Help with weight...

I've begun with lifting 5-8 lbs and doing 10-15 reps, 3 times, every other day.
I try to take walks every other day and do crunches as well. Is this enough to
build muscle or should I be doing more?

I still don't know how much I should eat. At only 5'7 and 110 lbs, it shouldn't
take much to gain weight but it seems my body is constantly craving food. I
only want to gain the 1-2 lbs per week so that most of the weight gained is
healthy. What do you think is the minimum-maximum calorie range for someone
like me? I've been averaging about 1900-2000 a day but that's not enough,
because I'm still hungry. The first week ends tomorrow and it doesn't look like
I've gained anything yet, maybe half a pound (the scale isn't digital, so it's
not as easy to tell). Should I be eating 2300-2500 calories? Maybe I should
just aim for 2 lbs per week instead of 1?

My typical day includes fruit and veggies (though probably not enough veggies),
(usually) complex carbs, a fair amount of cheese, protein sources like one
serving of meat, tuna or peanut butter, and usually one sweet.



sara

hello teacher tell me what's my lesson,
look right through me, look right through me.

On 23 Dec 2004 06:44:42 GMT, ostpile (Sarandipidy)
wrote:

I've begun with lifting 5-8 lbs and doing 10-15 reps, 3 times, every other day.
I try to take walks every other day and do crunches as well. Is this enough to
build muscle or should I be doing more?

What you need to do is lift sufficient weight that it's challenging to
complete the 3 sets of 10-15 reps. By challenging, I mean you may
have trouble doing the 10 reps by the last set. The amount of weight
it will take to challenge you will differ based on the type of
exericse you're doing. And it will increase over time. You build
muscle by stressing the muscle. Every other day is a good schedule.

I still don't know how much I should eat. At only 5'7 and 110 lbs, it shouldn't
take much to gain weight but it seems my body is constantly craving food. I
only want to gain the 1-2 lbs per week so that most of the weight gained is
healthy. What do you think is the minimum-maximum calorie range for someone
like me? I've been averaging about 1900-2000 a day but that's not enough,
because I'm still hungry. The first week ends tomorrow and it doesn't look like
I've gained anything yet, maybe half a pound (the scale isn't digital, so it's
not as easy to tell). Should I be eating 2300-2500 calories? Maybe I should
just aim for 2 lbs per week instead of 1?

My recommendation would be to eat as much as you want, sticking
primarily to healthy foods. The reason for counting calories at this
point would be not to limit them but to understand how much you're
eating so you can determine the cause-and-effect relationship between
your consumption and your weight. Don't eat to the point of
discomfort, but don't ever go hungry. Eat frequent meals.

Two pounds per week would be a fairly high rate of weight gain at your
body weight. As long as the trend is upward, I wouldn't worry too
much about a specific goal rate.

My typical day includes fruit and veggies (though probably not enough veggies),
(usually) complex carbs, a fair amount of cheese, protein sources like one
serving of meat, tuna or peanut butter, and usually one sweet.

You're only eating one protein serving a day? Why is that? Unless
you have some health reason that limits your protein intake, you
should try to have some protein at every meal -- a minimum of three
servings a day. Other than that, your diet sounds good. Nuts would
be an excellent addition, if you're not now eating them. Also eggs.
Protein, among other things, will help you build muscle. (Actually,
the cheese is a protein source too.) You might consider supplementing
with protein shakes; many of them are packed with other good nutrients
that will help you add muscle to your body rather than just fat.
(Though you do need to add some fat too. And don't be afraid of fat
in your diet, by the way.)

Chris

In article ,
ostpile (Sarandipidy) wrote:

I've begun with lifting 5-8 lbs and doing 10-15 reps, 3 times, every
other day.
I try to take walks every other day and do crunches as well. Is this
enough to
build muscle or should I be doing more?


http://www.stumptuous.com/weights.html

All you need to know to get started.

Amy

You're only eating one protein serving a day?

No, I meant one serving at a time. Like for dinner, if I had meat, it would be
3-4 oz. I'm trying to keep my meals normal-sized and just eat more of them.

(Though you do need to add some fat too. And don't be afraid of fat
in your diet, by the way.)

I do tend to like certain foods to be low fat (cottage cheese, yogurt, milk,
beef), but I'm not afraid of fat. PB and olive oil should be good. I have Cabot
75% light cheddar in the fridge, but when it runs out I might just buy a full
fat version because I like it more. Last night I also ate 1/2 a cheese calzone
for dinner at my boyfriend's house, and I'm planning on finishing the other
half for dinner tonight, so that should be sufficient fat.

Do you consider any foods to be "bad"? For example, pizza (and my calzone) tend
to be high in fat, but it's really just cheese and bread-- doesn't seem too
unhealthy in acceptable portion sizes (like my 1/2 calzone), though it might be
detrimental for those trying to *lose* weight. These foods can be especially
good if you make them at home, because you can control portions and ingredients
better. On the other hand, you have foods like Cheetos, fried potato chips or
french fries, and candy bars, which never seem to be "good" in any situation
because they offer so little in comparison to their negative qualities. Would
you agree?

sara

hello teacher tell me what's my lesson,
look right through me, look right through me.

my AOL keeps signing me off so I can't respond directly to your posts...

