I'm a 42 year old hiv/hepc+ female, I weigh 120 pounds and I'm really thin all over except for my gut, how can I gain some weight and evenly distribute it? And what would be a good excercise regimen for me to tighten and tone? I lost muscle mass during Interferon treatment and am now trying to get back in shape.

People living with HIV and Hep C and on HAART have a higher incidence of insulin resistance and fat accumulation in the abdomen. HIV/Hep C patients also tend ti have higher incidences of lipoatrophy (fat loss under the skin) I would tend to do the following to see how things work for you:

1- Try to replace sugar and sweets with fruit. Limit your intake of bread and pasta also. 2- Consume more soluble fiber (oats, vegetables, apples, etc) 3- Eat lean meats and nuts 4- Do not drink sodas! 5- Do some sort of aerobic exercise three times a week for at least 20 minutes (make sure you break a sweat). 45 minutes of weight training (machines, free weights)before aerobic exercise may help reduce fat accumulation and increase lean body mass. 6- Talk to your doctor about what insulin resistance is and what medications may make it worse. Most protease inhibitors tend to worsen it, specially in the presence of nucleosides that start with a D (D4T, DDI, DDC) 7- Talk to your doctor about testing your testosterone, thyroid, estrogen, progesterone and DHEA to make sure you are not having hormonal imbalances.

Let me know how things go! Good luck

Nelson