How can I gain weight?

Question

Last year, when I was 13, I used to be 5"1, and 78 pounds, this year, I am 14, and I went to my doctor, and he said I have grown to 5"6, and I am now 74 pounds, and he told me that I have to gain weight. I really don't want to gain weight, because I am a little fat, but my doctor said I must. How can I gain weight? But only like 10 pounds? Also how can I gain weight the healthy way? Like I don't want to eat fast food, or junk, or soda, I want to eat healthily.

Answer 1

http://www.anred.com/tx.html
Treatment and recovery

Most people with eating disorders, especially in the beginning, resist treatment and behavior change. They cling to the illusion that if they just lose enough weight, they will feel good about themselves, improve their lives, and enjoy self-confidence and success.

After a while, however, they begin to understand that the supposed benefits of thinness are only an illusion that will never bring them happiness. Starving, stuffing, purging, and other self-destructive behaviors will never lead to peace and a meaningful life. When people get to this point, and when they begin to look for better ways to build meaningful lives, recovery becomes a real possibility.

Unfortunately, even then there are challenges and obstacles to progress. Between 20 and 30 percent of people who enter treatment drop out too soon and relapse. Even those who stick with it usually have slips and lapses, leaving them discouraged, demoralized and feeling like failures. Wanting a quick and easy solution to their problems, they too often give up when they find that recovery can take many months to several years of hard work before they are free of their destructive behaviors and in control of their lives. Recovery requires major commitments to (1) get into treatment, (2) stay in treatment, (3) make necessary lifestyle changes, and (4) resolve the underlying psychological and emotional issues that led to starving, binge eating, and/or purging in the first place.

http://www.kidshealth.org/kid/stay_healthy/food/pyramid.html
The Food Guide Pyramid is one way for people to understand how to eat healthy. A rainbow of colored, vertical stripes represents the five food groups plus fats and oils. Here's what the colors stand for:

* orange - grains
* green - vegetables
* red - fruits
* yellow - fats and oils
* blue - milk and dairy products
* purple - meat, beans, fish, and nuts

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) changed the pyramid in spring 2005 because they wanted to do a better job of telling Americans how to be healthy. The agency later released a special version for kids. Notice the girl climbing the staircase up the side of the pyramid? That's a way of showing kids how important it is to exercise and be active every day. In other words, play a lot! The steps are also a way of saying that you can make changes little by little to be healthier. One step at a time, get it?

The Pyramid Speaks
Let's look at some of the other messages this new symbol is trying to send:

Eat a variety of foods. A balanced diet is one that includes all the food groups. In other words, have foods from every color, every day.

Eat less of some foods, and more of others. You can see that the bands for meat and protein (purple) and oils (yellow) are skinnier than the others. That's because you need less of those kinds of foods than you do of fruits, vegetables, grains, and dairy foods.

You also can see the bands start out wider and get thinner as they approach the top. That's designed to show you that not all foods are created equal, even within a healthy food group like fruit. For instance, apple pie might be in that thin part of the fruit band because it has a lot of added sugar and fat. A whole apple - crunch! - would be down in the wide part because you can eat more of those within a healthy diet.

Make it personal. Through the USDA's MyPyramid website, people can get personalized recommendations about the mix of foods they need to eat and how much they should be eating. There is a kids' version of the website available too.

How Much Do I Need to Eat?
Everyone wants to know how much they should eat to stay healthy. It's a tricky question, though. It depends on your age, whether you're a girl or a boy, and how active you are. Kids who are more active burn more calories, so they need more calories. But we can give you some estimates for how much you need of each food group.

Grains
Grains are measured out in ounce equivalents. What the heck are they? Ounce equivalents are just another way of showing a serving size.

Here are ounce equivalents for common grain foods. An ounce equivalent equals:

* 1 piece of bread
* 1/2 cup of cooked cereal, like oatmeal
* 1/2 cup of rice or pasta
* 1 cup of cold cereal

* 4- to 8-year-olds need 4-5 ounce equivalents each day.
* 9- to 13-year-old girls need 5 ounce equivalents each day.
* 9- to 13-year-old boys need 6 ounce equivalents each day.

