How to GAIN weight?

My son was trying to gain some more pounds for spring training. Since he works out daily, he never seems to get ahead, he gave up on the disgusting protein shakes.

His PT told him just to start eating some McDonalds burgers for awhile (don't make it a habit) and makes sense for sure!

If your son is not consuming enough calories that he burns he will not gain the weight. Try more pasta, potates, protein bars, peanut butter sandwiches, etc. but make sure not to forget the other good stuff as well.

OK, now that I've had my fun ....

My son was 5'11, 130 in November of his soph year. That year was the first year he didn't play basketball. He ate like a horse which was probably his body and mind naturally telling him to catch up with his growth burst. For breakfast and an evening snack he drank protein shakes. We got the protein at Whole Foods to make sure there was nothing chemical and illegal in it. He lifted weights three days a week. By March he was 6'1", 160.

Lifting weights will help to increase bone mass. This is a great thing for growing bodies and will help to avoid injuries. Adding body fat only will increase the chance for injury.

My son, and many of his friends have asked the same question, son is now 21, jr in college and still can't seem to put on the weight he wants, (he 6' 170).
I should be part owner of the "Muscle Milk" company by now (and costco for that matter) for the amount of money spent. Also several other protein powders and weight gainers from assorted Health food outlets like Hi Health...I am now a true believer that a kid as active as a HS or college ball player will only put on weight when his body is good and ready to. The coaches tell him he is perfect for a middle infielder but he is not happy. Try all they might, the best recipe I found is a good balanced diet (4, not 3 meals a day), a good supervised workout plan,(conditioning and weights), and good sleeping habits and let nature takes it course.

My son had success with a work out program while adding some protein daily, mostly milk and nuts. Easy to add 500 c a day with a big glass of milk and a couple of handfuls of nuts.

quote:

Originally posted by RJM:

I happen to dislike each and every one of your sons based on the fact RJM took a picture of me watching The Biggest Loser.

Honestly I am pretty envious of your sons and their ability to not swell up. My advice is to just have them be healthy and the weight issue will take care of itself. Work out and eat right and the weight will be what it's supposed to be.

1, Work out to build muscle mass. Increase calories to sustain the weight gain, not cause it.

2. Maintain good nutriton. A McDonalds' weight gain plan is foolish.

3. Be consistent and patient.

OR

Just wait until you turn 50.

quote:

Originally posted by iowabbmom:
My son is a h.s. freshman, a quarter inch shy of 6 ft. and about 126 lbs. I need some suggestions on how to put some weight on the boy.

He's currently playing basketball, so all the running is not helping. I also still think he's growing height-wise...so I don't know if the weight will come once he's done with that???

Will protein shakes help? He's tried some, but really has not found one he's liked (taste), hates chocolate flavored stuff...vanilla is ok.

Ideas? Thoughts? Suggestions? TIA everyone!

Good questions.

Use mathematics to solve the problem. Gaining or losing weight is simply a matter of counting calories and knowing what your burn rate or metabolism is.

Start with:

1 lb equals 3500 calories.

If you burn 3500 a day while eating 3500 a day, he will stay at 126 lbs for the rest of his life. I think a reasonable plan is to try and eat 500 more calories a day than you burn so at the end of one week, you will have gained one pound. Maybe that is overly aggressive for a youngster, so maybe we could have a dietician chime in here.

There are metabolism charts out there on the Internet that will help compute a burn rate. For instance, someone who is 126 lbs and has a high workout activity may be burning 2500 calories a day or more. Assuming he is burning some number like 2500 calories a day, then he needs to eat 3000 calories every day for a week to gain one pound. Have him weigh himself each week after going to the bathroom and before he has eaten his morning breakfast. If he has gained more or less than a pound, decrease/increase the caloric intake accordingly. The Internet provides the number of calories/serving for all foods.

