How to gain weight in Thailand?

[RamenRaven]

How do you gain weight in super hot, humid tropical Thailand? I now have visible ribs and collarbones, with very bony forearms, and my BMI of 19 is borderline underweight, despite eating twice as much as the average Thai - and hence getting stares and weird comments from Thais. Even a Thai girl called me a walking skeleton.

 

I do a lot of biking and running. It's part of my endurance athlete lifestyle in Thailand. I'm also a young, ectomorphic tall guy (185 cm) with a fast metabolism.

 

I used some caloric needs online calculators, and they say that I need 3,000-3,500 calories just to maintain my weight. For some, that's actually kind of hard to do in Thailand even if you have a lion's appetite.
 

Some of you may be a bit jealous at first, but keep in mind that this means you have to eat like a pig and still be a walking skeleton. Thais, who are generally short with slow metabolisms, usually eat teeny-tiny portions and will kind of stare at how I eat 2-3 times as much food as they do in one sitting.
 

Here is why it's hard to bulk up in Thailand, which is totally geared towards making you skinny:

• Hot weather means you have to drink LOTS of water all the day. You feel bloated and full all day from all that water, which prevents you from eating quality high-calorie foods. And I can't drink too many sweet drinks, since overly sweet stuff makes you even thirstier. Soda is hardly a thirst quencher in hot, humid Thailand.
• The intense heat decreases appetite.
• Very tiny portions everywhere. Back home, these portions would be filling only for anorexic girls. No strong, well-built farang guy can possibly survive on such portions, unless they order 2-3 and get funny looks from bewildered Thais. Thai street food portions are only half or a third as big as Farang portions. Fatter farangs tell me that small portions are good for you, but that's a curse if you're a high-calorie needs guy.
• Everything is low calorie. That's good if you're trying to lose weight, but is really frustrating if you're trying to bulk up. Veggies everywhere, som tam, watery soups, noodles don't give you that much energy. Getting 2,000 calories per day with Thai food is not that hard, but 3,000-3,500 calories with Thai food is difficult. Eating large quantities of white rice seems to be the only efficient way of getting in all those calories.
• All that chili pepper definitely limits your food intake.

 

What's even mysterious is how portly and big many of the Farang expats are. In this anti-fat environment with low-energy food and infrastructure built for midgets, how is it possible for so many Westerners to be very fat instead of very skinny?

 

[ezzra]

Hey buddy, your problem is by far the problem of a very few, while the most of us trying very hard to shed unwanted kilos here you come with how to add kilos, maybe you should try to ask this question on websites in N. Korea Haiti, Zambia, Chad and similar places.. ????

[RamenRaven]

18 minutes ago, ezzra said:

Hey buddy, your problem is by far the problem of a very few, while the most of us trying very hard to shed unwanted kilos here you come with how to add kilos, maybe you should try to ask this question on websites in N. Korea Haiti, Zambia, Chad and similar places.. ????

Or check out upcountry Northern Thailand and Isan. Impoverished Thais can be far skinnier and sicklier than me! They often have liver disease and parasites. I don't and currently have no major health issues.

[Crossy]

Yeah, I'm another of those jealous types, Wifey cooks far too well, and then there's the beer ????

 

Anyway there are a good number of the body-builder types using this forum @robblok springs to mind (actually his avatar springs to mind), these chaps should help you source supplements and the like.

 

[Carib]

If you want to gain weight, join me for two weeks. I guarantee it  

[RamenRaven]

I counted calories and figured that I eat nearly 3,000 calories, and sometimes a bit more, everyday. That would fatten up shorter sedentary people, but isn't enough for me. In order to gain weight, I would need 3,500-4,000 calories. That's very easy to do with Farang fast food back home, since a 1,000-calorie meal is a piece of cake (pun intended) to chow down in Farangland with the large portions, cool weather, and calorie-dense treats. Not so easy to cram in 4,000 calories in Thailand.

 

I also live in a small mooban just south of Chiang Mai where there are no Western restaurants or fast food outlets nearby.