And one last thing about grains: Try to eat a lot of whole grains, such as 100% wheat bread, brown rice, and oatmeal.

Vegetables
Of course, you need your vegetables, especially those dark green and orange ones. But how much is enough? Vegetable servings are measured in cups.

* 4- to 8-year-olds need 1 1/2 cups of veggies each day.
* 9- to 13-year-old girls need 2 cups of veggies each day.
* 9- to 13-year-old boys need 2 1/2 cups of veggies each day.

Fruits
Sweet, juicy fruit is definitely part of a healthy diet. Here's how much you need:

* 4- to 8-year-olds need 1-1 1/2 cups of fruit each day.
* 9- to 13-year-old girls need 1 1/2 cups of fruit each day.
* 9- to 13-year-old boys need 1 1/2 cups of fruit each day.

Milk and Other Calcium-Rich Foods
Calcium builds strong bones to last a lifetime, so you need these foods in your diet.

* 4- to 8-year-olds need 1-2 cups of milk (or another calcium-rich food) each day.
* 9- to 13-year-old girls need 3 cups of milk (or another calcium-rich food) each day.
* 9- to 13-year-old boys need 3 cups of milk (or another calcium-rich food) each day.

If you want something other than milk, you can substitute yogurt, cheese, or calcium-fortified orange juice - just to name a few.

Meats, Beans, Fish, and Nuts
These foods contain iron and lots of other important nutrients. Like grains, these foods are measured in ounce equivalents.

An ounce equivalent of this group would be:

* 1 ounce of meat, poultry, or fish
* 1/4 cup cooked dry beans
* 1 egg
* 1 tablespoon of peanut butter
* a small handful of nuts or seeds

* 4- to 8-year-olds need 3-4 ounce equivalents each day.
* 9- to 13-year-old girls need 5 ounce equivalents each day.
* 9- to 13-year-old boys need 5 ounce equivalents each day.

Whoa! That's a lot to swallow. The good news is that your mom, dad, and the other grown-ups in your life will help you eat what you need to stay healthy. There's more good news - you don't have to become a perfect eater overnight. Just remember those stairs climbing up the side of the new pyramid and take it one step at a time.

Answer 2

U r really too thin & 10 lbs is not the answer. If u think ur fat, it's time to visit a Psychologist & nutrionist who specializes in eating disorders. I'm suprised that ur doctor didn't recommend a variety of foods and an actual plan. U need a coach or nutrionist to follow a food journal to know when,date & time plus how much of each food, when, where your excercising, any problems, struggles. So they support u and so u are successful in putting on the proper weight with healthy food, excercise, and mental picture of how successful you are. U gotta luv U & stop looking for the negative things about your body.

Some peoples metabolisms burn up alot of calories. Eating more meals. Putting healty fiber: oatmeal with the apples, cinnamon for extra calories, bran or banana nut muffins with milk and cereal. Having real ice cream milkshakes(couple a day) that u make at home. Adding in say Pineapple or strawberries for a variety of flavors. It's calories but is tasty and can be drinked when having a meal, snack etc...

Eating 5 or so times a day(small meals). Still excercise but only to maintain/build body muscle. Muscle weighs more & it's important to maintain fitness while trying to increase calories.

Meaty dishes, having pasta with cream sauces, pizza couple times a week with a garden salad. Drinking milk, milkshakes, occasional chocolate milk.

Having some cheesecake, occasional donuts... desserts that others over indulge. You can have almost daily with your meals. Lay off the soda, be careful with caffeine. Be sure your keeping bright and colorful vegetables in your endeavor to gain more weight.

U can do it, healthy, vivaciously, and find new aspects of U. Good luck

Answer 3

You are ONLY 74 pounds? My gosh! You're skinny! I know you're only 14, but still... I'm 5"4, and weight 105 or 110 (don't know, don't have a scale), and when I was in America, people said I was skinny, but I'm sli.

Anyway. You need to eat carbs. Eat 3 times a day. AND, if you don't want to get fat, exercise! It's that simple! Well, if you're not as lazy as I am, that is! And you really should weight at least 100 pounds. AT LEAST!

