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My eldest child is 19, and very tall and slim (around 6'4" or 6'5"). He wants to put on some healthy weight, but has the appetite of a gnat, so finds it very difficult to get enough calories in a day. (Precisely the opposite of his father, in fact!)
He lives on his own in London, and walks pretty much everywhere, so probably burns far more than he consumes. He has tried MFP to monitor his intake, but really struggles.
Ultimately, he says he would like to 'bulk up' a bit.
Anyone on here been in a similar boat? Regardless, any suggestions?
19, on his own, in London, can't put on weight?
Tell him to give up the coke habit.
He should move to Glasgow.
He'd be a shut-in before Christmas.
The thing is, he loves good food and drink. He just doesn't consume it in very significant quantities. And when he does, he can't eat again for some time.
@perchypanther: I suspect he wouldn't survive up there long enough to make it to Christmas!
protein and whey based drinks from maximuscle and such companies.
low in fat, high in protein.
Forgive me if I seem a bit ignorant. But surly se should eat because he knows he needs to rather than because his appetite says to. Just like when people are trying to lose weight they don't eat when they know they shouldn't even though their appetite says "FEED ME".
@perchypanther: I suspect he wouldn't survive up there long enough to make it to Christmas!
Maybe, but it'll take eight grown men to lift his coffin. 😉
You can get fat up here just by breathing as you walk past the chippy.
What your lad needs is a night out in Glesga to soften him up for a late night 16 inch munchie box.
He just doesn't consume it in very significant quantities. And when he does, he can't eat again for some time.
Has he seen a GP? Could potentially be some sort of GI issue.
Otherwise some sort of high calorie liquid taken between meals.
Unless he's also exercising i'd steer more towards something like Ensure Plus rather than a typical whey protein based weight gainer targeted at gym/sports nutrition.
But surly se should eat because he knows he needs to rather than because his appetite says to. Just like when people are trying to lose weight they don't eat when they know they shouldn't even though their appetite says "FEED ME".
Absolutely. And exactly like someone trying to lose weight, he sometimes forgets and/or struggles and/or loses momentum and/or can't be arsed.
But also like someone trying to lose weight, he is trying to improve the situation and overcome what appears to be a complete absence of impulse to eat. His mum is exactly the same, although maturity has meant that she is more disciplined about eating.
No idea what healthy weight is. Is there any suggestion his current weight is unhealthy? What's his BMI.
Just eating more and gaining weight would likely just be build up of visceral fat. A very unhealthy thing.
Exercise and building muscle mass is the answer.
Tell him to throw away the spreads and marge and eat lots of healthy butter.
If he wants to bulk up he needs to weight train, proper heavy deadlifts and squats etc.
His appetite will take care of itself.
Otherwise tell him to eat all butter croissants for breakfast, pork pies for lunch and fish and chips for tea. Snack on nuts, crisps and chocolate. He'll be fat in a year. Then tell him to come on here and we can tell him about Atkins diet, moving more, eating less etc.
walks pretty much everywhere
There's your problem. Get him a [s]car[/s] mobility scooter.
No idea what healthy weight is. Is there any suggestion his current weight is unhealthy?
This, how does your son feel ? Is he in anyway unwell. Some people are just thin and eat just enough for their needs. Most of us eat far to much 🙁
My eldest child is 19, and very tall and slim (around 6'4" or 6'5").
I was exactly the same at that age, I'm 6'6" and used to have a monstrous metabolism. Mid-late 20s it'll catch up with him!
MFP is bizarre when you're tall, especially when you walk a lot, it gives you an obscene amount of calories to munch though. I really wouldn't worry. If I tell it I want to maintain my current weight, it gives me near 3000 calories a day, before exercise!
I'd agree with going for how he feels. Is he generally well? Not short of energy? Sleeping well?
Sounds very familiar, and I'm only 5'10...
Always been around the weight I am now, very slim. Can't eat loads as I just haven't got the stomach for it. Went through years of trying to figure out if anything was wrong with my digestive system and had a diagnosis of mild colitis and IBS. If I eat a lot it makes me physically ill. It's not a mental thing, it's very much physical (I've explored that avenue).
The only way that I've found to put on weight is muscle. When I first went to uni I was nearly 2 stone heavier than I was 5 years later. Coincidentally I stopped constant MTBing when I went to uni. Looking at photos of me then compared to now(I'm 35) It's very obvious how much more muscular I was, especially round my neck.
Kind of rambling, but in a nutshell - some people just have very fast metabolisms, it seems. If he's anything like me, pretty much the only way to put on weight is through muscle! I've started getting bigger as a response to training for riding this this year, but it's a slow process - the weight is actually dropping off at the moment, even though I'm definitely starting to get bigger.
FWIW my other half is the same - She spent her whole life trying to put weight on (and having to put up with people destroying her mentally by telling her how thin she was, and asking if she had an eating disorder - she didn't, but it certainly didn't help her other mental health issues...)
Very few people have metabolisms outside of the normal range, in general;
Fat people move too little and eat too much.
Thin people move too much and eat too little
Fat people move too little and eat too much.Thin people move too much and eat too little
But I'm thin and have a fat middle*, should I take up hoola hooping to get back into proportion?
Thin people move too much and eat too little
I'm maybe ten stone, have a desk job and eat like a horse.
Make sure you eat loads of thighs, drumsticks and breast meat too Tazzy, definitely no pork belly.
He should move to Glasgow.
Or send Glasgow to him. Tablet. That should do the trick. Weaponised calories. Tastes like type 3 diabetes.
and eat like a horse.
