First post! :)

[sisterburden]

Hey guys! My name is AJ. I'm SO glad to have found this place. I'm usually not a forum joiner/poster, but this place seems special.

I'm a 23 year-old undergraduate(took time off) student studying Neuroscience&Behavior and Biochemistry, but also love my liberal arts to pieces(I'm all about being interdisciplinary). I am premed with hopes of becoming a Psychiatrist. My main hobbies/happy-making activities include singing and playing guitar, reading, going to museums, and playing Ms.Pac Man.

My goals are twofold: gain weight and improve my diet. As of now, I am approximately 98-100lbs(YIKES!!!!) at 5'3 1/2. Being a broke college student as well as a commuter, which means no meal plan, finding money for food is pretty tough. Not to mention, New York is just expensive, period. I am also very active, always on the go, and have always just had butt-ton of energy--I don't even sit still when I'm sitting. Basically, I think I'm so small because I tend to avoid junk food as a rule, and when I do eat, its mostly protein and veggies, so I'm just not getting enough calories to keep my weight up. However, I have decided that my nutritional health and fitness is far too important to let fall by the wayside and am fully motivated to make permanent changes in my lifestyle. Especially since I am noticing a lag in my energy, which is no doubt due to my low weight and eating habits. People(okay, women) tell me all the time how lucky I am to be so tiny and when I mention that I want to gain weight, they look at me like I've just insulted their faith, so I'm really glad to have found a place where I can actually learn AND get support from others in my boat, especially when those people are a bunch of nerds

Lately, just for the sake of getting more calories, I have been drinking protein shakes to supplement my meals. I find it pretty difficult to eat large quantities, mostly because my poor eating habits have caused me to get fuller faster, but I am trying to gradually increase the amount of food I can eat at a given time. I've also noticed that when I do eat, especially a bigger meal, I tend to get a very puffy tummy. This happens whether I eat a bowl of spinach or a bowl of ice cream(okay, so I pretty much never eat ice cream, just getting the point across), so I think it has more to do with how I eat overall. The more I read this forum and blog, the more I realize that my goals are not unattainable, and the more anxious I get to make my goals a reality already!

Right now, I REALLY want to come up with some kind of meal plan that stresses weight gain, both fat and muscle, although mostly muscle of course. I am looking for ideas for foods that I can eat that are calorically dense, affordable, and preferably enjoyable. I'd also like ideas for beginner muscle-building workouts since right now I'm so small. Overall, I just want to be healthier both physically and emotionally, as well as sharper mentally.

Anyway, this is long enough now. Just happy to be here! See you all around!

[ETFnerd]

Welcome to the barrel of nerds. Seems like there are some folks in here in a set of circumstances similar to yours. Hopefully you'll connect and share some good information. Good luck.

[ebm1224]

welcome to the community! i'm in a different boat from you but i'll yell "ahoy" anyway. have you tried eating smaller more frequent meals instead of 3 large meals? might help you to take in more calories without making you feel too full. also, i'd look at what particular foods make you feel bloated...could be something you are a little allergic to (i know my bf feels like this after eating cheese).

[ryanmercer]

Welcome!!!

[Elastigirl]

Welcome! When I was in my 20's I was like you as far as skinneness. So, I developed a habit of eating sugary treats and chips. Then in my 30's it caught up with me and I gained weight. Good for you by trying to gain wieght the healthy way!

[Guest guest4729]

*sigh* If only I could be as disciplined and eat less junk. I've done really well cutting most of it out but chocolate is my weakness. Damn you, chocolate!

But anyways, welcome to the forums and make yourself at home! I wish you the best of luck with your healthy weight gain!

[sisterburden]

*sigh* If only I could be as disciplined and eat less junk. I've done really well cutting most of it out but chocolate is my weakness. Damn you, chocolate!

But anyways, welcome to the forums and make yourself at home! I wish you the best of luck with your healthy weight gain!

Thanks! Reading your posts was one of the reasons I decided to join, especially since we're around the same age. Yeah, chocolate is easy for me to avoid in general because it makes me bloated/gassy. I do LOVE me some Ferrero Rocher though, and if you hand me a spoon and a jar of Nutella, just don't even try to talk to me lol. I'm trying to find a way to incorporate Nutella into my diet, but it feels like cheating somehow. Maybe if I eat it with fruit or something haha, I don't know.

