Picky eater needs to gain weight...

[96Firebird]

And let me warn you, I am a VERY picky eater... Don't know why, I guess I never tried foods when I was younger. I am almost 24, about 5'10" and weigh ~130lbs. I've been going to the gym a lot lately and I am afraid all the work is going to go to nothing.

I've been reading up a little bit, and it seems a lot of the foods that are recommended I don't like. Here is a list of what I DON'T eat...

-Seafood
-Nuts
-Eggs
-Some vegetables
-Rolls (for hamburgers, hot dogs, not a fan of sandwiches)

Of course there is more, I just can't think of them. Here is what I DO like...

-Most meats
-Pizza ))
-Chicken
-Pasta
-Milk/yogurt

Again, there is more that I just can't think of right now...

I have also read that I should eat many small meals per day, but I work a regular 40hr work week and can't exactly take breaks whenever I want to eat a small meal. I do work at a desk, but I can't be eating all the time. Right now I skip breakfast and snack on Ritz crackers in the morning, have poptarts and pretzels for lunch, and then go to the gym after work and eat (usually pizza) when I get home. I then eat again later in the night (~8pm), but it is usually something small (couple hot dogs, ham slices, whatever else I can find in my fridge that is easy to make).

I'm thinking it might just be easiest to get some sort of supplement, but I'm not sure if I want to do that. I'd rather learn how to eat properly, which is hard right now because I live with roommates and I'm not sure if we even have a full set of cookware in our house. If we do, it isn't clean and probably won't come clean. I usually just stick stuff in the microwave/toaster/toaster oven, since it is easy. Another option is to buy prepared meals, but that gets expensive. Any advice?

 

[Saint Nick]

Nutrient timing doesn't have any effect on body composition. To build muscle, ensure you are eating in a caloric surplus and get 1g of protein per pound of body weight. Hit your caloric and protein goal for the day then fill the rest up with carbs. Dietary fats are important, so get about half your weight in grams of fat. Hope that makes sense.

If you don't track your food you will have no idea how much you're eating. Might as well give up now if you don't plan on tracking your food.

 

[blinky8225]

Generally, you just need to eat more. All the foods that you like are pretty dense calorie-wise. It really should be pretty easy for you to gain weight if you don't care whether that weight is fat or muscle.

If you eat that type of food and lots of it and still aren't gaining weight, it's possible you might have some type of nutritional deficiency since it looks like you're not eating many vegetables.

Eating several small meals a day is only necessary if you can't stomach a lot of food at once for some reason. It's personal preference, really. Some people prefer to graze while others prefer to feast.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Your solution: drink a ton of milk.

 

[Nvidiaguy07]

i think nutrient timing might have at least a little to do with it. When gaining or losing weight, i always say its more about calories in vs calories burned than anything else (types of food, timing, etc.)

But in your case, it seems like you really should be eating as much as possible frequently. If you have a super high metabolism, then your body might be going into starvation mode when you go a long time without eating.

Like someone mentioned, eat a lot of protein, and make sure you have it for breakfast as well.

Record how many calories you eat as well.

If your shooting for 4000 calories, maybe your day should look something like this:

6am: 40grams protein, >100g carbs ~20g fat = 740 calories
10am: same
2pm: same
6pm: same
10pm:same

=3700 calories

Also if your working out you wanna have protein and carbs within 30 mins of working out to absorb as much as possible. This will add to your daily total

I put 4000 as probably a low number. I can gain weight super quick, and if i didnt have to worry about getting fat i could easily eat 10,000 calories in a day. Right now i am for ~2000 since im trying to lose weight.

But yea bottom line, never have an empty stomach, eat enough protein, keep working out (with heavy weight), and try to be as scientific as possible (record as much as possible)

good luck!