You're so skinny. You're so small. You're thin. You need to eat more. Sounds familiar? If you are thin or skinny (or whatever the politically correct term is), you probably have heard these types of comments at least once in your lifetime. I know I've heard plenty. Just as fat people are not comfortable being fat, skinny people are not comfortable with their frames either.
The truth of the matter is, it's not fun being thin nor is it healthy. All you skinny/thin people out there know what I am talking about. I used to be under 40kg for most of my life, up until few years ago, when I have slowly began gaining some weight. So, I wanna share some very simple basic tips (based on my experience) with fellow thin people who may have difficulty putting on that extra 1 kg.
Here goes....
Tip #1 - Obviously, you need to eat more. I know that you know this. The equation is simple. Calories in, calories out. To gain weight, there needs to be calorie surplus. You need to take in more than what your body is burning. A simple way to know how much you need to eat is to know your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). Refer to my blog's sidebar for links to BMR calculator or you can google it yourself too. BMR is the rate that your body is burning when you are at rest, when you are not doing anything. It enables you to determine your daily caloric needs. So, eg. if your BMR is 1200, then ideally you should eat above 1200 calories a day in order to gain weight. This is your guideline. Be mindful though, of the types of food you eat. Junk food and processed food is a no no. You want to gain weight, not be skinny fat.
Tip #2 - Eat frequently. Every 3-4 hours is ideal. That means breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner. You can throw in supper too if you want, although I'm not too crazy about that, especially if it's too near bedtime. The most common complain from thin people is that they can't eat a lot (I used to feel this way). Eating frequently will enable you to break down your meals into smaller portion. Also, a lot of people, fat or thin, will tend to skip breakfast because they get stomach upset. Fat people do that because they think it will help them to lose weight (separate discussion on this at another time). Start off with a small breakfast if you can't get use to eating breakfast eg. a yogurt or a toast or half boiled eggs. Over time, your stomach will get used to having food in, early in the morning. I think most people get it by now that eating breakfast is important because it gives you energy to start off your day. Just think, your body has been fasting for a good 7-8 hours from the nite before and now you are gonna starve it for another half a day. It will just make you sluggish and tired.
Tip #3 - Weights Training! There is this misconception that if you are thin, you don't need to exercise. That is so wrong. IF anything, exercise is key to weight gain. Not only is exercising beneficial from a health perspective but I find that it can open up one's appetite. I went from never exercising to swimming at least 3 times a week and my appetite increased tremendously.
Go easy on cardio. Cardio exercise is great for cardiovascular benefit but if you are thin, you don't want to burn too much calories more than you are eating. Explore resistance training instead. Women tend to shy away from resistance or weights training because they are so afraid of bulking up. Listen...the average women do not have enough testerone to bulk up, period! Don't be afraid to add a little weight to your exercise regimen. Not only is it going to tone up your body and change your body composition but resistance training also provides cardiovascular benefits, especially if you do circuit training (ie. going from one exercise to another without resting in between). Start off with light weights and when you feel stronger, slowly increase the weight. In my opinion...and I'm speaking from experience, eating tons and tons of food is simply not enough. Do strength training! It is key, trust me.
Tip #4 - Protein shakes. This is a great way to help add up the calories, especially if you can't eat enough calories in a day. You can opt for Weight Gain powder as well, but for me personally, protein powder works better...for me. I have tested both types and I find that protein shakes give me better results. There are many brands available in the market eg. Nutralife (can get it from any pharmacy), Horleys (also available in some pharmacy), GNC / Optimum Nutrition (available at all GNC outlets), etc etc. 2 scoops a day gives you at least 240 calories, 48g protein.
These four tips have helped me over the course of the years, going from very skinny to now being at least slim. IF you've been trying to gain weight all your life, I'm pretty sure you have tried all ways to do so. I cannot stress enough of Tip #3 because this is the one area that has made a huge difference in my effort all through the years. Follow all 4 simple tips and I'm sure you will see some difference too.
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This site is dedicated solely to anything pertaining to health and fitness, in my own effort to promote health-ier living and wellness. What you read here are based on research and at times, based on personal experience, experiment or self recommendations. I hope that the readers will find this site useful and informative, for the most part. Stay tuned...
