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artificialard's avatar

Easy, healthy ways to gain weight?

Asked by artificialard (2273points) August 19th, 2008

I’m a naturally thin and relatively inactive person working in the technology field and as a student although I do move to different classes and offices for work during the day.

I used to eat quite poorly with lots of fast/junk food but now I’ve reformed- few manufactured foods, high fibre, whole grain, fruits, vegetables, no drinks but water/juice, etc. And enjoy the associated health benefits.

Throughout all of this my weight has been relatively low 120–130lbs throughout the last decade and have stick-like figure and find only W28 (or less!) pants to fit. How can I add some bulk without going Super Size Me?

I ask online because girls promptly slap me at the part where I describe how I’ve tried eating McDonald’s but just had to stop ‘cause I got sick of it and haven’t gained any weight.

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16 Answers

marinelife's avatar

Add a lot of dairy to your diet. Cheeses and milkshakes. (Make your own healthy ones if you prefer.) Snack on peanut butter. Eat nuts. Several handfuls a day.

Add a second type of starch to each meal. Brown rice and beans, for example. Potatoes and bread of some type (biscuits, muffins, etc.)

Working out would develop muscle which weighs more than other tissue.

Good luck.

aisyna's avatar

you can try pasta and carbs.

La_chica_gomela's avatar

Add a little extra olive oil to your meals. (I drizzle a little on top of almost everything like salt and pepper. It’s SO yummy!)

The only time I ever needed to gain weight was a really long time ago, and I remember eating a lot of ice cream.

Ways that I’ve gained weight without meaning to: eating a really huge breakfast, eating a snack right before bed (don’t make hot chocolate by putting chocolate chips in heavy cream then microwaving—that turned out to be a horrible idea. it tasted amazing, but gave me a terrible stomach ache.), eating a lot of peanut butter, like out of the jar, with honey (yum!), eating nutella, eating a lot of snacks throughout the day, always eating dessert, adding coconut flakes to my milkshakes, eating tempura sweet potatoes, eating eggplant in restaurants (they always cook it with a TON of olive oil). Good luck, and don’t forget that the other 99.9 percent of the population is incredibly jealous, so enjoy eating everything while it lasts!

RandomMrdan's avatar

you’re a hard gainer..(like myself)...what you need to do, is go out and buy a big container of Whey Protein to make milk shakes and it’s high in protein, and calories…and whatever it says about daily intake, always add another one before bed (you’ll burn calories while you sleep)....and make sure and work out (run, lift weights, swim, etc)...you’ll easily add bulk in a good way if you keep that up for a couple months. You already burn enough fat as it is clearly from what you were used to eating….now just make sure you are eating healthier, and add the protein shakes, and work out, and you’re set.

aaronou's avatar

I agree with RandomMrdan, you need more protein, and lots of it. Start counting your protein intake and make sure you are increasing it. Definitely get some protein shakes.

Judi's avatar

I want to slap you too. (just kidding)

Magnus's avatar

Peanutbutter and this

gailcalled's avatar

I too am standing in the “Slap the Skinny Guy” line. (You are a guy?)

artificialard's avatar

Yeah, I’m a guy. I’ll be like “Bacon three times a day!” SLAP “Eating so much I get tired and just trying not to move around a lot…” SLAP “I don’t like junk food anymore but I have to eat this Twinkie.” SLAP.

If I was a girl that’d be awesome! With regards to the weight

Great advice fluther, protein tends to be expensive and time-consuming to get and eat (i.e. meat) but I do have protein powder just sitting in the cupboard and will start on peanut butter in the morning. Will try for shakes but the protein ones were always icky – maybe other juice stores.

gailcalled's avatar

@Artificial; I forgot to ask whether you are taller than 5“5’’. So, nu, how tall are you?

As Marina said, cheese is mostly fat, I think. Put ice cream or heavy cream on your cereal (wretching just thinking about it.)

artificialard's avatar

I’m 5’ 8” so not tiny so much as skinny. I’m also Asian so that probably “helps” me out a lot.

Yesterday had a peanut butter bagel for brekkie, a big bacon cheeseburger with fries for lunch, and went to an Italian place where I had pasta with sausage, appetizer sampler with fried rice balls, eggplant Parmesan, and a few slices of pizza.

Ugh I don’t know how people enjoy a diet such as that consistently, I mean it tasted good but afterwards I just had a heavy sense of malaise from that food. I’m going back to bran cereal this morning and a nice soup and salad for lunch, yum. Maybe I’ll go nuts after dinner and have a small bowl of ice cream (thanks gail!) Does frozen yogurt count?

La_chica_gomela's avatar

frozen yogurt totally counts. it has calories. they exist. :-)

austinxdrummer's avatar

Find a product called muscle juice, it is very great for gaining weight, and start working out! You will gain weight, plus look good because you will be gaining muscle! Also, eating fatty foods like your burger and fries will help you gain weight, but it will be unhealthy. There are other alternatives such as simply maing sure your eating 3 or more meals a day with snacks in between. Make sure you are also getting a steady intake of over 500g of carbohydrates a day it will also help. ALWAYS read the labels of new products to see what you are eating. And uhm, peanut butter snadwiches make an excellent snack for your situation.

Judi's avatar

whole milk too.

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musicman997's avatar

Skinny people unite!

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