this will be a work in progress
Back in 1998, I wrote a piece to help those who were struggling to gain weight. At that time, I had reached a point in my own pursuit to add size. After starting out at 125lbs and 5% bodyfat years before, my stats were now 180lbs and 10% bodyfat. I had increased my arm size from 12” to 15” and my calves from 10” to 14”. Others were noticing my progress and asking for my assistance thus I put pen to paper and called it Weight Gain 101.
In 2001, I placed the information on a message board that I was a member of. The response was great and the information eventually found its way onto over 20 other such message boards. Over these years, thanks to the World Wide Web, I have been able to learn a great deal from a variety of people. This has led me to rewrite my information to make it more presentable and timelier. Small parts of the original writings have not withstood the test of time and need to be accounted for. Those who are familiar with the original writing will still find that the whole concept remains just the same as when I wrote it.
NUTRITION
If you are not gaining weight, then you are not eating enough. You first need to determine how many calories you are currently consuming.
Weigh yourself first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. Keep track of all the calories you eat and drink over the next fourteen days (two weeks). On day fifteen, weigh yourself again. If your weight has not changed by plus or minus two pounds, add up the total amount of calories for each day and divide that number by fourteen. The number you come out with is a rough estimate of how many calories you need to eat each day to maintain your current bodyweight.
To begin gaining weight, add 200 to 400 calories to this number. Eat this amount of calories over the next seven days then weigh yourself again. If you gain weight, you’re on your way! If you do not gain weight, add 200 to 400 more calories and eat this amount over the next seven days then weigh yourself again. Slowly increase calories in this manner until you see a gain in bodyweight.
Aim for the addition of no more than one to two pounds a week. More than this on a consistent basis can lead to more increases in bodyfat than lean bodyweight. Check your progress every four weeks with skinfold calipers and a cloth tape measure. If you’re desperately thin, a ten pound increase consisting of five pounds of bodyfat and five pounds of lean bodyweight is perfectly fine. A 2:1 ratio of lean bodyweight to bodyfat would be ideal.
Nutrition Basics:
Calories – besides what was mentioned earlier, you should be eating at least 6 times a day with meals roughly 3 hours apart from each other. An example would be 7:00am, 10:00am, 1pm, 4pm, 7pm, and 10pm.
More info:
Protein – around 25% of total caloric intake. Good choices include eggs, milk, cottage cheese, yogurt, chicken, lean red meat, fish and turkey.
More info:
Carbohydrates – around 50% of total caloric intake. Good choices include brown rice, potatoes, beans, whole grain breads and cereals and pastas, oats, fruits and vegetables.
More info:
Fats – around 25% of total caloric intake. Good choices include olive oil, fish oil, nuts and natural peanut or almond butter.
More info:
Water – around 1 gallon a day.
More info:
Fiber – around 35 grams daily. Good choices include whole grain products, potatoes, nuts, beans, fruits and vegetables.
More info:
Supplements:
Many people ask if they HAVE to use nutritional supplements to gain results. Others ask if they SHOULD use nutritional supplements. The answer to both questions is no. That being said, if you WANT to use them there are only a few you should concern yourself with at this time.
One choice could be a multi-vitamin/mineral. Vitamins and minerals are crucial for many functions in the body and backing up a solid meal plan with this supplement would be a wise decision.
Another choice could be a protein powder. This would be used if you have trouble eating the amount of protein required each day. There are many different ones to choose from: whey, whey/casein, milk/egg, etc.
A popular choice among those attempting to gain weight is a weight gain powder. Many think that with the addition of one of these products to their meal plan they will begin to gain weight but there is more to it than that. The addition of liquid calories to your meal plan should be used as a last resort, not the first thing you turn to.
To gain weight you have to take in more calories than you burn off. You should first either add more food to your meal plan and/or increase serving sizes. For example if your first meal of the day is half a cup of oats and one whole egg, double it and you’ll add over 200 calories. If your last meal of the day is half a cup of cottage cheese with one tablespoon of natural peanut butter, double it and again you’ll add almost 200 calories.
If another meal is three ounces of round steak with half a cup of brown rice, you could instead do five ounces of round steak with one cup of brown rice with the addition of a half cup of beans. If still another meal is one can of tuna with a piece of fruit, you could add a serving of olive oil to the tuna and another piece of fruit.
Over time you will get to the point where eating more food is just not an option and that’s where liquid calories will come in. Be aware that most commercial weight gain products get the majority of their calories from sugar. A better option is to make your own with common food items like milk, natural peanut or almond butter, olive oil, oats, fruit, yogurt, cottage cheese, etc. You could also add in protein powder if you choose.
