Help my younger brother gain weight

My brother is close to being underweight, he doesn't have any eating issues and will eat any food available that he likes. Thing is my parents just don't buy food that he likes lmao but basically, they want him to start exercising 45mins, 5 days week, to get him off gaming for a bit, he's strong (somehow) and is happy to do it but we both know that if he keeps eating the same but increasing his energy expenditure he'll eventually become underweight - I cant remember his height and weight but he's very close to being underweight.
What can I do to help him stay at a healthy level, thinking protein shakes could be a good option as they don't take much though and will help him out a bit.
I know this is a weird scenario but yeah, mentally he's fine, he's a very confident person but knows that he doesn't eat enough (not on purpose the boy would rather think about call of duty) and physically he does have a skinny pack,6pack lucky him.
but yeah if he's going from 0mins a week to 150mins a week of exercise and eat the same he's gonna lose weight and probably muscle, what would be best for keeping him healthy?

Reply 1

username5372662

Shakes are a good easy source of protein. While it may be better to get your nutrients and calories from actual food such as meat, veg and all that good stuff they can be useful for people who are trying to gain weight as they aren't as filling as other full meals, and quick to make. Along with this, he should aim for about 3000 Kcal a day with high protein and resistance training he should see a change over the weeks (especially if he's new to weight training)

However, if he is not seeing the scale go up after a while and no physical changes then add an extra 200-500 kcals, nothing too high as you don't want to gain fat too quickly. Good luck and I hope this helps him.

Reply 2

Surnia

How old is your brother? He should see a doctor and get proper advice.

Reply 3

Surnia

Original post by sjncjdf

Hang on, you are giving advice when knowing next to nothing about this boy, not his weight, height or even his age. Where did you get weight training from? Why did you include resistance training? 45 minutes of exercise could just be going out for a long walk.

Don't get into specifics when you haven't got all the information.

Reply 4

username5372662

Original post by Surnia

Well, I just assume resistant/weight training out of habit, that being said he would benefit from starting if he's trying to work out, but either way he's starting which is great. As for knowing the boy, you have a point but this is just general advice for someone whos starting to train and want to put on weight. And as mentioned the OP knows if he eats the same way but exercises more he's just going to get even skinnier so my advice was to eat more and train. What's wrong with that?

Reply 5

Surnia

Original post by sjncjdf

There is absolutely no mention of starting training, it was going out for exercise; he could be 14 years old for all you know. Posting out of habit is a bad habit; there is far more that needs to be known before doing out advice and thinking one size fits all.

Reply 6

username5372662

Original post by Surnia

Well if he is 14 then I'd encourage the weight training more! doesn't have to be crazy intensity but damn he'd be built like a pop eye by the time puberty is finished! Wish I did at that age. But I understand what you mean but if he's trying to gain weight the least he's going to have to do is eat more calories. Especially now he's planning on moving more.

Reply 7

saskiax

Why don't your parents buy the food he likes? is it unhealthy stuff? Humus and nuts are high calorie healthy foods and things like chips and pizza can be made healthily at home if you have a bit of time.