Need help to gain weight...

incomudrox

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I'll try to not make this a "tl;dr" post.

1. I have Cystic Fibrosis, typically my body is always fighting infections so my typical caloric intake to maintain my body weight is around 3000 calories.
2. I am sitting at about 102lbs soaking wet. The most I have ever weighed was 120lbs about 12 months ago.
-----I went from about 95lbs to 120lbs in 6 months or so, by working out and keeping my calories up but once I got there it was a brick wall @ 120lbs. Got sick again and lost most of what I had gained.
3. I need to do aerobic exercises to keep the airways clear of secretions caused by Cystic Fibrosis to make things worse, my typical resting heart rate is on a good day 80bpm, on an average day looking at around 100bpm. I'm about 9.9% BF by average of digital caliper and free fat electronic analysis (not sure if that's the right technical term) this is including visceral fat.
4. My appetite is very poor currently, looking for any suggestions as far as supplements to boost appetite.
5. Part of CF is I have to take supplemental enzymes with all my food or it is not taken up.
6. Can't really take anything that is going to hammer my immune system into the pavement. So anything to raise T without compromising the immune system I'm all ears.

What I've been looking at as far as supplements:

Glutamine around the clock (Every 2-3 hours)
Leucine (??)
HICA (Not sure if it is a gimmick or not, or should just stick with Leucine)

Diet:

As far as food, nothing is off limits for me. I try to eat healthy but I could eat total garbage and don't gain either way.

Looking for suggestions on the cheaper side that I can prep in advanced, I think this is one of my major downfalls; not having food readily available.

Things that you should know that might help with advice -

I am not diabetic BUT, I have 5000 IU's of NovoLog (Rapid Acting Slin) in my fridge in FlexPens I have been contemplating. I am well aware of the risks involved no need to lecture.
I have a Gtube (port into stomach) I can literally put anything through it and right on into the stomach, even while I sleep if I so wish.

and Go...
 
laneanders

laneanders

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HICA is good but I would still advise you to stick with Leucine. You really want to look in to something that can help increase your appetite and to be honest the only real products that do that at all are generally going to be test boosters. If you have a higher test level it generally causes you to want to eat more. You would want to do research on any product recommended as to how it would interact with your Cystic Fibrosis, but look in to some DAA products like Intimidate SRT and some Fadogia products like Tropinol XP. Those are good places to start with in terms of increasing your desire to eat.

Aside from that you simply just have to force more calories in. That is really pretty easy to do if you can eat as much as you do now while supplementing with liquid calories like protein. I would suggest 100% Whey Protean or Isotean (vanilla is my favorite). Although you can really just pick any protein that has decent reviews and buy it. The real goal for you is to just ingest more calories. So those two things a t booster and more protein will hopefully help you to do that.

For quick foods:
Almonds
Walnuts
Tuna
Pinto Beans
Protein Bars
Cottage cheese
String cheese
Yogurt (greek preferably but any kind will be fine)
Drink a shot of olive oil every day or night before bed this is a large amount of calories very quickly and doesn't taste as bad as it sounds

I am no doctor, so make sure anything recommended in this thread you research to prevent health conflicts. The food part is easy though just keep some of those things I listed and drink more milk with protein shakes. Also unless Glutamine has some benefits for your specific situation it isn't necessary.
 
xR1pp3Rx

xR1pp3Rx

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don't forget the fish oil as well! as said above u could always try natural test boosters like tropinol and intimidate but im not sure your going to put on weight with them. if u can force your self to eat a couple whoppers a day that would go a lot further to you gaining weight than any supplements.
also you can kinda re map your mindset if you just stick to eating heavy for a couple weeks strait. after that you should be plenty happy to pack in the extra food. the whole thing is an up hill battle with your ailment but you will be happy to know its a uphill battle for almost everyone! keep at it and never give up.
 

incomudrox

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@ Laneanders I'll stick to the Leucine then, what is a good recommended dose and at what frequency throughout the day. I've assumed on an empty stomach is best, unless anyone can advise otherwise. I've used DAA with good results once I actually gained nearly 20 lbs in a month. I switched brands to capsule DAA because the powder was murdering my teeth but it doesn't seem to work nearly as well. Maybe this is because it is in capsules or because the brand is just no good? It is truenutrition.com's house brand; any insight would be fantastic. I'm also wondering if it isn't working as well because my Vitamin D level tanked. I know the body requires available VitD to produce test. My level must have dropped over the last few months as it is currently 22ng/ml. 30+ is "normal" while I personally would prefer to see a 60+.