One trick with protein shakes is to use whole milk in the shake to increase the number of calories in the shake. One mistake many kids make is skipping meals. Often times, kids will sleep in on weekends and not eat their first meal until lunch time. They need to learn to eat all during the day. You can lose weight just by sleeping in bed if you don't take in enough calories.

FYI -

For those wanting to lose weight, apply the same principles in reverse, take in 500 calories less a day and you'll lose one pound a week guaranteed. After one year, you'll have lost 50 lbs. Often times, a 500 calorie reduction/per day can be had by switching from regular soda or pop to diet.

When my son was a 15 yr old sophomore, he was 6'4" and 165. He was desperate to put on weight. He was actually losing weight, because we could not get enough calories into him to compensate for workouts, and just being a normal teenage boy.

I have the advantage of working for a registered dietitian, so I went to her for advice. She said to have him drink a milkshake every day after practice, the idea being to replace calories already burned. We bought a gallon of vanilla ice cream, some frozen berries, and a couple gallons of milk. Everyday he would come home and make his milkshake, which he would have along with his regular dinner. Within a week he gained 5 lbs. I think it was from the milkshakes, because whenever we ran out of his "supplies", he lost 3 lbs before I could make it back to the store!

I also recommend stashing a few granola type bars in his equipment bag. According to both my son and my boss, the Cliff brand are tasty and nutritionally good for you. Snacking on one of those before his workouts helps with replacing the calories used.

quote:

Originally posted by Jimmy03:
1, Work out to build muscle mass. Increase calories to sustain the weight gain, not cause it.

2. Maintain good nutriton. A McDonalds' weight gain plan is foolish.

3. Be consistent and patient.

OR

Just wait until you turn 50.

I agree with you, no one should just ever eat to just gain weight, one must have an appropriate conditioning program and weight training program. Absolutely do not leave out the good stuff.

This is a process that takes a long time, the OP's son in just a freshman, there is no harm at this time in taking in more calories. Even at 25 son has trouble trying to add the weight on he needs to begin with each season, and he works at it every day.

quote:

Just wait until you turn 50.

I'm 6'1", 185 at 55yo. Yesterday I didn't eat breakfast, I had McDonalds for lunch. A had a Southwestern bacon burger and two beers for dinner while watching the football game. I had a pint of Starbucks ice cream to drown my sorrows after the game (any excuse will do). For a late night snack I had two bowls of cereal with whole milk.

It's as simple as CD said. Decide which side of the consumption or burn of calories you want to be for results. I eat well during the week. I workout four times a week and do situps and pushups every day.

quote:

Just wait until you turn 50.

Or wait for your 1st semester of College, if you are an athlete baseball player, they will put 20lbs on him within six months!

"Serious" weight training and calorie increase is the answer. They often burn so many calories that a protein, weight gain supplement shake at least once a day at 1000 calories, with milk, is a good idea (mine liked Cyto-Gainer from GNC, it's Cookies & Creme flavor). Four to five meal events a day may be necessary to add weight.

Going to bed and getting up at regular hours is a must ingredient.

quote:

Originally posted by Prime9:

Or wait for your 1st semester of College, if you are an athlete baseball player, they will put 20lbs on him within six months!

This was my son's experience...graduated from high school at 6'5" barely 180 pounds and after 1 year at college he was 6'6" 205 pounds. He is still trying to gain but over Christmas break I reminded him that he needs to cut back on the Cane's fried chicken and the Wendy's Baconator double burgers, at some point these "empty" calories are going to catch up with him.

His favorite weight gain aid is Muscle Milk (Vanilla Cream flavor).

Turn 40.

Good luck. My HS soph also plays basketball. Works out, drinks protein shakes, eats 5-6 meals a day. Can't gain weight. Nothing works until basketball is over.

Wow, finally a topic I KNOW I can claim expertise in!

One thing to consider is eating things that pack on weight without being bad for you in and of themselves.