Answer 4

You need to increase the caloric density of your foods. For instance, foods like peanut butter are high in calories for their portion size. Make sure you don't get excessive fat in your diet or that will keep you satiated and make it harder to eat more (although fat has more calories per gram than other macronutrients, this is still a good policy to follow). Also, ensuring you get proper nutrition (adequate vitamins and minerals in your diet) will allow your body's hunger mechanism to function better. Sometimes people with inadequate nutrition status have a harder time gaining weight. Also, consuming more liquids "in between/during" (not too much before or after as this "will" fill you up) meals will help (I know this sounds contrary to what one might believe in that it will fill your stomach up more but actually, it helps create an extra surface layer for food). One other option I recommend which might sound counter-intuitive but switch from sugary drinks to artificial sweetened drinks (although this isn't too healthy and recommend it as a last resort). Please note that if I explained the science of all these suggestions, this would be a long answer but I encourage you to consider researching this yourself.

Answer 5

SYNERGY SMOOTHIE TO GAIN WEIGHT:

Combine the following ingredients in a high speed blender:
10 oz. Thai full fat coconut milk
1 Tbsp. extra virgin organic coconut oil
2 raw Omega-3 whole eggs
1 tsp. cold-pressed flax seed oil
2 tsp. unheated honey
1 Tbsp. protein powder
1 cup fresh or frozen fruit
2 scoops high-potency digestive enzyme powder
1 cup organic yogurt
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Properly prepared, this smoothie is an extraordinary source of easy-to-absorb nutrition. It contains large amounts of live enzymes, probiotics, vitally important live proteins, and a full spectrum of essential fatty acids. It can be consumed one to two times each day. It should be consumed within 24 hours after it is blended. People who were severely undernourished have consumed this smoothie on a daily basis and gained phenomenal amounts of weight. For those with compromised digestion, it is best to add a high-potency enzyme powder to this smoothie. The protein-digesting enzymes contained in the product will destroy any unwanted pathogens, as will the pathogen-fighting fatty acids contained in the cultured dairy and extra virgin organic coconut oil. For those who can't stand the thought of consuming raw eggs in their smoothies, this smoothie recipe can still be beneficial without the eggs. It might take longer to see positive results.

Answer 6

get REALLy toned that will get you to gain about 5 lb then have an extra chiken breast for dinner, so itrs 2 times the meat and add a little bit of oil to your salads and youd then add up to 10 lb and look healthyer and not fat, muscels make you gain like alot!!!!and if anything you arnt fat, in fact you are light enough for me to carry you like a little babby and im shorter and a year younger.

Answer 7

look people make more of this kind of thing than is to it .eat the four groups every day in portions in balance with your level exercise don't worry and you will turn out to be the person you were meant to be life is a balancing act intake output attitude.mucle is heaver than fat .right now every thing in your body is growing and changing you'll be fine

Answer 8

pasta , or think about your favorite foods and eat those only, like filet mignon or Toblerone chocolate or Haagen daaz, because obviusly you dont eat alot to begin with you have to make the food you do eat Count. if you eat something make sure you enjoy it, ad then when you look at your body you will remember how good it felt to be so self indulgent, thats how i look at it, i always say yeah i will see this on my body tomorrow but damit its worth it

Answer 9

BY BUILDING MUSCLE YOU KNOW MUSCLE WEIGHS WAY MORE THAN FAT AND EAT HIGH PROTEIN DIET LOTS OF PEANUT BUTTER..OR MEATS... BEANS ETC .BUT YES WEIGHT RESISTANCE TRAINING TO DEVELOPE MUSCLE TONE WILL GIVE YA ADDED WEIGHT BUT GETTING IN SHAPE AT SAME TIME...... DON'T GO EATING JUNK SUGAR ISN'T GOING TO MAKE YOU GAIN WEIGHT SO YOU KNOW.....

Answer 10

http://www.dpsnutrition.net/get_item_on412.htm
Try this. It's the best. You'll gain weight at a steady and healthy pace while keeping you strong.

Answer 11

If yo think you're fat at 78 lbs, you got problems.