[Orphan]

I'm 5ft 10in but only 122lbs (8 stone 10lbs) so I'm underweight. I used to be about 25 lbs more than this but the weight just dropped off after I lost my parents in an accident. I've tried all the obvious things like eating more: but eating more just seems to give the energy to exercise more so the weight stays the same although my fitness level improves.

Any thoughts on what I might do next?

[leahnic]

Well if you're eating more, then exercising more, obviously you're going to burn off the extra food you've eaten.
you have to eat an extra 3650(about that) calories to put on 1lb, so you'll either have to eat a lot more, or only do a set amount of exercise and not go over so you don't burn off the extra calories

[calm_storms]

You could try weight training to build up muscle, as it is denser than fat. If you are pretty slim anyway then you will probably just bulk up.

[mdi]

Protein shakes can help weight gaining

[Aspiringlawstudent]

That's not massively underweight.

You only need to put on seven pounds.

Just eat more. Eventually, you are certain to gain weight if you are eating even slightly more than is required. Eat whatever you eat now, and add a doughnut. Give it six months.

[hvh]

When I was extremely underweight and struggled to put weight back on, I got some slim fast shakes and had these after meal. (They are meal replacement, so having a meal and the shake means more calories)

Also, if you go to Holland and Barratt, they do these amazingly tasty flapjacks, that are 600calories a bar. I used to eat these every day and I managed to gain.

These are the flapjacks: http://www.hollandandbarrett.com/pag...d=2986&cid=446

I used to only have the original flavour, but they do them in a very wide variety!

[Orphan]

I don't like sweet things so I wonder if bitter chocolate might help. One bar a day above what I would normally eat - or even 2?

[xoxAngel_Kxox]

Just because you have energy doesn't mean you HAVE to exercise. If you have the mindset that calories have to be burned off then perhaps you could consider whether you have a healthy attitude towards food anyway?

Nobody is immune from calories, and the fact is that if you eat enough you WILL gain weight. Things like full fat milk and peanut butter are high in calories, so try to drink a couple of glasses of milk a day as well as whatever you usually eat, and have a teaspoon of peanut butter every time you go past the fridge. I bet you're not eating as much as you think, or you're eating calorie sparse foods. I don't suggest that you eat utter junk because that's no good for your health, but adding high calorie snacks alongside a healthy diet would seem to be the way to go.

[Riku]

Aside from calorific surplus and muscle-building, have you looked into the emotional reason for your weight loss? It must have been awful to lose your parents like that. Something as stressful as that could have took its toll on your body as well. Have you talked to anyone about how that's affected you? x

[CXDK]

(Original post by mdi)
Protein shakes can help weight gaining

How about just keeping it natural for now... They wont do anything for him unless he is pushing him self far with weight training. For his body size he could easily gain enough protein through meat and this will also help enlarge his stomach enabling him to eat more.

Sorry to hear about your parents, I'm sure no matter what weight you are, they are still very proud of you.

My advice to you: Lay off the cardio, use the energy to build muscle mass that's denser. You will look better, weigh more and be far more healthy. Just don't even think about supplements any further than your basic multivit

Also keep motivated man: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0uZnhAovBc

I used to be 6'4 and 9 stone 10. Now im 6'4 and 11 stone 1. gain in muscle, not fat

p.s to the women who read this, don't be afraid of the muscle :P it gives shape, just skinny is bad. Girls who squat have much better looking legs and bum where as a girl who hasn't will have no support so saggy bum :P

[OU Student]

When you eat, are you eating stuff high in fat, etc?

[CXDK]

(Original post by OU Student)
When you eat, are you eating stuff high in fat, etc?

Eating fat is going to be unhealthy though. Fat is much harder for your body to process. If she wanted to gain fat it is far better to increase her long carb intake, still do exercise just less cardio and slowly build up the weight, not loading on the fat and clogging your arteries with cholesterol.

If anyone is having the same problem then you can always PM me

[SuperCat007]

Snickers bars help hugely. I'm underweight 'officially' by about 2st, although I'd be happy if I gained half a stone. A snickers bar is high in calories but is also pretty good for you, like others have said do strengthening exercises rather than long distance stuff so you don't burn off too many calories.

