Too skinny

[Jordan475]

I'm 5'10'' and weigh 142 pounds. I try to eat well and do some weight training, but I'm still skinny and my ribs show more than they should. Does anyone have any advice on how to healthily gain weight? I know the answer is weight training, but it doesn't seem to be helping that much. Thanks

 

[KaraBulut]

How much are you eating and how much weight training are you doing?

 

[Jordan475]

I usually have cereal and coffee for breakfast, a sandwich, chips, and a nutrigrain bar for lunch, and then a pretty big dinner, usually with some kind of snack before bed (ice cream or fruit, etc). I had been using weights once a week, but I just moved it up to twice. Maybe I don't know what I'm doing with weights, I just go around using all the machines they have at the gym without any kind of plan. My boyfriend only weighs maybe 5 pounds more than me, but he's very toned and athletic looking, whereas I just look fairly skinny. The main problem is the ribs (I don't know; maybe I have a large ribcage).

 

[Puzuzzu]

you need more meat

 

[KaraBulut]

I usually have cereal and coffee for breakfast, a sandwich, chips, and a nutrigrain bar for lunch, and then a pretty big dinner, usually with some kind of snack before bed (ice cream or fruit, etc). I had been using weights once a week, but I just moved it up to twice. Maybe I don't know what I'm doing with weights, I just go around using all the machines they have at the gym without any kind of plan. My boyfriend only weighs maybe 5 pounds more than me, but he's very toned and athletic looking, whereas I just look fairly skinny. The main problem is the ribs (I don't know; maybe I have a large ribcage).

There's three things that are needed to build muscle: protein, good overall nutrition and weight-bearing exercise.

You're not consuming enough calories to put on weight or muscle To build muscle, you're going to have to eat 5-6 small meals per day (3 moderate meals with 2-3 snacks in between). This especially true if you are naturally thin or have trouble keeping weight on.

There are online calorie count programs that you can use to calculate your daily caloric intake. From what you've indicated, the stuff you're eating for a "meal" is not enough calories nor is it enough protein.

And an important thing that often gets overlooked is that protein intake should be distributed throughout the day- where a lot of people go wrong is they try to have 1 big meal with meat and then have insufficient meals the rest of the day. For example, the carbs (e.g. cereal) and coffee you're having for breakfast is being consumed at a time when your body has not had any calories for 6-8 hours. You need to add fat and protein in the morning and then use your nutrition bars for between meal snacks.

If you don't feel like your workouts are good or productive, then hire a trainer to work with you and put together a workout program for you. It's not cheap but what you'll learn from a good trainer will last you the rest of your life, so it's a good investment.

 

[MrBarbrey]

eat more lean beef chicken breast eggs weight train 3-4 times a week if you can goto GNC and try Pro Performance-Mass XXX its a weight gainer i use it good stuff

 

[codeerror]

There's three things that are needed to build muscle: protein, good overall nutrition and weight-bearing exercise.

You're not consuming enough calories to put on weight or muscle To build muscle, you're going to have to eat 5-6 small meals per day (3 moderate meals with 2-3 snacks in between). This especially true if you are naturally thin or have trouble keeping weight on.

There are online calorie count programs that you can use to calculate your daily caloric intake. From what you've indicated, the stuff you're eating for a "meal" is not enough calories nor is it enough protein.

And an important thing that often gets overlooked is that protein intake should be distributed throughout the day- where a lot of people go wrong is they try to have 1 big meal with meat and then have insufficient meals the rest of the day. For example, the carbs (e.g. cereal) and coffee you're having for breakfast is being consumed at a time when your body has not had any calories for 6-8 hours. You need to add fat and protein in the morning and then use your nutrition bars for between meal snacks.

If you don't feel like your workouts are good or productive, then hire a trainer to work with you and put together a workout program for you. It's not cheap but what you'll learn from a good trainer will last you the rest of your life, so it's a good investment.

As usual KaraBulut said it all

I normally wouldn't recommend people to focus too much on calories, but in your case I will. You(with your height and weight) need 2350 kcal just to maintain your current weight. You should aim for around 2800.
Just make a list of what you eat on a normal day. Think you'll be in for a surprise
You should as MrBarbrey already said, eat food with lots of proteins. If you cant change your diet, consider getting proteins from another source(powder, bars etc.)

As for workouts, once a week isn't enough. 2-3 times a week is okay.

Good luck!

 

[shyguyuk]

mate your not skinny im a 32 year old male in the uk. i weigh just over eight and a half stone i eat loads and never put an ounce on. i think its just the way we are meant to be

 

[Puzuzzu]

mate your not skinny im a 32 year old male in the uk. i weigh just over eight and a half stone i eat loads and never put an ounce on. i think its just the way we are meant to be

genetics is a bitch sometimes

 

[KaraBulut]

As usual KaraBulut said it all

I was hoping that some of the guys interested in bodybuilding and fitness would chime in, so I'm glad to see that you and MrB have done so.

 

[codeerror]

mate your not skinny im a 32 year old male in the uk. i weigh just over eight and a half stone i eat loads and never put an ounce on. i think its just the way we are meant to be

Haha, my favorite subject.
Ever heard of the thermodynamic laws?
Energy in equals energy out.
I love how people say "I cant gain weight, though I eat loads" and, "I can't loose it even if I don't eat a thing." However in laboratory experiments, every participant can, when the meals are weighed and controlled.

When getting a self-declared evaluation of peoples food intake, it's often far from the truth. Controlled studies show that people either under- or overestimates their food intake by as much as 50%. The same goes for working out, people will drastically overestimate how much calories they actually burn , then eat more calories because they "deserved" it.

Are you the exeption?

(No flaming intended)
If you are the exception of thermodynamic laws, please contact me immediately-I'll be a strong candidate for the nobel price and you'll be examined closely by any means, to find out how you can be a living, breathing energy-reactor, capable of making calories out of nothing, then burn them at lightning speed. You are nothing but a wandering perpetual machine and we should be able to hook you up to the energy-net and use you to supply millions of homes with electricity for the next hundred years.

Yes, there are diet-resistant people. No, being diet-resistant does not mean you cant gain weight.

 

[MrBarbrey]

I was hoping that some of the guys interested in bodybuilding and fitness would chime in, so I'm glad to see that you and MrB have done so.

oh yeah i couldnt pass it up lol


oh and one thing i must add NEVER EVER EVER EVER listen to the guys at GNC half of them have no idea what they are trying to sell you the last time i went in there for a pump the guy had to be 150 pounds max and i'm 182 right now he's trying sell me he uses ha ha no thanks

 

[Diego_Ryan]

I'm 5'10'' and weigh 142 pounds. I try to eat well and do some weight training, but I'm still skinny and my ribs show more than they should. Does anyone have any advice on how to healthily gain weight? I know the answer is weight training, but it doesn't seem to be helping that much. Thanks

Strange we're almost the same height and weight yet I'm average, I'm 5'9 and 145 pounds, I'm not skinny or fat.

 

[drhladnjak]

Lots of good advice above, but I just wanted to say that I wouldn't recommend upping the amount of food you're eating until you've gotten yourself to commit to a more frequent workout routine. Otherwise, you'll probably find yourself just getting fatter... It's generally easier to get yourself to eat more than it is to get yourself to work out more.