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[i2amroy]

My wrists are fairly large and I can do both those things, so I think it might be an element of relative size.

Yeah, being able to wrap one hand around the other's wrist is much more an element of your bone structure combined with how long your fingers are then anything to do with weight. I personally can touch halfway between the joint and base of my thumb with the tip of my middle finger when wrapping them around my wrist and am quite firmly placed into the middle of the healthy weight range for my size. Similarly I know some people who were slightly underweight and due to a combination of having fairly stocky bones and short fingers weren't able to even touch their fingers together.

[MorleyDev]

I can almost do that on my ankle, and many of my slightly-bigger-handed friends have tried and demonstrated they can do it at my ankle....and a couple can do it at my upper arm xD

[Meph]

Wow, I am exactly your size, 188cm, and I weight 80kg. I consider myself skinny. After a long tour through Africa (one year on a bike) I weighted 66kg and was very aware of the health problems. I am back on 75-85kg, it varies depending on the tours I do. With 10kg less, you should really aim at gaining weight.

My advise, as someone who knows how to gain/lose weight (from personal experience, as well ad having a girlfriend that is a personal trainer)

Running/Cycling/Cardio = BAD. Seriously, consider doing none of these for a while.
Weightlifting = Good.
More food = Most important.

Start counting calories. Aim at 4000-5000 a day. Milk + Bananas + Proteinpowder is a good way to supplement your food. Make a liter or so each day. Since you dont seem to mind getting also gains in non-muscle mass, add fast food, lots of fats or chocolate to your diet. When I am in between tours, I eat at least one block of chocolate each day, its easy 600 extra calories.

When I am on tour, I need 6000-10000 kalories a day, which is 40 chicken mcnuggets or 2,5 bigmacs around every 3 hours... so it could be worse than "just" trying to gain weight. I do up to 10 hours of cardio a day, and have to eat that just to stop losing weight.

A important tip for the beginning: Write everything down. Its easier to spot mistakes, skipped days, but also gained weight that way.

Mind that you will spend more money than before, because your calorie intake / food will be 2-4 times higher than before.

Sappoh: Seriously, Running and Weightgain/Muscle building = No. The runners tou know are probably fit and build muscles in the gym with resistance training, and they simply look like they have more muscles, because they are well defined and reduced their bodyfat percentage by doing cardio. But there are not muscular Marathon runners. Sprinters, yes, but not long distance. You also wont get strength increase from running.

[nenjin]

Yeah, all running and cardio are going to do is burn fat and tone muscle. It's not going to add mass, unless you're doing some sort of crazy weight-assisted running which is neither safe nor recommended.

[weenog]

Eggs are very good for someone like you.

One thing you could try, if you've got one of those bulk grocery stores nearby, is buy one of those cases of 5 dozen eggs, and hard boil the whole thing.  Eat a few any time you need a snack and with every meal.  When you get bored with 'em, turn some into deviled eggs or make egg salad sammiches.  Slice them and throw them onto your salads.  Try mashing a few into anything rich or spicy you eat (they're pretty bland on their own, it's not hard to lose the taste under any strong flavor).  You don't need to get a giant case of eggs, you could buy multiple regular cartons per trip, or make more shopping trips, I just found the big cases most convenient.

It's very easy to eat a few in a hurry when you've already done all the cooking and just need to pull some out of the fridge, peel and swallow.  They aren't terribly filling either, so you might be able to sneak a few in just after waking without upsetting your stomach.

[Helmaroc]

Initially you may want to cut down or eliminate intense cardio from your routine, but if you're seeking optimal health, strength and endurance, you will eventually want to include both aerobic and anaerobic exercises. I am also attempting to gain muscle mass, and I've found that eating small amounts constantly throughout the day is easier than trying to stuff in 3 huge meals. Also sometimes you may want to eat a little past the 'feeling full' point. Obviously you don't want to feel sick, but eating extra will help you push your calorie consumed/burned ratio past the barrier of your fast metabolism.

Snack on high protein foods: peanut butter, nuts, eggs (boiled is easy as weenog mentioned), beans, lean meat, fish, milk. Protein supplements such as powders or bars will help. A sudden increase in protein intake may upset your stomach, so gradually is better. It is especially important to include adequate vitamins and minerals in your diet when trying to gain muscle, as deficiencies in certain nutrients will hinder the muscle-building process. Getting enough sleep is very important. Caffeine can help energize for workouts but over-consumption only speeds up your metabolism that much more. Drinking lots of water is important with a high-protein diet.

[Caz]

Start counting calories. Aim at 4000-5000 a day. Milk + Bananas + Proteinpowder is a good way to supplement your food. Make a liter or so each day. Since you dont seem to mind getting also gains in non-muscle mass, add fast food, lots of fats or chocolate to your diet. When I am in between tours, I eat at least one block of chocolate each day, its easy 600 extra calories.

First useful post in the thread. Eat more = Gain weight!

[Tiruin]

Don't be mean, Caz.

Also PTW.
Because I seriously can't gain weight :I

[mastahcheese]

I'm 6 ft tall, and weigh 160 lbs.
I can easily touch my thumb and pinky together about half-way up my arm.

I think I need to read through this.

[nenjin]

Apparently it's not a metric of healthy BMI? I dunno. I always assumed if I was fleshier I wouldn't be able to do that.

[mastahcheese]

Well, I also have gangly slender-man limbs and fingers, so maybe it's just my skeletal structure.

[Arx]

6' and 160lb is theoretically healthy. It's quite likely you just have long fingers or skinny arms.

That said, watching this with interest.

[Meph]

Start counting calories. Aim at 4000-5000 a day. Milk + Bananas + Proteinpowder is a good way to supplement your food. Make a liter or so each day. Since you dont seem to mind getting also gains in non-muscle mass, add fast food, lots of fats or chocolate to your diet. When I am in between tours, I eat at least one block of chocolate each day, its easy 600 extra calories.

First useful post in the thread. Eat more = Gain weight!

Occams Razor. Keep it simple.

Peanuts and peanut butter is a good example btw, cheap with high calories.

I usually put on 5-15kg in 3-6 months that way, before I head out into some weird third world region and lose it again. It works for me, and I have an ectomorph bodytype. I also dont go to the gym, but have a little training room at home. If you dont have any gear, BWE, body weight exercises, are fine. Just google the term and you get a long list.

[Caz]

Don't be mean, Caz.

Also PTW.
Because I seriously can't gain weight :I

Uh... did it look like I was being sarcastic? I wasn't. People over-complicate it so much with their "I can't lose/gain weight!" crap. You're underweight? You're not eating enough. Barring the 1% of cases where there's some medical problem like coeliac disease or whatever.

[Meph]

Don't be mean, Caz.

Also PTW.
Because I seriously can't gain weight :I

Uh... did it look like I was being sarcastic? I wasn't. People over-complicate it so much with their "I can't lose/gain weight!" crap. You're underweight? You're not eating enough. Barring the 1% of cases where there's some medical problem like coeliac disease or whatever.

I did not understood it as sarcasm. And I do agree, the basic idea is simple: Eat more kalories than you burn and you will store the rest as bodymass. Eat more = Weight more.