anyone else have problems keeping weight on?

Help! I am a fairly active female who can't keep weight on, and I feel like I am not able to build the muscle I want because of this.
I try to bike around 100 miles a week, and then I also swim twice a week to cross train and get in the gym twice a week to lift. On top of this I ride horses 3 times a week.
But I feel like I never stop eating and my weight won't go up at all.
I try to eat meat at least once a day and if I don't eat more then I drink a protein drink. I also feel that the majority of my calories come from carbs.
Does anyone else have issues with keeping weight on? or am I the only one...

If so what are some things you do/eat to help.
Oh and I eat whenever I am hungry, so it isn't like I am depriving myself of food.

 

I was in a very similar situation this past summer. Getting faster on the bike... and having to tighten the belt every day it seemed! I got some good advice in an earlier thread on this page. (title: Weight getting too low?) I'd suggest checking it out completely, but here is the some of the most helpful advice I recieved.

When you eat, make sure to include EFA's (essential fatty acids) such as those extra-virgin olive oil, fish oils, and flax-seed oils. I took to including olive oil in my morning breakfast oatmeal, which helped not only with weight stabilization, but also general satisfaction. (It actually tastes REALLY good.)
Drink a protein shake in the morning, and one close to when you go to bed. This will help prevent your body from consuming proteins you need as your body becomes catabolic from high activity.

Watch when you eat as well. Make sure that within half an hour of finishing ANY endurance-based activity you ingest a tasty snack containing a 4:1 ratio of carbohydrates to protein. (chocolate milk and cliff bars are pretty good) This helps your muscles recover, and restores glycogen in your cells for more energy later. About an hour and a half later, eat a well balanced, medium sized meal (450-550 kcal). Salads with grilled chicken, olive oil, egg, carrots, tomatoes, etc. work really well for this purpose.
After or during a resistance based workout such as lifting weights, take in a bit of extra protein (whey or soy protein work well, but can be overdone).

As for your weight lifting workouts... Are you completing high-rep, low weight, or vice-versa? High-rep, toning workouts tend to rely more on the same slow-twitch muscle fibers that may already be worked and in recovery due to your cycling and swimming. Try doing some 4-8 rep sets at slightly higher weights once in a while to help "bulk up" a bit. (obviously, not to hulk out, but just to add a bit more muscle. )

Take a recovery day once in a while as well, as it often helps you mentally as well as physically. (Sit back and enjoy an afternoon at the movies or something, just give those muscles a break!)

Check out www.fitday.com for a great way to keep track of your caloric needs. I have found it to be a great help, and in conjunction with hard training sessions and correct eating, I've gained roughly twelve pounds of lean mass since last july.

Hope this helps

 

+1 on the extra protein, feed the muscles.
And try have rest day between workouts

 

Hi, I'm a cross trainer and your types of questions occur commonly on the weights forums. Pretty much every time, the answer is that you aren't eating enough and that goes for males and females. When you exercise you damage your muscles, the body uses protein to repair the muscles, the trick is to give the body a constant supply of protein so its available for a continious repair of the muscles, which really means splitting your meals into 6, rather than the traditional 3. If you don't want to do this, then add a snack (containing protein) mid morning, mid afternoon and just before you go to bed and don't worry, you won't end up like the female body builders you see on TV, thats caused by take steriods, you will end up with a body that has empowered beauty, where the muscles are strong while having a femine look to them.

Spinner32 has some good advice, read his thread and mine and ask some questions. I reitterate some of his points;
- Fitday. Do it, you need to understand as much about your body as possible. When I did it, I learnt a lot about my eating habits.
- Tell us about your weights workout.
- Eat good food, spinner has provided examples.

How much protein? theres some debate about kidneys, if you have bad kidneys then do some study, otherwise you can go to 1gm per pound of body weight (2.2gms per kg) per day, split over 6 courses. I prefer to eat my intake, but I do use the odd protein shake at work were food preparation isn't as easy.

And to finish off, heres a joke. I read the nuturitional info on a box of chocolates (the sort you may give for a gift) and there's protien in there, I worked out that for a 80kg/176lbs person, you could get your daily protien requirements from 14 boxes of chocolates ha ha. So you just need to date boys who give you chocolates instead of flowers. [not that I'm suggesting 14 boxes a day, the sugar would have you crawling up the wall]

Bored of what you are eating? Look up some receipies on the web, for example http://www.wannabebigforums.com/forumdisplay.php?f=46

 

Well stated. In my weight training days I found that eating six solid meals with meat/protein made me feel too bloated so subtituting for a protein shake for morning and afternoon tea and maybe supper is a good Idea.
Despite the pictures on the protein powder container and what many believe it takes alot more than this to make you look like a bodybuilder with the walnutty look that usually requires roids and very little aerobic excercise plus some heavy duty weight training which is the opposite of what you are doing.

As Mike noted you need to caculate the protein your body needs. Also more in one meal is not better as your body can only absorb like around 30gms in one sitting or every couple hours.