As far as things reacting with CF it is very limited, while my lung disease is advanced, I am able to get by on almost no drugs somehow. Bodybuilding has actually changed my life dramatically for the better, I was able to cut many of my meds out, with physician approval, others in my position are being evaluated for lung transplant while my doc hasn't even thought about it once because of how fit I am. I don't weigh a lot but I'm very toned and overall in good shape for my lung function.

For natural Test Boosters, how does Tribulus work? I've heard a lot of mixed things about it but haven't made the plunge into trying it. Recommended realistic dosing?

Hopefully I am not opening up a can of worms with this one, but, the reason for the Glutamine was loosely based on information from the "4 hour Body" book when he set out to gain massive amounts of weight in a month. It does have some implications as far as helping my ability to fight infections, outside of gaining weight. Though I haven't taken it long enough to decide whether or not it is actually helpful in that respect.

I've been doing a lot of coconut oil but I will also add in some olive oil and some of your other suggestions as well.
xR1pp3Rx

While I can eat anything, it usually back-fires and causes my lungs to get inflamed if I eat too horribly, while I'd love to eat Whoppers and Bigmacs it isn't realistic but my mindset is right there with you, haha. I will look into the tropinol and intimidate since both of you guys have mentioned it. The hardest aspect is the mental thing for me I think, and forcing myself to eat when I have no desire to. As far as it being a battle for everyone that is exactly why I decided to join the forum so I could gather the information from a collective. Good stuff.

Thanks both of you for your input so far.
 
xR1pp3Rx

xR1pp3Rx

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tribulus is really only good for boosting libido. it doesn't really boost test as once was thought. im curious, does the foods you eat cause the reactions in your lungs? what I mean is, could you eat 4000 calories of something and be fine, but eat 4000 cals of something else and cause a flare up??
we are currently working on bringin a weight gainer shake to the US market.. it will surely help you get more calories per day but that may not work for you if, say, whey protein causes a flare up. anyhow since you seem to like the DAA I think you will love the intimidate!
 
veaderko

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Sounds like it is all covered. Eat a lot, the link that was given I just read myself and sounds like I have new goals myself :). The only supps I would recommend already are with Intimidate and Tropinol. Though with CF, I cant say I am a medical professional so make sure all advice hits up your doc first!

Good luck to you. If you start a blog on how things are going for you, be sure to let me know please. Would love to follow your progress and see how things go for you.
 

incomudrox

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Sounds like it is all covered. Eat a lot, the link that was given I just read myself and sounds like I have new goals myself :). The only supps I would recommend already are with Intimidate and Tropinol. Though with CF, I cant say I am a medical professional so make sure all advice hits up your doc first!

Good luck to you. If you start a blog on how things are going for you, be sure to let me know please. Would love to follow your progress and see how things go for you.
I had a blog before, but I will probably start a thread on here (I'm sure there's a section for it) to keep my progress. A big part of sticking to things for most people is public compliance this is true for me and has worked in the past.

training-articles/twelve-steps-to-getting-big/[/url]
Looks like I've got a few things to try.

tribulus is really only good for boosting libido. it doesn't really boost test as once was thought. im curious, does the foods you eat cause the reactions in your lungs? what I mean is, could you eat 4000 calories of something and be fine, but eat 4000 cals of something else and cause a flare up??
we are currently working on bringin a weight gainer shake to the US market.. it will surely help you get more calories per day but that may not work for you if, say, whey protein causes a flare up. anyhow since you seem to like the DAA I think you will love the intimidate!
Typically anything that is loaded with high-fructose corn syrup. Anything that throws off Omega 3,6,9 balance. If I eat too many fried typical "bad for you" foods it causes inflammation. Aspartame is another one that's pretty bad. Milk products without lactase enzymes added causes issues for 90% of people with CF. Also anything that boosts the immune system too much, causes an over-active neutrophil response in anything in the body with epithelial cells, so my sinuses, lungs, digestive system. Though unless you're loading your weight gainers with Echinacea I don't see the issue. I will say there is a huge potential in the CF community for a good whole good, quality protein weight gainer. If you play your cards right and end up marketing direct to the CFF and have them push it you'd be sitting on a gold mine for re-newable sales every month with insurance companies paying. There was one company that had it then they stopped selling in the US.

I will make an order for Intimidate as soon as funds allow I'll be sure to report back and more than likely will start a progress tracking thread.
 
xR1pp3Rx

xR1pp3Rx

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so a gainer that's low in lactose.. has little or no fructose.. or aspartame... while you wait for our gainer to come out (its already avaible to the UK) you could try some of this:
Giant Gainz by VPX


as you can see its got huge calories and a decent profile/ good clean fats, nice protein blend, complex carbs
you may need to add a probiotic to deal with that much protein at once, or split the doses up throughout the day.
 
dkgreene88

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You could try Intimidate SRT by iForce. I am about to start using this!
 
