To need help to put on weight?

[Wolfie11]

I have always been naturally skinny, just a family trait. I’ve never limited what I eat or exercised much. I’ve also always wished that I could put a little bit on but have just accepted that this is the way I am built and tried to love myself for who I am. Not easy when you feel like a lanky beanpole!

After meeting a friend (in passing, supermarket queue!) they messaged me to ask if I’m okay as I look like I’ve lost some weight. I weighed myself this morning and I’m now 8 stone 6. The last time I weighed myself (months ago now) I was 9 stone 7. I am 5 foot 8. I haven’t deliberately not been eating but when I get busy I can easily miss meals without noticing. Usually always have lunch and dinner but miss breakfast a lot or end up replacing a meal with rubbish. I’ve been really stressed recently and I actually think I’ve been quite unwell mentally. I’m going to put some effort into getting better mentally but I don’t even know where to start with putting weight back on.

Usually it doesn’t matter what I do I barely manage to put any weight on and it’s so disappointing to look at the scales after being religious about food for weeks just for them to not have budged. I don’t want to be skinny, I know there’s a limit as to how much I can change my natural figure but right now I am underweight and it’s horrible. I can’t talk to friends/family in real life as they don’t really get it - they think it’s a good thing, although I think they would be shocked if they knew how much I actually weigh. I need some help and support.

I have resistance bands in the house so I was thinking I could start some kind of exercise to build a bit of a bum. Start making sure I have three meals a day and three snacks - does anyone know of snacks that are good for weight gain? I already eat plenty of rubbish (biscuits etc) and they don’t seem to make a difference. I also thought I could try and drink glasses of milk?

Does anyone have any other ideas 😟?

[Spied]

You can add cheese to lots of things?
Breads and pasta pile the lbs on me.
Smoothies are quite calorific.
Add cream to sauces?
Things like potatoes, pasta and rice with every meal.

[fuuuuuuck]

What sort of things do you currently eat?

[OmgThereAreNoPlanesAboveMeNow]

You should make an appointment with your GP and get full bloods and check up done.

Don't eat rubbish to put on weight. I would rather do more protein (especially since you want to work up the butt) and fat than sugar. Have you checked some body building recipes? They are usually high in protein.

This is totally opposite of what they were designed for I think, but try calorie counting app so you know how much you are eating and add untill you see results. If you are losing that means you eat less than what you burn.

[Dreamersandwishers]

Exercise more in general - resistance bands are good as are weight - improvise with tins, bottles, household items if you need to. Exercise may stimulate your appetite.
Full fat yoghurt, nuts, bananas , peanut butter - all fairly healthy but quite calorific.
I had the same problem but after kicking up the exercise etc I may be going the other way 😱

[HostessTrolley]

Nuts are good for weight gain. Apple slices with peanut butter as a dip? Toast with peanut butter. Milky drinks like latte or hot chocolate, houmous, flapjack (the graze protein ones are not too sweet), quiche or scrambled egg with cheese in, smoothies with a scoop of protein powder added. My d is in recovery from anorexia, finding snacks that have protein in rather than just high calorie stuff has been helpful.

[AnotherEmma]

I think you need to look after your mental health as it's important anyway and it's also a factor in your weight loss.

And I agree with OmgThere about asking your GP for a physical health check up and blood tests.

Lastly I have no idea whether you would get a referral but I think a dietician would be the best person to advise about healthy weight gain.

I would have thought you should eat nutritious and calorie-rich foods.

[Crimsonnightlotus]

When I was younger, I was really skinny to the point that some of my friends worried. I think I was eating rubbish and didn't do much exercise so had no muscle.
My dc is the same, he used to be so boney and underweight. He is still very slim but since he started training regularly at the martial art club and eating healthy balanced food, he doesn't look ill anymore.

[Lifeaback]

Firstly I definitely think it’s worth a GP visit to make sure your weight loss hasn’t been caused by something.

Once that’s out of the way and has (hopefully!) confirmed there’s no underlying medical issues, I would recommend downloading an app like myfitnesspal or lifesum to start tracking what you’re eating. If you input the amount of weight you want to gain it will set you a daily target goal of calories you should be eating. Protein is the key for gaining mass and will help you build muscle if you’re exercising, and if you use one of those apps you are able to see what macros you’re eating so can make sure you’re getting enough protein- the recommended daily intake for people wanting to build muscle is 1 gram of protein per pound of body fat (so if you way 124lbs you should be aiming for 124g of protein etc). Things like chicken, lentils, eggs, yoghurt, sweet potatoes, peanut butter etc are good healthy sources of protein.

I cannot stress this enough- don’t just try and increase the amount of calories you’re consuming by eating junk food to try and put on weight. You might be a low weight but that doesn’t make you immune from all the health issues a diet consisting of junk food causes!

In terms of exercises resistance bands are fantastic and I would recommend ordering some small dumbbells/kettle bells too. The app shreddy is my favourite app for workouts, and has lots of different options depending on your goal- I’m currently using the ‘lean muscle’ and have seen amazing improvements. The workouts are short and have videos so really easy to follow for beginners. It’s a subscription based app- £9.99 a month but IMO it’s much easier to stick with than following YouTube videos etc as you’re able to track your progress and it’s personalised. And it was set up by a girl called grace Beverly who’s only 22 but is an incredible entrepreneur with some really fantastic values so I’m happy to support such a business!

Sorry for such a long post.... I have personal experience of this and know that for some people it’s just as hard to gain weight as it is to lose it and have picked up a few tips over the years so hope some of that has helped.

[Settle59]

I've got the opposite and possibly more common problem of wanting to shed weight!!

However, good luck in gaining weight - in your shoes I would weigh myself every week to see if my weight gain strategies are working.

[Boulshired]

You need to examine what you are currently eating. Is there enough protein, carbs and good fats. It can be easy to believe you are eating well but are actually eating a lot of food that can be low calories. Booking blood test is a good idea and keeping a food diary if case you need to be referred. If your BMI is underweight then exercise should be put on hold till you are in a healthy bracket.