I am attaching an article about volunteers
who starved themselves and what happened to them after they were
allowed to eat all they want.

Thanks for the article. I wouldn't say that my reaction was as intense, but
I've definitely had more mood swings, been more fatigued, and been more
preoccupied with food since I've lost the weight. I'll notice when I get very
hungry, which usually happens about 3-4 hours after eating, I feel sick. Last
night, for example, I forgot to bring my protein bar out with my friends, and
around 11:30-12 (4 hours after dinner) I felt awful. When I got home around
12:30 I felt nauseous, achy, and almost a little shaky, and then made a PB and
jelly sandwich as quickly as possible. An hour later, I ate tuna salad, and
then another hour later I had a bowl of cereal, bringing the total to 2315 when
I'm usually satisfied with 2000-2100. I definitely cannot forget my energy bar
or snack again because it seems that if I don't eat every 3-3.5 hours then my
body reacts very strongly. I don't want to have to resort to Taco Bell or
Wendy's out of desperation when we're out, which I've already done once-- 2
regular tacos, which tasted pretty good I might add, for 79 cents each.

You already demonstrated remarkable willpower, and common sense (by
deciding to gain a little bit), I would suggest to use it now to limit
your rate of weight gain in order to gain more muscle.


I've been trying to figure out how much my maintenace is. At little or no
exercise I think it would be about 1650, but I think I could consider myself
"lightly active"-- don't you think? I cook, clean, walk, shop, etc. At lightly
active it says I would be 1750-1850. So maybe instead of 2000 per day I'll try
2200 if I *still* have not gained anything noticable by Saturday.

sara

hello teacher tell me what's my lesson,
look right through me, look right through me.

http://www.stumptuous.com/weights.html

All you need to know to get started.

Amy

Thanks.

sara

hello teacher tell me what's my lesson,
look right through me, look right through me.

In article , Sarandipidy
wrote:

You're only eating one protein serving a day?

No, I meant one serving at a time. Like for dinner, if I had meat, it would be
3-4 oz. I'm trying to keep my meals normal-sized and just eat more of them.

(Though you do need to add some fat too. And don't be afraid of fat
in your diet, by the way.)

I do tend to like certain foods to be low fat (cottage cheese, yogurt, milk,
beef), but I'm not afraid of fat. PB and olive oil should be good. I have
Cabot
75% light cheddar in the fridge, but when it runs out I might just buy a full
fat version because I like it more. Last night I also ate 1/2 a cheese calzone
for dinner at my boyfriend's house, and I'm planning on finishing the other
half for dinner tonight, so that should be sufficient fat.

Sara you will like the following snack. Roll in a slice of low fat
Swiss shees, one slice Prosciutto, one roated red pepper slice, a litle
Dijon mustard and a drop of honey.

--
Diva
******
There is no substitute for the right food

Can you do it experimentally? Record all you eat for a month and see
how much your weight changes. You can figure it out from that.

That's sort of what I'm trying to do. Weigh in officially every week, though,
to maybe find out a little before a whole month has passed. It's so hard at
first because weight always fluctuates by 1 or 2 lbs anyway. Before I ate, I
was 110; after I eat, I'm 111. I just try to check it in the morning I guess.

I would guess that you would be closer to the lower end of your
calorie range, due to your remarkable weight loss

I was thinking so as well. So I thought 2000-2100 should be enough for 1lb per
week. I guess I'll find out soon. Maybe .5 lb per week is best, anyway, but
honestly-- I just *feel* strange in my body, it feels so skinny, so it gets
tempting to speed it up.


You may also be interested that anorexics have a much lower risk of
breast cancer.

Thanks, but you know I wasn't actually anorexic, right? I wasn't obsessed with
being model thin and eating too little. I just didn't know how much weight I
had lost and thought 1300-1500 would be enough calories for me to maintain, not
lose. And that's partially the reason why I thought I might need more to gain,
because I was still losing at least 1 lb per week eating 1300-1400, not 800 or
something super low.

sara

hello teacher tell me what's my lesson,
look right through me, look right through me.

Sara you will like the following snack. Roll in a slice of low fat
Swiss shees, one slice Prosciutto, one roated red pepper slice, a litle
Dijon mustard and a drop of honey.


That does sound really good. I just had prosciutto for lunch, actually:
ciabatta bread w/ fresh mozzarella, roasted red pepper, and prosciutto. And
blueberries on the side.

sara

hello teacher tell me what's my lesson,
look right through me, look right through me.

Sara you will like the following snack. Roll in a slice of low fat
Swiss shees, one slice Prosciutto, one roated red pepper slice, a litle
Dijon mustard and a drop of honey.


That does sound really good. I just had prosciutto for lunch, actually:
ciabatta bread w/ fresh mozzarella, roasted red pepper, and prosciutto. And
blueberries on the side.

sara

hello teacher tell me what's my lesson,
look right through me, look right through me.