# Weight gain



## toadflack (Nov 12, 2009)

I'm gonna start researching on how to gain weight healthy. I looked at some sites and they pretty much just tried to sell me shit so I was wondering if any of ya'll know. I know I could just eat a bunch of trashy foods but I already have some heart issues from doing dope. So maybe you can give me some ideas, healthy ideas for this. Thanks


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## compass (Nov 12, 2009)

Weight is weight, what kind of body composition are you going for? Fattening up for winter, or you want to get totally awesomely shredded so you can bang all the skanks out at the Jersey shore? Just kidding, saw you're in Fresno, so at Pismo Beach I guess.

Simple shit man, whole grains, vegetables and fruit, plenty of protein, water and rest, smart training, etc. If you lift, and just eat like mad, you'll gain plenty of weight.


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## veggieguy12 (Nov 12, 2009)

Since forever, about 16 years old or so, I've been pretty consistently the same weight and physique.
That's whether vegetarian or omnivore, and I eat a lot. Sometimes we're just stuck with our hardwiring inclining us toward being endo- or ecto-morphs.

Also, I don't really think grains are terrific for human health.


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## compass (Nov 12, 2009)

Metabolism and genetics definitely play huge roles in your quest to gain weight. Like veggieguy, some people just can't gain alot of weight no matter how hard they try. Me on the other hand, I gain fat really easily when I eat too much, but when I lift I also gain muscle relatively easily. It is what it is, so you've just got to work with what you've got. The advice is pretty universal though.

I agree, I guess a side note, since it isn't exactly related to the topic of the thread (unless of course we want to talk about how grains play into the problems people have with excessive weight gain). I think a "paleo" diet would be great, but people still consume grain, and if you're going to go that route, whole grain is way healthier than processed. There are many health problems that started popping up in humans when we began consuming large amounts of grain. We are omnivores though, and in moderation it isn't that big of a deal to eat it.


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## toadflack (Nov 13, 2009)

Yeah I'm one of those skinny fuckers that looks as if I can always afford to add an extra few pounds. And the weights thing, I'm actually trying to find some for a descent price on craigslist.


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## Rash L (Nov 14, 2009)

just to let you know...
Some girls really like the scrawny/skin and bones look.


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## compass (Nov 14, 2009)

toadflack said:


> Yeah I'm one of those skinny fuckers that looks as if I can always afford to add an extra few pounds. And the weights thing, I'm actually trying to find some for a descent price on craigslist.



Shit man, hit up yard sales. Do a little digging. So many people buy weights with the intention of lifting and never end up sticking with it. You could probably find someone willing to give you weights just to get rid of them. But really, you don't even need weights. Push ups, dips, hand stand push ups, pull ups, chin ups, burpees, one legged squats, interval sprints, etc. If you have your body and a bar or branch above your head you're good to go.


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## oldmanLee (Nov 14, 2009)

The big thing is to eat well,but not too much,and stay active.I've been between 140 and 150 all my life,but eat a relativly enormous amount of food.Avoid a lot of processed food,learn to cook beyond ramen(the single most useless substance in the world).Do some basic exercises(pushups,Marine style works best),for weights I use a couple of bricks and go for reps verses load.If you drink,stick with something with substance,the old ads that touted "Guiness For Health"were not lieing.Do something with your day that causes your muscles to stretch .Some places i've lived,guerrila gardening got me going,nothing like swinging a shovel by moonlight(makes the neighbors think you're burying a body!).
One final note,if you want to see how to gain weight and muscle mass,research old time small scale logging(back before the idea of giant companies and clearcutting,when folks used axes and draft animals).Check on what the loggers had as meals at operations that had cookshanties.


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## angelenesdreams (Nov 14, 2009)

any idea what blood-type you are? you could do some reading up on the blood-type diet and see what they say are the best foods for you, and which ones to avoid. i know alot of ppl scoff at this lifestyle, but on the other hand, alot of ppl also swear by it. i'm just one of those ppl that believes that not everyone was made to eat meat, and not everyone was made to be strictly vegetarian. i'd hate to tell you to eat eggs and meat to gain weight when it could do you more harm then good in the long-run.


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## bote (Nov 14, 2009)

didn´t really know what a prison workout was (mentioned by Wider), so I looked and found this which seems to offer a decent overview/ some good ideas.
Prison Workout | Mark's Daily Apple

I try to stretch everyday and throw some pushups in but that´s about it. Actually I´m pretty aware of not wanting to gain body mass beyond muscle tone, I figure it´s just more to maintain and carry around.


