Getting in Shape & Eating Healthier

[FireArrow]

So here's my question:
how should your regimen/diet change depending on whether you want to gain weight or lose weight?
Cause I want to gain some

Hey, hey, hey, I can help yar there.

It's as easy (actually really hard :[) as 123:
1. Eat Lots of calories. Use this to help figure out exact numbers.
2. Make sure you're getting your daily dose of protein. ~50g is a good rule of thumb.
3. WORK OUT. Not necessarily weight lifting, but something to give yourself muscle. If you just sit around all day, you will gain it all as fat. It'll also make all that extra protein go to your kidneys, which isn't fun.

Helpful tips: Peanut butter is god. Dairy products/meat are pretty good as well. Don't try to rely too much on fast food and sweets, you don't want to clog up your arteries/get diabetes in the process. Those nutrition shakes (boost, ensure, etc.) are great crutches. You can make your own weight gain milk shakes if you want:
Ice Cream + Whole Milk + Instant Carnation Breakfast/Muscle Milk + Whatever flavoring you want (peanut butter goes well here!)

A good baseline is 3 500 calorie meals and 2 300 calorie snacks, then add extra calories as needed (based upon the number you got from step 1.)

[FireArrow]

Oh, almost forgot:
2 POUNDS A WEEK IS THE LIMIT

Dirty bulking is bad because:
a) you're body doesn't have time to adapt, so you'll just lose it all.
b) You have to do like insanity workouts to avoid gaining it as fat. The faster you gain weight, the harder it is to build muscle.

[Xaoz]

Muscles, duh
why would I want to be fatter
Like my sister's boyfriend wanted to gain weight and he started eating a ton of like eggs and protein shakes and working out every day.  Is that a good way to do it or is there a better way for me to go about gaining a bit of weight?  Not looking for anything too serious just like 10-20 pounds to put me in the same percentile as my height

That is like the dumbest shit I have ever heard... I will get onto this, when I get home... so 10 hours or sth.

Oh, almost forgot:
2 POUNDS A WEEK IS THE LIMIT

Dirty bulking is bad because:
a) you're body doesn't have time to adapt, so you'll just lose it all.
b) You have to do like insanity workouts to avoid gaining it as fat. The faster you gain weight, the harder it is to build muscle.

Just no to everything... Wtf is wrong with the people in this thread?!

Hey, hey, hey, I can help yar there.

It's as easy (actually really hard :[) as 123:
1. Eat Lots of calories. Use this to help figure out exact numbers.
2. Make sure you're getting your daily dose of protein. ~50g is a good rule of thumb.
3. WORK OUT. Not necessarily weight lifting, but something to give yourself muscle. If you just sit around all day, you will gain it all as fat. It'll also make all that extra protein go to your kidneys, which isn't fun.

Helpful tips: Peanut butter is god. Dairy products/meat are pretty good as well. Don't try to rely too much on fast food and sweets, you don't want to clog up your arteries/get diabetes in the process. Those nutrition shakes (boost, ensure, etc.) are great crutches. You can make your own weight gain milk shakes if you want:
Ice Cream + Whole Milk + Instant Carnation Breakfast/Muscle Milk + Whatever flavoring you want (peanut butter goes well here!)

A good baseline is 3 500 calorie meals and 2 300 calorie snacks, then add extra calories as needed (based upon the number you got from step 1.)

Okay, that's it. I quit. Nothing I can do here. The trolls are too strong.

[mikey]

I like that ice cream idea
Does just running count as working out or do I also need to do pushups/situps/pullups etc. ?

Also link not working, clicked calculate and got error

That is like the dumbest shit I have ever heard... I will get onto this, when I get home... so 10 hours or sth.

Just no to everything... Wtf is wrong with the people in this thread?!

what I said or what my sister's boyfriend did?

[FireArrow]

Just no to everything... Wtf is wrong with the people in this thread?!

Oh sorry. I was just dangerously underweight and some doctors gave me advice on how to continue gaining after getting off my NG tube.

I'll leave this to more experienced people like you.

