Weight Gain

[CocoNut]

How to gain weight

Weight gain is something that isn’t easy to do and you probably know this already. I know first hand because it is something I have to do every day. I am an ectomorph by genetics, which is the “skinny body type” and the one with the fast metabolism which makes gaining so hard for guys like me. The key to weight gain is to do everything BIG. You have to eat big, to lift big, to get big. Say that over and over again in your head until you fully understand it. A lot of people think weightlifting is the key to gaining weight, and I won’t argue, it is an extremely important part. BUT, there is another thing that is just as important when it comes to how to gain weight, and that is your diet.

So, to put it as simply as possible, there are 5 simple steps to how to gain weight, and here they are:

1. Count how many calories you eat in a normal day. Don’t change anything, just eat like you normally would and count how many calories you consumed. This is an extremely important step, so try to be as exact as possible. Also, weigh yourself.

2. Starting the day after you counted calories, eat 500 calories MORE then you normally do. So, lets pretend that the day you counted calories you counted 2000. For the rest of the week, you would now eat 2500 calories a day. Instead of eating 3 big meals a day or eating all day all the time, spread those calories out over 5-6 smaller meals. Eat one meal every 2 and a half to 3 hours. To get big, you have to eat big! Remember that.

3. Weightlifting! Get in the gym and lift! This is another important step to how to gain weight, so make sure you are doing it correctly. For more information on weightlifting workout routines and splits, read the workout routines and splits section.

4. At the end of that week, weigh yourself. You’ll notice your gaining just after one week! Now, don’t expect to see a 10lb increase. Gaining anymore then 1 or 2 pounds a week is unhealthy and means your putting on way to much fat. So look for 1 or 2 pound gains at the end of the week. Don’t sound like much? You can be gaining 5-8 pounds a month!

5. Heres an important one. At some point, you will stop seeing weight gain. At this point, you will have to eat even more. So, when you stop gaining for at least 2 weeks, it means it is time to start eating an extra 250 calories a day. Every time you see you haven’t gained weight for at least 2 weeks, add an extra 250 calories.

More tips for how to gain weight (extremely important!)

• Stay away from fat! Eventhough weight gain is your goal, you don’t want to be gaining fat. Get rid of the chips and candy. No more fast food, nothing fried. Stick to high protein low fat foods like tuna fish (and other seafood), chicken breast, turkey, lean meats, fruits and vegetables etc. (For more information, read the diet and nutrition section.

• WATER! Drink water! Drink around a half gallon a day, more if you can. Yes thats alot of water, but its that water that will give you the energy you need to gain that weight!

• Sleep! YES! Sleep! The easiest, yet most over looked step. Get atleast 8 hours of sleep a night. Your gonna need it!

Now the concern some people have about how to gain weight, is how to do it without putting on extra fat. Let me tell you how, YOU CAN’T! Unless you are using steroids, it is basically impossible to gain weight without putting on a little bit of extra fat. But hey, you want to see some weight gain right? Well then who cares about the little bit of extra fat you might put on while gaining. You will be able to burn that off later on, right now gaining is your main concern, so that is all you need to worry about.

Taken from here.

[CocoNut]

Tip 1: Eat High Calorie Meals

High daily caloric intake is the first and most important step in gaining weight.

Tip 2: Eat 4 - 6 Times Per Day

Eating 4 - 6 meals a day helps ensure you are “always” eating and getting plenty of calories.

Tip 3: Eat High Carb & Protein Meals

This is the norm for all weight gain diets. Complex carbs should be the bulk of total calories, not protein.

Tip 4: Drink Water

Water is the best way to supplement any diet. It ensures proper regulation of food, vitamins, and minerals. It also ensures you get the full benefit from protein and carb absorption. It’s the best supplement in the world by far!

Tip 5: Eat Late At Night

Late night eating helps to keep the body from burning too many calories during sleep.

Tip 6: Yo-Yo Or Cycle Your Diet

This is an excellent way to add mass. Try eating a normal high-calorie diet for about 4 days, then dramatically eat even more calories for the next 3 days. The body will have the same effect that people wanting to lose weight call “the rebound”, except this rebound will be for the better.

Tip 7: Increase Sodium Intake

Slightly increasing daily sodium intake helps increase water retention. This underestimated mineral plays an important role in overall muscle growth.

Tip 8: Eat Red Meat

Red meat is probably the least in cost and the most effective type of meat for weight gain. Although red meat may be the preferred protein source for weight gain, it’s important to vary protein sources to get the best results.

Tip 9: Supplement Meals With Protein Shakes

Protein shakes or meal replacement drinks taken with or in between meals helps to prevent muscle catabolism (breakdown). They also provide extra fill-in calories, convenient preparation, and aid in muscle recovery after workouts.

