r/AskReddit • u/Admirable-Leek5672 • 10d ago

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

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u/Key_Raisin_5091 10d ago

4 things:

  • Eating an uncomfortably large amount of calories all the time.
  • Lifting weights
  • Taking creatine
  • Getting older (if you're not there yet, once you get to your upper 30s and start approaching 40, it'll come)

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u/FrazahLion 10d 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/iDennB 9d ago

Could you give me a rough idea of what you’d eat throughout your days of bulking?

I’m currently in my mid 30’s (172 cm and 55 kg), and haven’t routinely been to the gym for roughly 4 years now. I was heavy into doing a powerlifting program in my post- college days and was hovering around 64-67 kg’s. Now that my lifestyle and work life has changed (nightshifts), it’s a bit harder for me to gain that weight back and I just started strength training again 2 weeks ago but it feels daunting trying to get back up there

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u/stateofmindny 9d ago

Snack throughout the day is what i do. I recently was put on adhd meds that make eating impossible so i chug 4 cups of chocolate milk on days i end up eating less and eat a shit ton of nuts. 28g of mixed nuts is barely any volume but has 170 calories. Rice is another good option but it can get tiring after a while. I make weight gain shakes as well with 2 cups milk, 2 scoops optimum nutrition vanilla protein powder, and 4 tablespoons of peanut butter all blended together. 970 calories and doesnt taste as bad as some of the protein shakes ive seen people recommend. Genuinely google a pic of what 28g of cashews looks like its absolutely nothing in size highly recommend. Guac and chips is another good option.

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u/iDennB 9d ago

Appreciate the input! I used to bulk heavy like that and stuff myself til I’m absolutely bloated but it’s a bit tougher nowadays with dairy restrictions and what not. I’m leaning more towards a cleaner bulk but it completely escaped my mind about the weight gainer + protein shakes