[DrP]

Oh, almost forgot:
2 POUNDS A WEEK IS THE LIMIT

Yeah, that's something I forgot to mention. It's unhealthy to go gain/lose more than 2lbs a week. Usually the first week it might be a bit more, but 2lbs is a good number.

Okay, there is just so much wrong in this post, that I almost threw my PC out of the window. Good thing it was closed.
I will get on to this, when I get home... Probably... Like... Wtf is that post... Just no to almost everything.

Well, I disagree. I am talking from personal experience from what works and what nutritionists have said to me.

[Xaoz]

Yeah, that's something I forgot to mention. It's unhealthy to go gain/lose more than 2lbs a week. Usually the first week it might be a bit more, but 2lbs is a good number.
Well, I disagree. I am talking from personal experience from what works and what nutritionists have said to me.

Ok, I will not argue in this thread, since I would rage way too hard about the things that some people write here... But some stuff is just seriously disgusting. Like... I don't even know where you guys get all that stuff from...

I will however, give advice, tips and help you figure out some nutrition(plan) or workout, if you ask for it. Will also answer questions about nutrition in general. So if you would actually like to know stuff like why sugar from fruits (fructose!) is NOT better in any way than regular sugar, feel free to ask.

Muscles, duh
why would I want to be fatter
Not looking for anything too serious just like 10-20 pounds to put me in the same percentile as my height

Building up muscles only is nearly impossible. You will always get some fat. And if you want to do that, your nutrition needs to be pretty good. Like really f***ing good.
Nothing too serious and you want to add 10-20 pounds of MUSCLES? That will take more than a year if you are REALLY disciplined.
People have really weird expectations when it comes to building muscle-mass...

Like my sister's boyfriend wanted to gain weight and he started eating a ton of like eggs and protein shakes and working out every day.  Is that a good way to do it or is there a better way for me to go about gaining a bit of weight?

Working out every day does not give you anything. More than 3 times a week is just plain retarded and will do more harm than good.
Why would you eat eggs and proteinshakes all day?!
Like there is two situations where I take (whey!) protein shakes:
1) Immediately after getting up, since my body did not get any food for like 8 hours and is basically in emergency mode. So whey protein, which can get absorbed way faster than casein, is the best thing to give to my body. I also add some rolled oats, since I need energy for the day and that is exactly what polysaccharids are for!
2) Immediately after workout, since the absorption-rate will be increased because of the training and also since trainings destroys/damages the muscle, we need to make sure to give it protein asap to start repairing.

Protein shakes are 100% unnecessary for working out, if you do not want to go pro. They are just supplements. If you do not add some rolled oats or anything, a proteinshake is not a meal!
However! Whey-protein-shakes are like the only source for whey protein. Also they have a nice taste and make it easier to reach your daily protein level. They also are very fast to make and very cheap! So if you are a lazy person like me... They are awesome!

If you are really serious about starting to workout (I don't think you are), then we can figure sth. out.

[ZeldaFan]

The eating:

Spoiler

Next: The calories!
Okay, this is a way harder thing to do. I cannot really recommend the amount of calories, sorry! You need to find out by yourself! The amount you need is influenced by your job, your sports activity and how much you move in general! So I (computer scientist) need really few calories compared to someone who needs to carry shit around all day long. This range can make a difference of 50% in calorie needs!

[close]

The amount of calories I need would be pretty low... My job requires me to sit at a computer 9 hours a day (of course I get up and take a walk every hour or so just so I can get up and move around a bit). Then (because I'm lazy) I usually go home and sit on my ass playing video games or get on my laptop. This is why something needs to change lol. I'm not active at all but I need to be.

The workout:

Spoiler

Okay... There it is: THE WORKOUT!
Option one:
You can start a real workout-plan, which will include working out with free weights, provide you with the basics of bodybuilding and which can also carry you further than just adding a few pounds. It would consists of basic compound exercises and will require some effort to not mess shit up and get everything right. It will also require you to go to the gym 2-3 times a week for roughly 1 hour of training.
However: You will need a gym-membership or a homegym.

