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Weight problem - help!

Posted: May 4, 2010

I am hoping some of you out there can help. I am 5'4" and weigh 108 pounds. I would like to gain 10 or 12 pounds so I look healthier. Some people look at me like I either have a drug problem or I am bulemic, and that is SO not the case. It is to the point I am getting very self-conscious about it and even getting to the point that I don't feel comfortable with my husband seeing me. The problem is that I do not have an appetite a lot of the time and when I am not hungry, I can't force myself to eat. That is what my husband says, "just make yourself eat." Now don't get me wrong, when I do have an appetite, I can eat more than my husband and he weighs about 230. Believe me, I can put the food away! (I am not much for sweets) I have brought this up with my doctor and after running some tests, determined it was not a illness issue and overall, I am healthy. I guess my question is, does anyone out there have any good ideas about how to put some weight on? Are there any medications/supplements or anything else that will help with my appetite so I feel like eating 3 times a day? I sincerely appreciate any input I can get, as it is starting to become a serious problem. I hope someone out there will be able to help. Thanks so much!!!!

;

Start taking good multivitamin tablets, 1 daily - too thin

[ In Reply To ..]
eat fruits and vegetables, this will open up your appetite for other things.

Here also some online advice:

" If you are underweight and want to bulk up, here are are some step by step directions on how to gain weight fast.
Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions:
Step 1
Eat balanced meals with protein, vegetables and starches like potatoes and whole wheat bread. Increase the amount of the healthy starches. Take extra servings of food when you eat to help you gain weight fast.

Step 2
Eat nutritiously at each meal and add in two extra snacks per day, to help you gain weight fast. At these snacks, drink protein powder body building drinks. Add in nutritious high caloric foods like avocados, nuts, peanut butter and olives to munch on.

Step 3
Drink milk and juices. Adding in a glass of juice everyday at 110 calories per glass will help you gain weight at the rate of one pound a month without doing anything else. At the end of a year you will have gained twelve pounds. Combine this with the other tips listed here and you will gain weight fast.

Step 4
Do resistance training. Though you do want to do aerobic exercise for heart health, aerobic exercise burns more fat. Keep the focus on weight training with occasional aerobics to gain weight fast.

Step 5
Be persistent. Your bulking up efforts will pay off and you will gain weight fast if you follow these tips daily."

Good luck!

weight problem - sheepwhisperer

[ In Reply To ..]
THANKS SO MUCH for the information. A lot of this I did not know. I appreciate you taking the time to find this info and passing it on to me. Hope you have a great day tomorrow!

thank you, you are so welcome, it is not often - too thin

[ In Reply To ..]
that somebody posts "weight problem" and wants to gain weight! I expected the contrary.

Better too thin than too fat, at least you can dig in and enjoy without feeling guilty.......
Good luck in your weight gaining and let us hear how it is going.

I want to add something: After gaining some - too thin

[ In Reply To ..]
weight and feeling stronger, start walking daily 30 minutes, this will tone your muscles, strengthen your heart and make you hungry!

Then eat healthy things, nothing of that what Alice suggested!

Good luck!

How to gain weight - Alice

[ In Reply To ..]
While I have never had a problem with being underweight, I consider myself an expert on how to gain weight.

Be sure to include bread and fat with every meal. Meat and cheese sandwiches seem to work well. Actually, anything that includes flour and fat. It doesn't matter whether the flour is whole wheat flour or refined white flour; both will work to help you gain weight. If you can possibly do it, adding sugar will be very helpful as well. Donuts and ice cream are good snacks to eat if your goal is to gain weight.

While vitamins and fruits and vegetables are still important to your health, you need the component of carbs and fat in your diet and preferably eaten together, in order to reach your goal of gaining weight.

Calories still count, but high carb, including simple sugars, along with high fat, have a tendency to turn the human body into a fat storage machine.

When I deleted the items that I mentioned above from my diet (plus most all items that were high in sugar and starches), I lost 160 pounds. So, I am convinced that eating these items will help you to gain weight.

Actually, one year, I did gain over 100 pounds in just that one year because I did not have a kitchen and I lived mainly on bologna and cheese sandwiches with mayonaise and lots of fast foods and donuts/ice cream.

Good luck to you.

Dang, you GO, girl!!! - RubySoho

[ In Reply To ..]
Wow, congrats to you and that 160-pound weight loss! That must have required so much discipline and self-control, and you have to be really proud of that accomplishment. Heck, I'm proud ofyou and I don't even know you. What an inspiration to all of us, not just for weight loss but just for fortitude and determination. You're an inspiration for "can do," that's for sure!

You go, girl...That's FANTASTIC you were able to do that, so give yourself a big pat. You deserve it!

way to go Alice....but suggesting donuts and ice cream NOT good.. - MT

[ In Reply To ..]
awesome accomplishment on your weight loss!!

