What are some healthy ways to gain weight/add calories into my diet?
I struggle with being underweight and have for a long time. I don’t take in enough calories during the day to make up for how many I burn.What are some healthy ways to add calories into my diet without dumping junk food into my body? And I already know that working out will help add weight to my body but it’s not just about gaining weight; I would also like to look healthier and thicker.
June 24th, 2010 at 11:26 pm
•Eat three main meals per day that include some type of calorie dense foods such as cheese, seeds, beans or any complex carbohydrate.
•At a minimum, eat three snacks per day. Snacks should be those that are high in calories, vitamins, and minerals but not high in sugar or fat. Nutritious snacks ideas include dried fruits, nuts, wheat crackers, protein bars.
•Add a dietary supplement such as Ensure, Boost, or Carnation Instant Breakfast between or with meals.
•Add powdered milk to soups, casseroles, shakes, smoothies, and milk. Add butter and oil to dishes. Such as a dab of butter in your oatmeal, or some oil in your pasta.
•Drink a lot of pure fruit juice or milk with and between meals. Juices that are mixed with two or more juices (such as strawberry-kiwi) are higher in calories than a drink that is only one juice.
There is also a product called GNC weight gainer. It is simply a powder that has 1,850 calories per serving. You just mix it with milk.
Other tips…
1) Count how many calories you eat in a normal day. Don’t change anything, just eat like you normally would and count how many calories you consumed. This is an extremely important step, so try to be as exact as possible. Also, weigh yourself.
2) Starting the day after you counted calories, eat 500 calories MORE then you normally do. So, lets pretend that the day you counted calories you counted 2000. For the rest of the week, you would now eat 2500 calories a day. Instead of eating 3 big meals a day or eating all day all the time, spread those calories out over 5-6 smaller meals. Eat one meal every 2 and a half to 3 hours. To get big, you have to eat big! Remember that.
3) Weightlifting! Get in the gym and lift! This is another important step to how to gain weight, so make sure you are doing it correctly. For more information on weightlifting workout routines and splits, read the workout routines and splits section.
4) At the end of that week, weigh yourself. You’ll notice you’re gaining just after one week! Now, don’t expect to see a 10lb increase. Gaining anymore then 1 or 2 pounds a week is unhealthy and means you’re putting on way to much fat. So look for 1 or 2 pound gains at the end of the week. Don’t sound like much? You can be gaining 5-8 pounds a month!
5) Heres an important one. At some point, you will stop seeing weight gain. At this point, you will have to eat even more. So, when you stop gaining for at least 2 weeks, it means it is time to start eating an extra 250 calories a day. Every time you see you haven’t gained weight for at least 2 weeks, add an extra 250 calories.
Good luck. 🙂
June 24th, 2010 at 11:29 pm
There are two routes without taking the extreme.
1) Eat high calorie food balance with excersise
2) Eat healthy, low calorie food to build body fat (Cheerios)