 

I run and bike up steep mountain trails and work out a lot, so I require a lot of energy. Currently I'm quite lean and healthy, but I'm just trying to figure out a way to not lose any more weight. Weight loss creeps up slowly on me like how weight gain creeps up slowly for some of you guys.

[55Jay]

Yeah, I've known a few guys like you - lithe, fit runner's body. 

 

Have you tried any those shakes/drinks (or whatever) weight lifters use to bulk up? 

 

[RamenRaven]

Swimmers, runners, cyclists, rowers, bodybuilders, and other athletes who engage in extremely vigorous exercise will talk about how to stuff more calories in their diet, not less. Go onto their forums, and you will see lots of threads on "carb-loading" and increasing caloric intake. 3,000-4,000 calories per day is quite typical for such athletes. Some marathon runners burn more than 5,000 calories everyday. Michael Phelps is famous for his 12,000 calorie diet. And some football players consume somewhere between 5,000-9,000 calories everyday. Monstrous amounts of calories are burned everyday. Eating tons of calories is easy to do so in places like the US, but not Thailand if you are living on the local diet and in the local culture.

 

I eat a lot and am fine, but am slowly losing weight on my already thin frame, like maybe a kilo every few months. My body might soon start to burn off muscles instead of fat if this continues, so that's why I'm trying to buff up some more.

 

Maybe high-calorie late night snacks (mac and cheese? milk?) can help a bit. I'll be experimenting with different methods to try to gain some weight.

 

I'm shaped like these guys in this video. I'm sure they'll find it hard to subsist on local Thai food and tiny Thai portions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXa-f6AYpCg

 

[RamenRaven]

On 9/29/2018 at 5:33 PM, 55Jay said:

Yeah, I've known a few guys like you - lithe, fit runner's body. 

 

Have you tried any those shakes/drinks (or whatever) weight lifters use to bulk up? 

 

 

Protein shakes are used by bodybuilders, but I haven't really heard of endurance athletes using them.

 

The main issue is how to counter the barriers against weight gain due to the intense Thai heat and humidity, as well as the low-calorie food. (Yes, athletes think that calories, sugars, and sodium are absolutely critical for survival!)

[John Singer]

You are probably working out too much. In this climate it is easy to over-stress your body and put it into a high cortisol/catabolic state instead of an anabolic one. Reduce your exercise, increase your rest and research proper eating times for athletes if you haven't done so yet.

 

When on a tour through the countryside the lack of quality food always drove me back to cities rather quickly. A lot of the Thai street food is designed for the poor and usually too high on simple carbohydrates with plenty of food additives. Not sure though, if that's the case for you. Eggs would be a good source of energy and readily available.

[55Jay]

6 hours ago, RamenRaven said:

 

Protein shakes are used by bodybuilders, but I haven't really heard of endurance athletes using them.

 

The main issue is how to counter the barriers against weight gain due to the intense Thai heat and humidity, as well as the low-calorie food. (Yes, athletes think that calories, sugars, and sodium are absolutely critical for survival!)

OK, up to you then.

 

Adjust the input/output variables you have control over.  If you don't want to curb your output, then the Carb load input at night sounds like something to try.   I know that's my problem, just in the opposite direction. ????

 

[orchis]

double cheeseburgers and banana milkshakes did the trick for me.

[RamenRaven]

I wonder how many calories a typical plate of krapao gai khai dao (basil chicken rice + fried egg) or khao man gai has. Random online articles say 400-600 calories, but I haven't found any reliable sources yet.

It looks like drinking calories can help a lot, so I've just bought a lot of Dina Black Soy Protein drinks. These have lots of proteins and vitamins. Thanks to 55Jay for the ideas.
 

 

Plus I also got quite a few big boxes of Malee / Tipco fruit juice and big bottles of Richesse drinking yogurt.

 

(Um, yes, I'm counting calories to get as many of them as possible, so I won't end up looking like a POW. I probably need 3,500 calories just to maintain my weight. ????)

