Hey y’all, my gf and I started our exploration into weight gain a couple months ago, but we haven’t made much progress. She has a super high metabolism (one of the reasons she wanted to gain in the first place) and a low appetite. I was wondering if y’all knew of any appetite stimulants or metabolism inhibitors. Something along those lines. Any reccs would be greatly appreciated!
Out of concern that anything recommended to you might be snake oil or worse, I’d like to offer you some pretty flaccid advice first. Weight gain is a calculation of calories in, calories out. While it’s possible that the impediment you are noticing are the effects of her high metabolism, that can be counteracted with lifestyle changes - and it will require lifestyle changes, namely that which will increase your calorie intake per day. Before you try substances that upset your body’s balance, consider a number of other approaches.
-
Consider our bodies’ natural weight regulation system as described by set point theory. Bottom line is your body tries to maintain its current weight. There is a bit of a hill to climb when you start gaining weight. That may be the reason you haven’t made much progress. It may also be because you are expecting to gain too much weight too quickly. Naturally, I advise against that! If you aren’t enjoying the journey then this ride isn’t worth staying on.
-
Also consider the types of calories you are consuming: fats, carbs, and protein. You can put down loads more carbs than fats. The reason for this is biochemical: it takes longer to digest fats, so your body releases a hormone to simulate the feelings of fullness before your stomach is full. Eating a lot - not just to the feeling of fullness but to the point your stomach is stretched - will give you a slightly larger stomach capacity for future meals. Fats have more calories but they are going to be harder to binge on. At the same time, you don’t want to overeat carbs because of sugar’s degenerative impact on the body at large quantities over long periods of time. My advice here is to get more than your daily value’s worth but not specifically via milkshakes and candy, if you know what I mean. Those are fine once in a while but mainly eat real food. You still want a varied diet while gaining.
-
Instead of relegating those lifestyle changes to just meals, consider snacking in-between meals. This is how most people gain weight. If her low appetite is inhibiting her, this is an especially effective way to mitigate it and promote lifestyle changes which can support a hungrier and bigger person. Granola bars, salads with dressing, chips & dip (even hummus), etc.
Some people don’t like it when people do this in real life for obvious reasons. I don’t feel comfortable offering you chemical alternatives to something that can be done without it and which already carries risks. I will still support you with what I feel is the healthier alternative. For now I save my two cents, and invest it! Maybe some day it will be ten cents!
2 Likes
Hey dude thanks for the in-depth reply, this was actually really helpful and my gf and I appreciate it a lot. Over the last month or so, we’ve implemented a few of your recommendations already, and while she’s definitely improving, she’s a bit impatient about the process. I was mainly wondering if any of those snake-oil products that advertise as “will boost your appetite”, “bigger curves”, etc has any merit, and I was curious as to whether or not anyone in the community had experience or success using any of these. As her feeder, her health is one of my main concerns, and I don’t believe in ‘miracle’ products. That being said, both she and I are interested to know if there are any actual products that sort of speed things along so to speak.
1 Like
Well here is a website that might help: Calorie Calculator
This can help to gauge how many calories needed to gain at a safe rate, along with a few other calculations that may or may not be helpful (though I will advise it isn’t perfect; every person is different and the calculation doesn’t take into every single activity per day, one day out of a week may have no activity while the rest is moderate exercise yet it can’t really determine the exact calories needed for it).
1 Like