Weight?

Question
Well thank you :) I appreciate your help. I'll check out your site. Yes Im gonna make dr appt this week to check hyperthyroidism/physical too. Do you know if any of those high calories protein shakes are any good that are sold at GNC? I have been using Ensure, someone said to drink that 4 times a day :).. But, thank you, you been very informative and helpful. Thats cool about your friend in Navy; I'm trying gain to begin with then have meet requirement for the Army weight. Thanks
Tiffany

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Followup To
Question -
Age: 22
Gender: F
Height: 5'2
Weight: 75 pds

Hello I'm female/always been thin my whole life and petite. I have super fast metabolism (maybe hyperthyroidism) just need get checked to see if might be why cant gain but then again I have not been getting 1000 calories a day (which u need or more to gain?). I'm needing to gain 10 pounds, my recruiter said. Since, considering joining
the Army in couple of months. He recommended me some foods then about weight training? Do you have any suggestions for me? Thanks so much
Answer -
Yes, you need a hands on physical exam by a medical professional who can do a blood panel, including a 'sensitive' TSH (thyroid panel) - if this is hyperthyroidism (or any of a number of other conditions) it can be treated and should be - right now.  
  In order to gain one lb of HEALTHY weight, you need to increase your calorie intake to over 2,000 a day! This doesn't mean to just pack on fat (with unhealthy, high calorie foods), but increased servings of whole grains/cereals, peanut butter, legumes (nuts, beans), high density fruits like bananas, avocados (but no more than 2-3 avocados a week), papayas/mangoes, - plus lean meats (ideally poultry and fish as opposed to red meats), vegetables like broccoli, asparagus, collard/mustard greens, spinach, and other dark green veggies.
  Weight training will hopefully add muscle mass and that's like packing on bars of steel in that it's high density weight rather than fat.  Remember, 5 lbs of nails takes up less space than 5 lbs of feathers.

Check my site for food intake suggestions (click the pyramid you'll see there - it's for nearly every ethnic background there is).  Let me know how you do.  
 (By the way, I have a lifelong friend who was your same height/weight when she joined the Navy. She's retiring in a few weeks and while her height never changed, her weight is about 115 these days and it's probably all muscle!).

www.geocities.com/thereverend1investigates/  

Answer
Those supplement shakes are generally used for the elderly and infirm who, for whatever reasons, aren't able to eat enough calories in a regular diet. Sometimes, people on chemotherapy develop severe mouth sores and these supplements are among the few ways they can keep their calories up in recovery.
 With that said, if you like the shake idea, make your own! Use low fat milk (or better yet, any of the Soy 'milk' products out there or even yogurt) - put in a blender with a banana, handful of any other fruit, a couple ice cubes, sprinkle nutmeg or cinnamon, add a dash of vanilla (be creative, add what you like) and there ya go! Even a couple spoons of sugar or Splenda is ok.  Have this with a breakfast of oatmeal (one or two of those packets of flavored oatmeal) or cup of ANY 'whole grain', low fat, low sugar cereal and you're improving your health AND likely your weight greatly!
 Drink them throughout the day - just remember, stay imaginative so you don't get bored with them.  I particularly like strawberry soy 'milk', 5 ice cubes, a banana, 1 tblsp of Splenda, a capful of vanilla and when in season, fresh strawberries to eat with it.
 Well, no matter what, stick with the doctor's appt. and if you would, I'd like to know how you do.
 Good luck again and many blessings for you and whatever path you choose.  

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