How I gained 10 pounds and started loving my body

EVERYONE wants to lose weight, but hardly anyone I know wants to gain, so it was a bit challenging even finding a routine online that would work for me. But ever since I was a teen I’d been too thin, and when childbirth didn’t add the expected pounds (in fact during my pregnancy I was put on Complan to gain weight!), I engaged in a programme of research and then trial and error to gain weight.

I started my programme at 105 pounds, and I am 5’6. I’ve always been lanky, and no matter what I had tried in the past, nothing worked. Being a mother and being so thin was a challenge, as I tired easily, and could barely lift important items like the car seat with my baby in it!

Only the birth control pill had plumped me up somewhat a few years ago, and at my heaviest on the pill I was 120 pounds. But I am now on another contraceptive method, and so I needed to gain weight naturally.

My research showed me that both exercise and diet were important for weight gain, especially as though I wanted to gain weight, I didn’t want a big belly or any flab. I wanted to be bigger, but also toned.

I started my plan the last week in February 2022, and my success has been steady, and I’m loving my body!

The results

By the end of the second week I was up six pounds, because I was consistent in eating regularly, watching what I ate and adding high-calorie condiments to my food, and ensuring that I ate often, even if it was just nibbling on peanuts.

Today I am 10 pounds heavier, now weighing 115 pounds at last check. I know I could have been heavier if I wasn’t exercising, but as I said, keeping toned is important to me.

I don’t really check the scale often because I don’t want my weight to become an obsession, but I can feel the difference in the way my clothes fit.

Weight gain isn’t something many people aspire to, but for some people, being too skinny is a genuine concern, and bulking up can be achieved without a lot of effort, and without adding things like expensive protein shakes. The key is to be consistent, enjoy your food, and don’t see the diet as a burden.

My programme:

1. The plan was to exercise each morning or evening — mostly cardio and light lifting. So I would run or swim, and was pretty consistent at this as I have always been into sports. I also play netball for my company, so I’m athletic.

2. One other thing I found that worked for me is that I’m not a heavy breakfast eater, but smoothies worked. Many mornings I would make oatmeal banana smoothies, and add some nuts or peanut butter, and they would be absolutely yummy.

If I was having toast, I would ensure I used butter or mayonnaise or crushed avocado, never just plain bread. Peanut butter is also a yummy addition to snacks, for example, even crackers and carrots can be spruced up with a dollop of peanut butter.

I also had boiled eggs with everything — stir frys, ramen, everything! And at the end of each day, before going to bed, I’d have a BOOST nutritional shake.

3. The diet part of the plan involved eating larger portions of the foods I would usually have, as well as adding more snacking, drinking natural juices with my meals, and adding dressings to salads.

So, where before I would eat one piece of chicken for lunch I increased it to two, and along with my carbs of rice, would add pasta, in addition to raw vegetables, topped with dressing.

I also started having appetizers and dessert — pumpkin or vegetable broth or mozzarella sticks or crab cakes (these can be bought in bulk at Pricesmart), and cakes I would bake, or doughnuts or ice cream. I found that before I started my programme I would have no appetite, but when I adjusted my diet, my body also adjusted to accommodate the increase in calories.

I must note that the addition of cakes and ice cream were the low sugar or vegan options — as I didn’t want to increase my sugar intake. For many meals I also chose veggie options (burgers and other ‘meats’), just in larger portions, so that though I was taking in more food, I was being healthy.

Chrissy Nelson is a systems programmer and mom of one.

HOW’S YOUR FITNESS JOURNEY GOING?

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