Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with gain

How to gain a little weight?

leahwrenn — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:07:47 -0800

Suggestions for how to gain 10 pounds? So, I'm just under 5' tall. This morning, the scale said I weighed 83 pounds, which seems a little too thin. I'd like to gain about 10 pounds---I think I'd be less cranky all the time. Any suggestions on how to do this, besides eating more?

(Background: just moved to Fairbanks AK. Lots of stress in the last 3 months, although that should be letting up now. Still nursing a 15-month-old 2-3 times a day. In general, when I'm not pregnant, I more typically weigh more like 90 - 95 pounds, sometimes as high as 98. I...round up...if people ask me how much I weigh.

Maybe I shouldn't even be worried about this. But when I'm starting to get into the range where if I were younger than 8, I'd have to use a car seat, and instead they let me drive my own car, well, it seems a little strange.)

Weight Question

dmbfan93 — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 14:53:28 -0800

When is the best time of day to weight yourself for the most accurate read? Why do I always weight several pounds more in the evening than in the morning? Also, what impacts the scale the most from day to day? What you eat/drink? Is it possible to gain three pounds overnight? I realize my scale may be faulty, but I get the same kinds of readings from the scale at the gym.

Just a few pounds here and there.

hadjiboy — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 04:57:30 -0800

How much weight do you put on by, say, drinking 600 mg of Coke/Pepsi a day? Does it matter if you’re drinking Diet Coke or Pepsi, and how many kilometers/miles will you have to walk or run before you’ll be able to burn off those calories that you’ve gained? Also, is it the same thing in the case of Fruit Drinks, like Maaza (which is a Mango flavoured fruit drink that you get here). link

The reason why I'm asking is because, before the accident, I had put on a lot of weight (weighed something like 90 Kilos) and lost quite a bit after the accident, but right now the doctor says I'm fine (weigh a healthy 70 Kilos) and I'd like to stay this way.

What, aside from a healthy Diet, and giving up the above mentioned Aireted drinks (how much of them will I have to give up) will I have to forgo.

Lean and Mean

freddymetz — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 11:26:20 -0800

Help a skinny guy shape up! more after the jump! some facts:

i do some sports, used to jog almost every day (although in the past few weeks ive slacked off)

I eat a lot, but i dont eat healthily (i.e. no fruit and veg)
A typical week would see me eating meat pretty much every day with pasta or potatoes. Fast food (mcdonalds/burger king) is also consumed at least once a week . I drink a lot of unhealthy sugary drinks and fruit juices. Greasy meatloaf or full english for breakfast (ocasionally) .

I need a goal and results. Im pretty lazy, and slack off if i dont see results, but can get very motivated if it's a foolproof plan and i see results after a while.

Right now i want to put on some weight, yes also fat, because i look pretty skinny. I dont know if that's advisable, or if i should just look at starting with a tabula rasa and gaining muscle mass (which would probably be more difficult).

I have mild scoliosis, which affects my posture a bit and makes me slouch. I try to work actively against slouching by pushing my upper chest forward and my stomach in. is that the correct thing to do? I think gaining weight, especially muscle, would help my posture too, right?

I have a fast metabolism, i think, so what should i do guys?

Zoloft is making me fat. Help!

Lutoslawski — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 11:30:00 -0800

I've been on zoloft for a year, and just started taking wellbutrin in addition. Zoloft has made me gain quite a bit of weight, even though I exercise regularly and eat well. How have other people dealt with this?

How much of my weight gain might be muscle?

IzzeYum — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 14:57:40 -0800

How much muscle weight could I possibly add in a week? I am trying to lose weight and am disturbed by weight gain. My belt size seems to be going down slightly but last week I gained 3 pounds. I know muscle weighs more than fat so I am wondering how much of the gain might be due to that?

I am 6' male.

I have been running 25 min (6.0 on the treadmill) and walking 35 minutes (4.0 on the treadmill) 3 times a week. Then 2-3 times a week, when not running, I just walk for an hour at 4.0 on the treadmill.

Is it possible to become vegetarian and gain weight at the same time?

Matrod — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 00:18:12 -0800

I´ve recently discovered that my body "dislikes" red meat, this is, I become heavy and slow when eat this kind of food. Additionally, my doctor suggested that I should eat less meat since my kidneys are not working properly. One of my life goals is to become vegetarian (ovo-lacto kind to start), and I purchased some books on the subject, but none of them explains how to do so without putting your health in risk. Is there a comprehensive and safe guide to start being vegetarian? My case: 36 year-old male, 70 kg. 1.82 mts tall. I´ve been struggling all my life about being too skinny. I consider myself a healthy person, and I don´t like to eat processed sugar or soft drinks. Mostly of the time I´m home, and have the chance to fix my own meals. I exercise regularly (bike, push-ups, Yoga).