 

I've been like you, e, most of my life. I've had to overeat every day to stay even. But since I love to eat (carbs, more carbs!) that wasn't tough duty. My brother, who doesn't share my metabolism, has said that if he were like me he'd set his alarm clock for the middle of the night just so he could get up and eat! Now that I'm 60, I don't have quite the same problem anymore. I can maintain my weight by eating like a pig instead of a hippo. You see, you have something to look forward to!

 

yes!!!!!!!!!decide in november that im too light and am losing power becxause of it,increased my diet to 3,300 cals a day and........lost weight,so sympathesise.i just hope when the warmer weather comes i will start to gain weight.

suppose i should dig deep into my pockets and buy some build up.when i was in hospital trying to gain weight in the end they gave me guiness,THIS WAS YEARS AGO.dont think itd be allowed now!!!well,worth a try.


nancy clarkes book on sports nutrition has a huge section on weight gain and advises simple steps to take too,thick bread,peanut butter etc etc,tuna in sunflower oil,all helps.


worse thing is,we are a moinority and its a lonely battle at times.

 

+1 on the whey protein i really struggle with weight when doing about 250 miles/week and a whey shake after trainign really helps along with lots of museli,malt loaf etc.

 

Thanks everyone for your help! I have started to eat olive oil in my oatmeal and cream of wheat- and now it tastes funny when it isn't in there
I have definitaly upped my EFA's and cut back on some of my carbs(but not much) and I have put on about 2 lbs, which I am happy with. Now I just need to put on some more muscle(really need to get my thighs and butt bigger) how many girls out there ever say that? haha! I also realized that my protein drink as 50g of protein(whey isolate) and after reading from you guys, realizing that i shouldn't be taking in more then 30 in a sitting b/c of the body not being able to digest it, have taken to drinking half of the serving recommendation at a time, so I am getting about 25g of protein in. ( i don't eat a lot of meat, just b/c I don't get to the grocery a lot. so I usually end up drinking some of my protein throughout the day b/c it is easier).

thanks again for all the help!

 

Pleasure to be of assistance.

Don't worry about your butt and thighs, you will end up with the best ones on the planet !

 

also,after reading a post re "cant lose weight but gaining muscle"there is a bit about body fat %-women need more in order to stay healthy,ive a body fat % under 10 and do not function as well as i could,so dont have any qualms about gaining "lard" its part of our nuts and bolts!

 

love

 

how to gain and keep weight
Oct 4, 2003

hi. i'm 5'10" tall and i weigh 150lbs. i have always been thin. i was diagnosed 3 months ago and i am concerned about losing the little weight that i have. i am not on meds and i my doctor told me that i was healthy except for the virus. i am starting a new work out regime since i have slacked off working out. what can i do to gain weight? is there a product or supplement that i can add to my diet that will help. oh, i forgot to mention that i try to eat healthy. i eat alot of vegetables and chicken, backed. thank you for the help, i greatly appreciate it.



Response from Mr. Vergel Your weight is not bad at all for your height. But if you want to gain lean body mass, you can add aminoacid supplement products like Juven or Resurgex (this one also has whey protein and vitamins) to your diet. Try to maximize your lean proteins (nuts, meats, fish, eggs, cheese) , vegetables and fruit and minimize sugars and white flour. Work out 3-4 times a week with weights and also do some cardio ( 20 min 3 times a week is enough if you do not want to lose weight) For supplement info, go to www.houstonbuyersclub.org . Also , check all sections of www.medibolics.com

Nelson

 

I am 24 and my fiance is 28. He has delayed our wedding until I become clinically obese.








He said to me that he wants a clinically obese bride (me) at our wedding.








I tried talking to him about it, but to no avail. What is going on with him? What should I do?

 

Why would you want to be a fatty. It is better to be thin.

 

If you are being serious here, then your boyfriend has some deep seated psychological issues which need to be addressed. The question is, why does he want to endanger your health? Because that is precisely what will happen if you become clinically obese - your risk of developing a number of conditions will increase. If he is unwilling to seek help then for your own sake and your future health, I would say ditch him. Go and find a man who appreciates you as you are and doesn't want to change you.

Also, the OP doesn't want to be fat, she wants to gain muscle mass and increase her %bodyfat to a level which is healthy for a woman. At 10% body fat, she will be having problems with hormone production and her cycle among other things.

 

EXACTLY!!!and the cold at the moment!!!!


you have to do what is right for YOU.be true to yourself.


i think thats covers every spectrum in life and so so easy to get entangled in other peoples values,being true to yourself strangely gives you a sense of self worth which is unique

 

Your weight sounds like it is in the heathly range. Is there some other issue in the relationship and this weight thing is an excuse ?

 

i have read about this there is a fatties forum online somewhere some people try to get to like 600lbs etc its terrible please dont damage yourself.

 

A bit like people who take performance enhancing drugs