[AhFarangJa]

I appreciate it will not be of any use to the Op, but this did it for me.......

[Bob12345]

You need a blender and peanut butter.

 

Liquid calories are much easier to consume and you will be hungry sooner. Try some whole milk, a few tablespoons of peanut butter, a banana, some eggs (pasterized), maybe some oats, and blend it all together. It will taste nice with the fruits, you barely notice the peanut butter, and you can even add some frozen spinach for iron and fibers. Thats maybe an easy 1000 kcal you can drink away in 30 seconds without really filling you up for long.

[inThailand]

Beer. More beer.

We wish we had your problem. 

[Shiver]

While others may have more comprehensive suggestions, I would look into Durian as a calorie dense/low volume source of healthy fats. I know with myself If I eat fats I can lose weight, or if I eat carbs I can lose weight, but the two combined I can pile it on (If I'm well behaved I look like a Meso, but beer can hide that).

Some say that mixing Durian with Alcohol is not a good idea, as both fats and the metabolites of Alcohol, when combined can give the liver a hard time.  There's a lot of misinformation, but it does appear to be based on a small amount of truth before being turned into urban myths and chinese whispers.

 

[NCC1701A]

 

25 minutes ago, Bob12345 said:

You need a blender and peanut butter.

 

I was going to say this too. and just eat peanut butter as a snack all day long. consume a medium size jar every two to three days.

 

also eat a whole Japanese sweet potato or large potato for breakfast every day along with what ever you eat in the morning.

 

eat a large plate of spaghetti in the evening. I am naturally very thin and I would disappear in Thailand without the spaghetti.

 

 

On 9/29/2018 at 4:52 AM, RamenRaven said:

How do you gain weight in super hot, humid tropical Thailand?

 

Edited October 9, 2018 by NCC1701A

[fullcave]

Eat more food. 

[chicowoodduck]

Excuse me, but you must not be from Pattaya?  The no shirt, fat farts are the rule of the day on these parts.....just go sit on a bar stool 12 hours a day and ride a motorbike....you will be a fat slob in no time flat!!!!????

[seancbk]

"What's even mysterious is how portly and big many of the Farang expats are. In this anti-fat environment with low-energy food and infrastructure built for midgets, how is it possible for so many Westerners to be very fat instead of very skinny?"

Do you drink 10 pints of beer 3 nights a week?  

Stop doing all the running and biking, instead sit around on your arse and watch TV.

Why are you only eating Thai food?  What about burgers, pizza, pasta?  There is loads of food available that will bulk you up like crazy.   

[BigT73]

2 hours ago, AhFarangJa said:

I appreciate it will not be of any use to the Op, but this did it for me.......

actually its on the sumos diet take note everyone.

[LawrenceN]

Go ahead and order two dishes when you eat. Ignore the stares. I wonder if you read too much into the looks and whispers. I find Thai people are kind of nosy, but not judgmental. They're just observing what they see as differences between people.

 

And drink beer.

[madusa]

2 hours ago, Shiver said:

While others may have more comprehensive suggestions, I would look into Durian as a calorie dense/low volume source of healthy fats. I know with myself If I eat fats I can lose weight, or if I eat carbs I can lose weight, but the two combined I can pile it on (If I'm well behaved I look like a Meso, but beer can hide that).

Some say that mixing Durian with Alcohol is not a good idea, as both fats and the metabolites of Alcohol, when combined can give the liver a hard time.  There's a lot of misinformation, but it does appear to be based on a small amount of truth before being turned into urban myths and chinese whispers.

 

I wonder what is Chinese whispers? Please explain. I need to know.

(never seen chinese whisper always see them talking loudly ) I would like to whisper to them "keep your voice down" in Chinese language. That would be fun wouldn't it?

Edited October 9, 2018 by madusa
add more words

[BigT73]

On 10/4/2018 at 12:38 PM, 55Jay said:

OK, up to you then.

 

Adjust the input/output variables you have control over.  If you don't want to curb your output, then the Carb load input at night sounds like something to try.   I know that's my problem, just in the opposite direction. ????