As explained above, I´ve been trying to stop eating meat (poultry and fish as well), but I´m afraid of becoming thinner if my protein intake is lowered. My goal is to gain some weight (about 5 kg) and keep it being vegetarian. Is it possible?

Any resource will do: websites, books, etc.

Diet tips for increasing lean body mass

ludwig_van — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 10:55:23 -0800

Recipe/diet suggestions for increasing muscular bodymass. I'm a 23-year-old male. I started barbell training with the stronglifts beginner program in June, at 6' and 145 lbs. I've seen largely steady strength increases. My bodyweight went up to 160 in a couple of months, but my mass gains have slowed. I'm currently around 162 lbs. and 11-12% bodyfat and following the practical programming advanced novice program. My current goals are to get my bodyweight to the 170-175 range, and then try and get my bodyfat to 9-10%.

I think it's my diet, rather than my lifting, that's holding me back at the moment. I lift three times a week and don't miss workouts. My current best 3x5 lifts are: squat - 220, front squat - 160, bench - 160, OH press - 115. My best deadlift is 265 for 1x5.

I aim for 3000 calories a day and usually try to log everything I eat, but some days I don't keep track of everything, some days I know I fall short, and I know I could be eating even more than that. I eat very little junk food, but I don't eat often enough and am very lazy when it comes to cooking.

I make myself a protein shake after each workout and usually in the morning on my off days. I make them with a cup of 2% milk, a banana, 2 tbsp of natural peanut butter, and 2 scoops of whey protein.

I'm looking for recommendations for eating tips to help me gain weight. My criteria, in descending order of importance:

1. Fast/easy to prepare
2. Tasty
3. Inexpensive

For instance, cans of tuna and the aforementioned protein shakes work great. But what else? Also, is there any reason I shouldn't start drinking two protein shakes a day? Or am I wrong about this and my lifts just aren't big enough to make me grow more?

A big mama needs diet advice

lemoncello — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 08:15:32 -0800

Pregnancy filter: What is this weight gain? I'm about 60 pounds overweight and about 6 weeks pregnant. From reading stuff online, I see overweight women should gain in the range of 15-25 pounds during pregnancy, the majority of which in the second and third trimesters. I've gained about 2 pounds since I found out I was pregnant and I'm wondering if it's actually body weight or something else, like water, and should I be concerned? My first doctor's appointment isn't until the 15th, and I'm curious about this now.

I've tried to eat healthier now at 2-3 hour intervals and I've been taking prenatal vitamins. Average intake looks like this:
--1/2 c organic vanilla yogurt with blueberries and sliced almonds
1 pkg weight control oatmeal (for the added protein) with a little skim milk
--Peanut butter and all fruit spread on two slices 100 percent whole grain bread
--Black beans (cooked with onions, garlic and crushed tomatoes in chicken broth) and brown rice, orange
--Brown rice and seaweed soup (seaweed, tofu, shiitake mushrooms in chicken broth)
--chicken spaghetti (baked chicken, store pasta sauce, noodles, parmesan cheese) or another peanut butter sandwich
snacks include steamed broccoli, applesauce, popsicles and prunes. Sometimes I have high fiber and protein cereal with skim milk as well. If I don't have cereal that day, I have a glass of milk with one of my meals.

I know I'm low on veggies and I'm just not into meat right now, which is a big change from my regular diet. I have strayed a little and had things like a junior whopper when I was out and hungry, but I'm on a limited budget for the time being, so I'm trying to keep the eating out at a minimum anyway.

Am I eating too little? Too much? Any tweaks y'all can suggest will be helpful. I'll talk to the doctor about a nutrtionist, but since the appointment is two weeks away, I'd like to make some adjustments if I need to before then.