For example, good old baked potatoes. Pastas. Meats that aren't the leanest you can buy (which we parents tend to select!). Breads. Nuts. Peanut butter on crackers is a big one. Milk shakes -- real milk shakes, not those "shakes" they sell at fast food places where the word "milk" is omitted for legal reasons. Really any wholesome dairy products, and not the low fat or fat free kind -- e.g., whole milk, regular cottage cheese, etc.

You can also mix in that Creatine powder into the foods and beverages, you don't have to drink the gross shakes.

Avoid things that are fatty and that we all know are bad for you. Fast food French fries, nachos, pizza, chocolates, etc.

I suspect things will start taking care of themselves soon enough, so one thing to do is to watch the scale carefully so that you know when to STOP and go back to a more normal intake. Otherwise, you end up like ... well, like most of America.

Google: 'how to gain weight with a fast metabolism'

turn 50

quote:

Originally posted by DaddyBo:
turn 50

and get an office job

Lots of meat. Lots of pasta. Lots of milk.

Because muscle weighs more than fat, weighlifting.

I am enjoying this post! Son is in the same boat as OP, but he decided NOT to play basketball this year for exactly that reason --- kept him too skinny and no time to lift! It was a good decision but I miss the hoops.


He has been doing the protein shakes daily, usually after his workouts, as a '4th or 5th meal" for his day, and usually adds ice cream. And yours truly has been making cheesy eggs for breakfast for him since the fall ....I haven't made breakfast for my kids in years! but started doing this for him to add the protein. T(I think his school work improved with he added AM nutrition.) He takes a protein bar to school for a mid day snack. After school 'snack' is usually a roast beef or ham sandwich and a huge glass of milk now. (used to be twinkies or swiss rolls!) We have added whole grains and lots of raw fruits and veggies to our table, can't say he always eats em.

With the 3x week training, and the hefty diet, he has certainly added muscle mass but I don't think he has gained more than a few pounds. Caloric intake increase = increased calories out, both at a much higher level now, so in the long run this is a good thing. The team is adding agility / velocity training, and BP began last week so I think he needs to add even more calories at this point!

Jeez to be young again, right?

My child was also a 90percentile for height and 10 percentile for weight as a hs freshman.

Take him to an allergist. See if he has allergies. For us it was whey.

Also, I think whey based protein shakes make kids too full. Get your calories through food.

Eat two - three high calloric content foods in the same meal. Nuts, lean meat, skim cheese (like string cheese), peanut butter, "recovery" nutrition bars...

Like a meatball sandwich (bread meat cheese) with a glass of chocolate soy milk. (skip the fries.. empty callories)

quote:

Originally posted by WinBuc44:

quote:

Originally posted by DaddyBo:
turn 50

and get an office job

and get married

quote:

(skip the fries.. empty callories)

tell that to my tummy.......it don't look empty.

i'm finally at my ideal weight......if i was 7'6''.

You really can't force feed muscle growth. A lot of parents in other forums ask what they can do to help an athlete "fill out," but what they mean is how do they get junior to grow some more muscle. Usually the question is spurred by some new protein shake or another.

To an extent, you can correct a nutritional deficiency, and certainly you can improve an athlete's diet to make sure that their nutrient quality improves. After that, an athlete will not gain more muscle just because he (or she) piles on the calories. Weight (generally in the form of bodyfat)? Yes. Muscle? No. Muscle growth comes from the stimulation of the muscle tissues, and then an appropriate amount of recuperation and the nutrients being supplied when needed. Really, nothing fancier than that.

Also, as was said above, the math for weight gain is fairly easy to calculate; I would suggest that you factor in an additional 5 or 10 percent of calories simply because the body will almost certainly ramp up the metabolism even more because of the additional fuel (kind the opposite of the starvation response).

quote:

Originally posted by TPM:
My son was trying to gain some more pounds for spring training. Since he works out daily, he never seems to get ahead, he gave up on the disgusting protein shakes.

His PT told him just to start eating some McDonalds burgers for awhile (don't make it a habit) and makes sense for sure!