Option two:
We can work out some little bodyweight stuff which you can basically do at home if this is more for you... You might need to buy some stuff like a pull-up-bar or sth. but it would probably not require a gym-membership. It will however limit the maximum that you can reach and probably not be as effective. To be honest, I have never used any body-weight only exercise-plan, since it is nothing for me. But for you, it might be just the right thing.
I can already say that this plan would include, pushups and pull-/chinups.

You have to choose here and then we can figure something out...

[close]

As far as working out, I will probably have to go with option 2, at least for a while because I can't afford a membership right now. I do have a pull-up bar at home plus 3 different weighted resistance bands. No weights or anything, I just live in a small apartment

[Xaoz]

Then (because I'm lazy) I usually go home and sit on my ass playing video games or get on my laptop.

That's the spirit!

Well... Your bodyweight is pretty low, so you do not need many calories.

As far as working out, I will probably have to go with option 2, at least for a while because I can't afford a membership right now. I do have a pull-up bar at home plus 3 different weighted resistance bands. No weights or anything, I just live in a small apartment

A gym-membership is roughly 20€ around here... Not THAT expensive. But for your goals, a pullup bar and weighted resistance bands should be sufficient. Just give me some time to figure sth. out...

[SuperFireKirby]

First of all Xoaz, I agree that fructose isn't the best sugar out there, that would be Glucose: King of the Sugar. BUT fructose is a perfectly good simple sugar, and better than any disaccharides(such as sucrose and lactose) because it doesn't require being broken down into a simple sugar, it can go straight into fructolysis(the fructose equivalent to glycolysis). In the case of diabetics, fructose is actually the better sugar because it won't spike blood sugar levels as much as glucose.

Source: Biology major

I like that ice cream idea
Does just running count as working out or do I also need to do pushups/situps/pullups etc. ?

Ice cream + milk + peanut butter + protein powder + fruits + oats= DELICIOUS and great for gaining weight. Ask the 25 pounds I gained in a few months(almost entirely muscle). Add some raw eggs in there for extra calories.

Btw Nocturne running will increase your endurance, but it will not result in any weight gain. For that you'll need strength training. Having one day of cardio every week is a good idea though.

[mikey]

Ok.
Xaoz Maybe euro exercise is different than american exercise lol

[Xaoz]

First of all Xoaz, I agree that fructose isn't the best sugar out there, that would be Glucose: King of the Sugar. BUT fructose is a perfectly good simple sugar, and better than any disaccharides(such as sucrose and lactose) because it doesn't require being broken down into a simple sugar, it can go straight into fructolysis(the fructose equivalent to glycolysis). In the case of diabetics, fructose is actually the better sugar because it won't spike blood sugar levels as much as glucose.

Every sort sugar has it's place and is the best choice for a given situation. However: For the goals that both Noc and ZeldaFan have, simple carbs should be avoided as much as possible. I mean... They do not need to completely cut out the sugar, since they are not going too serious for this stuff, but short carbs are nothing that you want to have more than once a day. Of course, there is always exceptions (for example post workout-nutrition).
This stuff is just way too complext to just break down in a single thread, let alone(can I actually say it this way? I have no idea...) a single post.

[braix]

Get smaller plates/bowls and stuff if you want to eat less.
It's a psychology thing I think. I don't remember if the place I heard this was a credible source so don't take that advice so seriously.

[FireArrow]

Ok, I will not argue in this thread, since I would rage way too hard about the things that some people write here... But some stuff is just seriously disgusting. Like... I don't even know where you guys get all that stuff from...

You're wrong and stupid and I'm right, but I'll be the bigger person and not start an argument. But just letting you know that you're wrong~

Got take your elitist attitude elsewhere please - both DrP and I are passing on what we heard from nutritionists/GI specialists. If you're qualified in this area and know something we don't, please enlighten us.

Regardless, I concur with everything else you've said. NoS, take notes.

[FireArrow]

Get smaller plates/bowls and stuff if you want to eat less.
It's a psychology thing I think. I don't remember if the place I heard this was a credible source so don't take that advice so seriously.

If you can avoid stacking.