Tip 10: Eat & Rest

What good is a high-calorie meal if it is always being burned off due to an inadequate amount of rest? This does not necessarily mean constantly sleeping, it just means to ensure you get an adequate amount of rest/sleep (about 6 - 8 hours a day).

Taken from here

[CocoNut]

Ectomorph - These are the skinny people. These guys have the fastest metabolism of them all. The ones who have been skinny all there life. They are skinny for a reason. This body type makes these ectomorphs lucky and unlucky. Good news, they are lucky because they will always have a lower body fat then all the other body types. These guys will be able to loss weight and loss fat faster then everyone else. Bad news, its extremely hard for these guys to gain weight and muscle mass. These guys have to eat and eat and eat to put on just a little weight.

Ectomorph: Short upper body, long arms/legs, long/narrow feet and hands, very little fat, narrow chest and shoulders, long, thin muscles. Ectomorphs are very hard gainers. I will get into that later.

More About Ectomorphs:
Ectomorphs don’t usually have great strength or endurance. They are the “Skinny” kids, or the “Twerps”. If you have continued this article and you realize that this is you, don’t be discouraged at all! Many famous bodybuilders, like Frank Zane, and Flex Wheeler are Ectomorphic. Don’t think that because you are Ectomorphic, your hopes on ever winning a Mr. Olympia are shattered. An Ectomorph has as much chance of winning as anyone else does, he/she just has to work harder. The main way an Ectomorph should train should be very heavy and he should focus on gaining muscle mass, not tone! Do a lot of power movements. EAT! That is the most important thing for an Ectomorph to do. Take in more calories than you are used to. Don’t just pig out on empty-calorie foods, like potato chips, etc. I mean, you can if you want to put on some weight, but you should focus on heavy foods, like meats, etc. Just to warn you, before you read on; you will have to work hard, and the training I will give you will feel crazy at first. Do you know what I have to say to that? Suck it up, and don’t be a pansy! I’m sick of hearing, “I don’t want to overtrain!” because that is loser talk. Call me a psycho if you want, but if I am ever sore the next day, I take it as a sign that I didn’t eat enough the day before, so be ready!

EATING:
Ahhh… Eating is something that I love to do. Most Ectomorphs are born skinny, and therefore they don’t eat much. That or they have a very fast metabolism. If you fit into one of those categories, which, if you are skinny, you would have to, you need to eat more. I try to pack on 2-300 grams of protein a day. 75 grams in the morning, 75 at lunch, 17 for snack, 100 for dinner, and whatever extra after that. I eat just about anything in sight. You have to Eat to Grow. I don’t care how many supplements you take, if you don’t eat, you won’t grow (at least from my experience). I took the serving size of creatine every day for a few weeks, then gave up because I didn’t make any, let me say again, ANY, gains at all. I didn’t eat enough protein, and all I focused on was supplementing. Then I started to just eat till I was ready to puke, and when I settled down a little, I ate some more. I paid no attention to fat, because you are an Ectomorph, and you will just lose it back later. Eat, Eat, and Eat!

The importance of eating is very underrated. Nowadays, teens just want to take supplements, etc. to get very good results. In my mind, eating is much more important than supplementing. I asked a bodybuilder what he thought about creatine one time, and he said, “I don’t”. I said, “So you don’t take it?” Then he said, “I eat my food, I don’t drink it.” All that bodybuilder really takes is vitamins. All his other nutrients come from food. He eats steak 3 times a day, because it has creatine in it. You see, you have to eat to get big, and not everybody knows that.

Cottage Cheese- There is a Great supply of protein, a ton in every serving.
Eggs- Best Protein (In food, not powder) that your body can use. I think your body uses like 94% of its protein. I know it is in the 90%, though.
Protein Powder- I would suggest buying Whey Protein, because you can use more of whey than you can of egg protein. They sell it here at Bodybuilding.com.
Yogurt/Dairy Products- most any yogurt, milk, cheeses, or any dairy product for that matter contains high protein counts.
Meat/Nuts- Meats, like Steak, fish poultry, etc. Also nuts, and peanut butter.
Anything With Carbs-Carbs are essential, because that is what your body burns off first, and if that is what your body is burning, then you can hold in all the protein and fats. I like to eat fruit, because of the sugar content. Bananas, grapes, etc. I heard that bananas help you bulk up, because of certain vitamins in them, but I am not sure.

Homemade Weight Gainer:
This is a weight gainer shake I use to bulk up.

