weight gaining advice for the poor college student

[Cogman]

Alright, so I have a pretty high metabolism. I eat when I am hungry but recently have wanted to get into better shape / gain weight (6'1 132 lbs). Keeping in mind that I am a college student that doesn't have the time/cash for lobster or burger king every day. What are some good meal Ideas for a single guy looking to gain weight?

BTW. I am not afraid of cooking, just can never think of what to make. Also, have any of you skinny by nature guys had success with healthy weight gain? And what helped you the most?

[edit] i before e, except after c unless its a case like neighbor or weight....[/edit]

 

[TallBill]

Are you already on a good workout program? Weight gainers (muscle juice, real gains, cyto gainer) have helped me along the way. Steel cut oats added to protein shakes, bulk beef, bulk chicken.

132 is light as a feather.

 

[Cogman]

Originally posted by: TallBill
Are you already on a good workout program? Weight gainers (muscle juice, real gains, cyto gainer) have helped me along the way. Steel cut oats added to protein shakes, bulk beef, bulk chicken.

132 is light as a feather.

Not yet, Im thinking of trying the WBB training program. I have access to a fairly good gym so that would be useful to me. I want to stay away from Protein drinks and such as I honestly think I will probably drink too much for my weight while neglecting other parts of the diet.

I have always been really light, not anorexic (do guys even get that?) nor do I really eat less then those around me, I'm just thin. My parents are the same way so Im pretty sure it is heritage.

 

[Pepsi90919]

i cannot fathom how anybody can have a weight gain problem

 

[Epic Fail]

start here

 

[NikolaeVarius]

Eat Bananas until you get sick from Potassium Overload, if thats even possible

 

[Cogman]

Originally posted by: Pepsi90919
i cannot fathom how anybody can have a weight gain problem

rare, yes. I guess you would have to just see me to believe it. It is not even a real lack of exercise either. I lived in a small town, so I was on the Football, basketball, and track team. Usually I kept up with everyone, or at least didn't come in last. Football was not so great as you can imagine that 130 pounds has no chance of stopping 300.

I am pretty healthy (all be it underweight). Never had a doctor tell me otherwise.

 

[MrChad]

Honestly, just start by eating a healthy diet and lifting weights. At 132 lbs you will likely gain weight pretty rapidly within a few months if you stick to a regular weight lifting regimen. Focus on good form and exercising safely before you worry about getting huge and loading up on protein supplements and weight gainers.

 

[nick1985]

Originally posted by: TallBill
Are you already on a good workout program? Weight gainers (muscle juice, real gains, cyto gainer) have helped me along the way. Steel cut oats added to protein shakes, bulk beef, bulk chicken.

132 is light as a feather.

lol bulk beef

 

[oiprocs]

Originally posted by: nick1985

Originally posted by: TallBill
Are you already on a good workout program? Weight gainers (muscle juice, real gains, cyto gainer) have helped me along the way. Steel cut oats added to protein shakes, bulk beef, bulk chicken.

132 is light as a feather.

lol bulk beef

Haha, do not get that started.

 

[Steve]

Drink beer.

 

[Special K]

bleh, quick cut and paste from the other 1000 times this question has been asked:

Most skinny guys who say they eat "a lot" actually eat very little when they calculate it out. Go to this website here:

Fitday

and enter in a typical day's diet to see exactly how much you have been eating. I know guys who need to eat 7k+ cals/day to gain weight. You may have a fast metabolism, but that is no excuse. Trust

me, you CAN outeat it.

Once you have a rough figure for what you are eating in a day, estimate your maintenance calories here:

BMR calculator

Make sure to click on the link labeled "Daily caloric needs" to get your actual number of calories per day.

Now, once you have this number, eat that amount of calories every day for a week. Track your weight first thing each morning. If you have not gained a pound by the end of the week, then add 300 cals to

your daily total and eat that much for the next week. Repeat this process until you are gaining ~1 lb./week.

I would advice you get 40% of your calories from protein, 40% from carbs, and 20% from healthy fats. Some people use other amounts but for a beginner it should work fine.

Need advice on what exactly you should be eating? Try here:


What to eat

The absolute cheapest source of protein right now is canned chunk lite tuna. Whey protein is good, although the price has skyrocketed over the past few months. ON 100% Whey is the 2nd cheapest source

of protein right now, if you buy from here:

link

The cheapest source of carbs would be quick oats.

For fats, you can get a bottle of generic olive oil for pretty cheap.

This stuff may not be very appetizing, but if you want to gain weight for the least amount of money, you may have to sacrifice some taste.


I trust you have a solid weightlifing program in place. Without a good routine, you will not gain the type of weight you would like.

Finally, check out the link in my sig. Read the stickies posted in the various forums, and feel free to register and ask questions. The members there are very helpful and knowledgable.

Good luck, and feel free to PM me with questions. I get tired of typing all of this out because it gets asked on AT at least once a week.

 

[Q]

lol, I am 5'11 and weigh 115. 18 years old

 

[NoShangriLa]

Eat 3 healthy meals or more per day & exercise.

 

[nick1985]

Originally posted by: NoShangriLa

Eat 3 healthy meals or more per day & exercise.

Dont forget to breath!

 

[RaistlinZ]

Originally posted by: Quintox
lol, I am 5'11 and weigh 115. 18 years old

Geez, and I thought I was skinny at 5'11" and 150lbs.

 

[EvilYoda]

So I assume that you're not in the dorms...but even so, can you buy a limited meal plan at the dorms? The food won't be exactly what you need, but at least for lunch (which for most college students is whenever you have time), you'll have access to a full meal and can get your vitamins taken care of. Then just stick to the poultry/beef and not too many empty calorie fillers and that'll be a decent start. Having a good schedule is paramount.

I'm sure this suggestion will be shot down rather quickly

 

[TallBill]

Originally posted by: MrChad
Honestly, just start by eating a healthy diet and lifting weights. At 132 lbs you will likely gain weight pretty rapidly within a few months if you stick to a regular weight lifting regimen. Focus on good form and exercising safely before you worry about getting huge and loading up on protein supplements and weight gainers.

Uh, actually protein is the perfect supplement for a teenage lifter. I'd recommend Cyto Gainer which has creatine in it as well and Orange Triad as a multi vitamin. Honestly, you won't need anything more for a while. You'd be just fine with a regular protein powder too.

 

[Cogman]

Hey thanks for the advice given Ill put it to good use. I think ill focus more on Chicken and tuna for protein rather then protein powders, Im not yet planning on doing extremely heavy lifting.

Thanks again for the comments

 

[RollWave]

You guys should learn how to eat for your metabolism and be more active.

 

[RagingBITCH]

Protein protein protein! Weight gainer like what TallBill advised. Otherwise for cheap - eggs and tuna are good sources of protein, and relatively cheap.

With your metabolism - gaining weight is about taking in more calories than you burn. At 6'1", 132lbs - you must burn through a crazy number of calories. I'd shoot for about 3000 a day to start (you need to monitor how much you take in) and adjust from there if you're not seeing gains.

 

[InflatableBuddha]

Snack constantly in between meals - healthy stuff like nuts, fruit, granola, etc.

Drink whole milk instead of skim

For carbs - eat lots of whole grain rice and pasta, and multigrain bread and bagels

For protein - eggs and tuna as suggested; beans are also good