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Ask HN: How do you gain weight?
Context: a skinny guy, 24 years old.
Currently, I am working at a startup. I am used to walk to the office. I don't do regular exercises, except walking and doing chores. I usually eat three times each day. No snack.
- redxblood 10y agoExercise, you don´t need fat, you need muscle.
- saucisse 10y agoEat More. Eat more calories than your body burns. How much depends on your metabolism and activity levels. But if you’re not gaining weight, you’re not eating enough. Eat caloric dense foods like pasta and nuts. Eat more frequent meals. Drink milk and make shakes. Lift Heavy. Stop wasting time with curls and flies. Do free weight, compounds like Squats and Deadlifts instead. These exercises work more muscles with heavier weight. They trigger more strength and muscle gains, and will make you go from skinny to muscular. Be Consistent. The total calories you eat on a weekly and monthly basis must be higher than the calories your body burns. If you eat a lot today but then little the rest of the week, you won’t gain weight. You have to consistently eat more than you burn to increase your weight. Read more https://stronglifts.com/gain-weight/ https://stronglifts.com/gain-weight/
- geophile 10y agoI am a tall, skinny 60-year old, who recently started crossfit, which emphasizes squats, deadlifts, and other barbell exercises. (Previously I did HIIT for several years.) Crossfit just isn't working for me. At all. I can't squat deep enough, and my shoulders aren't flexible enough to keep the weights as far back as they should be. So I'm stuck doing remedial stuff to get to the point that I can actually lift anything. I've been trying this for four months now, and I'm really stuck on square one. Any thoughts on this?
- swah 10y agoGrowth hormones?
- thecupisblue 10y agoIt's a slow process, especially because of your age and height (6'4.5" here and I've always had trouble too). Start working on mobility a lot, check out the book "Becoming a supple leopard" - it's a great source of knowledge.
- ripexz 10y agoYoga?
- jaredsohn 10y agoPilates helped me a lot when I restarted lifting a few years ago, especially with improving body awareness and using the right muscles for movement. Try to find an instructor who regularly gives students feedback about if they are doing the movements correctly. While I do not have personal experience with it, something like tai chi might also help.
- EpicEng 10y agoThe squat is a complex movent and takes years to master. Anyone telling you different is selling you a load of bull. I have been weightlifting for years with an emphasis on the big four (big 3 + overhead press) and functional, strong man style movements. I am at the high end of intermediate/low end of advanced range with regards to how much I lift @ 180lbs. I'm still making imrpovements to my texhjique all of the time. One issue with _some_ CrossFit outfits is that they throw you into these movements from day 1 with non trivial weight. Your CANS gets no time to develop the coordination needed and you can get discouraged or, worst case, hurt yourself. Everyone can squat. Being a tall guy you will do it differently than e.g. a 5'5" powerlifter. You just need time and practice.
- geophile 10y agoThe trainers at my gym are exceptionally watchful and careful. Due to the two problems I mentioned, I'm using extremely light weights. So while I may be slowly getting more flexible, I'm not getting any kind of a workout.
- panorama 10y agoAdding on to say that the advice provided in the parent is 100% spot on and OP shouldn't disregard it. More calories in + weightlifting = massive weight increases, especially for beginners. This has been proven time after time, for millions, including myself: 5'11, went from 133 pounds to 165 in 4 months eating ~3000 calories a day and lifting 4x a week. 5 years later, I'm still in the best shape of my life and deciding to gain weight & exercise regularly continues to be one of the best, most profitable decisions I've made next to learning how to program.
- et-al 10y ago> eating ~3000 calories a day Skinny people problems, I know, but this might be the hardest thing to do. Just as overweight people might underestimate their calorie intake, skinny people might overestimate theirs. So it's helpful to objectively track your calories. I think I eat a lot, but can also "forget" to eat 1 or 2 days out of the week, and that makes gaining weight for me difficult.