Welcome! When I was in my 20's I was like you as far as skinneness. So, I developed a habit of eating sugary treats and chips. Then in my 30's it caught up with me and I gained weight. Good for you by trying to gain wieght the healthy way!

I was headed down that road for a while too. I thought "Lots of junk food will help me gain for sure!" But I just felt crappy most of the time because, well, junk food mostly consists of crap. That's more or less how I ended up here, so I could find better alternatives before my health was compromised.

Welcome to the barrel of nerds. Seems like there are some folks in here in a set of circumstances similar to yours. Hopefully you'll connect and share some good information. Good luck.

Thanks for the welcome! And for your avatar

[positivelyrob]

I would suggest that you do absolutely zero cardio. You don't need it. Here are some ideas for high calorie non-junk food.

1. Peanut Butter

2. Bananas

3. Avocados

4. Nuts

5. Olive Oil

6. Eggs

7. Cheese

[Katamay]

You sound like the male version of me. I accidentally lost 10 lbs a year ago when I was working full-time during the day and going to school at night, and I had to work really hard to put it back on because my family was convinced I'd developed an eating disorder. I made a lot of peanut butter and coconut milk-based Thai-inspired meals, which seemed to help a lot!

I'm also new here, and looking to put on some muscle/weight. Good luck!

Kat

[Guest guest4729]

Thanks! Reading your posts was one of the reasons I decided to join, especially since we're around the same age. Yeah, chocolate is easy for me to avoid in general because it makes me bloated/gassy. I do LOVE me some Ferrero Rocher though, and if you hand me a spoon and a jar of Nutella, just don't even try to talk to me lol. I'm trying to find a way to incorporate Nutella into my diet, but it feels like cheating somehow. Maybe if I eat it with fruit or something haha, I don't know.

Know what's really ironic? I was craving some chocolate after my dinner tonight so I grabbed a Ferrero Rocher that I keep in my freezer. I've had this like..10 pack of them since Thanksgiving and every now and then I cave in and grab one. Yum, I love them.

And don't even get me started on Nutella. Nutella + toast or pretzels = delicious!

[sisterburden]

You sound like the male version of me. I accidentally lost 10 lbs a year ago when I was working full-time during the day and going to school at night, and I had to work really hard to put it back on because my family was convinced I'd developed an eating disorder. I made a lot of peanut butter and coconut milk-based Thai-inspired meals, which seemed to help a lot!

I'm also new here, and looking to put on some muscle/weight. Good luck!

Kat

Haha, well, I'm actually a lady too, so we have even more in common than you thought! All good though. The same thing happened to me when I was doing the work/school full time thing. People couldn't understand how someone could lose weight while working in a restaurant. I was like "It's not my job to eat the food, it's my job to serve the food. See the difference?" It's like they want us to have an eating disorder to lessen the blow that there exists people who lose weight without trying. Oh well, if they don't want to support us, we have each other and the forums, right? To healthy weight gain!

Know what's really ironic? I was craving some chocolate after my dinner tonight so I grabbed a Ferrero Rocher that I keep in my freezer. I've had this like..10 pack of them since Thanksgiving and every now and then I cave in and grab one. Yum, I love them.

And don't even get me started on Nutella. Nutella + toast or pretzels = delicious!

That's awesome! They're my favorite chocolate ever, by far. Best part is, I found a recipe for a nutella protein shake, so it's staying in the diet! Woohoo!

[sumdawgtwigg]

Welcome! I hope you enjoy it here! If i want to put on weight I go straight for the peanut butter. I love the stuff. Anyway, good luck!

[Guest guest4729]

That's awesome! They're my favorite chocolate ever, by far. Best part is, I found a recipe for a nutella protein shake, so it's staying in the diet! Woohoo!

You're tempting me too much. Please stop. Haha.

[Ryan Sannar]

Check out sweet potatoes. Lots of delicious warm tasty calories (add some butter and salt = heaven in your mouth). Also glad to have you.