Currently, I'm 16 years old at 56.8 kilos and I was pretty much your typical "skinny". I joined a local gym about 9 months ago and in spite of some occasions where I would skip a week I've been going regularly with an average of 4-5 days a week. Until about the 6th month, I had reached 60 kilos. But, I got seriously ill for two weeks and fell back to 56 kilos. I've been having a hard time regaining my lost weight since. Despite my weight, I have gotten a lot stronger and my body does look a lot bigger, but, I would love to see some more meat on my body. I can't afford a nutritionist and I don't trust what I find on the Internet either. Therefore, I'm not sure if I am asking a proper question, but, what do I need to do in order to gain some weight? Simply "eat more" doesn't work for me since I can't eat if I'm not hungry (excluding snacks). Thank you all very much in advance.
4 Answers
No, listen, if you want to gain weight, there is no gym that does it for you. Gaining weight is a case of consuming more calories than you spend.
Simply "eat more" doesnt work for me since i cant eat if im not hungry
That's wrong. It's uncomfortable, yes, but that's what we skinny-boys have to do. There is no physical blockade stopping you from putting food in your mouth, chewing it, and swallowing.
(excluding snacks)
Exactly. That just means it's a case of discipline.
All fit people who used to be skinny, had to go through this. It's a rite of passage.
Getting fit isn't comfortable. Most of us are lazy, but if you want something, you're going to have to work for it, and sacrifice some comfort.
If you don't have the discipline to eat properly, then you're not going to get fit.
I couldnt really afford a nutritionist
That's ok. Nutritionists are quacks. The title "Nutritionist" is not protected, and anyone can say that they are one. If you do need professional help with your diet, you go to a dietician. It is a protected title, used (legally) only by those who have the proper education.
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@jserv (not very familiar with stack exchange it says i cant tag two people so i hope alec sees this too) thank you both for your wonderful answers i see that im going to have to push myself a bit but thats okay i think i will be able to handle it and thanks to your suggestions im gonna be more organised about it therefore making stuff simpler. Aug 6, 2016 at 23:58
Edit: In light of something I've seen in the meta discussion, I may drastically shorten this post and remove personal notes about myself shortly.
At 16 years old and 57kg you really don't need to worry about professional advice. The principles of gaining weight and muscle are actually quite well understood by lots of people, and easily accessible by yourself. It's true the only way to gain weight is to eat more calories than you use, and if you want to do it in a healthy and efficient way, you're going to need to purchase and consume a lot of quality food. Alec correctly points out that eating enough to gain weight can be uncomfortable, and will require some effort and sacrifice, but there are smart ways of approaching your goal:
- Look up cheap bodybuilding staple foods. Eggs, whole milk, chicken breast, rice, tuna and tinned mackerel were all helpful when I was younger. Whole milk in particular is great, as it's cheap, densely caloric, sold everywhere, and easy to drink with meals.
- Sketch out a simple plan to regularly eat a little more of these foods than you normally would. It doesn't need to be a complex plan, just make sure that it's something that you know you'll follow through with. Even if it doesn't work, it's useful as you can then adjust the plan or try something else. Or in other words: you'll get a sense of what works for you and what doesn't, and the more you try, the better sense you'll get, and the more you can refine your method.
- If you're still living with family and eat meals with them, it would be well worth mentioning you want to get stronger and fitter. Show them you're hitting the gym, that you're dedicated, and ask if you can plan an extra meal or two a day. Something as simple as a side dish with breakfast, a bowl of oatmeal, or a late evening meal, would help you cram in more calories.
- Don't worry too much about having difficulty eating the amount you'd like to. The body is amazing at adjusting to things, provided you give it enough time. That means even eating a little bit more than you normally would for a while will allow you to fit in even more next time. Focus on slow progression; picture yourself eating twice as much a few years from now, simply because you stuck to eating a little more week by week.
- Similarly, you probably have a really specific idea of what you want to do with your body, and that's good, but try to keep the bigger picture in mind. Things that appear unrelated at first can actually have a big impact on how you get to your goal. For example, do you get good, refreshing sleep? It may appear unrelated to diet and weight gain, but it's far easier to recover from workouts, keep focused, as well as beat any morning nausea, if you're in a good settled sleep pattern. The more you focus on your overall health, the more you'll find one good habit feeds into the next, and getting your body how you want it to be becomes much easier.