I haven't had problems with morning sickness yet and had to go off Lexapro cold turkey (GP's instructions), so I've been feeling too horrible to exercise, but the withdrawals seem to be better and will start walking and prenatal yoga. I just don't want to get as big as a house and have complications. Any help would be appreciated.

uh, this wasn't supposed to happen

Anonymous — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 06:39:27 -0800

i started running 2 months ago and have gained 10 lbs. i haven't been eating or drinking more--in fact, i've been eating more healthfully, if anything. and it's not muscle--i've gone up a dress size, and my rings are tight. wtf? i don't feel bad otherwise--in fact, i've come to enjoy running and feel pretty good. i'm female, 31, in good health although maybe 10 lbs overweight before starting running. (5'8", 170 lbs when i started, 180 today)

the weight seems to be mostly on my stomach (which is unusual for me) and the only other symptoms i've noticed are that i've had some insomnia (well, worse than usual) and have been a bit, er, constipated lately. the gain has been pretty steady, about a pound and change every week.

current diet consists of lots of fruits and vegetables, some lean protein, whole grains, and an ounce or so of dark chocolate at night for my heart and soul. a few beers on the weekend, but otherwise i only drink one cup of coffee and stick to water for the rest of the day. i consume about 1700 calories a day, and run/jog a couple of miles 3-5 times a week.

and no, i'm not pregnant.

i'm scheduled for my annual in august but am wondering if this a) something worth making a special appointment for, and/or b) if there are things i should pay attention to and/or patterns to look for so that when i see the doctor, i can give him more meaningful information.

any thoughts would be appreciated!

Wifi to connect two detached houses?

dance — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 10:38:57 -0800

I've decided to abandon 'plan A' and think it's best to connect my two houses using wifi because of electrical concerns. I've read through tons of past Askme and other threads on the internet about range boosting, repeaters, gain, antennas etc but I'm asking this question because I'm hoping that there's a kit someone can point me in the direction of that matches my needs! Okay, so I've understood I need to use a directional antenna to establish a connection to this house (but should I use one on each AP?).

The first problem is, it seems my WRT150N doesn't allow for antenna swapping. I've made a couple of those tinfoil reflectors but whilst they could well work they're so feeble that they're not really a permanent solution.

What I really need is for an AP in house B to be able to reliably connect to the wifi in house A. The houses are about 25m apart and line of sight is there but inhibited a little by a big tree. If it was just one computer in house B that wanted to be connected, I'd be tempted by a daughterboard card with a directional antenna on a cable. As it is, though, it's two computers so it looks like I'll need to use an AP to extend the range of the network.

Questions

1) Wireless N's MIMO - Will it really improve signal reception?
2) Can anyone recommend a kit or hardware I can buy to get this done effectively
3) Is the connection likely to go down when it snows?
4) Should I use an external antenna and if so do I need two - one for each AP?

Basically the problem isn't actually that complex but I've only ever done in house wifi before so I don't actually know what's overkill and what's a good idea for a good connection.

Has anyone done this before?

How to report tax info I don't have?

daisyace — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 13:48:20 -0800

What date acquired and cost basis should I put for two items reported on a 1099-B, when there are several unknowns? I have this on a 1099-B:
10/26/07.......Avaya cash merger at $17.50 per.......quant:16.......box 2: $280.00
4/5/07..........LSI corp cash in lieu............................................box 2: $7.94

These companies came from Lucent, which my grandmother gave me years ago, before she died, and I don't know what to put for date acquired and for cost basis.

For date acquired:
- 1947 is when my grandmother's husband bought att, which both of the above eventually came from.
- 1958 is when my grandmother's husband died. I don't know whether he gave Grandma att before he died, or whether she inherited it.
- Roughly late 90's is when Grandma gave me Lucent, which had come from att.
- 12/1/06 is the date that Avaya spun off Lucent.
- 10/26/07 and 4/5/07 are the dates of the reported events on the 1099-B.

For cost basis, I know that the basis of a gift is the giver's basis. But I
don't know:
- what Grandma or her husband's basis was, and which of those is relevant.
- what percent of the investment that had that basis they gave to me.
- what percent of what they gave me became the two companies in question.

If it matters, my mom thinks that when I was given Lucent, it was worth
about $25 per share, and $9500 all together. Now, all the parts taken together are worth much, much less.

I know that, to be safest, I could treat the entire $287.94 as capital gains even though they may actually be losses. This would cost me $75 in Federal tax, I'm not sure how much in state tax, plus the value of whatever loss I could have written off against other gains. I could try to find a tax advisor to help, but I suspect that would cost more than I'd save (plus, at this time of year, it would be a challenge to find one). I've tried the IRS help line and the investment firm where these are now held, but I reached dead ends because of the information I'm missing.

