Smoothies

You can also get a lot more protein for your buck at Walmart by buying a couple of jars of dry roasted peanuts and a big box of raisins for less than 10 bucks.

RayofLight said:

So im very thin. I weigh less then 100 pounds. I've lost some weight recently which isn't good I don't need to be losing weight. So I got a ton of protein nutritental shakes the kind they give to folk to make them gain weight yesterday to go with the meals that the group home supplies with the hopes I'd gain weight. Problem is it's expensive. I paid close to 40 bucks for 24 shakes at walmart. I only get 50 bucks a month and the only reason I was able to afford said shakes was cuz I had some money left over from a college grant so the college gave me a check that was over 200 dollars and my mom also decided to randomly give me like 50 bucks as well for some unknown reason(like I said it was random and unexpected). It's not economically sound for me to get more shakes each month tho cuz as I said I only get 50 bucks a month after the group home is done with my SSI. While I don't have to buy but one meal a week nor do i have to buy gas (group home pays for 3 meals a day typically and all that with my SSI) and the only other mandatory expense I have is tolietries and 2 bucks for my meds so I tend to have some money left over I just don't usually have the money to spare to buy shakes every month. Not usually. One staff and I talked about it and she thinks me buying a blender and then making smoothies is more sound economically. It'd be much cheaper in the long run she says. Im not worried about not being able to afford a blender as I recently sold back a college text book to a college and they'll be paying me in a week or 2 around 102 dollars for it. She said she'll buy me protein powder with her own money so I could make them. She's worried about my weight pointing out I recently lost some and can't afford to lose any more and if i were to get sick I'd be in trouble...Does anyone here know any good smoothie recipes? And any good blender brands to make them? Or any other advice on how to gain weight?

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I make my own smoothies often. I use milk/yogurt, banana, greens, other fruit (frozen, fresh or juice) protein powder, and green powder. Another one I like is milk/coconut milk, banana, unsweetened cocoa powder, greens, chocolate protein powder, peanut butter and green powder.
If you are looking to gain weight, eat lots of healthy fats: Avocados, nuts, coconut products, and olive oil as an ingredient. It's not worth eating processed foods, as they are not healthy. The natural fats are much better.

RayofLight said:

So im very thin. I weigh less then 100 pounds. I've lost some weight recently which isn't good I don't need to be losing weight. So I got a ton of protein nutritental shakes the kind they give to folk to make them gain weight yesterday to go with the meals that the group home supplies with the hopes I'd gain weight. Problem is it's expensive. I paid close to 40 bucks for 24 shakes at walmart. I only get 50 bucks a month and the only reason I was able to afford said shakes was cuz I had some money left over from a college grant so the college gave me a check that was over 200 dollars and my mom also decided to randomly give me like 50 bucks as well for some unknown reason(like I said it was random and unexpected). It's not economically sound for me to get more shakes each month tho cuz as I said I only get 50 bucks a month after the group home is done with my SSI. While I don't have to buy but one meal a week nor do i have to buy gas (group home pays for 3 meals a day typically and all that with my SSI) and the only other mandatory expense I have is tolietries and 2 bucks for my meds so I tend to have some money left over I just don't usually have the money to spare to buy shakes every month. Not usually. One staff and I talked about it and she thinks me buying a blender and then making smoothies is more sound economically. It'd be much cheaper in the long run she says. Im not worried about not being able to afford a blender as I recently sold back a college text book to a college and they'll be paying me in a week or 2 around 102 dollars for it. She said she'll buy me protein powder with her own money so I could make them. She's worried about my weight pointing out I recently lost some and can't afford to lose any more and if i were to get sick I'd be in trouble...Does anyone here know any good smoothie recipes? And any good blender brands to make them? Or any other advice on how to gain weight?

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This link any use? (And yes that's me in the photo )

- 12 High Calorie Smoothies For Weight Gain - Gaining Tactics

Revoltingest said:

@RayofLight....
My advice (which is only for your consideration)
is to eat a good diet with enuf calories, & be
un-concerned with being under-weight. If you
have good nutrition, & plenty of energy to be
active, adding weight is unnecessary.

Again, this is just something to consider.
I don't know all the concerns you might have.

