# Trying to gain weight.



## healthyeatingxyz

I'm male, 5'4'' and weigh 120 pounds.  I think that is underweight.  Can someone give me healthy eating suggestions to try to add a few pounds.

Thanks in advance.

healthyeatingxyz


----------



## Andy M.

Eat hat you normally eat.  Just eat more.  As with losing weight, there's no secret to gaining weight.  Eat more than you use and you gain weight.  Given that you want a healthful diet to gain weight, just eat more.

If you're willing to eat less healthfully, there's a world of food out there to make you bigger.


----------



## CWS4322

Andy M. said:


> If you're willing to eat less healthfully, there's a world of food out there to make you bigger.


Just drink super-sized soft drinks. All that sugar will make you gain weight.


----------



## GLC

I have to wonder if this is a legitimate post, but assuming it is....

You are just about right for a 5'4" male of small frame. Perhaps a bit light, if you happen to have a large frame. Assuming you feel like you need some more weight to look your best, just make healthy eating decisions. Don't try to use sugar or fats or both as the strategy. At the same time, all protein without fat is very bad. It used to kill arctic explorers. 

But be sure you're not just going by pounds alone. A hard muscled male will look leaner and will in fact be literally leaner but will be heavier than a larger but softer man. 

But you might just be one of those people cursed with what everyone else would kill for, a metabolism that lets you eat without putting on weight. I had a fire department shift partner like that who could eat a pound of lunch meat, a loaf of bread, and a pound of potato chips and stay thin. I really can't think how he would have gained weight if he had wanted to. I saw him eat five Thanksgiving dinners one year as people brought them to the station one by one.


----------



## Barbara L

What does your doctor say?  Another thing to consider is age. If you are young, you may not be underweight. I would focus more on building core strength and agility. If you are eating healthy foods, regular meals, and getting healthy exercise and activity, your weight shouldn't be an issue.


----------



## blissful

GLC said:


> I have to wonder if this is a legitimate post, but assuming it is....



Being underweight is a real problem for some people. My son was about 23 before he finally 'filled out'. Age and hormones seemed to drive the problem. Once he started to fill out, got a little fat around his middle, he realized he had to cut back to get back to 'more normal'. 

My mom from in her 20's until she reached 40 something was 5'6'' and 100-120 lbs, she couldn't gain weight and she couldn't give blood because she was so skinny. She'd eat french fries and ice cream every day, still she couldn't gain weight. Finally, due to female problems, she had certain female organs removed, I'm sure you can guess what that is about. From then on, no problem with her putting on weight and she's been fighting putting on weight since that time. 

Maybe add a big protein drink everyday and get a little exercise, to try to put on a little more muscle and fat. From what I've seen, problems of being under weight don't last a lifetime and they are driven by hormones and age.


----------



## Snip 13

I'm 5'9 and 120lbs (female). I don't think you're under weight.
The last thing you want to do is force you're body to store more fat, you might regret it when you get older and you're metabolism slows down.

If you really want to gain weight I would suggest you eat more lean protein and head to the gym for some weight training.


----------



## Tomcat1066

I was 5'8" and 135 lbs when I graduated high school and was very slender.  However, you are talking about four inches shorter, but only 15 lbs lighter.  I don't think you're necessarily underweight.

However, if you want to gain weight, then I hope you're wanting to gain muscle.  Otherwise, you could be setting yourself up to end up where I was in March of this year: the same 5'8" but weighing in at 237 lbs. 

I'm down 25.5 lbs _now_, but trust me when I say that I wish I hadn't ended up there in the first place.  Age played a factor, but also eating habits that were focused on weight gain instead of healthy weight gain.  My metabolism slowed way on down and my gut exploded outward.  Not a good thing, IMHO.


----------



## jklarson

The most common answer you would probably hear is, you will only eat a lot. It really depends on the situation, there are some people who have faster metabolism or they don't really like to eat a lot even the foods are their favorites. But still, one of the easiest way is to eat a lot, we should not over worked our body, and we should avoid stress.


----------



## Claire

First of all, you're not underweight unless you doctor says you are.  Snip and I are good knowledgeable people, and the same height.  I've lost so much weight that people are calling me skinny ... same height, 175 lbs!  Yes, I am really (not lying) large boned.  You shouldn't worry.  I assume you are young.  Eat more protein and good carbs.  Just eat good food.  If you're on the skinny side, who cares?


