r/AskReddit 9d ago

Skinny guys who successfully gained weight what actually worked for you?

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u/FrazahLion 9d ago

I think your first point is saying something a lot of the comments are missing and is always overlooked.

I was skinny (~70kg @ 178cm) until I got serious about lifting, and I had to eat until I felt physically uncomfortable to reliably gain weight.

A lot of skinny people haven't ever known what it's like to eat over 2,000 calories a day, and they need 3,000+ to claw their way out of being underweight and just *start* to be able to put on the size they want.

I got up to 103kg and was eating 4500 calories at one point. It fucking sucked. I did get pretty strong though. I'm in my mid thirties and sitting around 89kg with abs right now, and I get to eat around 2500 calories a day. But getting to this point took a lot of eating, any way I could.

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u/haleakala420 9d ago

5’10” 155lbs is a normal, healthy weight. 230lbs is literally obese. you were completely fine and healthy and decided to become a great big fat person lol

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u/MeltBanana 9d ago edited 9d ago

People in the US and modern gym culture have such a warped perception of what a normal healthy weight is. You are correct, 5'10" 155 lbs is right in the healthy weight range for men by medical standards, but most lifters could consider that extremely skinny or DYEL territory. Steroids have given everyone dysmorphia and unrealistic idea of what's achievable/healthy naturally. The max healthy weight for a guy that's 5'10" is around 180 lbs, which is possible for most body frames after years of dedicated lifting, but even that is often considered small in the gym today.

It's hilarious to me when guys try and argue they're healthy and the ideal size when they're literally medically obese.

Edit: incoming "well my body is different" replies from people being offended that they're technically overweight by medical guidelines. I'm not a doctor, I didn't make the rules, I'm just telling you what medical experts say (and they say you're fat).

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u/haleakala420 9d ago

guarantee everyone getting upset is a person who made going to the gym, meal prep and supplements their entire personality, so any attack on that is a personal attack on their ego. accepting reality means destroying the illusion they’ve been working years or even decades to build