In a country where overweight and obesity is rampant, a person who wants to gain weight is often misunderstood and her concerns belittled. Many people feel that complaining about being too thin is like complaining about having too much money. Yet the desire to gain weight is a very real concern for a large number of people.
A previous article dealt with some of the down sides of being too thin. This article talks about how to gain weight if necessary and, in your case, possible.
Finding the root cause
As with any disease or even undesirable condition such as underweight (or overweight), finding the root cause, or causes, is the first place to look. A person who eats a lot but still doesn’t gain weight has a different root cause than someone who just isn’t hungry. A person who is thin and unhealthy probably has a lot of causes to deal with, while one who is thin and healthy might just have what a simple cosmetic and genetic issue.
Nutrition, not just calories
Nutrition is very important; it’s not just about calories. People who are underweight tend to feel that they can get away with eating junk food since, unlike their peers who gain weight easily, the evidence of their nutritional transgressions isn’t that obvious in the form of tight clothing, a belly pooch, or a second chin. But make no mistake – good nutrition is crucial for everyone.
Many people who want to gain weight try to do so by loading up on the unhealthy foods that have high calorie counts – the fats and sugars, the snacks and processed foods. This isn’t a good idea – you might gain weight, but it will be at the expense of your health and energy. You will likely feel bloated and sluggish, not a good tradeoff. If you eat high-calorie food to try to gain weight, be sure it’s healthy food, such as beneficial oils, nuts, and avocados. Other good choices of high-calorie foods are hummus, nut butters (other than peanut butter, which isn’t recommended), sour cream, and cheese.
What about those weight-gain supplements?
There are a number of powders and beverages that claim to put weight on. Here’s a interesting factoid: weight gain supplements are very similar to weight loss supplements; read the labels to compare the ingredients, calories, fats, and sugars. The only thing that differs is the instructions: drink it with meals to gain weight, drink it instead of meals to lose weight.
Do these work? Keep in mind that nutrition is at least as important as calories. Some of these supplements are just fat and sugar to bring up the calorie count, with a few vitamins thrown in, and they can do more harm than good over time, especially if their use causes you to want less real food. Others are much more beneficial and can actually address your nutritional issues. A nutritionist can advise you on what supplements can be useful.
How’s your appetite?
First off, is your problem with appetite? Maybe food just isn’t appealing. Some reasons for this are simply genetics along with upbringing; your family tends to treat food as fuel for the furnace rather than a source of pleasure. Forcing yourself to eat when you just don’t want to makes it hard to keep up that behavior for long.
You might not be able to taste or smell your food very well, so eating isn’t particularly pleasurable. Low levels of the mineral zinc can cause this. Low zinc levels can be determined through blood testing or a simple taste test using a zinc solution, and they can be easily remedied through nutrient supplementation. Smoking can deplete zinc, and for this reason helps keep weight down, not that this is your goal. But smoking has so many obvious down sides that even a person who is trying to lose weight is advised to give it up. If you’re trying to gain weight, this is yet another reason to quit.
Does nausea lower your appetite? There is usually a treatable cause for this, such as gallbladder problems, cancer chemotherapy, food allergies, or certain medications.
What’s bugging you?
You may literally have bugs, i.e. microorganisms or parasites, that could be interfering with both your appetite and your ability to absorb food and put weight on. Testing and treatment are available for these.
The question of what’s bugging you can have another meaning as well. Are you stressed? Stress can cause some people to overeat, while others lose all interest in food when they’re anxious.
Other causes
Your underweight problem might not be about food at all. In addition to nausea, stress, and parasites, you might be hyperthyroid. Your thyroid gland, which regulates metabolism, might be working a bit too hard, keeping weight off even if you eat a lot. Hyperthyroidism can make you anxious and shaky, and you can feel a strange combination of speedy and fatigued. A simple blood test can reveal whether this is a problem.
Many diseases, most notably cancer and AIDS, cause weight loss. The disease, of course, should be dealt with as the highest priority.
A warning
If you start losing weight fairly suddenly, without trying to or without eating less due to stress or other factors, there might be something going on with your health that you should get checked out. Even if you started out overweight and you’re thrilled about the effortless weight loss, you could still have a health problem that should be dealt with.
Try going on a weight-loss diet
Huh? But you’re trying to gain weight, so what’s that about? As millions of people who want to lose weight have found to their sorrow, reducing food intake has an almost inevitable rebound effect, causing these people to both be hungrier and to metabolize food more slowly, putting back any weight they’ve lost and then some. Studies with mice and rats have found the same thing, and the mice end up fatter than the control group who can eat what and when they want. So limiting food intake for a period of time, alternating with eating what you want, can help to put the weight on. This approach, however, might not be the healthiest unless good nutritional principles are adhered to, plus you can damage your metabolism if the food-deprivation stage is too strict.
Where will I gain the weight?
One problem with gaining weight is that it might not end up where you want it. A woman might want a larger bust but when she gains weight it’s in her thighs and rear end, making her pear-shaped. A man might want a more well-developed chest and upper arms, but end up with a protruding tummy. Alas, your particular pattern of weight gain is mostly genetically determined, or in the case of the stomach pooch can be due at least in part to eating too many carbs.
Working out can help to sculpt the body to a limited extent. And speaking of working out, since muscle weighs more than fat, building more muscle through weight-bearing exercise can raise your weight and help bulk you up, especially if you’re male and have testosterone helping with the process.
Get checked out
A consultation with a health professional such as those at CAM can help you determine whether you are genetically slim and healthy, or whether you have an issue, nutritional or otherwise, that can be remedied.
