am i too skinny?

[jasoneubs]

hey all,

 

i just turned 17 years old a few weeks ago, but i still feel myself as being too small and i do get the occasional comment that i'm too skinny. i'm about 5 foot 9 to 5 foot 10 and weigh 135-140 pounds. i'm male too (i guess this is the most important detail).

 

i would like to gain a good 10 to 15 pounds to really look "solid/strong" but to no avail. i tried exercising a lot, but found out that that just made me lose weight. i then tried eating lots of food and calories but eating too much calories was a little unhealthy and too difficult for me. i went to the doctor and he said he didn't know why, maybe it was just due to genetics and that i would have to go see a different kind of doctor, and i might, but i felt like asking for advice here first to possibly save me time and energy. one of my friends told me that his dad told him that a lot of his friends used to be real skinny in high school but then started gaining lots of weight once they grew up and now they all have potbellies. is this really possible?

 

any advice?

[Art_Critic]

Don't do anything.. When I was 18 I graduated from highschool as 5'9 and 114 lbs

 

That is skinny.. I held my light weight and have slowly gained weight.. ( you do that the older you get )

I'm 42 about 145-150 lbs now.. Perfect weight/height ratio..

 

You are fine.. and your weight falls into the normal catagory and you will gain it as your get older all by yourself without doing anything.

[kitten chick]

Yeah, tell him how many calories you eat a day A_C

[jasoneubs]

actually i think im suppose to be around the 150 pound range. anyways, the only reason i'm concerned is because i think i've pretty much stopped puberty. i don't really want to wait until i'm 40 years old to have "normal" weight tho,

[kitten chick]

Depends on what your diet and exercise routine are. I'm assuming you're doing what you're supposed to do based on your doctor's reaction. People are genetically disposed to certain body types, this might be yours. There are other doctors/nutritionists/trainers you can consult before you give up. I don't think you're too skinny though

[Art_Critic]

Yeah, tell him how many calories you eat a day A_C

 

hahaha.. I average around 3000 and go upwards to 5000

 

Yesterday it was 5100 ...

 

I'm back on Dove Rich Dark Chocolate.. damn.. 2 weeks was all I could handle without

[Guest]

Men keep growing right up to their mid-twenties. Your energy is being used to grow you - do you know adolescent brains are still developing? Really, as you go into your twenties your metabolism will start to slow down. Keep eating healthy food; that's the important thing.

[KittenMoon]

Jason-

 

I wouldn't worry about it at this point. I knew a lot of skinny skinny guys in college when I first got there. Six years later most of them have filled out significantly. Just remember guys keep growing into their mid 20s.

 

If you want to start a good foundation for this you might want to look into weight lifting and some protein shakes.

[MattB]

yea don't worry about it. Last december I was 6' and 140 lbs. I started training and through working out 10 hours a week (running, riding, swimming and lifting) have jumped to a whopping 150 lbs. It's just your body type. So unless you are mal-nourished, just embrace it.

[electric_sheep]

I was 6' and 139 lbs. at one point when I was training for a marathon.

 

If you want to gain weight, you should drop all cardio and concentrate on weight lifting. You're going to have to start eating more too, and try to introduce more protein into your diet.

 

You sound a lot like me, and you have a hard time making yourself eat. I've had to train myself to snack more during the day, even if I'm not hungry. They sell weight gaining nutritional bars at GNC. I eat these ones called trioplex bars. I'm at 155 lbs. now.

 

Be thankful you don't have the opposite problem.

 

BTW, yes, it is entirely possible for skinny high school kids to grow up and have potbellies. Lots of my friends have them. I'm 35.

[gfto]

Fear not. The proper weightlifting and eating will do the trick. When I was your age, I was about 5'10", 130 pounds; obscenely skinny. When I was 23, I started lifting and eating more. Now, at 32, I'm 6'00", 190 (aiming for the elusive 200!). As for lifting, focus on the big compound exercises: deadlifts, squats, bench press, chin ups, and that sort of thing. These exercises recruit the most muscle. Don't worry too much about isolation exercises, such as dumbbell curls. Eat plenty of protein too! Good luck.

[Guest]

if you're below ur ideal wt, ask your doc to check you out for possible causes like hyperthyroidism, malabsorption, chronic infections, possibly endocrine causes if your secondary sexual characteristics aren't developing too, see a nutritionist. If all that is excluded, you just might be underweight due to genetic reasons

[1Gravity]

you're young. Be patient and eat well. Your body will be changing steadily for the next few years.