16 oz. Milk (any kind)
3 oz. Corn oil
5 oz. Water
15 tbsp. Protein Powder (3/4 cup)
4 eggs (I put them in raw, but I am taking a chance of getting Salmonella. I would not suggest doing this if you are worried about your health. I would suggest cooking them, then dealing with egg choppings in your drink. Though I am going to start cooking my eggs, because I was just being stupid when I didn’t. And don’t go watch Rocky and think that it’s safe, either.)
6 tsp. Lecithin granules (My protein powder has these in it. I have the EAS Simply WHEY kind.) Flavoring (I just put in some chocolate syrup, because my protein powder has chocolate flavoring.)

This has about 68-70 grams of protein in it, and a lot of calories. It is great for putting on weight!

When you eat this, I usually don’t have room for much more food. I usually eat a bowl of cottage cheese, a yogurt, and a banana or two after one of these. The food goes straight to your stomach, and fills you up right away.

When you figure out how to put on weight, the next step of course, is training!

Training:
Training is the next most important thing in my eyes. If you don’t eat, your training is a total waste. I usually train to no higher than 7 or 8 reps and I do a few power exercises in my workout. Believe me, my muscles did not grow at all, unless I did some sort of mass training program. I have made a list of good mass training programs for a specific body part:

Chest: Heavy Barbell Bench Presses- 3x 6, 4, 4 reps

Back: Deadlifts- 3x 6, 4, 4 reps

Shoulders: Heavy Upright Rows, and Power Clean and Presses- 3x 6, 4, 4 reps

Arms: Standing Triceps Presses- 3x 6, 4, 4 reps

Legs: SQUATS! The main exercise in bodybuilding. These are essential even for your leg workout.
To do them with power, do heavy squats 3x for 6, 4, 4 reps. these don’t replace normal squats in your workout.
This helps to build mass in areas where Ectomorphs are skinny, which would be mostly all areas! It seems through my experience that my legs are the fastest growing and strengthening muscle group in my body. I’m telling you, it’s from all those squats!
The main exercises are all that matters while building mass in an Ectomorph (until you get more advanced, when you build a couple of inches onto those arms). I suggest the following:

Chest Day:
Bench Presses (Flat, Incline, Decline)
Flyes (Flat, Incline Decline)
Pullovers (For Serratus)

Back:
Chins
Pull downs
Rows (Barbell, Dumbbell, and 1 arm dumbbell)
Deadlifts
Hyperextensions
Good Mornings

Legs:
Squats (All Variations)
Leg Press
Leg Curl/Extension
Lunges
Deadlifts (SL and Regular)

Arms:
Curls (all variations)
Triceps Kickbacks
Triceps Presses
Triceps Extensions
Dips

Shoulders/Traps:
Upright Rows
Military Press
Clean and Press
Shrugs (Dumbbell, Barbell)
Arnold Presses
Dumbbell Presses
Front Raises, Lateral Raises, and Rear Lateral Raises.

Make sure to do all the variations to these, like for instance, the bench press. Do incline, decline, and flat bench presses to really pack on slabs of muscle.

The amount you train doesn’t matter. Well, to a certain degree. If you train 4 time a week, and another does 5, it doesn’t make a difference, really. To get the most out of your workout, focus on every rep, and lift very intensely! That is what makes you sweat. Feel the burn.

Don’t do any cardio/Aerobic activity, either. This causes you to burn calories that you need to help gain weight. Try not to do too much, because Ectomorphs don’t usually have a problem losing weight. That’s bad, because that hard earned weight will slip right out from under you.

Ectomorph Abdominal Training:
I made a special section in this article for abdominal training for the Ectomorph. If you want to know about training your abs, you could read my article, “Abs done right”. The way an Ectomorph should train abs is different from the way an Endomorph should train them, and a Mesomorph, etc. The abs are a muscle group, like all the others, and an Ectomorph should train them like one. An Ectomorph should build mass in the abdominal area to get them to fit in with the rest of their body. But, sometimes I see skinny kids that obviously don’t work out heavy, but they have a six-pack because they are so skinny. That is good, because it fits in with their body. Are you catching what I am saying here? If I had Huge, bulging muscles all over my body, and then a flat waistline, with my abs not really bulging at all, it would look kind of silly. You want those curves on each ab muscle to be deep and ripped. If you are overweight, and have massive muscles, like Nasser El Sonbaty, you don’t really want to build mass, you want to build definition, right. But nobody wants big abs, but they do want noticeable abs. So, for an Ectomorph, I would do a lot of weighted abs training. Again, if you need help with training your abs, go to my abs page, or go to Big Cat’s, “Training the midsection”.

This is a good read and is taken from here

[punjabi_kuri]

and to loose weight?

[CocoNut]

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by punjabi kuri !!!: *
and to loose weight?
[/QUOTE]

Since we're having so many weight loss threads I thought I'd initiate a weight gain thread. So the weight losers :D do your own research...Naw I'm just kidding, click on the link provided and there's an alternative plan for weight loss and body type.

