Hey, for a while now I haven't been able to gain weight. Now I'm not talking about muscles, I'm talking about just pounds. Since 16 years old I'e weighed about 106lbs but I've continued to grow in height. Now I'm 19 years old, 5'9, extremely underweight and my body mass index is 15.5. I've tried eating more but it has been extremely hard to just increase my food intake. Does anyone have any tips in how I can remedy this situation?
I have a similar problem. I'm underweight and I wanna gain some weight but both mind and body refuse to increase the food intake. I'm too scared to be fat again.
Was in your position a few months ago. You dont have to necessarily eat more but you should look at the calories you are consuming and the energy your using up. The more calories you consume than the energy you use the more weight you will gain. You can look up your basal metabolic rate which i think tells you how much energy you expend when you rest. But basically if you want gain weight healthily i would suggest trying a meditteranean diet, which is basically olive oil, cheese, seafood, meat, a glass of wine a day, vegetables, grains and fruit and a shitload of pasta. Ive gained weight but mainly from being a lazy c**t hahaha.
I read a study that if you wre underwieght/overweight as a child you have a low/high abiity to gain weight. I think unless this lack of weight is affecting your weight then I wouldn't bother, it may cause you more health problems. I would try gaining weight by muscle building as it's a healthy way to gain weight and it looks more attractive than just fat.
If your problem is eating enough to get a caloric surplus than I would advise you try and find ways to get as much liquid calories a day as you can since large volumes of liquid tend to be a lot easier to stomach than large volumes of solid food. Trying to drink at least a few glasses of milk a day for example is a good way to get an extra 300-600 calories or so. 106 pounds is definitely too light for someone of your height and age (I am only 1 inch taller than you and weigh about 155 pounds) so you are right to try and put on a little more weight. But yeah, if you are having trouble eating large enough quantities of food to get into a caloric surplus, try and find ways to get more liquid calories throughout the day whether that is through milk or fruit juices or whatever.
I used to have trouble eating any substantial amount of food. When I learned to push myself in sports, I became able to eat a lot more. Do you play any sports? Try going for long runs in your neighborhood or on a trail in the woods. When you feel more like an athlete, you will have a greater appetite and love food.
+1 on the exercise. Swimming is a very good way to gain an appetite, as is running or biking. Also, try eating when you're cold. Hot weather usually reduces my family's appetite. I've also heard that eating peanut butter, or another nut-based butter is good for gaining weight (try soy butter if you have nut allergies). Similarly, protein shakes would be good if you're trying to add on weight. Also, the BMI is rigged. Muscular short guys can be considered overweight, and tall fat guys can be underweight.
First of all, get your thyroid level checked. Go on a bodybuilding diet and lift weights. The reason for this is that you can measure weight gain with strength gains at the same time, so you can know you are putting on muscle mass and not just fat. Try going for like 3k calories a day while weightlifting and weigh yourself at the same time in the morning every week.
