A friend of mine is a very petite girl. She's about 5'2'', and about 85 lbs. at 20 yrs. old. In no way does she look bad, and she is very well proportioned for her body size, but she still has a tendency to get upset when one of the hundred people she meets each day makes an innocent comment like "OH my god! You are just so tiny!". It's usually meant as a compliment, I suppose, but to her it is akin to saying "You are so fat", just the other extreme. My reason for posting this is that she really wants to put on a little size, while keeping up her body fat (not trying to get cut, just increase size). I was wondering if anyone has had experience with something similiar, or could give me any ideas to relay to her to help her put on the weight?. Thanks alot

It's weird that people feel it's okay to comment when they think a person is "too skinny" but wouldn't dare say anything to someone who is "too fat".

I've never heard of a grown woman being 85 pounds, especially at more than 5 feet tall. Her recommended healthy weight for 5'2" is likely about 110 pounds, so I think it's great that she wants to gain weight. She should probably aim for about 110x15=1650 calories per day if she is moderately active.

I recommend beef jerky, nuts, and dried fruits to add weight. If she cooks, she can also add protein powder, skim milk powder and/or ground flax seed to smoothies, pancakes, and other recipes to increase their calorie count. If she has trouble eating enough calories without feeling stuffed, she should consider avoiding foods with a lot of water or air in them (eg. soup, watermelon, iceberg lettuce, puffed rice or rice cakes, popcorn, etc.)

I also think it's a good idea for her to incorporate weight training into her routine, if she doesn't already. People won't be so inclined to comment that she's tiny if she has big huge biceps. :flex:

If I may add something here... For her, gaining weight would be a good idea, but she must keep in mind that the way she gains this weight should be healthy. Meaning to say, eat the healthy and nutritious foods. Of course she'll easily gain weight by driving by Mcdo everyday, but that way, she'll gain mostly fat. But by eating clean meals, and hopefully exercising, she'll gain weight in a good way and she'll still look great! :tu:

I like guava's advice, "No one will call you tiny once you showed them your biceps" :lol:

In response to Guava, I agree that she is underweight for her age, but I feel the need to make a clarification. She is certainly not skin and bones. She doesn't look anorexic or anything like that, she has a pretty healthy amount of body fat, just a very small skeletal structure. I was wondering if it wouldn't be a bad idea to get her on a weight program to bulk up a bit. So long as she doesn't worry about loosing the body fat or cutting, then the added muscle should just serve to make her appear larger while leaving her current definition/body fat level relatively the same, right? (She's not the type that would want to get "ripped", just put on some size)

If you don’t mind me asking: What ethnicity is she?

I ask because my older sister is Korean, she's short (but not so for someone of Asian decent), and is less than 100 lbs. She's tried to go as far as eating junk food every day for over a week (crap like Wendy's burgers and fries), and never managed to gain anything. I'm almost jealous. :P

Eventually the doctors gave up with trying to get her weight up to "ideal levels" for the most part. She's just unlucky (or REALLY lucky...) enough to have a metabolism able to burn up just about everything she eats. Other than her weight being lower than what science says it should be, she’s plenty healthy.

We've come to the conclusion that it's apart of her genetics, and isn't that uncommon with Korean women. Perhaps it’s a similar case with your friend?

"It's not how much you weight, it's how you feel" :d_smile:

She is from Trinidad, which makes her West-Indian. And yeah, she has a crazy matabolism. She can put on weight if she eats everything in site for a few weeks but the second she lets her overzealous diet slips she looses it all again right away. Thats why I was hoping mayble some good weight training coudl help her get the results she wanted.

I would suggest a clean bulk and weight training... muscle should give her at least the appearace of being bigger ;)

damn... I wish I had that problem... does she want some of my fat... I'd be more than happy to give it away :p