Please share how you successfully gained weight. What did you do to prepare? What to eat, what kind strength training was involved? What is your regiment for a typical week? Did you exercise on your own or did you seek a personal trainer? Have you seen the results, if so, how long did it take? How hard is it to maintain it? Thank you.Any advice please from people who have struggled to put on weight (being an ectomorph)?
Classic ectomorph here. I started out at roughly 140 - 145 lbs at 5' 11'; (I'm male). Very very thin, all the time. And, getting teased and picked on for having the profile of a large straw.
That was 20 years ago. Now, I am roughly 185 - 190 lbs, still 5' 11';, and I'm actually leaner than I was then. I work as a personal trainer and kickboxing instructor; I am also a bodybuilder and powerlifter.
What did I do? Well, unlike others who have natural gifts for fitness, I had to be very smart about eating, training, and resting. Some people don't have to do much to look great; ectomorphs and mesomorphs, on the other hand, have to be extremely smart and take nothing for granted. My strategy consisted of -- figuring out how many calories I need to gain weight, finding the right training program for gaining weight, and doing lots of research on my own on weight gain for naturally skinny people.
There are actually many many people out there like us. However, THEY aren't the ones selling magazines on how to build muscle and gain weight. We often get info from people who never had that problem -- certainly not as severe as you and I.
My advice to you -- stop frustrating yourself by wading through endless literature on weight gaining programs. There is a lot of good info out there, but also just as much -- if not more -- useless info. If you have money saved, spend it on one or two sessions with a licensed dietician and a personal trainer. This combo, together, can give you the best advice on how much to eat, how to train, and all that goes in between. Again, you can't afford to play guessing games when it comes to this. If you do, you'll only frustrate yourself and put off your fitness goals for a LONG time.
My advice, as a certified personal trainer who has been where you are -- for now, do these three things:
1. Start a food journal. When you see a dietician, she/he will want to see this anyway. This is also good for you. You might be surprised to find out how little you are probably eating.
2. Figure out your BMR and your daily caloric needs. Chances are, your metabolism is astronomically high, so you will need to eat A LOT to gain weight. But, before you begin shoveling in the food and raising your food budget, figure out the numbers so you know exactly how much you need to eat. Generally, you will need to exceed your daily caloric needs by about 300 - 500 calories.
3. Start eating calorie dense foods like peanut butter and avocadoes. Add healthy oils to your meals when appropriate. You need extra calories.
That's it. Spend a lot of time doing these things until you can get those sessions with a trainer and a dietician. Don't frustrate yourself any longer. Be smart about what you need to do, then put it into practice. Any questions -- let me know.
Good luck!Any advice please from people who have struggled to put on weight (being an ectomorph)?
What I do is grab a can of your favorite beverage, a pizza, ice cream, and a bag of chips and sit on the couch all weekend and watch some FOOTBALL!!!!
i am just like you.
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Blood test first. I suggest you consult an endocrinologist to analyze your endocrine functions. Hyperactivity of the thyroid gland is one cause for a person to be ectomorphic.
You ask about gaining weight, then spend half a paragraph asking about training and exercise. Skip the exercise part and you'll gain weight. Works for millions of Americans!
Seriously though, see a doctor first. You might need metabolism managing drugs.
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