The HTF Weight Gain Support Group

:p)

If you really want to put on more weight I suggest gaining muscle and not fat. It's healthier for you. Visit GNC or any other health store and look for some weight gaining products. You'll need to eat a lot more than you usually do, and you'll need to go lift weights. Heavy weights. Do like 5 sets of 5 reps and increase the weight every set. It's got to be the heaviest amount of weight you can possibly lift for all 5 reps. This will help you to build muscle.
Be sure to stretch before, and after each set or you'll look like those bulky, hunched over, muscle heads working out next to you.
And even though you're trying to gain weight you should still do cardio workouts. It will help your heart and stamina. Always a good thing.

 

Beer -- it does a body good.

 

Eric Kahn's weight gaining system
don't waste money at GNC
always eat at allyou can eat buffet
eat mainly starchy foods and lots of beef
eat candy bars between meals
sit in front of TV watching movies eating snacks
get a job as a truck driver so you can earn a living sitting on your butt all day and eat at resterants that serve really fattening foods
then have some idiot throw a steel drum on your foot so you can't walk for 3 months so all your muscles go to pot and now you have a problem loosing weight ( I weigh 420)

ignore the above, eat lots of protein and exercise and you should gain some muscle mass

 

Rich, I was thinking about creating this thread too, but never had the guts to do it! Har har!
Anyhow, ignore the daily fluctuations in weight...that is water you are packing in! Instead, pick a set time to weigh yourself...best bet is in the morning after you take a leak. You'll get rid of the excess water, and get a better account of your actual weight!
Anyhow, eat lots of carbos! As much as you can (but if you have diabetes, all bets are off!). Eat frequently too...bodybuilders recommend eating 6 times a day. Eggs and other good protein-rich food. Fish is great too! Beef is rather optional...unlike what nutritionists say, you don't gain much from eating beef, believe it or not! Although, fast food burgers are high in grease and the bun is loaded with carbos, so that would work, but definitely NOT healthy. Stay away from fast food, and stick with potatoes, pasta, and bread for your carbs.
If you follow the American food pyramid thingy, you'll get fat, strangely enough. I can't understand the food guides the government (including the Canadian government!) puts out...if you're looking to use weight, that guide is plain WRONG! But, it is a great starting point for weight GAIN.
I've had limited successful gaining weight, but unfortunately it is harder for me in the summer months! I've lost a couple of pounds in the last 3 days because of the heat, so I have to change my strategy a little. I decided to supplement my diet with those protein/carb weight gain mixes again, so I can cut down on oven usage.
My goal is to eat 5 meals a day, with approx. 400 calories per meal, for 2000 calories per day. Before, I was averaging 1400 calories per day, which is my body's set point for (barely) maintaining weight, just sitting on my ass doing as little as possible. Unfortunately, I tend to fidget and tense up when I'm sedentary, which leads to excessive calorie burn (plus slightly high metabolism).
A few things to look out for: I suspect that metabolism will increase as you also increase your food intake. At least, it seems that way to me. If your body maintains its weight at 1300 calories a day, upping the calorie intake to 2000 calories a day may not achieve any results if your metabolism rises to match it. The trick is to find out how high your metabolism will go! You know if your metabolism is high if you start burning up within a few hours of eating, even with no physical activity.
Now, I'm thinking: If your body just sits there and burns calories from pure metabolism, why not exercise instead? Generating heat is a waste, but if you do some hard reps, the energy would instead be consumed by the muscles, which in turn triggers muscle growth, and also force the body to convert the energy into fat, so that the muscles will have sufficient fuel in anticipation for the next workout. Is this reasonable? I think so...I gained 5 pounds when I stayed in Montreal for a week. The food was excellent, but I also walked at least 5 kilometers a day up and down the hilly downturn area. My calorie intake was probably 1500 calories a day at the time, so I suspect my body decided to store the food as fat and muscle and not burn it off as waste heat...

 

Oh wait...my calorie gain may have been much higher in Montreal. I forgot about the BEER!
Each can of beer packs 250-300 calories (non-light), I think. Is this right?

 

What is actually more important for weight gain? Carbs or protein? Or do you need both in abundant supply (i.e. cram everything into your mouth that you can get your hands on)?

 

Ok, couldn't resist...
Beefcake
Beefcake
BEEFCAKE

 

I gotta try this. Today a stiff wind picked up and I ended up in another state.

Looks like I need to pick up some more pasta and potato recipes.

Do they have a 'skinny' smiley?

 

I don't want to become anorexic again--yes, I was--but I don't want to gain any weight either. I like being thin. Which means I get away with drinking lots and lots of beer. I like beer. Love it, in fact.