With those teeth you don't really have a choice
and eat like a horse.
Nosebag?
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excellent, they say "you are what you eat" so I'll have great breasts and lovely thighs. thanks TSY, as always I live by your advice xxxx
must stop eating
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😆
Get him to take up smoking for a year or two, then give up.
He'll get more peckish then, I guarantee.
Two years ago or so I was 6 foot tall and weighed in a 9st 3 - I went into an operation I had to fast for a day beforehand and be nill to mouth on the day (so no water weight, either).
Today I am still 6 foot tall but encroaching on 12st and look a completely different man. My journey isn't complete, I'm still gaining.
So I know the journey, and the struggle. I still struggle to eat 3000+ calories a day to gain weight at my current TDEE. Some people just can't eat everything in sight.
Here is a plan:
1: Use MyFitnessPal to measure your calories for a week or two RELIGIOUSLY. I mean EVERY. DAMN. MEAL. If you can't find a meal because it's not on there, don't give up - either find something similar or make it up from it's parts.
This is important as it'll teach you what is and isn't calorific. It'll also teach you discipline to monitor your intake. When I started I was surprised how little I was eating each day, despite certain foods having the appearance of being calorie dense. EG: A 6" Italian BMT Subway has the same calories or less than your average supermarket sandwich (Around 400), but a hell of a lot more salt.
2: Don't go from eating 1500 to trying to eat 2500 in one day. You will fail. Fitness and body composition is a literal long game, a marathon. Consistency and dedication is key. Up your calories by 200 a week. You can't change 19 years of being underweight in 6 months, or even a year. Set small goals and break it into smaller pieces.
3: Join the gym. Download the stronglifts app. Visit the stronglifts website. Learn the lifts, start light, focus on posture etc etc. Basically just lift some weights init. But make sure you go consistently and are constantly monitoring your progress.
4: Don't be afraid to bulk dirty. It's not all about brown rice, chicken and broccoli when your goals are this simple. You can worry about that in your 2nd or 3rd year into fitness journey. Eat eat eat. Eat ice cream. Eat a whole new york cheesecake. Have a large Maccers after the pub. JUST EAT! Dirty meals are fine as long as the core of your diet is healthy, whole, and balanced. This is the fun part of this side of the fitness challenge (gaining) - you literally can eat what you want.
5: Eat breakfast.
6: Shakes are a great way to introduce more calories. Scoop of protein powder, cup of whole milk and a banana blended together is 300ish calories. If you son has two a day on top of his normal meals he'll no doubt smash his TDEE already.
I was a skinny teenager wanting to put on weight and only thing that would do that was heavy weight training. I always ate as much as I could but only put on weight when pushing the weights and lost it all if I stopped for too long. This was the way it was until I hit my mid 20's and things started to change. Once I got to my 30s I could get pretty fat if I wasn't careful so it's a struggle to keep the weight down now.
In balance, I'm almost 6' and probably no more than 65kg, people I havent seen in a while always comment that the forget how skinny I am. Often wear 28 jeans.
But, i'm fit, healthy and eat plenty, including healthy and unhealthy food. My base diet is good but with plenty of cake, toast, beer etc. Sometime though if I'm busy and not exercising I can get by easily on fairly low calories/day.
When I've tried to 'put on weight' i just end up feeling unhealthy and put on an inch or two of belly blubber which is not healthy. I've given up now and am just content with what I am.
Point is there might be nothing wrong!!!!
Two years ago or so I was 6 foot tall and weighed in a 9st 3 - I went into an operation
and now you're 4'11"
Having met the chap albeit briefly, he is a stick. His skeleton is about half the width of mine, never mind fat or muscle. Some people are just built on a slim chassis. I knew another bloke who was that skinny no matter what he ate or did.
I would imagine the best he can hope for is ripped and wiry, I doubt he's going to gain much muscle. Muscle gain is driven by hormones, and we all generate different amounts of them in response to different stimuli and our sensitivities are different.
It's about perception - get him to take up climbing, then he'll suddenly have the perfect body and everyone will admire it. Problem solved.
You'd be surprised, I think. Personally, I've gone up a jean waist size and two shirt sizes. If you were to see before and after with my face blurred out you wouldn't say I was the same bloke.
Genetics obvs does play a massive part, I'm never going to be Arnie and neither is OPs son, but everyone can certainly become "built" and lean, IMO.
everyone can certainly become "built" and lean, IMO.
Not everyone. I don't think this guy going to get 'bigger' much, tbh. Just more ripped.
Question is, why does he want to be big?
move less, eat more. 😆
tbh, I'd tell him just to calm down for a few years, see how he naturally fills out, he's still very young.
jebus, even I was skinny at 19! 😆 I'd guess most of us were, still weans.
Well, lets see what happens. if he has the dedication to stick to a training programme and the diet, lets see where he is in 2 years time!
There's many reasons someone might want to change their body. When you're 19 years young all sorts of different things matter. I wish I started when I was 19.
The big compound lifts in the 3-5 rep range and more protein, most people in the gym don't push themselves hard enough, gaining muscle is a slow laborious process.
It's that old adage, how bad do you want it.
Upping calories without doing strength training will turn him skinny fat.
I'd tell him just to calm down for a few years, see how he naturally fills out, he's still very young.
True. I got a lot bigger during university, without working out beyond cycling.
However I've got a different body type.
Interesting little film about nutritional supplementation, weight gain and appetite building:
You're not sure whether it's a spoof or 100% humourless, or 100% serious, with appreciation of the comedic potential, but playing it deadpan. Genuinely interesting points about the benefits of appetite boosting, though.