How to gain weight?

[captwannabe]

I'm underweight standing at 5'10 and 52.5kgs. I'm fit and healthy, eat well, and exercise reasonably regularly. How can I healthily put on a bit of weight so I won't be classed as underweight?

Regards,
Captwannabe

[Dan Winterland]

I find lots of beer and curry works quite well. Too well in fact!

[yowie]

mmmmmmmmmmmm BEEER! Everyones friend,the answer to all weight control problems,even make you more socially acceptable!(to fellow pilots anyway)mmmmmmmmmmbeer

[bear11]

For starters, it's a good problem! Could be diet, could be genes. Best to find your way to the nearest gym and talk to someone about protein supplements plus excercise - it takes a little bit more time as you can lose weight first when you start to excercise more, but you put on denser muscle in a healthy way, rather than eating loads of carbs and fat to do it the slobs way.

Do you have any medical condition (Coeliac or a thyroid condition, for example) that is affecting your weight? Friends who have been diagnosed Coeliac and went on a gluten-free diet shed a stack of weight and look unhealthily thin to me, but tell me they feel 100% better. No harm to have a chat with a doc if there are any issues - they're not nutritionists, but can give you some ground rules.

And don't assume you'll always be this way, depending on your age. Many teens/early 20s people think they can eat and drink whatever they want and never put on weight, as years catch up they usually find they're very wrong.

[captwannabe]

I'm still young, so that could be part of it. My family is average weight, but my dad is on a gluten-free diet. He actually put on weight after he found the problem. I don't eat many gluten products (maybe one bread roll or sandwich per day), and I don't suffer from any of the symptoms, so I doubt that's a problem. I don't drink lads so that won't help me!

Cheers

[mcgoo]

if you smoke quit, i quit in december and have put on 3-4 stone since

[captwannabe]

I don't smoke! Maybe if I start and then give it up............

[DB6]

First you become a pilot, then you sit on your arse all day and eat like a pig. Worked for me . Oh, and Magners helps too .

[Daifly]

I'll swap you! I don't think I've ever met anyone who wants to put on weight before, thought everyone in Aviation was trying to go the other way (should that be weigh?)

I find beer, pizza, curry, sitting on my arse all help to make me what I am today...! Not sure how you do it healthily though!

[AlexEvans]

You're not the only one

I can empathise with this having been borderline underweight myself until recently. I'm now bang smack in the middle of the healthy weight range. I found that the only way to gain weight is to eat more calories than you expend and to do a moderate amount of intense weight training (not cardio!).

The easiest way to increase your calorie intake is to eat whatever you are used to eating now and then to supplement your diet with "bulk up" drinks that are high in carbs and protein.

If your body is anything like mine (ectomorph) you will lose weight (catabolysis) overnight. To help avoid this, have a bulk up drink before bed and consume some fat just before bed. EHA fish oil in capsules are arguably the most healthy way to do it and you can't taste it. This will slow down the digestion of your shake and help prevent muscle breakdown overnight.

A glucose drink first thing in the morning is a good idea to stop any catabolysis happening in its tracks.

Don't forget to do some regular weight training - squats, bench press and deadlifts are effective and can be done with dumbells so no need to join a gym. Buy decent metal ones, not the plastic ones filled with sand or you will regret it. You have to put on weight this way and it will be mostly muscle. If you are putting on fat too, reduce the quantity of shake and/or do more weight training until you find a level (which will need constant adjustment) where you are gaining muscle mass but not too much fat. A set of scales from argos can give you an idea of your body fat levels, not just how much you weigh - this will assist you.

Eating bulk up shakes is a great way to spend a lot of money so PM me for a home-made recipe if you like.

Good luck!

[captwannabe]

I'm doing a bit of weight training, but I also do a fair bit of cardio because I want to regain full fitness. I figure I have a runners body. I'll give the fish oil tablets a go.

PM is on its way...

[AlexEvans]

I've had a few PM requests for a cheap home made shake recipe so I thought I'd post it here:

Daily Requirement: (Adjust as required, see prev post)

1 box tesco value skimmed milk powder (454g)

2 pints or less of water (your preference)

Tesco own brand shake flavouring (choc, vanilla, strawberry - quantity to taste) Chocolate IMO tastes awful. Feel free to experiment with something else instead because this is only here to make the shake taste ok.

Whisk with a whisk (lol) and be sure to filter with a tea strainer into your glass otherwise the lumps will have you gagging, even if you use a blender.

Doing it this way for less than £2 a day you get all the protein and extra calories you need, with virtually no extra fat in the shakes. Milk protein is not as good as whey protein - but it is much cheaper and in these quantities when combined with a small amount of intense resistance training has to work - provided you also get enough sleep. I went from under 10 stone to 12 1/2 in 3 months and I'm 6'1".

You will get sick of them but if you need to hit the required BMI for your medical then they are your medecine.

If anyone knows of a slightly less obsessive way to maintain weight once you've reached your goal then feel free to share!

Good luck.