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## angelenesdreams (Nov 14, 2009)

widerstand...perfectly understandable. like any dietary lifestyle, it does receive it's share of criticism. i think of it this way: if a certain lifestyle work wonders for one group of ppl, and fails for another, that tells me there is a critical difference between these groups of ppl....but what? i guess for now, that remains to be seen. funny how we can put a man on the moon, but can't seem to determine (or agree) on what a human is supposed to be eating.

the best i can give you at the moment is the official site of Dr. Peter D'Adamo. there is a tab at the top "The Science" that holds alot of info. the wikipedia page entry is a very brief overview, with criticisms included. if you want to look at the food lists, i found this one, which might be outdated, so no promises. scroll down a bit and click your blood group for a more detailed listing.

as per the criticisms concerning the lifestyle, i follow it (not terribly strictly) because it is the only lifestyle that has ever actually curbed my appetite, for starters. if anyone here has struggled with weight issues all their lives like i have, you'll understand. it's a beautiful feeling not to need a 'fix' all day long for once. =)

my main reason for my mentioning it in the first place is because, between those who eat meat and those who are veg*, i firmly believe there is no way only ONE of those groups has _all_ the dietary answers for humanity, and i'd never suggest to someone to load up on meat just to gain weight. just my opinion. =)


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## finn (Nov 14, 2009)

I want to go back to the reason for wanting the weight gain. Muscle mass needs exercise to maintain itself, and will typically turn into fat without it under the same kind of diet.


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## compass (Nov 14, 2009)

Yeah, definitely need to go back to the motivation for gaining weight (and what kind).

Bote and finn are right on, extra muscle has to be maintained and raises your metabolism and caloric requirements. Skinny strong is best. Some people equate muscle gain and strength gain, when they aren't necessarily related. You can actually gain an impressive amount of strength without gaining an ounce of muscle by training your nervous system. We've all heard stories about 100lb. women lifting a car to save their child, but it isn't like adrenaline gives them some magical powers, if they weren't physically capable it would be impossible. Your nervous system inhibits full utilization (contraction) of your muscles to protect your body from itself. A good example is when someone is executed by electric chair, and their nervous system short circuits, the muscles can actually break bone or tear themselves off the bone because of full contraction. 

There's a sports and fitness trainer named Pavel Tsatsouline who has alot of good info on training for strength. His stuff is unfortunately somewhat cheesy/gimmicky (secret Russian strength secrets from the KGB), has alot of filler and is overpriced, but the concepts are actually pretty simple, and if you do enough digging you can learn everything you need to know without buying anything. It very basically comes down to training your nervous system to allow greater muscle contraction by regularly and methodically contracting your muscles as hard as you can. I'm a lazy bum and haven't trained regularly in years, but when I was using his techniques, it was the real deal. His stuff is really popular with military and police people for good reason.


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## toadflack (Nov 15, 2009)

finn said:


> I want to go back to the reason for wanting the weight gain. Muscle mass needs exercise to maintain itself, and will typically turn into fat without it under the same kind of diet.



because i'm a scrawny fucker


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## veggieguy12 (Nov 15, 2009)

toadflack said:


> I'm gonna start researching on how to gain weight healthy.



#1- Get off computer.
#2-


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## toadflack (Nov 16, 2009)

What's #2 because I have you #1 in the bag. I get alot of exercise slaving for my job. I just can't gain weight. For me it's hard to put pounds on but I can loose them twice as fast.


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## Ravie (Nov 16, 2009)

an avocado daily helps hold/gain healthy weight. Other than that, canned soups like chunky i guess would work.


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## finn (Nov 16, 2009)

You have to basically convince your body that it needs that extra muscle since your body doesn't think so. Your exercise has to be fairly relentless, and you have to exercise as many muscle groups as you can for a fairly long time, which means your muscles should feel sore most of the time. You also have to eat a good amount, so your body doesn't go into a energy conserving mode. That's not really something most people can do on the road.


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## veggieguy12 (Nov 20, 2009)

Isn't muscle gain a trade-off with flexibility?


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## angelenesdreams (Nov 20, 2009)

^i'm guessing pita and other flatbreads are unleavened.

all i can tell you is the you have to _process_ wheat before it has sprouted naturally in order to make flour, so that tells me, IMO, that it is unfit for humans to eat in that state. 

has anyone heard of sprouted grain breads? one brand is called Ezekiel 4:9, but there are others out there, and unfortunately they have to be kept refrigerated because it's highly perishable and considered a "live" food. by sprouting the wheat first, it makes it digestible.


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## finn (Nov 20, 2009)

veggieguy12 said:


> Isn't muscle gain a trade-off with flexibility?



Nope, not if you stretch before you exercise. Flexibility deals more with tendons than with muscle.


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## veggieguy12 (Nov 21, 2009)

I was just exaggerating in my imagination, and thinking of *super*buff dudes on the cover of _Weight Gain_ or _Muscle_ magazines; I don't think they're even as flexible as the average-built male. Nah'mean?


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## angelenesdreams (Nov 21, 2009)

keep in mind that white flour IS wheat flour, there's no real difference. read over the wiki entry for "wheat flour" for more on this.

as for multi-grain breads, i guess it depends on what kind of grains they are, but you can always guarantee there's plain old wheat flour in a 7-grain bread. i happen to have a wheat allergy. it gives me irritable bowels on the rare occasions that i do eat it, and if i keep going long-term with it, i develop pain in my joints. =(

otherwise, i can happily eat grains like rice, millet and flax, just to name a few, but i find the sprouted breads to be allot tastier and they have a decent texture for sandwiches. =)


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