TPM, McDonlds burgers was so funny! I was thinking the same thing. A sure way to fatten up.

In high school, our son ate 3 full meals a day, plus snacks like nuts or peanut butter crackers in mid morning and late afternoon. He was a tall, very skinny freshman, but eventually filled out to be a tall, thin senior.

In college, he ate well but overdid the protein shakes and other supplements that he added in order to bulk up. The extra weight actually slowed down his bat and foot speed. Not good.

In the minors, he had trouble keeping weight on due to their crazy schedules. Carried a jar of peanut butter and protein shake mix with him wherever he went.

In MLB, access to good food wasn't a problem. He intentionally gained weight to increase his HR numbers, but it slowed down every facet of his game. Returned to a more natural playing weight and was able to maintain it.

The most important thing to remember is that bodies change, as do nutritional needs. While he's still growing, your son needs whole foods at frequent intervals that are packed with natural vitamins and minerals. He will gain weight as he matures at a rate that is natural for him. If he tries to accelerate the process too much, it may actually slow down his athletic progress.

Once he reaches full maturity, he will have to find his ideal playing weight and then maintain it.

A couple of peanut butter sandwiches and a couple glasses of milk before bed.

My 6'4" (with a large frame) son tried everything to gain weight during high school, yet his weight remained in the 165 range for around 3 years. Now that he's a college freshman, he's starting to pack it on; I really think it's hormonal, since he is just starting to have to shave with any regularity.

He always liked vanilla Pediasure for trying to get excess calories and protein without getting too full to eat.

quote:

A couple of peanut butter sandwiches and a couple glasses of milk before bed.

Absolutely.Just nice if its whole wheat bread.(I know for many thats a toughie).But honestly especially for the younger athlete that is great.

quote:

Originally posted by Pop Up Hitter dad:

quote:

Originally posted by TPM:
My son was trying to gain some more pounds for spring training. Since he works out daily, he never seems to get ahead, he gave up on the disgusting protein shakes.

His PT told him just to start eating some McDonalds burgers for awhile (don't make it a habit) and makes sense for sure!

TPM, McDonlds burgers was so funny! I was thinking the same thing. A sure way to fatten up.

It was supposed to be a bit funny. I didn't mean a steady diet, just a fill in to add on the weight needed.

Honestly now, not one of your players every ate a burger at McDonalds?

I have to agree with what Txmom has stated, adding extra weight can slow you down. Mine only does it because he loses about 10-15 pounds and he can't replace it on the road during season, the same as he did in college. There really is no way an athlete will ever find his ideal playing weight until he fully matures.

Son is right at 6'5" and about 220. Finally does not look like a stick bug.

Someone touched on this but boys won't put/keep on muscle unless the body is ready.

What we did to maintain was milkshakes with some sort of protein mixed in - balanced diet, no soda - stay away from hfcs! This past summer/fall he has been lifting for core/legs with lighter "pitcher" workouts for upper body. Snacks were beef jerky (probably lots of ick in it, but he craved meat), bagels with peanut butter, no more protein shakes. I served lots of meat and potatoes/pasta on the dinner table. Somehow mix in fresh fruit and veggies. Meanwhile mom and dad crave salad!

esp important when taking in extra protein: lots of water, cut down on the sport drinks.

Fast food is a good supplement too - team usually invades a local place after games....oh the food intake!

Playfair makes a good point about allergies, etc. A few months ago, we discovered rhp had a problem with his stomach digesting food in a timely manner while getting treated for an unrelated condition. He always felt full for a long time after eating. He thought it was normal since that was all he knew. Doctor presribed medicine and said he expected him to gain 15-20 pounds. He's 6'4" and weighed 174 at the time. Now, six months later, he's around 190.

As for the protein shakes, our pediatrician strongly advised against them when we inquired about him gaining weight. According to her, drinking them too much can lead to kidney problems.

quote:

Originally posted by lhprhp:
As for the protein shakes, our pediatrician strongly advised against them when we inquired about him gaining weight. According to her, drinking them too much can lead to kidney problems.

