Do Weight Gaining Pills Such As CB1 Weight Gainer Actually Work?

While most of the world is struggling to lose weight, there are also those who desperately try the opposite: gain weight.  And it’s hard. For me it was one of the hardest things to accomplish. I enjoy a good meal like any other, but my body would just say “stop” too soon. When I started out training and trying to eat more, my progress was nowhere near what I expected. I maybe gained one pound a month, and in some months I even lost one. I just couldn’t reach my goal.

At that time I only had 115 pounds with 5”11’, and I hated it. If I’d be in a game, I’d be one of the first skeleton enemies you bash with your hero at level 1. I didn’t want to be the skeleton anymore… I wanted to be the hero. Well, maybe that’s too much to ask for, but I wanted to get to at least 150 pounds with toned muscles. And like so many others, I wanted to gain weight fast.

Hard task to accomplish when your time is limited by running a business and some hobbies I didn’t want to give up. I had a total of 2 hours’ time for training per week, so I had to get the best out of it and eat a lot in addition.

After 3 months of training and barely gaining anything, I thought I’ll try out some weight gain pills. I did it like my own little science project, dedicating just one month to one weight gain supplement. If it didn’t produce results in that time-frame, I moved to the next one. This article resembles my little journey, and I truly hope to help others who are in the same boat as me.

Additionally, I’ll provide some more tips at the end of the article that helped me gain weight too. So, keep on reading, you won’t regret it!

Month #1: CB-1 Weight Gainer

CB-1 Weight Gainer

The CB-1 Weight gain pills were the one that peaked my interest first, since it seemed to be the most popular I could find. The reviews promised great results, so what could go wrong? Also, they’re the most expensive, and quality usually has its price.

Those weight gain pills are supposed to work by stimulating ones appetite. I took them as were the recommended guidelines, kept my training schedule (2 hours / week) and tried to eat as much as I could spread over 4 times a day. Some recommend 5 times, but I just don’t have the time for that.

After the first week, I really didn’t see any difference in appetite. I still couldn’t eat more than usual, but it might just be that the effect of those pills takes a little longer to establish. However, after three weeks, I became disillusioned. It might just be me, but those pills didn’t make a difference AT ALL.

I still tried over the last week, but then gave up since no change happened. 

No more appetite, no substantial weight gain. In addition, I found out later that the occasional nausea I had since taking it might come from the ridiculous amount of vitamin D present in CB1. They put almost four times the recommended daily value in it. Basically, I paid $50 for harming my body, with no beneficial effects. Nausea also isn’t something that helps with eating more (duh..).

Conclusion: CB-1 Weight Gainer NOT recommended

Month #2: Practin Weight Gain Pills

Practin Weight Gain Formula

Practin Weight Gain Pills use Cyproheptadine as an active ingredient, and I’ve read many reviews and it seemed that they worked for rapid weight gain. Exactly what I needed!

After the first week, I already saw a slight increase in my appetite. Awesome, finally found something that works. The next two weeks after that helped me even more with eating, and I put on 3 pounds of weight in that time.

Fourth week I didn’t have any increase in weight, but I also trained less and was not as consistent with my eating anymore. Somehow, I felt much more tired, almost sedated in comparison to my past. Why? I did some more research and quickly learned that while Practin helps with weight gain, it also has some bad side effects.

Short term side effects include sedation and sleepiness, which was most likely the reason I slipped with training. I just didn’t have the energy to go through. Damn, I finally found a weight gainer that actually increases my hunger, then this. My research also revealed that the weight gained with those pills is lost quickly after stopping them.

That’s just not a good way to start

Conclusion: Practin Weight Gain Pills NOT recommended

Month #3: EatmorMAX Appetite Stimulant - Natural Orxegenic Supplement

EatMOR Max Appetite Stimulant Pills

EatmorMAX Appetite Stimulant has the best reviews of all weight gain supplements I could find on amazon, so I thought I’ll try them next. Considering that all their ingredients are natural too was an added bonus. However, for those weight gain pills I did some more research first, as to not make the same mistake as the last time with Practin. I’ve spent two hours searching for reliable information on the side effects, but didn’t find anything. Great! Let’s give it a try.

As is recommended, I took one pill before breakfast and another one before dinner with some water. The first week didn’t go as well as I thought. My appetite was almost the same as before, just a little bit better. Not quite as much as with the Practin pills, but almost. But no side effects, so at least it didn’t disappoint in that regard.

But then… second to fourth week, I gained 7 pounds. I had significantly more hunger than before, without any tiredness or other side effects.  It worked! As the old saying goes, “Don’t change a running system”, I kept on taking those weight gain pills in addition to my exercise regimen.

Five months after trying them, I reached my weight goal of 150 pounds. In fact, I’ve remained on that weight since the past 3 months without any problems, despite the fact that I stopped taking them since about 1,5 months. I no longer need them, but they certainly were an integral part in reaching my goal.

Conclusion: EatmoreMAX Appetite Stimulant works very well without any side-effects. It’s also not required to keep on taking them forever, like it would be with others. If you’re struggling with increasing your calorie intake, I’d recommend you to give them a try. After all, they’re comparatively inexpensive.

7 Additional Weight Gain Tips

1.)    Strength Training
Strength training means that you should try to incorporate weight training with low repetitions (6-12 reps, 3-4 sets) and much weight.

2.)    Less Cardio
Cardio training, while certainly a good thing, burns a lot of calories and doesn’t build as much muscle as does strength training.

3.)    Creatine + BCAA Supplement
I’m taking the Muscletech Hardgainer Creatine Formula from CellTech. It includes not only all the Creatine + BCAA you need, but also some complex carbs. It helps indirectly gaining weight by providing lots of calories and giving you much more energy for your training, thus being able to lift more. It also helps with postponing fatigue. I could do over 20% more weight with this supplement! If you blend it with frozen fruits and yoghurt, you have one of the tastiest ice creams you’ll ever eat. I sincerely love it, and I’m still taking it daily.

4.)    Less smoking
If you’re a smoker like me, then reducing it can help a lot with increasing appetite even more. Of course, quitting would be even better. I didn’t quit, but instead limit my cigarettes to only two before 4pm, and only if I ate at least one meal before each.

5.)    Eat more fat

Fat has double the calories as protein and carbs, and it takes less energy to digest it.

6.)    Drink one mass gainer shake a day

While I only drink them occasionally, if my time schedule won’t allow the four times eating, they’re still quite handy for those situations. I’m using “Optimum Nutrition Serious Mass, Chocolate” for that.

7.)    Caloric-rich foods

Focus on foods with lots of calories that are loaded with nutrients. Don’t waste your hunger on foods with empty calories, as there is little nutrient value in the calories you’re eating. My recommendation would be foods that are full of slow releasing proteins, fats, carbs, vitamins, fiber and minerals.