From 18 to 20/21 did you gain any weight? (muscle, working out, eating)

[kitgirl11]

Well I'm newly 18. I'm 5'2" and 96 lbs and for my age I'm on the 5 percentile. I'm not under or over weight. But I just found out in only a few months if I don't gain weight I'm going to be underweight. I have since I made it on my own been able to gain more weight than with my mom. I was 86 to 91 lbs then. My mom's a health freak my body doesn't react well with it. But it seems not I'm at this weight. I'm just curious from others how much weight is likely to be gained by someone in this age range? Is it usual to gain weight in the next 3 years? Advice?

[td333]

Usually quite a bit...mostly from drinking, poor nutrition and laziness.

I gained weight from eating healthy and working out though.

[LuckyGem]

I gained 40 pounds my first year of college.

[kitgirl11]

I always lose weight from eating well. Well as in like whole wheat **** 99% lean ground turkey no beef no milk no yogurts real oatmeal no juice etc the list goes on and ones I started eating like I a normal person I gained like 5 pounds. Which I call eating badly coming from my mom's cooking. That's god to know... Because I thought weight gain was low at this age. But I guess that's wgy 18 isn't an adult on the bmi always....

[UnexpectedError]

I gained about ten pounds my first year of college from drinking and birth control, lost 15 from mono before sophomore year, and gained 5-8 back to be at my normal, stable weight.

I'm underweight according to standard scales but I am at a weight that is natural for me. Don't worry too much about weight scales, just live healthy and forget the number.

[Ohiogirl81]

I lost a lot of weight in college from all that walking. When I got out, though, and started driving everywhere and sitting at a desk ... Not good.

I wouldn't worry about your weight too much; eat healthy meals and a variety of foods. Enjoy an occasional dessert. If you're really concerned, talk to your doctor, or ask your doctor to refer you to a nutritionist.

[nei]

I was close to the underweight side at the start of college, and gained 15 pounds my first year. Lost 5 afterwards. I think it was partly that my body hadn't completely finished growing, and it grows up instead of wide.

So, yeah, I think you'll gain a bit of weight in the next year.

[Bakeneko]

I think my weight (at 5'4'') floated between 110 -115 lbs during that time period. Jumped up over the next few years to 125 - 128 during the rest of my 20's ( I was a Marine during that time and put on muscle - my "measurements" didn't change)

[NJBest]

I put on 20 pounds during that time and kept it on until about 24. At 24 I realized how ugly an extra 20 pounds looks and the potential health risks so I just started running. I know the OP wants to put on weight... but for those who put on too much in college... running a few miles/week works!

[oneasterisk]

I gained some weight after 20-21 because of the work I was doing. I was traveling around the US and we had daily per diems. So I was eating out for every meal as well as going out bar hopping with the coworkers afterwards. The pounds packed on and for the first time I had to consciously work. At this point I'm only 20lbs more than I was in High School and definitely more muscular so I've got things under control now. I could stand to lose some body fat around my belly, but I wouldn't consider myself overweight.

I went to high school with a girl who was around your size. I always thought she was way too thin. Years later I ran into her again and she had gained some weight. IMO she looked a lot better and she did seem a lot more confident too.