Need to Gain Weight



rclouviere

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Apr 10, 2011
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I know many may scoff at this; however, I've always been thin (I'm 56); but have worked with weights for many years and have muscle definition. Still, I'd like to gain about 10 pounds, in a healthy manner. I'm 6' and weigh 155. It's been especially hard since I've been logging at least 100 miles a week.

Any advice?
 
An extra serving at dinner?

And if that fails...

DESSERT!


;)

But seriously, maybe just start adding extra snacks between meals and make sure to refuel heavy especially after longer rides. If you are lifting weights to gain muscle mass, how many reps are you doing each set after warmup? If it's more than 6-8, it's too many (to put on mass).

I was having the same problem since upping my miles and finding my collection of bibs getting loose. For extra calories I've added a Chobani greek yogurt to my usual breakfast (great source of protein), and an afternoon snack comprised of crackers, cheese, hummus, tomatoes and a can of sardines (a great source of Omega3 which among other things helps reduce inflammation in the lungs and facilitate VO2 but are low in mercury, unlike tuna and salmon which are apex feeders, so can be eaten safely every day). Then after dinner some fig newtons while watching TV. Weight seems to have stabilized somewhat.

Bon appetit!
 
Thanks Danfoz. Good advice. However, I eat around 3,500 to 4,000 calories a day, and eat 6 times a day (3 meals and 3 snacks in between). But, you're right, I need to eat more after long rides.

And, I mix my weight workouts up, but usually do around 10 reps with a burnout set at the end of each exercise. Then, every other week, I do drop sets (3 sets in a row) and, as you suggest, that is probably burning even more calories.

Good suggestions. Thanks
 
Protein helped me out and I also started to snack more. Hope you can meet your goal. Sometimes gaining can be even more difficult than losing.
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If you are very active in your lifestyle and eat less then you can lose weight or maintain your body which is very thin. Maybe you can increase the amount of food you intake daily. Increase the amounts you eat of carbohydrates and proteins since they can increase weight and muscle mass. If you feel hungry then you should eat and you can incorporate healthy and packed with calories snacks all throughout the day. Three to four snacks for a day is enough and you can distribute it in the morning, afternoon, evening and midnight.
 
If you want to gain weight really fast there's this only trick I know eat after 7pm, especially something sweet. :)
 
Start by doing this for a month;
  • Add a serve of junk food in between meals
  • Drink 3 cans of coke each day
  • Beer, aim for 6 beers every evening
  • The combination of fat and carbs is best for gaining blubber. In the evening with your beers eat high fat and sugar deserts and lots of them
  • Visit low socio economic areas and observe what the people in shopping centers are eating for lunch. Then copy them. These people know how to put on fat and stay fat.
  • Hang the bike up and start driving.
 
To gain weight while cycling is difficult. This is because you tend to burn 1000+ calories on an easy day! I suggest you look into speed biking, where they stress more on speed rather than endurance. This will build muscle while also improving your biking skills. I also suggest looking into lifting and dieting. Both however, contribute to weight gain.
 
I envy you like crazy! I'd sugguest chocolate. Chocolate is my saviour in times of... Well... I guess chocolate is always good! Especially for putting on weight!
 
It's interesting I never Her anyone asking to gain weight right now I'm trying to lose weight fast that's exactly why I've come up with the idea to maybe ride my bike around a little bit more because it'll help me to lose weight fast.
 
Eat brown rice, a lot of brown rice! It really helped me gain weight, eat as much as you can per day, use some sauce with it to make it taste better, eat it with other meals. It increases insulin levels and your weight starts growing very fast. It definitely helped me, so I suggest you try this one out too:)
 
Unfortunately most of my methods of gaining weight doesn't satisfy your request to do so in a healthy manner. Eating a lot of high calories foods and snacks until you are full is my surest "method" of gaining weight.

I guess if you want to gain weight in a healthy manner, you can try to eat a lot of healthier carbs like brown rice or wheat bread like the previous poster mentioned. What I meant by a lot is to eat until you cannot eat anymore. That will ensure that you eat more calories than what you burn. You already eat 6 times a day anyway so if you keep the frequency, I think naturally you will gain more weight.
 
You're working out a lot so that is counter productive to you gaining weight. What you need to do is get maybe consume 3 or 4 grams of protein per pound that you weigh. 2 grams of complex carbs per pound, and try to get at least 10,000 calories a day. Also drink a protein shake right after working out. Anywhere between 50 to100 grams of protein in the form of a protein shake.
 
joshposh said:
You're working out a lot so that is counter productive to you gaining weight. What you need to do is get maybe consume 3 or 4 grams of protein per pound that you weigh. 2 grams of complex carbs per pound, and try to get at least 10,000 calories a day. Also drink a protein shake right after working out. Anywhere between 50 to100 grams of protein in the form of a protein shake.

Dieticians will vary on those numbers but I think you got a decent formula there. Like Josh said your constant working out has turned you into a calorie burning machine. Even when you are at rest your body is still burning calories.
 
You really want to gain weight? Try fueling up and loading up on the calories when you are at rest. Sure you are burning calories at rest. But you are burning so much more when riding. So get comfortable on the couch, and pig out. Eat everything in sight. Might not be the most healthy way to put on the pounds but I find I put on the most weight when I sit and do nothing. I'm sure your muscles are going to love the rest and extra calories.
 
Since you're already physically active and you burn a lot of caliories when working ou, i suggest you take extra carbs and omit the burn out sessions at the end of each set and see how it goes. Avoid junk food if you want to gain weight in a healthy manner.
 
On the same boat as you and it's a struggle gaining healthy weight. Make sure you get enough calories when you're resting as stated above, and you'll bet set. It's a long term goal really, so stay committed!
 
I remember my father-in-law telling his children to eat more when you work more - like a popular mantra work hard, eat hard. He said that the energy we expend in physical activities should be compensated by the food and drinks we ingest. And if we are losing weight then that's good for those overweight but for the underweight the amount of food intake has to be drastically increased. Take vitamins for appetite if need be just so the extra food consumption will not be an ordeal.
 

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