For context, I am roughly 5’10” and 150 lbs. I work outside and generally on an 8 hour day which is my norm, I’ll walk at LEAST 4 miles. I realized recently that’s probably the main reason I don’t gain weight, I walk all my fat off. I obviously have no problem with people that are overweight or people that don’t look like vogue models, that’s an unrealistic standard to be set(and feeds into consumerism but that’s a whole nother convo) but I would like to gain weight without being overweight. I am not skinny, I’m decently muscular not to pat myself too hard but I would like to get bigger. I know muscle weighs more than fat but I know I also need body fat. I eat lots of chicken and meat. I really kinda eat unhealthy and have lots of typical American comfort foods but I don’t go hard on dessert really. I do like fruit and yogurt too. What should I do to gain weight without eating unhealthy foods? Will exercise make me gain weight eventually or would it take a crazy long time?
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I never thought about it but I suppose that’s true, I usually have to buy more food on days I lift, good tip!
That’s a problem with eating healthy and having an active job, it’s damn hard to get in enough calories.
If you’ve never really trained before, you’ll gain weight quickly with the right (bodybuilding) schedule, for the first six months or so, your gains can be almost immediately noticeable. Only do enough cardio to warm-up. But note that a good weight routine will burn calories, too, and will raise your metabolism. Doing HIIT sessions supposedly raises your metabolism for up to 72 hours, and the right weight routine can feel like a HIIT session.
You could try calorie dense snacks with good fats like nuts and/or different nut butters?
I recently got into Peanut butter sandwiches and I think despite them being low calorie, I can eat like 3 of them and be full if I have yogurt and fruit with it. I have trouble eating mu green veggies tho they taste nasty, but I suppose anything goes when it comes to soups, so maybe I can try that
Do you go for the full-fat yoghurt?
Have you tried cooking veggies in a strong sauce or just in their own juices, some oil, and some curry or ‘fajita’ spices. I could eat this cold with rice (and cheese with the fajita flavouring). (If you do cook rice for a pack-lunch, make sure you cool it under a cold tap as soon as you’ve cooked it, then drain, and get it straight in the fridge (you can get ill from eating rice that was allowed to cool in room-temp).
Ooh, now you’re talking, I usually don’t like veggies, but soups and fajitas are actually very good at disguising them. I also love potatoes and carrots, stuff like that. Also I usually get low fat yogurt just because my Mom needs it and we always have some in the fridge, but full fat is a great idea of getting healthy fats into my diet!
You can pack the recipe out with foods you love and disguise a few that you don’t but you know are good for you, then stick it all in one of those good tubs with a seal so it doesn’t leak.
booze!
Personally I had a real hard time gaining weight without a calorie counting app. The foods I eat with the most calories are rice, beans, olive oil, popcorn (I buy it unpopped and pop it in a wok with oil using a lid), cheese, sunflower seeds, whole milk, mixed frozen berries, and tempeh. I also aim for at least 30 different kinds of plant foods a week, that variety being important for health. I make a smoothie with a lot of vegetables and some other things for breakfast and for other meals I stir fry about 350 grams of vegetables with about 100 grams of tempeh or meat in addition to some rice, soup, or popcorn. But what works for me may not work for you, since you get a lot more exercise than me. In your case it would probably come down to eating more than 3 meals a day.