3 BREAKFASTS = BREAKFAST + LUNCH + DINNER?

defmute — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 07:45:06 -0800

If I eat three breakfasts and then don't eat for the rest of the day, is that the same thing as eating breakfast lunch and dinner? lately (based upon a rumor i heard, the fact that i love breakfast, and having an erratic sleep schedule) i've been eating breakfast in large quantities (as in i eat till i feel pain) and then eating nothing for the rest of the day. is this okay for my body? will this kind of diet make me gain weight? lose weight? also, i should note that for the past week or so i've been sleeping at 11am and waking up at 7 pm. i've also been smoking about a gram of weed a day. i smoke cigarettes (about 5-10 a day) if that means anything.

How can I continue to bulk up when my supplement gives me flatulence from hell?

fugitivefromchaingang — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 08:20:19 -0800

How can I continue to bulk up when my supplement gives me flatulence from hell? I am a skinny guy, who used to be 6' and 150 pounds. I've been trying to bulk up and get more muscular for a while now, but I don't gain weight easily at all. I eat a LOT - more than almost anyone I know - but it doesn't stick. My weight inched up to 160 pounds over a few years but nothing really seemed to work until I started mixing whey protein powder into drinks. I saw a difference in a month or two.

Unfortunately, after that time I also found myself experiencing the worst gas ever. I would silently release sulfuric fumes every five minutes or so - I'm not exaggerating. On a long distance car trip with my mother, we had to keep the window open even though we were driving through Vermont and snow was falling. Apparently whey protein does this to people sometimes.

Protein supplements have been discussed on AskMe many times before. The consensus, such as it is, seems to be that "hard gainers" need to take in a LOT of protein, and eat a lot, in order to gain mass, and whey protein generally seems to be the supplement of choice. I'm wary of switching to soy protein because of the objections raised in the other threads. Is there anything else I should be considering? Is there some way to make my body tolerate the whey protein without releasing the toxic fumes?

I'm 23 years old, male, I currently weight 165, and I work out 3 or 4 times a week.

Fling those arms, Barbara!

popcassady — Fri, 17 Nov 2006 12:30:36 -0800

I have a chest-expander. What on Earth do I do with it? ...one of those springy, stretchy gadgets that conjure up images of happy campers and the Hitler Youth.

Does anyone have any experience of using one of these things? What kind of muscle gain could I expect -- considering that I'm physically active but have done little weight training in the past -- especially compared to free weights?

I've seen a few websites but haven't found any that; haven't tried to sell me something, been full of fanatics, or haven't seemed a little 'uneducated'.

And uh, how the hell do I use it?

Carb/Protein drink: Find me the right combination of powders

sdis — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 16:16:53 -0800

Carb/Protein Drink: Help me find the most convenient (and least expensive) way to formulate a workout shake of ~62/31g Carb/Protein, and 3-5g each of BCAAs, Glutamine and Phenylalanine. I'm following the fitness and nutrition plan outlined in the Scrawny to Brawny book, which seems very well laid-out. Based on my body weight, the above recipe is what I'm going for. They recommend using hydrolyzed whey protein isolate and glucose or maltodextrin for protein and carb sources.

My main trouble is navigating through the hundreds of different powder mixtures and unclear ingredients across hundreds of websites and manufacturers to find an economic solution containing the above ingredients.

Also, I'm noticing Phenylananine seems to only come in 500mg capsules, and not the 3-5g of powder recommended in my book. This isn't an error or something in the book that's going to injure me, is it?

Question about gaining weight, alfalfa, and creatine...

Anonymous — Wed, 13 Sep 2006 23:48:40 -0800

When trying to gain weight, does taking alfalfa supplements counter act the effects of creatine? I am trying to gain weight and in addition to weightlifting, I am taking alfalfa, protein, and creatine. Alfalfa is suppose to stimulate the appetite, help digestion, and reduces water retention. Creatine hydrates the muscle tissue and increases water retention. Do the counterproductive water retention effects of alfalfa and creatine make it useless for me to take both supplements at the same time?

Also, any suggestions on any other supplements for an increase in appetite or to air weight/muscle gain would be greatly appreciated

Thanks

Which anti-depressant is least likely to cause weight gain?

Anonymous — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 20:01:48 -0800

I've been taking Lamictal (150 mgs) and Welbutrin (100 mgs) for over a year. About eight months or so ago, I started taking Celexa (10 mgs) as well. Since taking the Celexa, I've gained over ten pounds, this after staying at the same weight for over three years. I'm still going to the gym six days a week and my diet hasn't significantly changed. The next time I see my doctor, I'd like to suggest he take me off the Celexa and put me on a different anti-depressant. Can anyone tell me which anti-depressant is least likely to cause weight gain?