Gaining weight/muscle

[BookBomb]

I am about 5'9" 140lbs. and have a pretty fast metabolism. Although I am at a healthy weight I am still on the thin side and would like to gain some weight. What are some quick and easy high calorie foods as well as high protein foods?

[Bic]

Rice, nuts, beans (think more "kidney" and "garbanzo" than "wax bean"), whole wheat breads are good for you, and can contain a nice little pack of calories.

Hmm...baked tofu? Wild Wood has prepackaged baked tofu that is 160cal per piece/16g protein. Soy yoghurt by the same brand has 11g of protein if you get the plain version (130cal per cup).
Hummus is made from chickpeas if I remember correctly so it most likely has a good lot of protein.

Some fruits are high the calorie ranks. Avacadoes, dates, and olives come to mind.
For the nuts I'd suggest getting some natural peanut butter (Smart Balance has Omega-3 and other good stuff if I remember correctly), as you can mix it best with other foods.

Hope this helps. I'm currently avoiding high-cal foods so it's hard to think of them.

EDIT: By the way - Nosferatu rocks.

[xJimx]

First off, if you're looking for help gaining weight & muscle on a vegan diet then you should check out http://www.veganfitness.net & http://www.veganbodybuilding.com. There are people on these sites who know a great deal about the subject (including some professional atheletes & trainers) & they're both very friendly and supportive.

I have gained around 50lbs of muscle since going vegan (i'm 6ft tall & weigh around 220lbs), so it can definitely be done. In order to gain weight you need to consume excess calories, but try to focus on 'good' calories & don't just eat junk i.e. go for wholegrains, nuts, seeds, beans, pulses, soya products etc. If you really want to maximise weight gain then just eat as much as you can as often as you can.

However well & however much you eat, you won't gain muscle unless you lift weights. Basically you want to focus on freeweight compound exercises like deadlift, squat, overhead press etc. There is a risk of injury with these exercises if you don't know what you're doing so it's a good idea to join a decent gym & get some instruction. You want to avoid cardiovascular activity like running, swimming & aerobics if you want to gain maximum weight.

Good luck!