Gaining

saturn52:
Here's a touch of science I use with my clients:

Protein works because of a nitrogen that holds it all together. That's what our body needs to build and repair damage (like broken down muscle fibers from exercise, daily wear and tear, etc.). If your body does not need the nitrogen, then it will break the protein apart to be used as stored energy (body fat) and shed the nitrogen.

Basically if you consume more protein than your body needs, it turns straight into fat.

Nitrogen retention (keeping the protein as a protein and not fat) is different for everybody based on genetics, activity, diet, lifestyle, and so on. I think this variation is why you get so many different responses on the topic. So I'd recommend getting some and trying it out to see if it works for you!

shesgonnabehuge:
Also, as far as eating a bunch of fried foods and cream, or other foods high in saturated fats... I would like to avoid the saturated fats as much as possible; as gaining a lot of weight is already jeopardizing my heart.

shesgonnabehuge:
Also, as far as eating a bunch of fried foods and cream, or other foods high in saturated fats... I would like to avoid the saturated fats as much as possible; as gaining a lot of weight is already jeopardizing my heart.

giantjay:
Good advice! This is one of the reasons to avoid too much fast food as well - lots of saturated & trans fats, often high in sugar and sodium, too. You want to get fat, and live a long time to enjoy it!

I found cream, shakes and all of that stuff did help me gain, but as time wore on I became more sensitive to the dairy (gave me the runs).

The real win for me was just getting my stomach stretched out to hold more capacity. It resulted in it getting harder and harder to fill up, so I was always eating. Even eating healthy foods, I was consuming more calories than I could burn, so it was helping me grow fat.