Looking to gain weight

[kztnr]

Hello, I've recently found NF and I decided to get into the community and see what it's about,

 

I'm a 25 y.o. guy from Buenos Aires, Argentina. I'm a pretty sedentary person and I don't remember doing exercise on a regular basis, ever. I've made up my mind to try and change my life for the better in a few aspects, including being more active and healthier.

 

I guess I'm the classic skinny type. I'm 1,71m tall ( 5' 7½") and weigh 55 kgs (121lbs). I've had the same exact weight since about puberty. I'd love to gain some muscle mass and get stronger. I'm gonna start going to the gym around mid-May and I thought it would be nice to have some support, considering I've never lifted a weight in my life lol.

 

From what I've read I take diet is a very important thing when trying to gain weight, so it'd be great to hear some tips on that. I have never actually put any thought into what I eat, and I have no idea how to count calories and all that stuff, so some guidance would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks in advance

 

[Noname123]

Hi there I'm by no means a pro, but I think I can point you in the right direction through some of the resources I use. 

 

1. For calories. You say you want to gain weight. You'll need a caloric surplus for this. I use this site as an approximate guide on how to lose/gain weight. http://iifym.com/iifym-calculator/ 

 

Just by plugging in the numbers you put in your intro the site suggests that without any activity you're eating around 1800 calories a day to stay at the weight you are. Now you can gain at 3 levels based on this site. Cautious (very slow gain but you'll have a higher ratio of muscle/fat if you couple this with exercise). Text book, (moderate weight gain, you'll gain more fat this way too) and Aggressive (very fast weight gain) unless you're planning to do A LOT of exercise I'd suggest staying between cautious and text book. (about 1900 calories, the site will give you exact numbers). This isn't too far from what you're eating and should be relatively easy to do by sneaking in an extra portion of food during a meal or two. 

 

After you figure out how fast you want to gain the weight I'd suggest setting up an account with MFP, Fitbit or any other online exercise/food trackers. They have HUGE databases that have both calorie and macro counts on hundreds(/thousands?) of different foods, both raw and from different manufacturers. Start tracking your regular day and see where you land for the first week or so. After that figure out what you can adjust in your diet you hit your calories (I believe most will suggest protein increase if you're trying to build muscle, so more chicken/beans/cottage cheese/greek yogurt or if you want to try protein shakes, whey powder could help)

 

2. For working out, you should check out the resources page of Nerd Fitness for beginner bodyweight workouts. They'll help start increasing your strength so you'll be primed when you hit the gym! 

 

Let me know if you have any questions, again I'm not a professional but I hope I pointed you in the right direction!

[kztnr]

Thanks a lot, that was great info 

[MelNaux]

Hi bro! How is going with your weight gaining?? 

[Hyperion]

I can help you with musclemass gaining. You have good height for bodybuilding type training. And with food too. Hit me a pm if you are interested