----------



## Snip 13

Claire said:


> First of all, you're not underweight unless you doctor says you are. Snip and I are good knowledgeable people, and the same height. I've lost so much weight that people are calling me skinny ... same height, 175 lbs! Yes, I am really (not lying) large boned. You shouldn't worry. I assume you are young. Eat more protein and good carbs. Just eat good food. If you're on the skinny side, who cares?


 
Could not have said it better myself Claire. A lot of people are skinny when they are young but your metabolism will slow down at one point or the other. Also if you gain weight by just eating too much you'll gain fat not muscle unless you are very active and exercise regularly.
I've been skinny all my life, at my smallest I was 103 lbs and I'm 5'9.
Yet after my Dr did blood test for pretty much everything there was nothing physically wrong and I didn't even have any vitamin or mineral shortages.
I weight 121 lbs now and I'm still only just the minimum healthy weight for my height and age.
Being blessed with a good metabolism is not something you want to take for granted, who cares what other people think. Most people that give you a hard time for being to thin are just jealous because they can't be like you!!!


----------



## pengyou

You need to answer one question: what is your purpose for graining weight?  Do you want to be able to play a sport better - often times a few more pounds of muscle will help - or do you just want to be able to wear a different kind of clothes and have a different look?  Maybe the best option for you is to look into some weight training programs.  Weight training will help your body become more dense because you will have a higher percentage of muscle, which will help you gain weight.  It will also help you look "better" because muscle on people just naturally makes people look better.  If you just start eating food in descriminately - potato chips, ice cream, cake, etc, you may find that you weigh more but you will likely not feel very good, nor look very good.

I was 5'9" and 134 pounds at high school graduation.  I did some weight training during college and was able to push that up to 143...then 35 came and, oohhhhh boy!  I am now 185 and hoping to shed about 20 pounds over the next year.


----------



## Zereh

What works for me: sitting on my butt and eating indiscriminately.


----------



## grndzro

Eat a ton of protein 
Drink lots of liquid
excercise a lot
Consider 1/2 an alka seltzer a day if you are eating a LOT of protein.

Always make sure you are burning other calories than protein. When your body is calorie starved Lysine is the 1st one to get used up. eating a salad a day can help a lot with this since it provides energy for most of the day.

If you have a fast digestion it can make gaining weight problematic. 1 tbsp of Metamucil a day can help with this. it also cleans your intestines making food absorption better.


----------



## luvs

ensure +


----------



## Caslon

Your metabolism will burn off the extra calories to the point where you'll have to constantly maintain taking in additional calories.  Soon after you stop and go back to a normal diet, you will lose any pounds you gained.  You'd practically need a drug to slow down your metabolism. That's how active a persons metabolism can be.  Your best bet is to increase muscle mass with those extra calories you consume because your fast metabolism will quickly burn off any fat weight you gain.


----------



## luvs

i hear people should avoid foods, so i seek them. ensure-type drinks continue to keep a few lbs. on.


----------



## Twixmixy

healthyeatingxyz said:


> I'm male, 5'4'' and weigh 120 pounds.  I think that is underweight.  Can someone give me healthy eating suggestions to try to add a few pounds.
> 
> Thanks in advance.
> 
> healthyeatingxyz



I would add in some of the starchier veggies (that way you are still consuming real foods!) So things like acorn/butternut/spagetti squash, potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, etc. Get those in there with lots of leafy greens and local protein meats  and you'll be golden. And eat as much as you want! You can't overeat healthy!


----------



## CharlieD

It's an old thread but I would like to share few of my extra pounds.


----------



## anas94

the formula is very simple 

more calories = more weight 
less calories= less weight 

you just have to know how is your metabolism and what percentage of calories your body need ...


----------



## luvs

i use ensure+& ingest scads of meat, eggs, full-fat milk, breads, pasta, healthy fats & less healthy fats, booze, tho i balance that w/ veggies & fruit, legumes & lean chix, salads & so on-- 

i'm beyond thin, & sometimes, u hafta deal w/ that; i luv being thin; some don't-- check w/ a metabolic specialist & or get a referral to 1 via ur PCP--
not too great to overimbibe, often; that can stress your system & make u ill.


----------

