Vent …. I feel hopeless

@stevensloan Sorry to hear but definitely try to eat more or drink mass gainers. And do weight training… since you have such high metabolism you will need to eat more than your total TDEE to gain weight.

Honestly you’re so lucky but also on the other spectrum of most people who want to lose weight instead of gain. We all have our struggles so don’t be so hard on yourself.
 
@lawrencehart I appreciate this! I'll try to take it easier on myself, just had one of those self-criticizing moments last night. Thanks again, might tweak my diet a bit to include more shakes.
 
@stevensloan I recently lost over 100 lbs (using a combination of Wegovy and weightlifting, I have some medical disorders that caused weight gain and made weight loss difficult). At 5'1" I'm now maintaining at 118 lbs, and I'm working on a body recomposition while trying to gain muscle. I'm finding it difficult to get enough daily calories in my system to support the kind of heavy lifting I prefer during a body recomp; I found myself losing weight when I was trying to gain muscle! Protein shakes have been my savior, especially since one of the side effects of my medication is reduced appetite, and shakes are easy to drink.

I use a cup of whole milk, a packet of Carnation Instant Breakfast chocolate high protein powder, a serving of flavorless collagen protein, and a serving of powdered peanut butter. If I'm really hurting for calories, I'll add a scoop of ice cream to the blender. It's basically all my sugar for the day, but it also gives me about 60% of my protein for the day as well. Nuts and nut butter are also great for getting good fats, protein, and calories into your system- I'll eat peanut butter straight out of the jar sometimes.
 
@robbm77 That's a huge progress!!! I'm so proud of you, I want to try that shake, how many calories are in it? Does it taste good? Weight training is something I’m looking into! A lot of people advise me to lift weights but I do not want to do it until I control my eating habits and ability to maintain a healthy weight. I was at the gym before and I lost drastic weight so I’ve concluded that I need to do things differently. I need to be a healthy weight and be consistent with my eating habits.
 
@stevensloan Thank you 😊

The shake is fantastic, the peanut butter makes it taste like Reeses Pieces! Depending on the type of milk you use, the shake is about 500 calories. It's literally the only way I met my daily 1600-1800 calorie goal without losing my mind. The trick with all protein shakes is to use milk and not water, water makes the protein taste awful. If your goal is to gain weight, I'd try drinking a calorie-heavy protein shake before you go to sleep.

Another one of my favorite high calorie foods is baked red potatoes. I load them up with butter and add salt/pepper. Sometimes I'll use cheddar cheese, sour cream, and bacon bits as well. Baked potatoes are easy to eat and have a lot of nutrients if you leave the skin on. The fat in the butter adds calories and helps with vitamin absorption.

I would advise you to try bodyweight exercises to start with (like squats, lunges, modified push ups, hip thrusts) so you can begin building muscle. The exercise will likely naturally stimulate your appetite, and you'll be able to eat more calories. I also live in a state where cannabis is legal and when I'm really struggling with appetite I'll use a little bit of edible to get my hunger up, if that's an option for you it's worth a shot.
 
@stevensloan I’m not sure how old you are, but if you are young, I’d focus on healthy eating habits. I can’t tell you how many people I knew & envied in high school because they could “eat anything they wanted” & still stay skinny who are now decidedly NOT. Your metabolism has a way of catching up with you. Focus on being healthy.
 
@stevensloan I think I recently heard about a skinny guy grinding food and drinking it so his stomach could store more food. He said something like "if we are not talented (at eating), we have to make efforts". Kinda extreme though..

I don't know how I gained weight... well, I think it was dating and eating out. When I was skinny, I indeed didn't eat much, and hardly snacked.
 
@waltah “Drinking your calories” is often the recommendation though! There’s an interview of Rob McElhenney of “It’s Always Sunny.” talking about how he build muscle and overall mass for the show; he mentions letting a gallon of ice cream melt so he could just drink it like a milkshake to amp up his calories.

I’m not recommending OP do that of course, but just getting across the idea that it’s easier to down a liquid for gaining.
 
@jott021 I appreciate this insight. I do drink my calories (2 Ensures) but someone tells me the calories won’t be stored if I am not exercising. I do not want to “build muscle”, I am frail, and I honestly just want to be a healthy weight.
 
@waltah That's a bit extreme, lol I drink protein shakes butt someone told me our bodies don't store calories from protein if I’m not using it (strength training), but thanks for your advice though, I appreciate it even if it may seem small.
 
@stevensloan I was between 95-115lbs since high school up until 2022. By 2023 I hit 120lbs and this year I’m at 130lbs. I’ve been weight lifting since 2018 but I couldn’t gain any weight. This year I continued lifting and focused on adding protein, fiber, and healthy snacks. I was never able to eat large meals (it makes me feel sick) so I rely on snacking throughout the day. I’ve been able to gain weight and maintain it.
 
@stevensloan I am 5’2 and was 99lbs when I started my journey and now i’m 118. My tip is: go to the gym and lift heavy! Eat your protein and eat snacks during the day. shakes are your best friend. It takes time to see progress. You need to be consistent.
 
@stevensloan Whenever I had to gain weight, I would add a few tablespoons of peanut butter to my diet. Also, the more I trained, the hungrier I got. I would add hummus to everything. I doubled my protein shakes too. That seemed to help me gain weight.
 
@stevensloan Lift weights. You'll get hungry like crazy and would have no choice but to eat loads. Choose high calorie but healthy foods eg: dry fruits, peanut butter, peanuts etc. make smoothies with loads of these nuts and just drink it. Drinking is easier than sitting and chewing, you wouldn't even know how much calories you're drinking.
 
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