How to Gain Weight

@ABSORBER posted:

I absolutely HATE protein-powder that contains sweetener or flavor of any kind. There are a few companies that sell unsweetened and unflavored products. One company I like is Naked Nutrition -- www.nakednutrition.com. They have a product called Mass-Gainer. Some of their flavored products are called "Less-naked" meaning they have added a little sweetener and flavoring--these taste much better than other products. My son had a lot of difficulty gaining weight--still does. It is essential for a player to EAT a lot and EAT proper foods. This can be supplemented with protein shakes and it helps if they taste good!

My 2022 has been using Naked Mass for almost two weeks.  Decided to try it after reading another parent's success and a little research myself.  I can see extra weight on him already.  He is eating a TON but I've now started to try to make it as easy and accessible as possible for him, even though it's a lot of work for me, I think we are making more progress because I've stepped in a little.  Making sure there are EASY options in the fridge seem to be helping a lot.  So even though he should do it, I'm prepping veggies/fruit that can go in a smoothie and leaving ready to go in fridge, stocking meat drawer with grab and go protein (cubed cheese, chicken skewers, steak cubes), trailmix made with weight gain nuts (and M&Ms because he's a teen boy) already bagged up in largish single serving portions, I just made protein balls that are small enough they can come out of the mouth of a shaker bottle so he can have them in his backpack and pop them in his mouth under his mask between classes. The biggest hit was disposable soup spoons right next to the peanut butter jar, and the Horizon milk boxes that don't have to be refrigerated in the mud room.  He grabs those as he heads out the door, regardless if he's eaten or not. 

Revisiting this topic. It is become a topic of daily discussion in our household. We are still trying to get weight on my son, rising junior 6'1" 165lbs. I have even laid down a challenge for him that if he gains 15lbs by next high school season I would buy him a new glove.  Problem is that he gets full so quickly that it makes his stomach hurt if he keeps eating and then when that happens, it puts him off from trying to eat large quantities. One thing that we have find that he does seem to like is we found a recipe to recreate the Jamba Juice Orange Dream Machine smoothie. Instead of using soy milk in the ingredients, we have been using vanilla protein shakes.

I was talking with his fitness trainer about a couple of kids who have come through our high school program the past couple of years. One was a recent first round draft pick and another who is currently in college will probably be a high pick. If you look at their freshman year pictures to their senior year pictures, it is a big difference. They put on around 25-30 pounds. The trainer told me that the boys were taking creatine, whey protein, and BCAA's. I am not sold on going to that extreme, but am open to any suggestions right now.

In reading through some old threads on the forum about weight gain and supplements, one of the posts that caught my attention was one that suggested look at the GNC MASS XXX as an option for high schoolers. It has a high amount of calories and protein, and minimal amounts of creatine and BCAA. So a little bit more conservative than other similar products. Anyone have any experience with that product?

I think the next step is to also try to create an eating schedule/check list for him. List different options for each eating time and have him mark off that he ate and what he ate at each time. But I am worried if that is going a little too far and being a little too controlling. His mom seems to think that if he had a schedule and checklist that he would be more prone to eat more often because it is laid out for him. His mom said remember he is a teenager with a girlfriend. You have to lay everything out step by step if you want it to get done. (LOL, like chores).

My kid has been cycling on creatine for a couple of years now. I have no concerns about it safety if it is NSF certified. I think his caloric intake like lifting should be an incremental increase. Maybe do 5% more calories every other day until he can reach his goal.

My son is very similar, but 10 lbs lighter. He's always eating and working out. He just had his annual checkup and we talked with his doctor about it. She thinks he still has an inch or so to grow but should start being able to put weight on. His metabolism is so high she said it has been basically impossible for someone like him to add any significant weight for the past couple of years.

My son drinks a ton of whole chocolate milk, snacks on protein bars, and also eats a couple of uncrustables throughout the day for snacks. Now that he's driving he will also stop for a jersey Mike's sub when he has time.

Lefty gained both muscle and a little extra padding by using Naked Mass. I believe it was recommended on this very thread. He originally used it as his protein after a workout but it left him full for too long. So now he does a smaller serving of a normal whey protein after a daytime workout and then Naked Mass with ice cream at night.  Food during the day is pretty healthy and lean (the way the rest of the family eats) so we have to get the extra in somehow.  
He’s added muscle bulk with creative over the summer. But we are doubling the time off in the cycle because I’m a nut.

Don’t put in weight just to put on weight. Make sure it’s carbs and protein mixed with lifting. My son was 5’11” 135 freshman year. He was 6’ 160 soph year. Junior year he was 6’1” 165 and 6’2” 175 as a senior.

I was 6’1” 180 by soph year of high school. But both my wife (5’8”) and daughter were also physical late bloomers. Freshman year of high school my 5’10” daughter was 5’9” 120.*

He did everything right you’re supposed to do to gain weight. It wasn’t until soph year of college he was up to 195. Until college the other sports (soccer and basketball) had him running off weight. There was no way in hell I was going to tell him not to play other sports.

* She did a visit to a Big Ten when 5’10” 135 summer after freshman year. The coach loved her height. She added weight lifting could get her up to 170. In the parking lot my daughter joked she would have to change her name to Butch. She played at 150 and didn’t look it.