[Jal_Pari]

very good post coco :k:

[Moonstar201]

Thanks for such important thread. Hope it will work

[Neera]

ypu wanna exchange ur metabolism with mine?

[who-me]

ah ...Finally I thread for me.... out! you fat people

But then...I am too lazy to put effort into gaining weight. :p

[QUOTE]

16 oz. Milk (any kind)
3 oz. Corn oil
5 oz. Water
15 tbsp. Protein Powder (3/4 cup)
4 eggs (I put them in raw, but I am taking a chance of getting Salmonella. I would not suggest doing this if you are worried about your health. I would suggest cooking them, then dealing with egg choppings in your drink. Though I am going to start cooking my eggs, because I was just being stupid when I didn't. And don't go watch Rocky and think that it's safe, either.)
6 tsp. Lecithin granules (My protein powder has these in it. I have the EAS Simply WHEY kind.) Flavoring (I just put in some chocolate syrup, because my protein powder has chocolate flavoring.)

[/QUOTE]

Protein Powder...Lecithin granules? Eggs?

Isnt there a more simpler more natural recipie? Mango and Ice Cream milkshake works good, but in insanely high quantities. Talk about fast metabolism :-\

[Moonstar201]

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Neera: *
ypu wanna exchange ur metabolism with mine?
[/QUOTE]

I m ready . I m 5'6' n 60 kg. wanna increase my weight by 5 kg. Help desperately needed. Coz like who-me Me too sooo lazy of doing allthe stuff written by coco. Some time miss lunch too.

BTW r there good medicines ( w/o any side effects )

[system]

Stay away from medicines / weight gain supplements and the like. All natural is the best way to go and it isnt all that hard once one sets a schedule and sticks to it.

Thanks a lot CoCo for starting this thread..i really need to gain weight ...and it seems there's a million weight loss resources and very few weight gain resources for those of us struggling to increase our weight :)

From my own personal experience, Protein Shakes and Workout really helps in gaining weight. Workouts are important because they increase the bodies metabolic rate and in turn the person feels hungrier usually.

Drinking a ton of water may make you pee a lot but it also increases energy a LOT and keeps you looking fresh too (got barren skin like me ? drink tons of water!)

Chickin! Eats Lots of CHICKIN!!! and Bread!

Stay away from fat...fat makes u fat and not big/healthy :)

[CocoNut]

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Maniac: *
Thanks a lot CoCo for starting this thread..i really need to gain weight ...and it seems there's a million weight loss resources and very few weight gain resources for those of us struggling to increase our weight :)

[/QUOTE]

Yeah, I just stick to Whey Protein powders and heavy workout sessions. The only thing I see if any results that it makes me more cut and that I have naturally, what I do need is mass just like y'all.

How about we list some desi foods for MASS only instead of fat??

[system]

tons of calories is what ive heard :) Eat tons of calories

Nowadays im hearing a lot of noise about how FAT doesnt make u fat but excess carb's do..dunno how much truth there is in that but that has stopped me from worrying too much about FAT and the like in food items.

[Hinna]

I've heard by substituting white flour, and white pasta with whole wheat and whole grain alternatives help reduce the amount of sugar that is produced in your body..therefore allowing you to lose weight....

[Gizzy]

Yikes, you mean.. we have to read all this in order to gain weight..

Well, I am really skinny too.. I am 6’2"… I used to weigh 65 just about a year and half ago, until this last Ramzaan, about 7-8 weeks ago, I had managed to increase my weight to 75 kg.. But then something happened, and I started losing weight, and in like matter of weeks I lost about 4kg, I weigh now 71 kg

[who-me]

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Hinna: *
I've heard by substituting white flour, and white pasta with whole wheat and whole grain alternatives help reduce the amount of sugar that is produced in your body..therefore allowing you to lose weight....
[/QUOTE]

Man! people are obsessed with loosing weight. heh heh

Bibi...we are trying to gain weight here.

[Hinna]

lol..someone was asking..HOW to LOSE weight...I thought I'd give some help ;)

[eemo]

great post coco jee.

i used to do exactly this about 2 yrs ago.
managed to put on 6kg in 3 months.

Just advice to the guys who decide to take this , be careful that u dont over-exert urself. dont become nuerotic like i did. i injured my ligaments and tendons and alsorts. But thats NOT to put u off.

Im going to try and get back into this when i get back from pak inshallah.
have developed a belly already, and it doesnt suit dalsim look alikes like me.

[lost]

*Thank you sooooooooo much for posting this here! I've been trying to find out how to gain weight for quite a while. I'm 5'0 and weight 83 lbs. I really want to get up to like 100 lbs. Anyway, again, thanks a lot!!! *

[CocoNut]

Before starting this diet or any other, consult your family doctor and get a full checkup/physical