About Wendy Stewart Expertise I can answer most questions about anorexia, bulimia, compulsive/binge eating, dieting, weight loss, being overweight and obese and how to recover from these conditions. I am a youth sports coach (cheerleading and formerly girl's high school swimming)personal trainer, image consultant, and life coach and I specialize in dealing with women and teens with these kinds of issues. I also have personal exeperience with all of the above issues so I know how it feels from both sides.
Experience I have been overweight/obese, suffered from anorexia, bulimia, and compulsive overeating/binge eating. Through various methods of behavior modification and education, I have been able to overcome all of these issues. I have also been in the position to help teammates and classmates with similar problems. I have been dealing with these issues for 10 years.
Organizations ACE (American Council on Exercise), IDEA, AICI (Association of Image Consultants International), NAPO (National Association of Professional Organizers), and ABC (Association of Bridal Consultants) as a vendor.
Publications ezinearticles.com
Education/Credentials I have a B.S. in History from the United States Naval Academy, a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Baltimore and I am currently working on a Master of Arts in Legal and Ethical Studies.
Past/Present Clients Northwest Bulldogs Pop Warner Cheerleading (volunteer assistant coach and soon to be head coach)
Question QUESTION: hello, I knw this isn't a average question you are asked, but I was wondering how can I gain weight. dont worry 'm not sick or anything, just have fast metabolism. I would like to know if thre ae any meal bars or snack bars than can help. i know exercie is good and eating bigger portins during the day but wht else? i want to gain like 20 pounds
ANSWER: Alex,
You are definitely right as this is not the average question, but, it is still a good question.
As you know, weight loss occurs when you burn more calories than you take in. So, on its simplest level, to gain weight you have to reverse that process, or not burn as many calories as you take in.
Now, 1 pound is 3500 calories. Normally people cut/burn 500 calories a day to lose 1 pound over 7 days. There is no reason you can't do the reverse. Add 500 calories a day to gain 1 pound per week.
What I want to emphasize here is that the calories you add in should not be junk calories. So don't go raiding the junk food isle of the grocery store. Instead, continue to eat 5-6 meals throughout the day with lean protein and complex carbohydrates (and, of course your fruits and veggies). This difference is that you'll be eating more.
Again, keep your menu healthy, but increase the food slowly so that your body isn't in shock. Also, I don't know what you're doing for exercise, but you do not want to stop exercising. You'll want to still do cardio and you'll definitely want to keep weight training. In fact, you may want to increase the days you weight train and look at increasing the weight you are lifting.
In the end, you may find that you really just wanted to transform your body and build muscle, rather than add weight.
I hope this helps and I wish you the best!
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QUESTION: Thanks for the advice, but I was also wondering if there are any good snacks or snack bars or meal bars I can eat to also help me gain weight as well that you know of.
Thank you
Answer As for snacks, snack bars, or meal bars...
I would generally stick to ones that are most nutritious without too much (or any) added sugar. Stick to ones that are used for muscle recovery before/after a workout. You can also look for meal replacement shakes and add milk instead of water in order to give yourself more calories and more protein.
You can check out the selection at http://signaturefitness.getprograde.com for products that can help. Otherwise, you local running store will have good products for recovery (even though you're not a runner, but you are looking for the same kind of recovery for your body -- a bar or shake with a protein/carb mix).
Other than that, make sure that, in as much as possible, you are getting your extra calories from meals and snacks made from whole, nutritious foods -- rather than processed bars.
