How to GAIN weight in a healthy way?

[somegirl]

My current BMI is 18.3.

I'm in my early 20's, I am 5 ft 7 inches tall and weigh 117 pounds (aka 170cm and 53kg).

I still want to be slim but gain a little bit of weight. However I've been avoiding exercising too much (I just take a walk here and there) because I don't want to lose more weight, but I still need to be active so what's the solution? 

As for the food, I can't afford too expensive stuff still. I eat beans, peas (very little because I hate it but still eat it) mash potatoes, spinach, and with almost every dish I eat, I eat it with chicken meat (or some other meat) and salads. I would eat pasta or lasagna from time to time. 

In the evening I would make sandwiches with curcuma, ginger, olives, potatoes, meat etc, or I would just skip dinner entirelly. I would have pizza once in a while too. And I eat a lot of different fruit after lunch. Fruit is replacement for snacks for me basically. 

I cut out noodles and salami almost entirely. 

I just think I have fast metabolism. Should I just increase the amount of food I already eat? Or eat entirelly different food that would help me gain weight?

Thanks in advance.

 

 

[ivankiss]

Please don't! You're just the perfect size 

Feel ya though. Trying to gain some weight myself. I'm 70ish kg, 183cm. I'd like to weigh anywhere between 81 to 86kg, but still keep muscle tonality.

I'm planning on doing a short dirty bulk and then cut. But I would not really suggest you to do the same.

[Heaven]

Something very important to understand when someone wants to change their weight is that there is no fattening/thin food. It’s all about your calories intake.

If you consume more than you burn, you will gain weight and it works in both ways.

Bottom line, you need to increase your calorie intake to gain weight.

Add more of the healthy fats into your diet: 
Peanut butter, walnuts, olive oil, coconut milk etc.. Maybe dark chocolate can be a good snack. 
They are dense in calories and for most people are great for the body as well.

Try to eat early in the day and many small meals . For me it works amazing for my appetite levels.

 

Edited August 3, 2021 by Heaven

[somegirl]

8 minutes ago, ivankiss said:

Please don't! You're just the perfect size 

Feel ya though. Trying to gain some weight myself. I'm 70ish kg, 183cm. I'd like to weigh anywhere between 81 to 86kg, but still keep muscle tonality.

I'm planning on doing a short dirty bulk and then cut. But I would not really suggest you to do the same.

Oh you think so?

People have been telling me my whole life I am skinny. I surprisingly don't actually mind them telling me that at all (better be skinny than fat), I just want to gain weight for myself, my arms are so thin. ?

You're tall! Ohh, and I thought that for a second in the moments of "weakness", like - I'm gonna eat junk food, gain weight, and then stop, but I don't think that's the way to go about it lol. I feel it's wrong and unhealthy for your body. 

[Michael569]

35 minutes ago, somegirl said:

My current BMI is 18.3

This is the lower end of the perfect range. 18.3 is healthy, minimises your risk of chronic health complications. Your weight is very decent to your height. 

35 minutes ago, somegirl said:

I still want to be slim but gain a little bit of weight. However I've been avoiding exercising too much (I just take a walk here and there) because I don't want to lose more weight, but I still need to be active so what's the solution? 

You could consider doing some weight lifting, that's the healthiest way to gain weight to make some muscle. DOn't worry you won't look like Kristen Nun, more like you'll tone your tights and abdominals and round up the bum. Which girl wouldn't want that  This process will also strengthen your bones and joints to prevent osteoporosis postmenopausal and support healthy sex-hormone balance and brain. 

The best way to start is to buy a gym membership and hiring a trainer (most gyms have them) for 2-3 sessions to give you a plan and show you the exercises so that you don't hurt yourself and train safely. Weightlifting can be very enjoyable and there is no need to go heavy or use powders and supplements. Stay with food, good sleep, recovery and give it few months. Results will come and you'll feel amazing. 

