potato diet that you are consuming at the moment. Also by eating low GI foods your body's blood sugar level will remain more stable throughout the day giving you balanced energy levels. There is a time for high GI foods and that is post exercise....at most other times your body needs slow releasing energy.

This site should give you some idea.

http://www.the-gi-diet.org/lowgifoods/


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## DCR (Sep 12, 2008)

jamest said:


> To be honest, I don't really mind. I feel fine and healthy, it's just everyone else that has been commenting.
> 
> I do weights occasionally, but have been having some problems with joints in my right arm and I don't want to just to weights on my left arm.
> 
> ...


hard to tell really
you sound like you have a very high metabolism, so could take a while
how old are you ?


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## jamest (Apr 8, 2008)

DCR said:


> hard to tell really
> you sound like you have a very high metabolism, so could take a while
> how old are you ?


22, I can eat 3-4 times what most people in my family eat and still feel hungry afterwards and not put on any weight. Quite happy to 2kg of a roast dinner on a Sunday.

I had an extra sandwhich today as well as having a bacon (4 rashers) and scrambled egg sandwhich followed by fish (2 fillets) and chips with tin of beans and now have pretty much no food for tomorrow.

I am going to have a look at what foods I will eat that will be good for me, I am a very fussy eater and pasta is out of the question as is all asian food. Like a steak etc unfortunately I can't cook for shizzle. Virtually everything I like is high GI food.


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## DCR (Sep 12, 2008)

jamest said:


> 22, I can eat 3-4 times what most people in my family eat and still feel hungry afterwards and not put on any weight. Quite happy to 2kg of a roast dinner on a Sunday.
> 
> I had an extra sandwhich today as well as having a bacon (4 rashers) and scrambled egg sandwhich followed by fish (2 fillets) and chips with tin of beans and now have pretty much no food for tomorrow.
> 
> I am going to have a look at what foods I will eat that will be good for me, I am a very fussy eater and pasta is out of the question as is all asian food. Like a steak etc unfortunately I can't cook for shizzle. Virtually everything I like is high GI food.


at 22 you should find building muscle a piece of ****, but you will need to hit the gym hard

your diet is pretty bad
do you feel lethargic all the time ?
replacing all the processed crap with whole food will make a massive diff

do you like chicken ?

as i said, bulking aint easy
we are all bound by our genetic make up and you are trying to counter that, which isnt easy


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## jamest (Apr 8, 2008)

Not trying to bulk up massively as in body builder, just trying to get my BMI up more than anything.

Feel lethargic some of the time, but I have had a lot of interupted sleep, but after any exercise I feel more energetic than beforehand.

I like chicken, just a matter of cooking it properly, I always tend to overcook food and overcooked chicken is horrible.

Are these the better bits of chicken to buy? http://www.sainsburys.co.uk/groceries/index.jsp?bmUID=1258495280712


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## Renmure (Jan 18, 2007)

You are getting lots of good advice, but it is not a bad idea to discuss things with your GP.
Certainly sounds like you may be calorie deficient in terms of your food intake which go some way to explain a problem putting weight on, but there are potential metabolic issues you may want to be ruled out, and unexplained weight loss (particularly if it is noticed by others) is always worth having a chat about :thumb:


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## DCR (Sep 12, 2008)

jamest said:


> Not trying to bulk up massively as in body builder, just trying to get my BMI up more than anything.
> 
> Feel lethargic some of the time, but I have had a lot of interupted sleep, but after any exercise I feel more energetic than beforehand.
> 
> ...


do you have an idea in your head of what you would like to look like ?
can be useful to have a target of sorts

BMI is a vastly inaccurate measure. It doesnt consider the amount of muscle you carry. For example, my BMI is 29.4, which makes me a tad off obese. Now im not ripped or anything, but im not fat by any stretch of the imagination.

Just buy a whole chicken and roast it. 
You can get a whole chicken from tesco for £3.
Stay away from pre-packed chicken - either too pricey or has added "ingredients"
I eat 2-3 whole chickens a week


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