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I have a few health concerns with me being underweight. Like the fact that if I lose anymore weight cuz of of a simple stomach flu I could literally be in the hospital solely cuz of my weight. Most people have a few extra pounds if they get sick and throw up a few times and lose weight they may not need to worry about their weight making the sickness worse and possibly their weight placing them in the hospital.

A doctor once told me being too underweight can sometimes cause problems worse then being overly obese. Im not looking to be much larger just enough that I dont have to worry about losing weight when im sick. Obviously i still could go to the hospital if i were sick and had more weight but i want to have enough weight that my weight wouldn't make things extra worse if i were to be sick.

RayofLight said:

I have a few health concerns with me being underweight. Like the fact that if I lose anymore weightbcuz of of a simple stomach flu I could literally be in the hospital solely cuz of my weight. Most people have a few extra pounds if they get sick and throw up a few times and lose weight they may not need to worry about their weight making the sickness worse and possibly their weight placing them in the hospital.

A doctor once told me being too underweight can sometimes cause problems worse then being overly obese. Im not looking to be much larger just enough that I dont have to worry about losing weight when im sick. Obviously i still could go to the hospital if i were sick and had more weight but i want to have enough weight that my weight wouldn't make things extra worse if i were to be sick.

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Aye, tis good to take your doctor's advice over mine.
(Unless they try to sell you an extended warranty on a nose job.)

RayofLight said:

I have a few health concerns with me being underweight. Like the fact that if I lose anymore weight cuz of of a simple stomach flu I could literally be in the hospital solely cuz of my weight. Most people have a few extra pounds if they get sick and throw up a few times and lose weight they may not need to worry about their weight making the sickness worse and possibly their weight placing them in the hospital.

A doctor once told me being too underweight can sometimes cause problems worse then being overly obese. Im not looking to be much larger just enough that I dont have to worry about losing weight when im sick. Obviously i still could go to the hospital if i were sick and had more weight but i want to have enough weight that my weight wouldn't make things extra worse if i were to be sick.

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Can your doctor recommend a registered dietitian or nutritionist? Insurance may cover that...

I would never suggest gaining mass by consuming fat. That is horrible advice.

@RayofLight
I workout to gain strength and mass, and to maintain that strength and mass. If I stop working out, it slowly fades away. It is a huge part of my life and something I take great pride in.

Think of it less as “diet and exercise”. That implies… short-term, immediate, temporary. Think of it more as “fitness and nutrition”. This is a lifestyle. Long-term. Dreams fulfilled.

_____


$$$

The harsh truth is that you must be able to afford the resources to make it happen. My gym membership is 30$ a month, and has all the free weights and machines I could possibly require. There is also a smaller fitness center nearby me, at a local park. That one is completely free, though my options are far more limited. Look around, and see what your community has.

Training, unfortunately, is not free. Gyms, food, travel expenses, appropriate workout attire (I just wear a black tank top and black pants most of the time, or shorts if I’m running). These things cost money. So make some money, and set some aside to help fund your fitness journey.

______

Nutrition

As for food… the main thing I look at is the fat to protein ratio. I go for high protein/ low fat. Lean ground beef, eggs, beans, etc… they are your best friend.

As for protein powder, experiment with different kinds and see which one you like. Mine is chocolate flavor, comes in a large jug, is 25 grams of protein per scoop, and comes out to around 55 scoops per container. I mix a scoop into a glass of water before I workout, which is usually the early morning an hour or two after breakfast.

Ideally you will consume many healthy foods, but protein is absolutely the most important for gaining healthy mass. You don’t have to be a nutrition nazi, but definitely cut down on fried foods, other high fat meals, and sugar, as much as possible.

When you get back from your workouts, take advantage of what’s going on in your body and consume a high protein meal. That is the best time to eat a large meal. Try to avoid doing that before you go to sleep.

And water. Drink plenty of water. If possible, replace every drink with every meal, with water. Except on special occasions. You can thank me later.

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Fitness

This is the most important. When I say “go to the gym”, I don’t mean “hang out on the treadmill for an hour achieving nothing”. I mean lift.

The first day you go you will be a level 1 nobody. Weak. Frail. Pathetic. The good news is, as long as you keep working out you will never be that weak and pathetic again. At least, hopefully not for a very long time.