35 minutes ago, somegirl said:

As for the food, I can't afford too expensive stuff still. I eat beans, peas (very little because I hate it but still eat it) mash potatoes, spinach, and with almost every dish I eat, I eat it with chicken meat (or some other meat) and salads. I would eat pasta or lasagna from time to time.

No need for any superfoods. Beans & lentils are the cheapest foods on the planet when you consider nutritional value per dollar. Healthy diet is anything but expensive. Stay away from those prestige shops selling you acai berries, superfood powders and all that crap, you don't need it. Natural whole food is the cheapest there is. If you can support local produce to maximise cost savings and nutritional value. 

35 minutes ago, somegirl said:

I just think I have fast metabolism. Should I just increase the amount of food I already eat? Or eat entirelly different food that would help me gain weight?

You need to eat in excess if you want your cells to be in anabolic phase (growth). Food deprivation will lead to catabolism (weight loss & muscle loss). No need not count calories, make sure to eat regularly and if you feel fatigued and hungry a lot, eat some more especially protein-rich foods. Also don't avoid carbohydrates, they will be essential for energy if you want to exercise. Exercising with energy deprivation will lead to loss of muscle and strength. 

Hope that helps 

[Olivia24]

1 hour ago, somegirl said:

Oh you think so?

People have been telling me my whole life I am skinny. I surprisingly don't actually mind them telling me that at all (better be skinny than fat), I just want to gain weight for myself, my arms are so thin. ?

You're tall! Ohh, and I thought that for a second in the moments of "weakness", like - I'm gonna eat junk food, gain weight, and then stop, but I don't think that's the way to go about it lol. I feel it's wrong and unhealthy for your body. 

Im sure you are a  beauty. Im 5,4 110. I think that  is  about right  for  me. If you want to gain a  bit  of weight  just  increase your  calorie  intake a  bit and see what  happens. When you feel those jeans biting  into the  belly  more, Stop!!!, lol.

[Olivia24]

1 hour ago, Michael569 said:

This is the lower end of the perfect range. 18.3 is healthy, minimises your risk of chronic health complications. Your weight is very decent to your height. 

You could consider doing some weight lifting, that's the healthiest way to gain weight to make some muscle. DOn't worry you won't look like Kristen Nun, more like you'll tone your tights and abdominals and round up the bum. Which girl wouldn't want that  This process will also strengthen your bones and joints to prevent osteoporosis postmenopausal and support healthy sex-hormone balance and brain. 

The best way to start is to buy a gym membership and hiring a trainer (most gyms have them) for 2-3 sessions to give you a plan and show you the exercises so that you don't hurt yourself and train safely. Weightlifting can be very enjoyable and there is no need to go heavy or use powders and supplements. Stay with food, good sleep, recovery and give it few months. Results will come and you'll feel amazing. 

No need for any superfoods. Beans & lentils are the cheapest foods on the planet when you consider nutritional value per dollar. Healthy diet is anything but expensive. Stay away from those prestige shops selling you acai berries, superfood powders and all that crap, you don't need it. Natural whole food is the cheapest there is. If you can support local produce to maximise cost savings and nutritional value. 

You need to eat in excess if you want your cells to be in anabolic phase (growth). Food deprivation will lead to catabolism (weight loss & muscle loss). No need not count calories, make sure to eat regularly and if you feel fatigued and hungry a lot, eat some more especially protein-rich foods. Also don't avoid carbohydrates, they will be essential for energy if you want to exercise. Exercising with energy deprivation will lead to loss of muscle and strength. 

Hope that helps 

I  have a Q for you. What are the  best foods  to lessen acid reflux?

[somegirl]

@Michael569 Thanks so much Michael! You're always helpful with health advices. 
I never thought I could achieve a little weight gain through weight lifting. I hope I can also exerice at home and get the same results? Like buy equipments and stuff like that. 

[somegirl]

@Heaven @Olivia24 Sure, thank you guys.  

[RendHeaven]

lol too afraid to exercise because your weight might potentially change? you're totally gaslighting yourself!

your body was made to move.