- panorama 10y agoI completely understand :). It tends to be easier than you think to acquire calorie-dense foods though, depending where you live (in America it's a cinch). Others have also commented on ways to consume calories elsewhere in this thread, but the key for me was "dirty" bulking. 3000 calories/day would be impossible for me if I were restricted to lean chicken meat, broccoli, and brown rice. However it was really easy (and enjoyable) when my meals consisted of: 1. Chipotle burrito bowls with extra meat: At least 1000 calories in this alone with a significant amount of protein. 2. Protein shakes with whole milk. Or fruit/vegetable smoothies with whole milk and yogurt. 3. Natural peanut butter (the kind you need to stir) for dessert, washing each mouthful down with whole milk. Alternatively I'd also have some rocky road (for the peanuts it contains) ice cream. 4. If I ever missed a meal and was significantly low on calories for the day, I'd eat a few slices of pizza to compensate. It wasn't the _healthiest_ diet plan, and I definitely gained a lot of fat, but it's not like I looked awful - after ballooning to over 160 pounds, I still looked skinny due to my height. Once I got to a satisfactory level, I began to eat healthier, meanwhile my strength increased dramatically.
- ThrustVectoring 10y agoGOMAD is probably the most straightforward diet for gaining weight (preferably along with compound free weight lifts, eg, squats. Otherwise all the weight gain is fat instead of muscle). What it is - take your normal diet, and on top of that, drink a gallon of whole milk every day. A gallon of whole milk is 2400 kcal (200g carbs, 120g fat, 120g protein). Along with your normal food intake, this will make you gain weight.
- fosco 10y agohttps://www.xkcd.com/1744/ https://www.xkcd.com/1744/
- Neliquat 10y agoEat more, or more caloricly dense, foods. I find I feel best using mostly fats, rather than carbs, on a high calorie diet. Seems to help joints and workout recovery too. Most hormones are synthisized from fats, so it may be related. Also, paradoxically, working out will regulate your appitite and might help you eat a bit more, and store it in a way your body prefers.
- davidddavidson 10y agoThere are mass/weight gainer supplements that you could try (maybe start with 2-3 servings/week) but I wouldn't use it without some sort of anaerobic training program to build muscle.
- eip 10y agoKings oatmeal: Make oatmeal. Add flax oil, coconut oil, hemp oil, butter, whole milk, and honey. Eat an avocado every day. Eat 3000+ calories per day. Hit the gym.
- AnimalMuppet 10y agoWhy do you want to gain weight? What kind of weight do you want to gain? I presume you want muscle rather than fat... I'm a skinny guy, always have been. I gained a bit of weight when I got married, due to eating better. I gained more when we had our first child, due to lifting the kid, the carseat, and the diaper bag over and over. That's weightlifting, even though I wasn't in the gym.
- 0x54MUR41 10y agoI want to gain weight because I am too skinny. I want to fix my body shape. Sure, I would rather gain muscle than fat.
- AnimalMuppet 10y agoI've hit 55. I need to lose a whopping 7 pounds to get back to the weight I'd like to be. Don't knock skinny - in a decade or two, it will be your friend. (I'm not saying don't try to gain some weight. I am saying be grateful for your basic body type.)
- Sevii 10y agoEat more, use a calorie counting app. Excercise regularly with weight lifting as the focus. Eating is 90% of it.
- EpicEng 10y agoYou already know the answer; eat good food, eat more of it, add resistance training to build muscle. You need to eat at a caloric surplus, at least ~250 calories / day. It's a simple concept, but doing it takes hard work and dedication.
- 27182818284 10y agoDrink beer you'll put on weight in no time. There is a reason it was called "liquid bread" in the early part of the twentieth century. Why you would want this, over, say, muscle mass I"m not sure.
- amorphid 10y agoEating peanut butter works great, too!
- JeffreyKaine 10y agoI had the same problem as OP. I fixed it by eating most of a small can of peanut butter a day, and working out (lifting, not a lot of cardio) 4-5 times a week.