[fordy]

I'd go with the weights option. Don't start knocking back more beers and pies. Get yourself to the gym. I found going with a friend gives more determination to actually go.

[geraldn]

Originally Posted by captwannabe

I'm underweight standing at 5'10 and 52.5kgs. I'm fit and healthy, eat well, and exercise reasonably regularly. How can I healthily put on a bit of weight so I won't be classed as underweight?

Regards,
Captwannabe

you lucky b*!%&@d !!

[HELOFAN]

Eat bigger meals lest often like 3 times a day not little meals say 6 times a day.
Dont snack.

Either go to the gym or dont go anywhere, get a playstation and lose the g/f.

Beer and pies are good.... I just dont care what they do......cant get a meat pie here anyway.

Eat lots of pasta, potato ( you want carbs ) etc.

If you have a high metabolism you are screwed as Idont think doctors will help if you are fit and healthy.... if its in your genes then suck it up.... how old are you?

Did I mention beer and pies?

JK , you can eat healthy stuff and put it on just look at what you are eating & how much how often.

Enjoy it , I was the same till I hit 30 a few years ago and could not put on an ounce no matter what.
I actually was failing my military phys cause I had 0% body fat ( the old pinch test ).

I am alot heavier now but not fat, I just filled out 6ft 1 inch 185 lbs.

I just got bigger a bit but still slim.
And trust me there was nothing I could do till then and still its the same , no matter what i eat or drink it does not help, my dad was the same..

Good luck.

[HELOFAN]

its in the jeans.......

Eat bigger meals lest often like 3 times a day not little meals say 6 times a day.
Dont snack.
Either go to the gym or dont go anywhere, get a playstation and lose the g/f.
Beer and pies are good.... I just dont care what they do......cant get a meat pie here anyway.
Eat lots of pasta, potato ( you want carbs ) etc.
If you have a high metabolism you are screwed as Idont think doctors will help if you are fit and healthy.... if its in your genes then suck it up.... how old are you?
Did I mention beer and pies?
JK , you can eat healthy stuff and put it on just look at what you are eating & how much how often.
Enjoy it , I was the same till I hit 30 a few years ago and could not put on an ounce no matter what.
I actually was failing my military phys cause I had 0% body fat ( the old pinch test ).
I am alot heavier now but not fat, I just filled out 6ft 1 inch 185 lbs.
I just got bigger a bit but still slim.
And trust me there was nothing I could do till then and still its the same , no matter what i eat or drink it does not help, my dad was the same..
Good luck.

[Whirlybird]

This is weird, now I come to really think about it.

I mean, just about everyone is doing weird things and eating a bizarre diet in order to be some size and shape their body was never intended to be. Some of us tend to put on weight and some to lose it; did it ever occur to any of you that maybe, just maybe, it doesn't matter? Unless you're so fat you can't get out of bed, or so thin that film crews try to recruit you to play a concentration camp victim, why not accept the size you are and live with it. Maybe the doctors don't know everything. Maybe the BMI and all that stuff is a load of crap. Maybe we should all concentrate on something important instead.

Just a few late night thoughts, that's all.

[AlexEvans]

Originally Posted by Whirlybird

This is weird, now I come to really think about it.

I mean, just about everyone is doing weird things and eating a bizarre diet in order to be some size and shape their body was never intended to be. Some of us tend to put on weight and some to lose it; did it ever occur to any of you that maybe, just maybe, it doesn't matter? Unless you're so fat you can't get out of bed, or so thin that film crews try to recruit you to play a concentration camp victim, why not accept the size you are and live with it. Maybe the doctors don't know everything. Maybe the BMI and all that stuff is a load of crap. Maybe we should all concentrate on something important instead.

Just a few late night thoughts, that's all.

I agree - but remember he is trying to pass his class 1 medical (BMI issues), it's not just an exercise in vanity. I wonder if they would class a muscular, superfit athlete as obese based on his/her BMI even if they had close to 0% body fat? I suspect so .

[Jimmy The Big Greek]

I have never heard of a person not passing his medical due to his weight.

If you have higher then 35 BMI then you have to do more extensive cardio evaluation and probably to check if you fit in the cockpit.

Now if you are underweight the only thing that I can imagine would be a problem is:

1) That you don't suffer from low blood pressure.
2) That you have enough strength to operate the aircraft.

I remember a pilot from India that was training at the same flight school as me. He had very low BMI and also not much strength.
He was doing his cross-country and was going to do a touch and go at an airport. When he touched down, the aircraft was a little bit out of trim and when he added take-off thrust he did not have sufficient strength to handle the situation resulting in that one of the landing gear hit a stone wall and fell off.

Basicly I think that you don' t need to worry that much about the BMI but strengthen your arms to be able to pull and push. The strength in turning is not that imprtant unless you are flying a jet with hydraulic problems.

[Whirlybird]

I too have never heard of anyone failing a Class 1 medical due to either underweight or overweight. I don't think it happens. Anyone know for certain?