Training & Nutrition - I Need To Gain Weight

I’ve had a rigorous training and racing season that is now coming to an end (I do hope to extend it with a bit of Cyclocross racing).

I’ve lost a lot of weight. I don’t say this in a good way. I’ve always been thin, but this year I lost about 10% of my total body weight and my body mass is in the low 5’s. I don’t usually fluctuate more than a pound or two and my weight has been very consistent for 30 years, no matter what I eat. 10% is a lot for me.

My wife says I am too thin. Co-workers have asked me if I was loosing weight and did I feel okay?

I went to the doctor just to make sure and he said I was fine. When I told him about my riding schedule he understood why. He said I was thin in an athletic way, proper for what I have been doing all summer.

I try (and often succeed) in watching my diet. I try not to eat too much junk.

Which brings me to my question. I’ve got to put some weight back on but I want to do it in a healthy way. I don’t want to eat Chuck’s Bar Be Que every night (well, I do, but you know what I mean). And I’m not too interested in eating more protein powder than I already do. I want to eat real food if possible.

I plan on staying as active as possible in the fall and winter, so I’m still going to burn my fair share of calories, but I need to bulk up in the best possible way.

Any advice for me?

Do you know how many calories you burn in a day vs. how many you consume?

Do you lift weights, or have you thought of adding a weightlifting programme to your regimen?

If you want to gain you have to take in more than you burn. Five or six meals a day. Lots of pasta, chicken, fish, steak once or twice a week. Maybe ad a weight lifting program to your routine.
An Example
Meal 1 big bowl of oatmeal, fruit, glass milk.
Meal 2 Protien shake
Meal 3 big turkey sandwich, salad, piece of fruit
Meal 4 sport bar, yogurt cup
Meal 5 Big chicken breast, or fish, or steak. Baked potato, or sweet potato or pasta, vegies, salad
Meal 6 Protein shake before bed, or maybe a Met Rx shake, something with more carbs.
This is just an example, substitute food to your taste, If you find our gaining fat, cut back a little.

Eat more, ride the same, lift more. Muscle weighs more than fat and looks better to boot.

Don't worry too much about protein powder and whatnot, with the metabolism you seem to have you'll be able handle eating protein in a tastier fashion without getting fat.

Ice cream and mashed potatoes always worked for me. ;)

Actually, you may want to lay off of the endurance activities and push more for high intensity and weight lifting coupled with eating every 2 hours. There is nothing wrong with low body fat, but you have to couple that with some muscle.

I would also do a food diary for a week. You may be eating food that is bulky but has low nutritional value or calories. Try to eat nutritionally dense foods.

Low glycemic index foods tend to keep one full for longer than high glycemic index foods. You may want to switch over to eating more high glycemic index foods to stimulate your appetite.