- anpk 10y agoEat chipotle burritos (source: NFL draftee Adam Shaheen)
- biocomputation 10y agoJust wait until you turn 40. It's very difficult for some people to gain weight, even if you eat enough, and even if you lift hard. How tall are you? How much do you weigh? How much do you want to gain? Who/what do you want to look like? While you certainly can add muscle, you should be cautioned against trying any program to significantly change your basic build. If you're naturally thin, then you can be muscular, but you'll still be generally thin, and you probably can't ever be a tank. Being a tank is really more about your genetics ( bone structure, shape of your chest, overall length of your muscles ) than working out. Not saying it's your goal to be a tank, just trying to provide some realistic counsel.
- 0x54MUR41 10y agoI am 5' 6''. I want to gain 20 kg at minimum because I am too skinny. I have no reference or people to be a model.
- biocomputation 10y agoYou should be able to do this easily. Go consult a trainer and try working out 3x a week for 3 months. Learn how to eat enough and lift heavy stuff safely.
- JakiesKonto 10y agoIf you're like me (skinny caused by fast metabolism) then you need to eat more often as a first thing. Like have a proper breakfast ( i know u coffie/cig junkies ; ) and then be sure to eat something (doesnt need to be a lot) every 2-3 hours. For me this works a BIT (i.e. slooww growth, but growth), in order to really gain weight I need to train 3x a week and eat gainer (carbohydrates) and then I grow.
- siegel 10y agoLots of great advice to you has already been given. But one thing to add - the walking may be good for your heart, but it's burning calories. You need an energy surplus (more calories coming in than going out). If you are walking a substantial distance to work, more calories are going out. Again, I'm not here to discourage cardio activity completely, but that's not the exercise you need to focus on. Saucisse is right - you need to eat more and more frequently. And to ensure that doesn't all become fat, you need to lift heavy - focus on compound exercises like squats, deadlifts, bench press. Stronglifts is a great place to start. Good luck!
- skdotdan 10y agoCan I ask how much do you weight and how tall are you?
- 0x54MUR41 10y ago20 kg at minimum. I am 5' 6''.
- gumby 10y agoIn addition to the other advice: - avoid appetite suppressors (e.g. caffeine) and modulators (e.g. artificial sweeteners). "avoid" != "eliminate": sure, have a coffee or two in the AM, but don't drink it all day. - exercise will make you hungrier (it is an appetite suppressor for those whose body asks them to eat out of boredom, which is very common). - choose a healthy diet. You won't have the 24-y-o metabolism forever, so don't make habits you'll later regret (e.g. two croissants in the morning). This also means you'll be building weight through your body and not just adding fat. At 24 none of these "rules" need be strict, so have a milkshake, etc; you have a great opportunity to experiment with what works and is enjoyable to you.
- cagataygurturk 10y agoGet a girlfriend.
- 0x54MUR41 10y agoWhy?
- cagataygurturk 10y agoEverybody who I know and got a girlfriend, including me, got 10 more kilos in a year. Maybe your lifestyle changes, that's why
- pascalxus 10y agoBe Me for a month. My metabolism is so lazy, i can gain weight, even eating less than 2000 cals per day. I can gain weight just looking at food, consuming less than 2000 cals per day, with moderate exercise.
- hatsunearu 10y agoCheck your blood sugar and diabetes markers at a hospital. Unknown weight loss is a rather common symptom of Type 1 diabetes.
- beagle3 10y agoSemiOnTopic: Some people in the comments equate "fast metabolism" and being skinny. How is that supposed to work? Metabolism is the conversion of energy from incoming food into stored energy (fat) or used energy (heat, chemical processes). The speed of metabolism does not appear in any equilibrium (of which body weight is a statistic). If you've eaten food and it is not stored, the energy has to be expressed some other way - in what way do "fast metabolism" people express it?
- NOSHSHNACKERS 10y agoYou have to be busy at the Kryspy Kreme. Get a laptop that you can throw int he dishwasher and do work at a doughnut shoppe. Also .. get married.
- cholantesh 10y agoGOMAD + Starting Strength. Unless you're vegan and/or lactose intolerant, you are the ideal candidate for this nutritional plan. Don't stay on it for more than a few months.
- 0x54MUR41 10y agoThank you for all of you who have given advices. I will make an experiment and want to see the result. I hope I get the good result.