Thank you for helping me find a better way to gain weight.
I will add that if you are 15 and have concerns, the very first thing to do is talk to your parents. A trip to the doctor is the best way to start to sort this out, to be sure there is no physical reason going on that is contributing to being underweight.
Best of luck to you.
Hi 11lenmic - I'm impressed that you are researching this subject on the Internet; it shows your resourcefulness and ingenuity.
This is general information about how to nutritionally and safely gain weight and is paraphrased from articles found on the Internet. I would highly recommend that you print this information and discuss with your parent(s) and/or physician to make sure they are in agreement with this prior to making any changes in your dietary habits.
To gain weight an be healthy you need to consume more calories every day from healthy foods and choose the right types of exercise.
While you need to increase your calorie intake, it is not adviseable to eat junk foods. Many of them contain unhealthy fats. You should increase your calorie intake by eating healthy foods.
Salmon, tuna and walnuts contain omega-3 fatty acids that are healthy. Fish, chicken, turkey, nuts, seeds and legumes contain good sources of protein. Healthy carbohydrates come from fruits, vegetables and whole grains.
It may be helpful to eat 5-6 smaller meals rather than the traditional 3 meals per day. You may want to try protein powders and nutritional supplements (like Ensure) to provide you with extra calories. Mixing the protein powders with milk or juice will add some additional calories and may improve the taste. A multivitamin and mineral supplement may also be benefitical (check with your parents or doctor for an appropriate one).
Resistance training such as lifting weights is also important when gaining weight and increases your muscle size.
Use a food diary to record your calorie intake to be sure you're eating enough calories and you may want to use an online calculator to figure the caloric intake needed to maintain your current weight. You can add calories to that to increase your weight. You may also want to journal your exercise and there are calculators to show you how many calories you are burning for a particular exercise.
It can take a while to gain weight so be patient with yourself.
Best wishes ..
Ranae