[Michael569]

33 minutes ago, Olivia24 said:

I  have a Q for you. What are the  best foods  to lessen acid reflux?

I'd start with identifying what causes it in the first place. Some of the potential culprits are: high salt, high consumption of saturated fats, tomatoes & other nightshades, citrus fruits, sugar, coffee, milk and chocolate. 

Then  other potential suspects are: helicobacter pylori infection, excessive portion sizes, stress, chronic gastritis, hiatus hernia, smoking, alcohol, some medical drugs (e.g. painkillers, antibiotics, PPIs, antacids rebound etc), being overweight  , overexercising. 

Do you have any more info you could share? Is there any pattern? Do you know when did it start? What makes it worse? 

22 minutes ago, somegirl said:

never thought I could achieve a little weight gain through weight lifting. I hope I can also exerice at home and get the same results? Like buy equipments and stuff like that. 

It's also important not to use the number on the scale as end-all-be-all. Anthropometric parameters are valuable in predicting the risk of chronic disease but they are not always necessarily the most reliable way to measure health status. For example, something like waist-hip ratio combined with BMI and body fat measurement is much better than just weighting oneself. This is because genetically people have different constitutions, bone density, fat deposition. SOme people also have naturally very thin bodies while others are more stocky. This cannot be changed with any amount of weight loss.  This is especially profound in women where there can be many different body shapes, especially in the pelvic area. 

Sure exercising at home is an option. You could try something like TRX and hang it on a doorframe or in a park. Maddie Lymburner has a Maddiefit channel where she does guide workout videos for women, those are quite helpful. Maybe check that one out. Other than that a bench and 2 dumbels (adjustable), skipping rope, 1 or 2 rubber bands would be all you need really to build a decent home gym. 

[Olivia24]

@Heaven You are so right!!

[Olivia24]

4 minutes ago, Michael569 said:

I'd start with identifying what causes it in the first place. Some of the potential culprits are: high salt, high consumption of saturated fats, tomatoes & other nightshades, citrus fruits, sugar, coffee, milk and chocolate. 

Then  other potential suspects are: helicobacter pylori infection, excessive portion sizes, stress, chronic gastritis, hiatus hernia, smoking, alcohol, some medical drugs (e.g. painkillers, antibiotics, PPIs, antacids rebound etc), being overweight  , overexercising. 

Do you have any more info you could share? Is there any pattern? Do you know when did it start? What makes it worse? 

It's also important not to use the number on the scale as end-all-be-all. Anthropometric parameters are valuable in predicting the risk of chronic disease but they are not always necessarily the most reliable way to measure health status. For example, something like waist-hip ratio combined with BMI and body fat measurement is much better than just weighting oneself. This is because genetically people have different constitutions, bone density, fat deposition. SOme people also have naturally very thin bodies while others are more stocky. This cannot be changed with any amount of weight loss.  This is especially profound in women where there can be many different body shapes, especially in the pelvic area. 

Sure exercising at home is an option. You could try something like TRX and hang it on a doorframe or in a park. Maddie Lymburner has a Maddiefit channel where she does guide workout videos for women, those are quite helpful. Maybe check that one out. Other than that a bench and 2 dumbels (adjustable), skipping rope, 1 or 2 rubber bands would be all you need really to build a decent home gym. 

It doesnt  happen alot  but when it does  its usually  late at  night. IM 5'4 110 so not  overweight. Not  alot  of saturated fats, little  meat, and  never drink coffee. I do eat  alot  of  tomatos and some  citrus  fruits. No smoking  but occasionally  vodka.

[Olivia24]

25 minutes ago, somegirl said:

@Heaven @Olivia24 Sure, thank you guys.  

You are so welcome!!

[Michael569]

@Olivia24 I don't want to hijack OP's topic so happy to chat about this through DM. Feel free to drop me a line if you'd like 

[mybeato]

So does diabetes can be a root cause of the underweight? Also, which sugar test device is compatible with all the testing strips