regarding weight gain

Question
I am a boy of 18 having a height of 6ft. and weight 62kgs. I have been quite skinny since I reached the age of 12yrs. Now I want to gain weight but unfortunately all my efforts are going in vain.  I exercised for nearly 2 months and tried to eat a lot but i ma not able to gain weight. I think my body's digestive system is quite weak and it throws out most of the things i consume. Now i have lost all hopes of becoming buffed up. Also since i am an eggetarian, i think its more difficult for me to gain weight as compared to non vegetarians. Can you plz suggest me what to do to gain weight? any exercising schedule or any diet plan? anything would b helpful. plz help

Answer
Hello Rohan,

You have a common issue for young men your age. You burn a lot of calories being young, male, and tall, and it can be difficult to consume enough to gain weight, let alone just to maintain the weight you have!

Being vegetarian you probably consume very nutrient-dense foods; they are nutritious, but also not high in calories.

Think about what you eat that contains fat, as fats have twice the calories of other foods: Nuts, oils, creams, dressings, and dairy. While it's not healthy to consume a high-fat diet, it can be helpful to consume a bit more than you do in order to increase your caloric intake.

Consider keeping a food diary: often, we don't really know what we eat; we just 'think' we eat a certain way. When you start writing down what you eat every day, you'll likely notice that you skip meals, or sometimes just eat very light most of the day. It can take lots of work, planning, and effort to assure you are eating enough every day to put on the weight you desire.

Exercising more often will burn MORE calories and keep you from gaining weight. So increasing exercise isn't what will help you reach your goal right now.

Finally, you say that there may be something wrong with your digestive system as it throws out most of the things you consume. You may very well have a digestive issue, and if you do, you cannot absorb all the calories you are eating. I would suggest a visit to a physician and describe to him your issues. See if you might notice what you ate a few hours before an episode of loose bowel movement. It could be an intolerance to the sugar in milk, or a difficulty digesting fat, or an issue with wheat... it's very difficult to tell without visiting a medical professional. The cure could be avoiding certain foods, or taking a medication to help with your digestion of these foods.

Keep working at it, but focus on eating healthy as well--and finding out if there is a medical issue. Chances are, if you talk to some older male relatives, they will recall a time when they couldn't gain weight no matter what, and they look back on that time now and wonder why it's so hard to LOSE weight once you get older!

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