Tips for an underweight runner?

Question: How can you be eating 3 meals a day plus 2-3 snacks a day and only getting 2000 calories? That doesn't add up unless you're eating nothing but celery.

What's your current carbs/protein/fat ratio?

If you want to gain muscle, hit the weight room.

And how short is "short"? Under 5'?

Drink protein shakes and hit the weights.

Carbs: ranges from 120-150g a day

Protein: ranges from 100-150g a day

Fats: 100g a day

I'm around 4'11.

Lift weights at least 3x per week. Lift heavy weights for you. For the larger muscle exercises (ex squats, bench press) do a set of 10 easy to warm up, increase weight for 2 sets of 8-10 difficult, increase weight to 1 set of 4 to 6, increase weight to last set of 1-3. Move on to next exercise. For smaller exercises (arm curls) maybe focus on form and skip the last couple of lower rep sets.

Drink a protein shake after workouts, consider mixing in a cycle of creatine for a month or so.

Sabrina wrote:

Carbs: ranges from 120-150g a day

Protein: ranges from 100-150g a day

Fats: 100g a day

I'm around 4'11.

90 lbs is probably about right then in terms of healthiest weight at this point in time.

Another question: How old are you? If you're 12-13 then it's possible you might have a growth spurt that renders all this moot. If you're closer to 17-18 then it's likely you've maxed out on attaining height.

I should also point out that there are different ways of gaining strength from weight lifting. Doing more slow velocity low-rep max weight lifts will build the mitochondria (e.g. add bulk), while doing lifts with higher velocity high-rep and lower weight (e.g. dynamic lifting) will better develop neural firing synchronicity while adding less bulk.

You want to gain weight? Simple. EAT MORE! Thats it. 2000 calories is only 800 calories over the bare minimum recommended to get all the necessary vitamins and minerals.

Dont listen to all these people telling you to lift weights. All you're doing is burning more calories that you'll have to eat just to break even. It takes a lot of extra calories to build muscle.

People if she can't eat enough to sustain a healthy weight, how is she going to eat enough to put on muscle?!?

Just EAT!

ex phys wrote:

You want to gain weight? Simple. EAT MORE! Thats it. 2000 calories is only 800 calories over the bare minimum recommended to get all the necessary vitamins and minerals.

Dont listen to all these people telling you to lift weights. All you're doing is burning more calories that you'll have to eat just to break even. It takes a lot of extra calories to build muscle.

People if she can't eat enough to sustain a healthy weight, how is she going to eat enough to put on muscle?!?

Just EAT!

Precisely!! Consume more calories. If you can't eat more, then drink Ensure shakes. Packed full of vitamins and minerals and provides extra calories. You can even drink them in the night as they are small in volume.

You won't gain muscle unless you have a caloric surplus each day. To gain lean muscle mass a 1500 calorie daily surplus is needed. Unless you have this, you will not gain any muscle mass. And as the above poster noted, you will burn more calories.

There are many way of getting in more calories in a healthy way. Drink full fat milk/yoghurt/cheese. Eat nuts as they are high in good fat/protein.

I think it is more of a psychological issue. It's not that you 'can't' eat more, as you say you are stuck in a rut.

Are you getting your period? If you are, you're eating too much.

Creeper wrote:

Are you getting your period? If you are, you're eating too much.

1/10

peanuts butter sandwiches and chocolate milk