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Trig
06-21-2006, 05:11 AM
Hi, I am new here and first of all I would like to say hi to everyone who posts here regularly. You seem friendly and this section of the forum seems relatively quiet, so I'll throw a more personally related question your way.

I am 24 years old Male, 150-160lbs at about 170cm.

I must admit, I am skinny. I can't deny it, whilst others say its not a problem, it is for me.
I get people telling me that I am lucky that I can eat whatever I want and not gain much weight. But for me, I want to be more average than you think. I dont like being the skinny guy anymore, and its been such a severe impact on my social life and career.

If I cant be happy with myself, what can I be happy with?

I have made many loose attempts at trying to fix things, the lack of progress however always makes me depressed.

What do i eat?

I start the day around 9am with say some Weetabix, usually 3 or 4 with some milk, at 11am I eat some fruit, say an apple. Then for lunch (between 12-2) i eat a sandwich, say cheese, tomato and lettuce.
By 4pm I am hungry again, i usually start cooking, but delay the hunger with some toasted ciabatta or something similar and maybe some more fruit.
Then i usually eat a small amount of meat, with lots of vegetables and rice or pasta.
By 11pm i am hungry again so i eat maybe some cheese on toast (i'm aware it gives you dreams but i like dreaming ;))

OK, to me this doesn't seem that bad. Compared to all the junk food the other guys in this house eat, its very balanced.

But they are all average build and I am skinny?!

The one thing I have noticed that is consistent throughout my life is the fact I dont drink alot of fluids. I barely drink 2 pints of water a day, any more is a concious effort and its certainly not habitual.

Could this be it? Not enough water? Could that cause me trouble gaining weight?

I have visited my GP but he said theres nothing wrong with me and blood tests ended up fine. I said but I find it hard to gain weight, and he put it down to the fact that I smoke cigarettes.

Can smoking really be doing this much?? Please try to give an unbiased response cause I know alot of people despise us smokers.

Sorry for all the questions, just when you have had the same problem with your self image for 7-8 years it really starts to take its toll on your mind!

If you get time, thanks.

PamE
06-21-2006, 10:28 AM
Welcome to the IB! :)

I agree with your doc, smoking can do it. My mom smoked for years and was all of 98 pounds. She's gained (I won't say how much! :lol: ) and now isn't happy with that! So... if you do quit smoking you probably won't have any trouble gaining the weight.

vea29
06-21-2006, 10:39 AM
Welcome to the IB! :)

I agree with your doc, smoking can do it. My mom smoked for years and was all of 98 pounds. She's gained (I won't say how much! :lol: ) and now isn't happy with that! So... if you do quit smoking you probably won't have any trouble gaining the weight.
I Welcome....It may sound funny but I agree....although you eand and are hungry....you sound very health consious (which is good)....but my family has also be big smokers most my life and when they quiet their taste buds just seemed to wake up.

Also you may go to a helth food store....when my mom had Cancer they put her on these hi caloric milk shakes. That were heather then regular stuff.

Also try some weight lifting...bulk up on the muscle rather then the weight.
edited to add more: Just thought of something try health carb snacks (granola) rather then the fruit! Apples etc. are very fiberes. But dont cut the fruit out completly.
Good luck!

BevJ
06-21-2006, 10:55 AM
First of all, I don't think 5' 7" and 150-160 pounds is too skinny. My dh is about the same height and only weighs about 145 soaking wet. However, since you feel you are too skinny, quitting smoking may help, but only if you substitute the cigarette with food (in other words, something to stick in your mouth). If that is the case, please choose healthy foods. And by all means, seek the help of a professional nutritionist or doctor. Good luck!!!

AnnW
06-21-2006, 02:15 PM
Your doctor is correct. Smoking revs up your metabolism big time because nicotine is a stimulant. If you want to gain weight, quitting smoking will do it even if you don't change your eating patterns.

BevJ
06-21-2006, 02:27 PM
Your doctor is correct. Smoking revs up your metabolism big time because nicotine is a stimulant. If you want to gain weight, quitting smoking will do it even if you don't change your eating patterns.
wow...I did not know that. Didn't work for me back in the day :(

Silly me, I believe everything I see on t.v., lol. I was watching Celebrity Fit on the weekend (fat celebrities trying to lose weight). One large gentleman quit smoking on the show and he was worried that he'd start gaining instead of losing. The nutritionist (I believe) said that if smoking kept you from gaining weight, how did he get so big in the first place?

AnnW
06-21-2006, 03:20 PM
wow...I did not know that. Didn't work for me back in the day :(

Silly me, I believe everything I see on t.v., lol. I was watching Celebrity Fit on the weekend (fat celebrities trying to lose weight). One large gentleman quit smoking on the show and he was worried that he'd start gaining instead of losing. The nutritionist (I believe) said that if smoking kept you from gaining weight, how did he get so big in the first place?


It's speeds up your metabolism, but you can't just think 'oh, i smoke so i can eat anything i want'. LOL also lots of smokers will smoke a cigarette if they are hungry instead of eating so that keeps the weight down. that's another reason why ex smoker gain weight when they quit smoking is they are substituting an oral fixation.

Trig
06-22-2006, 02:02 AM
Thanks for all your advice. It just seems to be the only constant. Now the big task is to quit smoking!

I have tried quitting smoking before and it didnt seem that hard to go without. I only get really bad urges when i'm drinking alcohol or sometimes when i'm trying to sleep.

In fact its usually quite bad when im trying to sleep. In the past I have given in, smoked a cig before bed then woken up with the craving for yet more nicotine.

I had patches in the past that worked well. But I found they made my skin get irritated as I would keep scratching it to get more nicotine out of the patch! ;)

It is true what you say though. I have literally just lit up again instead of making a snack.

So the next step is, disassociating myself with cigarettes. I dont smoke that many, only say 10 per day.
I'll let you know how I progress, and once again, thanks for the advice, its nice to hear other people have noticed a change. These days I find it hard to tell the difference between truth and urban myths!

Diane
06-22-2006, 07:19 AM
Good luck... :)

vea29
06-22-2006, 08:23 AM
Good luck with the quiting! My Mother wound eat those large pretzle Rods when she tried quiting....Help with the need for something in your hand and mouth...LOL