[Riku]

(Original post by CXDK)
Eating fat is going to be unhealthy though. Fat is much harder for your body to process. If she wanted to gain fat it is far better to increase her long carb intake, still do exercise just less cardio and slowly build up the weight, not loading on the fat and clogging your arteries with cholesterol.

If anyone is having the same problem then you can always PM me

Her eating fat isn't unhealthy. At all. It's essential, just like carbs and protein.
The cholesterol hypothesis is only relevant to the obese and that's due to insulin resistance usually being present (too much saturated fat can inhibit insulin sensitivity); otherwise saturated fat in moderation is fine and necessary. Cholesterol's required by the body too, actually.
Of course there's a difference between fat and 'fattening foods' e.g. pizza and takeaways (mainly sugar from white bread, sauces etc.) which might make it more difficult to gain weight healthily. Still boils down to moderation. But anyway I don't think that's the problem here and it's something for the OP to address with her GP if needs be.
Definitely advise cutting exercise levels to less than an hour per day though, and regaining the weight at a comfortable pace

[A128]

(Original post by CXDK)
Eating fat is going to be unhealthy though. Fat is much harder for your body to process. If she wanted to gain fat it is far better to increase her long carb intake, still do exercise just less cardio and slowly build up the weight, not loading on the fat and clogging your arteries with cholesterol.

If anyone is having the same problem then you can always PM me

im trying to put on weight, what would you recommend to do?

[Classical Liberal]

(Original post by CXDK)
Eating fat is going to be unhealthy though. Fat is much harder for your body to process. If she wanted to gain fat it is far better to increase her long carb intake, still do exercise just less cardio and slowly build up the weight, not loading on the fat and clogging your arteries with cholesterol.

If anyone is having the same problem then you can always PM me

This is seriously dumb.

I guess all the fats in fish and nuts are really bad ehhhhh. Fats should be like 35% of your calorie intake.

[Classical Liberal]

(Original post by A128)
im trying to put on weight, what would you recommend to do?

Sugar, sugar, sugar.

[Orphan]

Thank you all for your ideas and support. I love my morning run and the athletics I do (high jump mainly) so I think it going to have to be slightly more in rather than slightly less out.

Yes I did get some support from my school (and then the uni) to cope with losing mum and dad. It was living on my own during year 13 that caused the weight loss (too busy with school work and running a house to eat properly).

[CXDK]

You guys are all miss understanding what im saying. yes eat essential fats because they are needed, but the person who suggested fats was in order to gain weight is incorrect because she was referring to bad fats.

[Riku]

(Original post by CXDK)
You guys are all miss understanding what im saying. yes eat essential fats because they are needed, but the person who suggested fats was in order to gain weight is incorrect because she was referring to bad fats.

And this is what I was referring to above. I assume you're talking about 'bad' saturated fat? I love and respect the NHS but it's a shame that we're still reliant on this outdated hypothesis when it comes to nutritional advice. (If anyone can give me substantial evidence otherwise I'm all ears.)

Saturated fats are mainly benign, provided you have them in moderation with plenty of EFAs. (Did you know your body can't metabolise EFAs and B-Vitamins without some saturated fat? You need both.) Assuming OP isn't vegetarian, pescetarian or has any dietary requirements, the likes of dairy products and lean cuts of red meat remain important parts of the standard diet.
What people should think of when they refer to oft-quoted 'artery-clogging saturated fat' is actually products mainly made of sugar and trans-fat/hydrogenated vegetable oils, e.g. cakes, pizza, pies to name a few (margarine being the worst!). But that's been misconstrued to mean natural saturated fat, when actually the body prefers sat. fat (and naturally occurring mono-unsaturated fats and EFAs) to these artificial vegetable oils. It looks like a term construed in the late 80s/90s for the profit of producers of industrial vegetable oils etc. and the research was a little dodgy to say the least. And I'm sure OP knows that eating nothing but pizza, cake and pies isn't the best way to regain weight! :P

I understand why you thought it though, it's a common misconception that gave me trouble regaining weight too. I'm not advocating a diet laden in saturated fat or nothing but fat, you still want your carbs (especially with OP being athletic), fruit'n' veg, protein etc. in there but want to stress we do need it and there are far worse things you can have (namely, sugar and trans-fats). Don't want OP to worry too hard about what they're eating to gain back the weight.