Correct, I am on son's case regarding that, kidney problems can lead to HBP.
The problem is they consme tons of protein and then supplement with protein drinks, too, can just be too much.

Take a look at the amount of grams of protein in them.

Years ago I wanted to try to gain weight to play football. I succeeded in gaining a lot of muscle fairly quickly, although in hindsight, some of it might have been "due" to be added anyway.

I followed a lifting program out of Strength and Health magazine, which seemed to help a lot (20% gain in 4 months--age 15 1/2). The basic principle was that if you wanted a bigger body, you had to grow the big muscle groups: legs and butt, back, and chest. While working on those, everything else would come along for the ride. You can only gain so much in your triceps, biceps or calfs, for example.

At the same time, you need the right nutritional inputs, and plenty of calories. You really have to eat more than you feel like eating if you want to push it. To me, the easiest way to do this is to add extra milk at each meal. Protein powders are ok, but currently there are body builders who think that milk is the cheapest and most convenient protein supplement.

Keep in mind that you body can only synthesize muscle at a reasonable rate. Anyone who gains five pounds in a week didn't really gain five pounds of tissue. The key is to work steadily at building muscles, and to take rest days in between so that your body can regenerate. You need a program scheduled over at least 10 weeks to begin to see results.

Time

I've always had the opposite issue - always have had a few more pounds than I'd like (aesthetically), I tend to blame genetics. Either way though, I suggest trying to get Junior interested if at all possible. I have spent countless hours researching weight lifting, nutrition, supplementation, etc. I've found that the best resources tend to be bodybuilding forums. These guys make knowing the science a priority because of the nature of their hobby/sport and can really address the specific types of questions that come up. Wouldn't suggest that for the young guys though, occasionally you'll stumble upon some unsavory language or subject matter. Either way, google is a great resource.

Simply put, it's math. You need to take in more calories than you expend. For muscle growth, you also need to stimulate muscle growth via weight lifting. Weight lifting will increase calorie expenditure though, so you may need to add more calories than the simple math suggests. A key determinant of whether the added mass is lean (muscle) or fat is how the diet is composed. Muscle isn't built with carbs and fats, as important as those components are to the diet (don't get me started on zero carb diets). Adding protein dense foods (milk, eggs, non-soy protein powders/supplements) to increase the calorie intake is a good way to make sure your son's diet is conducive to muscle gain. Lean body mass increases slowly so don't think that a 10,000 calorie a day diet will result in 5 pounds per week of muscle gain or something unbelievable like that. There are no shortcuts. A simple way to gain (or lose) weight is to add (or subtract in the prior case) 500 calories per day to the diet. In a week, this adds to 3,500 calories which is equal to a pound. A pound per week would be extraordinary gain if it is lean. If the scale doesn't reflect the dietary change after a week or two, just tweak son's diet. We can guess at a person's daily calorie expenditure but it is an inexact science, especially at the younger age.

The only way to gain faster is if son is on the hormone surge of puberty. This is literally just like being on steroids and that will explain abnormally fast metabolisms and quick muscle gains.

Thanks to everyone for their input! Keep the ideas coming...

We've started adding a couple of shakes daily, with a packet of carnation instant breakfast added in..

I really don't think we'll make a whole lot of progress until basketball is done, the second week of Feb.

All the boys in his grade seem to have grown so differently (puberty). Some of the boys grew early and were done last year. My son has been kind of a slow and steady grower.. I was kind of razzing him last Jan (1 year ago) because he finally had 2 tiny underarm hairs (lol, he'd be so mad if he saw this).

His face still looks like that of a "boy", I don't know how tall he will end up..I'm 5'7" and DH is 6'. My dad and brother were fairly tall, both at 6'3".

He will start back on his pitcher's lifting program when basketball is done..

I know he's sick of me saying "eat something"...