It’s hard at first. You might feel ashamed. You get sore easily. That’s natural. You know now what your starting point is in different exercises, where you were at your weakest. Now you will know when you become stronger.

And you will.

Days pass. Weeks. Months. You notice your strength increasing little by little, and next thing you know you have developed technique. Proficiency. Prowess. Pride. You have seen for yourself what is possible, what you can achieve when you put in the time and effort, and heart. It is no longer a burden. You enjoy it. You love it. It has become a part of your life you refuse to give up.

Years pass. Your workouts are more intense, and your body is now a machine helping you attain even higher fitness goals. You look back at the days early on when you were a level 1 nobody, and you smile. You might see others at the gym, in a similar situation as you once were. Weak, pathetic. Except, you understand now that this a necessary step in the journey. What you feel is respect, because you know that they’ve made the decision- as you did- to get their *** in the gym, to train hard and to become someone better. They could be anywhere else right now doing anything else, but they are here, working out, making the effort to rise higher.

So don’t let yourself be intimated when you first go in. Every one of those people there began somewhere. They might also understand the heartbreak of training hard to achieve greatness, and then losing a great deal of it because life created an obstacle in their way which kept them out of the gym for a time. Now they aim to get it back. Most people completely understand the feeling of beginning from nothing, even beginning again at times. So focus on what you showed up to do and don’t let yourself get distracted.

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Specific exercises

There are many ways to organize your training. I will simply share what works best for me.

I go in, I focus on upper body exercises, exclusively. The next day, I go in, I focus on lower body exercises, exclusively. Upper body one day, lower body the next. Back and forth, until I feel I need a day of rest. Maybe even a few days of rest, especially early on. So I might end up training 4-6 days out of the week on average. The body must be given time to heal, and recover stronger than it was. With time and experience, you will figure out how much time you need.

So.. what exercises specifically? Males and females each have their preferences, but what makes a human stronger, makes a human stronger.

The pool of exercises on upper body day might look something like:

-Stretching

***-Bench Press (free weights)

-Dips
**-Military Press (free weights)

-Arnold Press (free weights)
-Dumbell Curls (free weights)
-Tricep Extention (free weights)

-Lat Pulldowns
-Tricep Pulldowns
-Seated Rows

-Push-ups
-Bent over rows (free weights)
-Seated Chest Flies

-Stretching

(And many others than can be swapped out and substituted to mix things up.)

My pool of exercise on lower body day is smaller… but I might also involve running and hanging crunches.

-Stretching

-Leg Extension

***-Squats (free weights)

-Leg Press

-Dead lifts
-Reverse Dumbell Lunges (free weights)

***-Hanging upside down crunches 4x 20-25

-Stretching

And a few other ones I don’t remember the names of.

For running, it’s either a chill 1-2 mile run, or a series of sprints. I prefer doing this on lower body day but honestly it can be done whenever.

Let me just explain something though…

On the lifts I go the hardest on (squats, bench, etc) I will do a warm up… but then I do 3 sets of 6 or 7 repetitions of something I can’t do 4x10 of. Once 3x6 becomes too easy, then next time I show up, I increase the weight. Etc. On the vast majority of exercises, however, I do 4 sets of 10 reps, of whatever weight is perfect for that.

Try to remember:

4x10
4 sets. 10 repetitions.

It’s just a magick strength training formula that has stood the test of time.


I usually lift alone, so my workouts are built around that. It would be great if you had a workout partner though, because then you could spot each other and go harder on certain lifts while risking less. But if you workout solo that’s fine too, just do your best to develop proper technique and familiarize yourself with your limits, and maybe develop some experience before attempting anything too extreme. There are plenty of resources online to help you discover new exercises, and the proper ways to do them.
___

Music

This one is important. For me at least. Take your music with you when you train, preferably phone and headphones. Either save your music to your phone or put together playlists on YouTube or whatever app you use and allow it to fuel your passion. I mean… I prefer death metal, darksynth, DnB, maybe even some epic boss music… but to each their own. Whatever inspires you.

____

Many people lift to lose weight. Many people lift to gain weight. Healthy weight. I hope this helped

JustGeorge said:

Can your doctor recommend a registered dietitian or nutritionist? Insurance may cover that...

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Yes I think and i plan on going to one again soon