Gain weight tips?!

[lovely36]

Currently 5'1 and about 7 stone. I'm having a really hard time putting on weight, I'm very very skinny and it's making me very self conscious. Any tips would be greatly appreciated!

[Lina86]

You're not the only one lovely, I have struggled with my weight for years and can't get past 6.4 stone no matter how much I shove down me, I've tried protein shakes, bars, literally eatin like a pig for weeks, but if I skip one or two meals the weight falls off in a second, and there's not much support for us overly skinny chicks (also people seem to feel comfortable telling me I'm to skinny all the time, now imagine me telling a fat girl she's far to fat!) someone told me about weight lifting, that's meant to help increase your muscle weight and slow down metabolism, just haven't got the time myself ATM, maybe look in to that?

[lovely36]

@Lina86 thanks for your reply. I have the same issue!! I used to workout and it toned my body but didn't make a huge diffference. I have also tried everything but nothing seems to work. Dh jokes and calls me a skeleton or people have told me jokingly that I'm anorexic. And it really hurts my feelings. Makes me very self conscious. All my clothes just hangs off of me and it sucks. :(

[DustyMaiden]

Not a problem I have. Have you worked out how many calories you are consuming.

[HollowTalk]

My son is very thin and went to the doctor about it. He was told to eat double carbs at every meal, eg pasta and garlic bread, cereal and toast.

[lulurosebud]

Hi girls,

You might have thought of this already, but I think you should look at gaining muscle instead of fat. Try eating more carbs, but not refined carbs, more protein (plant based or animal protein) and work on building muscle with weights (avoid cardio).
It could help...

[florentina1]

Do you find that you do not have an appetite. I weigh just a little bit more than you but find it difficult to eat. I think I have missed out on the hunger gene. I get a feeling of being full very easily. I am just above the lowest BMI and have warm milk and cereal before bed to help,me keep the weight on.

[lovely36]

@florentina1 that's a problem I also have. I get full very fast and don't ever feel hungry. I eat because I know I have to. The only time I feel hungry is at night.

[florentina1]

When people are trying to lose weight they tell them not to eat in the evenings. That is why I try to do the opposite. I don’t wake up hungry so I have my main meal at 12. Then I have a snack about 4 which is fruit, soup or a small sandwich. In the evenings I nibble on cheese and crackers. I have porridge, shredded wheat or wetabix before bed. I can eat much more if I am rested. I think I have a very fast metabolism, which probably slows down at night.

I can maintain my weight on this without going below the BMI minimum

[lovely36]

@florentina1 I'm going to try that. I also have a very fast metabolism. I could eat a full horse everyday and would still lose weight. Very annoying. Thank you!

[sollyfromsurrey]

Ironic how everyone accepts that there are thin people who eat masses but fail to gain weight but few people accept that there are large people who eat little and struggle to lose weight.

[florentina1]

@sollyfromsurrey you are absolutely right. Our immediate family (3 generations) have exceptionally slim people and much larger ones. 6 of my 8 grandchildrenhave no spare flesh whatsoever and 2 of them have very well rounded bodies I don’t think enough thought is given to genetic make-up. The skinny ones seem to have ravenous appetites.

[HostessTrolley]

I recently supported my anorexic daughter through gaining 20kg (hence why I’m on the weight loss board myself 🙄🙄). She’s also veggie. Nuts, peanut butter, houmous, egg mayo and flapjack were good foods, plus full fat milk and yogurt. She liked the ‘graze’ protein flapjacks as they’re not too sweet. She was encouraged to have three meals and three snacks a day - so eating frequently.

[OneStepMoreFun]

I have a lot of sympathy for you. DS2 had this problem for years. If you don't feel like eating or you fill up quickly, it's so hard to gain weight. For DS, we just made every mouthful as high calorie and as nutritious as we could.

Always use full fat milk. Keep a tub of single cream in the fridge and add a splash of it to soup, hot chocolate and any suitable savoury dishes.

Snack on nuts or peanut putter or cream cheese crackers.

I used to make cake with almond flour, butter, eggs and sugar served warm with custard, cream or ice cream. A tiny portion of that can give you far more calories than a filling snack.

[lovely36]

@OneStepMoreFun thank you. I'm going to try that. Yes since I was a child my mum had to give me shakes to help me gain weight as I looked ill/anorexic although I ate just fine

[lovely36]

Sounds crazy but I envy heavier women who have to exercise and eat healthy to lose weight. I love working out and eating healthy but if I workout I lose a lot of weight. I've had to eat 7 meals a day at some point and even then I only gained like half a stone and as soon as I started eating 4 meals a day I dropped the weight. Now since becoming a mom and being so busy I only eat 3 meals a day and a few snacks and I'm soooo soooo skinny. It makes me so self conscious. Especially when people make comments like "omg you look like you could break." Etc

[OneStepMoreFun]

Another thing that will help is to always eat carbs and high fat together. It doesn't have to be unhealthy fast food. You could have mashed avocado on walnut bread or spaghetti carbonara with bacon, egg and cream.

And though it's annoying, most people probably comment because they are jealous and would love to be your size.

[lovely36]

@OneStepMoreFun that soundsdelicious! I'm going to star eating loads of snacks and good fats see if that helps. Thanks ladies.

[Glittergirl30]

It’s hard when You feel full very quickly. Grazing on high calorie foods can help so you aren’t constantly faced with huge meals. Also adding butter to veg and potatoes is easy to add in extra calories (and tasty) also try using oils and full fat dressings in salads and sandwiches. Add cream to soups etc. This way your not eating extra meals just adding extra calories