Back in 1998, I wrote a piece to help those who were struggling to gain weight. At that time, I had reached a point in my own pursuit to add size. After starting out at 125lbs and 5% bodyfat years before, my stats were now 180lbs and 10% bodyfat. I had increased my arm size from 12” to 15” and my calves from 10” to 14”. Others were noticing my progress and asking for my assistance thus I put pen to paper and called it Weight Gain 101.
In 2001, I placed the information on a message board that I was a member of. The response was great and the information eventually found its way onto over 20 other such message boards. Over these years, thanks to the World Wide Web, I have been able to learn a great deal from a variety of people. This has led me to rewrite my information to make it more presentable and timelier. Small parts of the original writings have not withstood the test of time and need to be accounted for. Those who are familiar with the original writing will still find that the whole concept remains just the same as when I wrote it.
NUTRITION
If you are not gaining weight, then you are not eating enough. You first need to determine how many calories you are currently consuming.
Weigh yourself first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. Keep track of all the calories you eat and drink over the next fourteen days (two weeks). On day fifteen, weigh yourself again. If your weight has not changed by plus or minus two pounds, add up the total amount of calories for each day and divide that number by fourteen. The number you come out with is a rough estimate of how many calories you need to eat each day to maintain your current bodyweight.
To begin gaining weight, add 200 to 400 calories to this number. Eat this amount of calories over the next seven days then weigh yourself again. If you gain weight, you’re on your way! If you do not gain weight, add 200 to 400 more calories and eat this amount over the next seven days then weigh yourself again. Slowly increase calories in this manner until you see a gain in bodyweight.
Aim for the addition of no more than one to two pounds a week. More than this on a consistent basis can lead to more increases in bodyfat than lean bodyweight. Check your progress every four weeks with skinfold calipers and a cloth tape measure. If you’re desperately thin, a ten pound increase consisting of five pounds of bodyfat and five pounds of lean bodyweight is perfectly fine. A 2:1 ratio of lean bodyweight to bodyfat would be ideal.
Nutrition Basics:
Calories – besides what was mentioned earlier, you should be eating at least 6 times a day with meals roughly 3 hours apart from each other. An example would be 7:00am, 10:00am, 1pm, 4pm, 7pm, and 10pm.
More info:
Protein – around 25% of total caloric intake. Good choices include eggs, milk, cottage cheese, yogurt, chicken, lean red meat, fish and turkey.
More info:
Carbohydrates – around 50% of total caloric intake. Good choices include brown rice, potatoes, beans, whole grain breads and cereals and pastas, oats, fruits and vegetables.
More info:
Fats – around 25% of total caloric intake. Good choices include olive oil, fish oil, nuts and natural peanut or almond butter.
More info:
Water – around 1 gallon a day.
More info:
Fiber – around 35 grams daily. Good choices include whole grain products, potatoes, nuts, beans, fruits and vegetables.
More info:
Supplements:
Many people ask if they HAVE to use nutritional supplements to gain results. Others ask if they SHOULD use nutritional supplements. The answer to both questions is no. That being said, if you WANT to use them there are only a few you should concern yourself with at this time.
One choice could be a multi-vitamin/mineral. Vitamins and minerals are crucial for many functions in the body and backing up a solid meal plan with this supplement would be a wise decision.
Another choice could be a protein powder. This would be used if you have trouble eating the amount of protein required each day. There are many different ones to choose from: whey, whey/casein, milk/egg, etc.
A popular choice among those attempting to gain weight is a weight gain powder. Many think that with the addition of one of these products to their meal plan they will begin to gain weight but there is more to it than that. The addition of liquid calories to your meal plan should be used as a last resort, not the first thing you turn to.
To gain weight you have to take in more calories than you burn off. You should first either add more food to your meal plan and/or increase serving sizes. For example if your first meal of the day is half a cup of oats and one whole egg, double it and you’ll add over 200 calories. If your last meal of the day is half a cup of cottage cheese with one tablespoon of natural peanut butter, double it and again you’ll add almost 200 calories.
If another meal is three ounces of round steak with half a cup of brown rice, you could instead do five ounces of round steak with one cup of brown rice with the addition of a half cup of beans. If still another meal is one can of tuna with a piece of fruit, you could add a serving of olive oil to the tuna and another piece of fruit.
Over time you will get to the point where eating more food is just not an option and that’s where liquid calories will come in. Be aware that most commercial weight gain products get the majority of their calories from sugar. A better option is to make your own with common food items like milk, natural peanut or almond butter, olive oil, oats, fruit, yogurt, cottage cheese, etc. You could also add in protein powder if you choose.