D3platinum

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also some lentils in the lineup ... as far as meals that help you grow-healthy-full of nutrients some protein. not hard to do. I know its a chore to mix protein shakes, so I ratio milk-coconut water-an ounce of water and a small bunch of crushed ice for mixability's sake (coconut water high calories and high mix) once you have stuff like heavy whipping cream, the other basics like oats in a blender with some fruits too.
 

incomudrox

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Thanks for the tips guys. I'm making a concerted effort to consume equal amounts of jasmine rice with either ground pork, or ground beef. I can get ground pork at my local Asian supermarket for $1/lb, it is also very fresh they slice and dice the pig right there. I'm also consuming 2oz coconut oil additionally which works well for me since I don't need supplemental enzymes as it is mostly a MCT and processed by the liver. I went and picked up a 5lb tub of ON Gold Standard as well.
 

incomudrox

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In the few days after I posted this my weight dropped back to 98lbs. I've since then hit the rice and ground beef hard, along with Whey protein twice a day. I'm up to 103lbs now, so moving in the right direction.
 
Rarchib

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In the few days after I posted this my weight dropped back to 98lbs. I've since then hit the rice and ground beef hard, along with Whey protein twice a day. I'm up to 103lbs now, so moving in the right direction.
If you don't have issues digesting lactose, definitely start drinking whole milk, and a lot of it. Whole milk was huge for me when I hit a plateau in gaining weight. Also, I read above that you were considering supplementing with glutamine. I wouldn't waste your money on glutamine. There's no studies that show that there is any significance with supplement glutamine and any sort of benefits in terms of bodybuilding. It's really just a gimmick. But other than that, whole milk, peanut butter, and olive oil. All great stuff for putting on weight.
 

incomudrox

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If you don't have issues digesting lactose, definitely start drinking whole milk, and a lot of it. Whole milk was huge for me when I hit a plateau in gaining weight. Also, I read above that you were considering supplementing with glutamine. I wouldn't waste your money on glutamine. There's no studies that show that there is any significance with supplement glutamine and any sort of benefits in terms of bodybuilding. It's really just a gimmick. But other than that, whole milk, peanut butter, and olive oil. All great stuff for putting on weight.
Unfortunately for me whole milk causes a great deal of inflammation/mucus build up in my lungs. For those who do not know, Cystic Fibrosis already causes a build up of thick mucus in the lungs which damage them over time. CFer's have a flawed immune response which is often set off by dairy products (usually milk) which causes the immune system to start hammering the lungs with white blood cells and thus mucus buildup. That said I often go back and revisit the whole milk thing as our bodies do change over time.

Glutamine does have some potential benefits to my CF but that's not why I was interested, it was just a kind of bonus. Not that I don't believe you but I'm interested to see what others have to say about this topic. I've always been under the (possibly misguided) impression that it was one of the few "legit" supplements, along with Creatine.
 
T-Bone

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I wouldn't mess with any supplements without first consulting a doctor. For me to recommend supplements to someone with a serious medical condition would be irresponsible of me. Be careful and good luck, hope you are able to overcome your health obstacles.
 

incomudrox

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I wouldn't mess with any supplements without first consulting a doctor. For me to recommend supplements to someone with a serious medical condition would be irresponsible of me. Be careful and good luck, hope you are able to overcome your health obstacles.
I can understand your viewpoint seeing how you're a rep for a supplement company. That being said, I have a very intimate understanding of Cystic Fibrosis more than most doctors, as a matter of fact when my doctor has technical questions he emails me. Nearly 3 years ago before I got into supplementation of any kind, I was near death with only 11% lung function. Through supplements that correct cellular folding of the CFTR protein, along with correcting trafficking to rescue CFTR protein from the endoplasmic reticulum quality control complex in epithelial cells, leading to the actual formation of Cl- anion channels to be formed and correction of cAMP dependant cellular gating open probability timing I was able to reduce my Sweat Chloride level from an astonishing 117mmol to 89mmol which is better than the current $324,000/per-year drug "Kalydeco" does for my type 2 and type 3 CFTR mutation classes, with far less toxicity.

To come up with the concoction i use I spent nearly a year reading ChestJournal and NIH/PubMed abstracts, and Sigma-Aldrich's information base before I made any decisions about what to consume. In all reality I should be dead.

This isn't to say I know more than my doctor, but he respects my opinions and his motto is "If you feel better and you aren't declining I see no issues with it". For what it matters I go to the 12th best nationally ranked pulmonology hospital in the US.
 

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