- General health is always worth thinking about for it's own sake, too. After all, how do you want to look and feel by the time you're 21? 25? 45? Good habits now will pay double the dividends down the road, believe me. I've continued lifting weights and looking after my health from my teens while my peers smoked and stayed sedentary. It's without a doubt one of the best things I did for myself.
To gain weight, you have to combine exercise training and a proper regimen. Firstly, exercise training will allow you to put on weight by building your muscles. Chest, abdominals, triceps, shoulders and hamstring are major groups that you should put each exercise in. You can also speed up the process of practicing by adding two or more exercises to each group when your body gets used to these activities. Effective strength training is composed of overhead presses, bench presses, squats, chin-ups, bicep curls, barbell rows, dips and leg curls. Remember that consistency is always leading the way to reach for long term success. Secondly, to build a proper regimen, you should remember the listed factors:
- Eat nutrient-rich foods
- Eating more protein
- Eating lots of calories: If you want to gain weight slowly, about 300-500 calories more than your body burns per day is enough. If you want to gain weight faster, 700 to 1000 calories more than the maintenance level is necessary. Even If you are not hungry, you should eat. Five meals per day should be taken into consideration.
- Getting enough sleep: you need to last your sleep t least eight hours in case you are planning to take in plenty of protein as well as practice exercise training. Getting enough sleep during the night facilitates your body condition to rest enough and thereby developing the sufficiency of muscle mass since the body can build up muscle and tissue when you fall asleep. Source: https://authorityremedies.com/how-to-gain-weight-fast/
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Gaining weight is directly from eating lots of calories. Turning that weight into muscle and having a nutritious diet is a secondary factor. I can't gain weight just by exercising.– JohnAug 8, 2016 at 7:21
I joined a local gym about 9 months ago and in spite of some occasions where I would skip a week I've been going regularly with an average of 4-5 days a week.
Great! What program are you following? If you aren't following a program you are going to struggle to progress onto heavier weights and cultivate lots of muscle mass. You need to set goals, do you want to be strong?/big?/explosively powerful?/fast?/good fighter?/etc.
I can't afford a nutritionist and I don't trust what I find on the Internet either.
Good, nutritionists are unnecessary. Don't be mistrustful of the internet, there are some folks at reddit/r/fitness, t-nation, youtube and here that really understand what it takes to develop strength at all levels.
What do I need to do in order to gain some weight?
Eat more.
Simply "eat more" doesn't work for me since I can't eat if I'm not hungry (excluding snacks).
You aren't going to get big if you can't get more calories into your system.
My usual advice would be to get a cookbook and start making some meals, learn to enjoy cooking as it really is a fun activity that you can learn from and is a great life skill. But at 16 you probably are living at home so its a bit harder. I suspect the hardest part will be persuading your parents to buy and cook more food.
However, as you are young and don't have experience weightlifting I can guarantee you will benefit from performing GOMAD for 2 months or so.
What is GOMAD?
Drinking a Gallon Of Milk A Day
http://stronglifts.com/gomad-milk-squats-gallon-gain-weight/
A gallon of milk is about 4 litres. You need to do this EVERY DAY for at least 1 month. You will gain around 25lbs.
How to Do GOMAD
GOMAD won’t work if you drink 1 gallon of milk 3 days out of 7, skip workouts and neglect eating. Be consistent!
1 US Gallon Milk Daily. Equals 4 liters. Spread your intake. Example: 1/4 at breakfast, 1/4 at lunch, 1/4 post workout, 1/4 at dinner.
Eat Every 3 Hours. Eat breakfast, lunch, dinner, pre-bed and post workout. Milk as snack is ok. Don’t be hungry: eat your stomach full.
Squat. Lifting weights gives your body the stimulus to build muscle. Squat a lot. Check StrongLifts 5×5 if you don’t know where to start.
Track Progress. Take pictures front/back/side, track body fat using a fat caliper and weigh yourself every 2 weeks. Keep a training log.
Track Calories. Unless you’re very active, you’ll need about 5000kcals/day to gain weight. You’ll get this doing GOMAD + eating every 3 hours. Track your calories with an app like myfitnesspal so you know you’re getting what you need. Don’t second guess.
Read more: http://stronglifts.com/gomad-milk-squats-gallon-gain-weight/