Plight of the Skinnyman

With 58 million overweight people in the United States and childhood obesity rising at an astounding rate, it's no wonder that weight loss has become the tremendous industry that it is. Everywhere you look, there's a new regimen, appetite suppressant, drug, fad diet or workout toy that is designed to help people shed pounds. My question is why is the word "diet" always associated with weight loss? And why can't someone like me, who has a hard time putting on pounds, ever get any sympathy, encouragement or support?

"You have nothing to complain about," people tell me. "I don't even want to hear it. I wish I had that problem." But this dismissive attitude is unwarranted. There are some serious health risks associated with being underweight, such as fatigue, anemia, weakened immune system, osteoporosis, and infertility in women. Underweight people also have less body fat, which cushions internal organs, stores energy and keeps the body warm.

Body weight is also a matter of mental health; we all we all want to like what we see when we look in the mirror. Skinny people hate going to the beach as much as overweight people do. And while it is socially unacceptable to remark on someone's girth, people don't hesitate to make disparaging remarks about skinny people, which can lead to undue psychological stress.

Give or take a meal or two, my body mass index is about 20, which teeters dangerously close to the 18.5 mark that would put me in the underweight category. People can be underweight for a variety of reasons: high metabolism, skipping meals, eating on the run, illness, injury, active lifestyles, stress, eating the wrong foods and not having enough nutrition. While there is little that can be done about a physiological factor such as metabolism, most of the rest is very much under our control.

It may surprise some to know that the tips for putting on weight are very similar to those followed by people trying to shed pounds. Diet, frequency of meals and exercise all play a part in maintaining a healthy weight.

Eat more. This is the logical solution, but it's not how often you eat, but what you eat as well. Hargainers should have six meals a day: breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks in between. The meals don't have to be monstrous, but should be high in protein and carbohydrates (starchy foods like bread, pasta and rice are welcomed). Slim dieters are also encouraged to take in fatty foods like whole milk, butter and fruit juice.

People who are trying to lose weight would likely seethe at these dietary tips. But they ought to keep in mind that for a hardgainer, eating healthy is just as much of a challenge as it is for a "dieter." Overweight people don't know when to stop; underweight people don't know how to continue. And junk foods are a definite no-no for everyone, because they are high in sugar, preservatives and other things that are bad for bodies of all shapes and sizes. Raw fruits and vegetables are also essential for vitamins and minerals. Hardgainers (and everyone else) should take in five portions a day.

Exercise. Once again, exercise is good for everyone; but it's the type of exercise that matters most for hardgainers. High-cardio activities like jogging and aerobics only increase metabolism and should be avoided. Hardgainers need to do muscle-building exercises with free weights, such as squats, calf-raisers, bench press, pull-ups, bench dips, curls, military press and crunches. Nautilus machines are not ideal for building mass and are more useful in sculpting and shaping muscles.

Rest. This doesn't necessarily mean sitting in front of the television and doing nothing. It is more about being aware of the role that rest plays in the process of building mass. Muscles don't grow during a workout; they are actually being broken down. The rest period is when the muscle mass develops. So it is important not to overwork the muscles. Each muscle group should be worked out only twice a week, workouts should be no longer than one hour, and after 2-3 months take off from weight lifting for at least two weeks.

Just like the chubby people who dread the aerobics class or the treadmill, hardgainers probably won't have much of a problem with working out too much - at least not in the initial stages. But as a wise man once said, it takes 21 days to make or break a habit. Anyone with the discipline to change their eating and exercise regimen for that long is well on their way to achieving their ideal weight.

See you on the beach!