 

I think the idea that carbs make you fat is suspect. I eat a high carb diet (lots of potatoes, breads, and pasta- something every meal), and I'm 6'1", 175lbs (I'm 32). I don't exercise much, either (but I'm not a completely sendentary person, either).

I think it's as simple as this- you take in more calories than you burn- you gain weight; you burn more than you take in- you lose weight. 3500 calories=one pound.

I wouldn't suggest my diet, either. I suspect it's goign to muck up my pancreas, one of these days.

Todd

 

Here's a recipe for weight gain:

1 roll of cookie dough
knife

Use the knife to cut wrapper off of the cookie dough. Eat the cookie dough.

Guaranteed to work. Helped me gain 145 pounds in 11 years..... massive depression helped too though. But the cookie dough sure as hell helped.

Oh, and screw those little slices of cheesecake. Eat the entire thing.

Addendum: Just wanted it known that I have changed my ways and have lost 54 pounds so far.

 

Ah, but Todd, you live in Orlando! All that sweating would result in massive weight loss. And sprinting to the nearest air-conditioned building and shivering inside it would burn the calories like no tomorrow!
But yes, you need to eat as much as you can. Carbs just happen to give you the best bang for the buck, and they are a hell of a lot cheaper than meat! You'd probably need to eat 3 or 4 times the amount of meat than carbs to get similar results, and I don't envy you the massive colonic discomfort you'd get as a result!
A high-carb diet would work, but you do need some protein to help keep the weight. Wasn't it EFAs (essential fatty asses er acids) that help transform the carbs into fat or grow muscle cells? Plus you need veggies and grains to keep your fiber intake up (weight gain through constipation is a bad BAD idea).
Some weight trainers suggest eating 8 grams of carbs per kilogram of body weight. So, if you weight 60 kg, you should target 8x60=480g of carbos per day. You can get carbs from fruit and fruit drinks, bread, potatos, rice, pasta and other starchy foods. White rice has the most carbs per volume, and packs 700 calories of energy for each uncooked cup. A rice cooker is a great investment (you can steam food with it too), so get yourself a good one!

 

Rich, if you want to do it right you need to start eating good food, not junk food. You can get plenty of calories eating 4 large bags of chips a day, but it won't be good for you. A balanced diet is best. Probably the best way to achieve this is by eating three normal meals a day and add one protien shake in there between two of the three of these times... breakfast/lunch lunch/dinner, dinner/bed.

Go to GNC and get a protien mix. I can't remember exactly the mixture that I used but whatever was needed with 16oz of milk. So, 32oz of milk combined with the protien mix came to a little less than 2000 calories. The milk alone (if using whole) should be about 600+ calories and the protien will be variable depending on what brand you use. If you add 1500 calories a day from the two shakes that will make plenty difference, you don't need a 4000 calorie diet unless you work out like Arnie.

Remember, eat your other normal meals and work out. Normal meals mean eating vegetables, and don't forget to drink lots of water.

As far as working out, there is NO method that can be applied to everyone. Try some different routines and see what works for you best. Lifting heavy weights should never be the only way you work out. A good schedule might include heavy weight during every other workout. The most important thing is to learn to control the weight, that is done with lower weights. Heavy weights will build muscle, but if you don't control the weight 2 things can happen, 1. you can hurt yourself and 2. your strong side will get stronger and your weak side will be left behind and you will become disproportionate. If you can try to schedule working out BEFORE you eat, feading your body after a good workout is better than eating before you workout.

I am a hard gainer and I followed a schedule similar to above with the protien shakes and workout schedule (4 days a week, 1.5 hours a day) and I was able to gain some weight but gain a lot of strength. I am 6'2" and used to weight about 184, went up to 195 and could squat around 250+ (for sets) and bench 265.

Eat sensible, lift weights in control and add the protien shakes and you will see results.

 

I give this thread !!!
I'm 5'10", and weigh only 150 lbs. I could definitely use some weight!
Rock on guys, i'm following with the chocolate milk and other assorted fatty substances.

 

Quite possible Todd, quite possible! I've been overexposed to skinny and buff people from all that crazy Spring Break footage you guys down south keep pushing on our cable TV channels!

I keep forgetting, cameramen don't point the cameras at big people!

 

Here is another amazing article (found it on Slashdot) from the NY Times. You need to register to access it, but you could fill in bogus information without any worries:
What if It's All Been a Big Fat Lie?
Very well-researched article. Consistent with my experiences in GAINING weight (I am on a high-carbo diet and it works for weight gain, whereas the high-fat diet I tried did not).