 

We had the iron man mini triathalons back home,  these guys would carb load on pizzas pre race just for the calories. 

Soy milk is high in estrogen and not overly recommended for males.

If you want to gain weight first get your usual macros in with the protien and clean carb consumption and then at night time tubs of icecream,  dairy is a slow release protien  that will feed your muscles during the night which is great as your body is in repair mode. Also will boost your calouries to burn as fuel whilst exercising.

[madusa]

I am not a doctor so people wouldn't listen to me. They rather spend money on someone with a MD behind the name.

I believe you have neglected the mental aspect in your endeavor to gain weight.

Your unwholesome desire to gain weight will be self-defeating ( make worse by your intense sports). Some forum members even say drink beers they are trying to kill you, you know that?

I had spent money on doctors for my (1) Leg cramp (2) Ringing noise in ears after shower and often in the daytime without zero outcome, I gave my good money to the doctor for nothing. To say the ringing noise was a nuisance is an understatement. The pain of leg cramp was so intense that made me realized why people drowned when they got leg cramp while swimming. (3) I became free of Insomnia after understanding the real reason for it.

I mentioned the above to say that I no longer need the doctor I found out ways to deal with the 3 problems myself and very happy that it works all the time and I hardly get those problems now. Sometimes the problem comes back but in a mild way that I could easily dealt with.

I wouldn't go into how to gain weight not unless you are really interested then I will put them on this forum. If I see an affirmative reply to my comment then I will list out ways that may help you to gain weight.

 

[Tony125]

The fat farangs you see are from not exercising and drinking beer. You can gain weight by drinking beer but if you don't consume alcohol like me try eating carbs at night before a long run/bike ride in the morning. I was a runner most of my life and still do distance on a bike now. You must know that marathon runners and triathletes eat a lot of pasta the nite before a race to carbo load to have enough carbs to easily burn during a race. You can also go to any GNC stores or other health/supplement shops to buy weight gain whey powders to give you the calories and protein your body needs for the hard workouts your doing. "The Rock" Duane Johnson eats 6,000 calories a day to maintain his muscles and size.   Read post #18 , that shake can help maintain your weight. Try Pizza Company, if you get members card you can get 2  pizzas for the price of one so no extra cost to eat more. Can also use creatine to boost energy and strengthen your muscles, it's legal even for pro athletes. 

[Retiredandhappyhere]

2 hours ago, madusa said:

I wonder what is Chinese whispers? Please explain. I need to know.

(never seen chinese whisper always see them talking loudly ) I would like to whisper to them "keep your voice down" in Chinese language. That would be fun wouldn't it?

Just in case you really wanted to know what a "Chinese whisper" is, I believe it relates to one person at the end of a long line trying to convey a message to some one at the other end by passing it along the line in a whisper, but finding out that the message gets so distorted along the way, that it means something different to that intended by the time it reaches the other end of the line.

[atyclb]

many buffet restaurants and you will see the result by looking at many patrons.  that plus kfc, burger king, krispy kreme, dunkin and mcdonalds should help you

[Shiver]

3 hours ago, madusa said:

I wonder what is Chinese whispers? Please explain. I need to know.

(never seen chinese whisper always see them talking loudly ) I would like to whisper to them "keep your voice down" in Chinese language. That would be fun wouldn't it?

I mean something like "send reinforcement we're going to advance" after lots of gossip and lossy relays becomes "send 3 and 4 pence we're going to a dance".

Like people saying take antibiotics for a viral infection.  Like how my business doubled in price paid for price after mere weeks (but nobody asked me).  Endless examples.

For Durian, "taken together will kill you".  It is classed as a 'heat' fruit buy the Chinese, and it's not good to challenge the liver too much (in this case lots of good fats - which still need to be processed by the liver, and dumping a bottle of whiskey on top of it would be silly, but there are many other ways of doing that, and I suspect OP may not that kind of character anyhow.

 

Another alternative would be to study something like YK-11. 10lbs in 30 days is not unusual, and it's not a steroid or a SARM.