Healthfully gaining weight?

I have always been underweight, and no matter what I eat, I don't gain anything. I used to eat very unhealthy foods, but now I've switched to an all natural pollotarian (only bird/fish meat, dairy, and vegetables) diet and I'm not sure how to gain more weight. It seems like all the unhealthy foods are the ones that add the extra pounds, but I know that's unhealthy weight. Does anyone have any advice? Thanks!

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"My dearest, if God hath so loved us; we also ought to love one another." ~ 1 John 4:11

John 13:34 ~ "A new commandment I give unto you: That you love one another, as I have loved you..."

According to my BMI, I'm underweight. I'd be curious as well if anyone has any tips here.

I too have wondered about this. I think I could afford to probably gain a little weight. Yet I eat like a man so I don't get why it doesn't seem like I am gaining any weight. Maybe it's muscle I need? I don't know.

You are going to have to eat more. Don't worry about fat intake, either intentionally increasing it or decreasing it. Buy a calorie book and start counting till you start gaining. Peanut butter, tuna, brown rice, moderate amounts of fruits, etc. As a woman, start by increasing your caloric intake to 3,000 per day, and measure your weight at the same time of day on saturday (a persons weight can flucuate over 3+ pounds per day). If you still aren't gaining, increase it to 3,500.


Barricade, are you weight training? Squats, deadlift, press, benchpress, clean. Barricade, if you are a young man (18-24) you can increase your caloric intake to 4,000-5,000 starting. You are in a unique period of your life when you can make huge anabolic increases to mass without chemical assistance. You will probably lose your 6-pack, but you can cut later to get it back without too much trouble.

Thank you so much. That makes a lot of sense. I will start getting/fixing more of the foods you mentioned, and I will see how I can implement that kind of calorie system. Thanks again!

__________________

"My dearest, if God hath so loved us; we also ought to love one another." ~ 1 John 4:11

John 13:34 ~ "A new commandment I give unto you: That you love one another, as I have loved you..."

Whoops i meant 3,000 a day haha. Weight training would be good for you too, but its not such a huge deal for women as men.

It's all good. :p And yeah, I feel like I have weight training already though, carrying a laptop, food, and books across a college campus every day. XD It's definitely not the same thing, but it does keep my legs in shape. I'm pretty sure I have some dumbells around somewhere, so I would start with those.

__________________

"My dearest, if God hath so loved us; we also ought to love one another." ~ 1 John 4:11

John 13:34 ~ "A new commandment I give unto you: That you love one another, as I have loved you..."

Like a previous poster mention you have to weight lift; squats, deadlifts, etc. Carry books, mowing the lawn, or walking up a hill is not weight lifting that will help you gain muscle weight. 8-20 reps of free weight exercises will. But learn how to do it correctly, find a trainer that knows what they're doing and get a few sessions and a workout plan.

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“Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth.” -Albert Einstein

"If people let government decide what foods they eat and what medicines they take, their bodies will soon be in as sorry a state as are the souls of those who live under tyranny."
Thomas Jefferson

i'm reluctant to give advice to women on weight training because they are going to have very different goals than your typical man (usually. If they are an athlete they will have a coach or whatever helping them out).


That said, I can't reccomend Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe enough. Isolation machines are still very much in vogue in gyms and they are both not effective and probably dangerous as you tend to not build up stablizing muscles or core.

I used to be underweight, due to a stomach condition. And then I began eating similar to you, avoiding grains mainly, but also not eating junk foods high in sugar. I eat a good amount of vegetables, meats, fruits and fats. It was was around 5 years ago that I made the diet change. As a result my gut health improved along with absorption of nutrients, and now I'm 30lbs heavier. The weight I've put on is muscle as i began to exercise and lift weights. I joke that I just look at a piece of chicken, or scrambled eggs I know it is going straight to my deltoids, biceps, quads, etc.

I think what also helped was taking the supplements of, and eating foods rich in vitamin D3, vitamin K2, fish oil, kelp for iodine, etc.