[Forum] HELP: I Need to Gain Weight
Hello everyone,
I am a 23-year old female college student who needs to gain weight. I’ve found this very difficult to do because the focus in the media and in the literature is mainly on losing weight, so I haven’t found very many resources to help me.
Currently I am 5 feet 5 inches and weigh 115 pounds. I saw somewhere online that on average, females who are 5 feet tall should weight around 105 pounds, and then an extra 5 pounds for every inch gained in height after 5 feet. I don’t know how accurate this is, but this would mean that I should weigh 130 pounds. When I was in high school, I was around 125 pounds, and that was the heaviest that I have ever been.
I am by no means unhealthy. I hardly ever get sick and when I do, it’s usually just a cold and it clears up right away. My menstruation cycle is normal, but it used to be really off balance. Interestingly though, it was off balance when I weighed more. I eat a lot of vegetables and carbohydrate sources such as pasta and whole grains from cereal and bread. I am not a big fan of red meat, so my protein comes mainly from fish and slightly less from chicken (fish is easier to cook and I like it better).
I’m also a runner, so I get adequate exercise. I’ve actually cut down on my running since I’ve noticed my weight loss. Before, I would run 6 days a week, 4-5 miles a day. Now, I run only 4 days a week, about 3 miles a day. My pace is pretty moderate, about 8 minutes per mile, so I wouldn’t say that I’m working out excessively. I’ve also been trying to reduce how much I move around in general so I burn less calories.
Unfortunately though, I’ve found this difficult to do. My car just broke down so I’ve been walking everyday to and from campus, which is about 1.5 miles each way. And to make it worse, I live at the bottom of a hill and campus is at the top of the hill. I have no problem walking, I would just prefer not to because I’d rather keep those calories that I’m burning.
So that’s my story. I’d like to be around 125 pounds, back to where I was when I was in high school. Like I said, I’m generally pretty healthy but I just don’t think I’m at the proper weight for my height. I recently bought a suit for an interview and the pants were a size 0 and the jacket and shirt were XS, and it just didn’t look right. To put it bluntly, I just feel really scrawny and I’d really like to fit right in my clothes and not look like somebody could easily snap me in half. My friends think this is hilarious and they keep telling me to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner everyday at McDonald’s, which I’m sure would do the trick but my goal is not to have a heart attack.
So, does anyone have any suggestions? What can I do to gain weight in a healthy way? Any advice would be much appreciated.
