Gaining weight
Discussion
After some advice - Basically I'm too skinny! I'm reasonably slight in frame, and have always been since I was about 16 when I lost a lot of weight from a long stint of glandular fever. I'm 5'10 and 10st 7 dripping wet 
It is a family trait as my brother is even skinnier than me and our dad was similar. Food intake isn't an issue. I eat three generous meals each day with fruit in between and occasional sweet snacks. I don't calorie count so no idea what my intake is I'm afraid.
I've had advice from a family friend who's a dietician who gave me some great advice and meal plans which put me up about 3 lbs and then plateaued off.
Ideally I'd like to be ~12st. I'm reasonably fit, I run about 3 miles two or three times a week and I swim.
A mate at work has suggested protein shakes in addition to meals may be the way forward, but I'm a bit cautious. I don't want to mess with anything too unnatural, and I've heard they make you s
t like a cart horse 
Can you offer some advice about the shakes, pro's and cons, and maybe which ones would be better for my purpose?
It is a family trait as my brother is even skinnier than me and our dad was similar. Food intake isn't an issue. I eat three generous meals each day with fruit in between and occasional sweet snacks. I don't calorie count so no idea what my intake is I'm afraid.I've had advice from a family friend who's a dietician who gave me some great advice and meal plans which put me up about 3 lbs and then plateaued off.
Ideally I'd like to be ~12st. I'm reasonably fit, I run about 3 miles two or three times a week and I swim.
A mate at work has suggested protein shakes in addition to meals may be the way forward, but I'm a bit cautious. I don't want to mess with anything too unnatural, and I've heard they make you s
t like a cart horse Can you offer some advice about the shakes, pro's and cons, and maybe which ones would be better for my purpose?
Uh oh. Another thread about protein shakes!!
Some will say completely unnecessary for your needs, others will say it can't help and is a tasty way of getting protein.
For your situation, though, without seeing your full diet plan and a proper break down of the exercise, it'ds hard to say.
I guess you don't want to just pile on the weight for the sake of it.
Do you have a gym membership or access to weights?
Lifting a few times a week, compounds exercises, plenty of leg work and an increase in 'good' carbs should start you off OK.
Some will say completely unnecessary for your needs, others will say it can't help and is a tasty way of getting protein.
For your situation, though, without seeing your full diet plan and a proper break down of the exercise, it'ds hard to say.
I guess you don't want to just pile on the weight for the sake of it.
Do you have a gym membership or access to weights?
Lifting a few times a week, compounds exercises, plenty of leg work and an increase in 'good' carbs should start you off OK.
At 19 years old I weighed 9.25 stone. I was fit but got blown over in a strong wind. I tried all sorts to gain weight; force feeding, different workouts but to no avail.
I finally joined a proper spit and sawdust gym and worked out a split routine, 4 days a week. The key was doing the last set to absolute, total failure. My appetite rocketed (not so handy on a student budget) naturally and when it left Uni, I was 12.25 stone.
I've now trimmed off a stone as I surf and run a lot but still happy with the results, 20 years later, aged 38.
I finally joined a proper spit and sawdust gym and worked out a split routine, 4 days a week. The key was doing the last set to absolute, total failure. My appetite rocketed (not so handy on a student budget) naturally and when it left Uni, I was 12.25 stone.
I've now trimmed off a stone as I surf and run a lot but still happy with the results, 20 years later, aged 38.
Yeah, I don't think you want to put on weight so much as bulk up.
From your OP you seem to do a lot of cardio, which can be a counter-productive to bulking. If you do a bit of searching on the net you should find quite a few sites that will give you an idea of the amount of calories you should look to consume in order to bulk. Coupled with that you should look into a good weight programme, something that will help you build muscle and use those extra calories.
A few months of that should see you slowly putting on the weight, in a healthy way.
I'm sure someone with more experience will be along shortly to give more indepth advice.
ETA
Regarding protein shakes, to be honest everyone has a different view on them.
I've used them on and off over the years and never experienced any obvious/negative side effects. Do they definitely help me bulk up? I can't say for sure, as I've always used them whenever I do weights. Some people will swear blind they work magic, others will tell you they won't give anything over a well planned diet.
It's a personal choice really mate. If you go down that route, be sure to read up on them fully. There are some really crap knockoff brands that won't do anything and some others that are highly regarded by those who do this kind of thing very seriously.
From your OP you seem to do a lot of cardio, which can be a counter-productive to bulking. If you do a bit of searching on the net you should find quite a few sites that will give you an idea of the amount of calories you should look to consume in order to bulk. Coupled with that you should look into a good weight programme, something that will help you build muscle and use those extra calories.