BUT, I would highly suggest to the OP NOT to bulk up/add weight by eating more donuts and ice cream and junk food to gain weight. The long-term effects of junk food ingredients will be detrimental to your overall health. One can be super thin but be highly unhealthy on the inside.

Stick with the healthy foods, fruits/veggies, etc...do your weight training 3-4 days week (by combining a weekly routine of high weight/low reps and then alternate with low weights/high reps) will help you build muscle w/out bulk AND help w/endurance training. Do your aerobics 2-3x week to train the most important muscle, your heart.

Add protein shakes in between meals or for your snacks. You can do a weight-gainer shake 1x day to add extra calories. If you start doing your weight-training, you will see an increase in your weight as muscles weighs more, plus it will give you a more womanly, healthy, muscular physique. You will NOT bulk up like a man does.

Good luck!!

It was clearly a joke, but...it would work. - Kendra

[ In Reply To ..]
Good for you, Alice! I have recently lost 70 pounds, but with some more to go!

she does not want THAT kind of weight gain - too thin

[ In Reply To ..]
she wants to gain muscle, NOT fat.

Do you want to make her sick?

But, I guess, you are only joking, aren't you?

no,no, OP wants a firm, toned body, not - smess

[ In Reply To ..]
a jiggly one, do what "too thin" suggested.

muscle burns MORE calories - truffle

[ In Reply To ..]
5 feet 4 inches and 118 lb (her goal) is not going to be jiggly, even if the extra 10 is from doughnuts! That is still quite thin, just not emaciated.

Of course I would never discourage exercise, but building muscle burns calories and would cause her daily calorie requirement to maintain her weight to go up, so I would think that weight training could cause her to not be able to get ahead of the calorie requirement needed to gain, especially if she just cannot eat when she is not hungry.

I remember when I was a kid, one of my neighbor ladies was way too thin. Her doctor advised her to drink a milkshake and then take a nap every day. It worked for her.

The OP didn't mention whether or not she is a smoker. That will kill an appetite for sure. Just wanted to throw that out there in case that could be a cause.

weight of 118 lbs with a height of 5 feet 4 inches - too thin

[ In Reply To ..]
is a BMI of 19, still slightly underweight.

Normal weight = BMI between 20 and 25.

True about smoking.

I'd call you a "hard keeper." :-D - Hayseed

[ In Reply To ..]
I have a friend who is like you. Stick thin, eats everything and anything, and still can't gain any weight. She hates it. Strangely though, she has great boobs and they're even real! :D

In the equine world, we'd call you a "hard keeper," which is typical of thoroughbreds or arabians who are born lean, run hot, and have the metabolism of hummingbirds. No matter what they are fed, ultra high calories, their bodies are just designed to be lean and burn fat, even when they are not actively working.

Have you tried any of those high calorie/protein boosting powders you can get at places like GNC? I'd try that stuff mixed into drinks or in puddings.

My friend loves cheese and that's how she tries to keep her weight stable. She actually wants to open a cheese shop because she has such a love for the stuff--the more exotic, the more she likes it! Mold and all! :D

LOL! I sure had my share of "hard keeper" horses - - we used to call them "hay-burners". nm

[ In Reply To ..]
- Rocky Raccoon

advice from certified PT - reen

[ In Reply To ..]
true, muscles does burn more calories, but when you are doing weight training, the key is to have your caloric intake increased to offset the additional calories burned. You do NOT want to take up weight training and decrease or not keep your caloric intake at the same amount prior to WTing. Trust me, I've been a certified personal trainer and have worked with clients with similar builds/issues w/gaining weight. You do NOT want to forgo weight training simply under the misleading assumption that you will burn more calories thus lose more weight OR not be able to gain weight.

If you want more information, email me and I can send you some information that I have provided to my clients on this specific topic.

Good luck OP!!

The OP is having trouble eating, so she might - truffle

[ In Reply To ..]
not be able to take in the extra calories; thus, she would indeed lose weight with WT. Am I missing something? Her situation seems unique in that she has no appetite much of the time. Maybe the WT in and of itself would stimulate her appetite, then poof, problem solved.

not being able to eat... - reen

[ In Reply To ..]
is a definite issue/problem itself that would have to be addressed. Perhaps OP should consult a doctor to make sure no underlying medical issues need to be taken care of first and as a prof PT, I would definitely recommend ruling out that first and foremost. I would not assume the OP would lose weight w/WT. The body's natural innate mechanism when under "good" stress (ex. WTing)would have her consuming more calories UNLESS there is a medical condition preventing her from doing so, KWIM? So yes, you would be correct in saying the WTing would stimulate her caloric intake.

Again, assuming no med condition is preventing her from eating in the first place.

Good point truffle!

Appetite - Happy MT Robin

[ In Reply To ..]
If the problem is just a lack of desire to eat as opposed to what you are eating, see if your doctor is willing to give you a prescription for Megace. The docs I type for use that a lot for the oncology patients who are having a tough time with their appetite. It's a little extreme, but it may be something to think about.

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