A few months of that should see you slowly putting on the weight, in a healthy way.
I'm sure someone with more experience will be along shortly to give more indepth advice.
ETA
Regarding protein shakes, to be honest everyone has a different view on them.
I've used them on and off over the years and never experienced any obvious/negative side effects. Do they definitely help me bulk up? I can't say for sure, as I've always used them whenever I do weights. Some people will swear blind they work magic, others will tell you they won't give anything over a well planned diet.
It's a personal choice really mate. If you go down that route, be sure to read up on them fully. There are some really crap knockoff brands that won't do anything and some others that are highly regarded by those who do this kind of thing very seriously.
Edited by The Beaver King on Friday 11th October 11:29
I'd echo the weight training suggestions.
Take a look at a few suggested beginner programs: AllPro, Bill Starr's 5x5 or StrongLifts 5x5. All proven effective if followed - might like to add in a little extra milk too though.
Take a look at a few suggested beginner programs: AllPro, Bill Starr's 5x5 or StrongLifts 5x5. All proven effective if followed - might like to add in a little extra milk too though.
Bugger. Missed probably the best of the lot: Starting Strength - get the book by Mark Rippetoe - invaluable guide to squatting in particular.
LordGrover said:
I'd echo the weight training suggestions.
Take a look at a few suggested beginner programs: AllPro, Bill Starr's 5x5 or StrongLifts 5x5. All proven effective if followed - might like to add in a little extra milk too though.
I did 4 cycles of AllPro and can't recommend it highly enough. I like it because you really get to fine tune your lifting form with the warmups and on the deload days. I always had trouble with my form on squats but now have good form and made steady gains. Also it's a good motivation to read what the other hundreds of people achieved in the BB.com thread.Take a look at a few suggested beginner programs: AllPro, Bill Starr's 5x5 or StrongLifts 5x5. All proven effective if followed - might like to add in a little extra milk too though.
Weight gain/loss is all just a balance of calories in/out.
If you want to gain weight eat an extra 2/3/4/5k of calories per day. Drink litres of full fat milk and eat banana and peanut butter sandwiches/toast. Obviously if you lift the weights you will add muscle and less bodyfat than if you just ate the extra calories.
Have fun eating everything in sight
ETA Grind a cup of oats into the protein shakes - generally carbs are where the highest % of calories are.
Edited by cliffe_mafia on Friday 11th October 14:07
i used to weigh about 10 stone when i was 16-19, im 28 and now 15 stone on a clean bulk (im 5.9 if that helps)
to keep it simple the above advice is good, to put it in simple cave man terms eat more, follow a weight training routine and reduce your cardio. That in mind you will increase your protein/carb/calorie intake (aim for above the male RDA)add some some muscle to increase both size and weight and reduction in cardio will mean you should gain the size easier
The best thing at a gym in this case as someone above mentioned is something like the 5X5 program (i used the mad cow version) BUT if this is your first time using weights i would give it 2 months of gentle to moderate weight training to prevent injury
Access yourself in 6 months, if done correctly you should have a wider frame and be heavier. if you are happy with the progress then keep it up, if you have bitten the gym bug and want to take it to the next stage then its time for protein shakes, fine tuning your diet and doing some research on www.bodybuilding.com for new routines and general advice
to keep it simple the above advice is good, to put it in simple cave man terms eat more, follow a weight training routine and reduce your cardio. That in mind you will increase your protein/carb/calorie intake (aim for above the male RDA)add some some muscle to increase both size and weight and reduction in cardio will mean you should gain the size easier
The best thing at a gym in this case as someone above mentioned is something like the 5X5 program (i used the mad cow version) BUT if this is your first time using weights i would give it 2 months of gentle to moderate weight training to prevent injury
Access yourself in 6 months, if done correctly you should have a wider frame and be heavier. if you are happy with the progress then keep it up, if you have bitten the gym bug and want to take it to the next stage then its time for protein shakes, fine tuning your diet and doing some research on www.bodybuilding.com for new routines and general advice
Never tried the All Pros but quick google suggests it was based on a 5X5 or upper/lower and modified, actually looks good (the version i looked at) but quite a few exercises and alot of rep variation so for a beginner i would suggest the old tried and tested mad cow 5X5
http://stronglifts.com/madcow/5x5_Program/Linear_5...
http://stronglifts.com/madcow/5x5_Program/Linear_5...
It never crossed my mind.
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