Although it is not as common a goal as weight loss, there are a large number of people whose goal is to gain weight. Reasons vary, but may include wanting to put on weight for a sport, wanting to put on a few pounds after rehabilitating from an injury or you’re just underweight and having trouble getting on the scale. Your doctor has told you to do this. gaining weight.
Before embarking on your weight gain journey, I would be remiss if I did not encourage you to visit your Dr. for a checkup first. You may not even lose weight. While I’m not a fan of BMI, underweight is defined as having a BMI of less than 18.5. (The media plays a big role in how we view our bodies and it may be that you are fine in the skin you are in.) However, there may be medical reasons why you find it difficult to gain weight and your A doctor would be a good place to start. Ok, your doctor cleared everything? So let’s look at ways to help you put on a few pounds.
Gaining weight will generally follow the same formula as losing weight—but in reverse. if calories are to be lower Compared to calories for weight loss, it stands to reason that it would have the opposite effect—and it does! That’s why the scientific universal formula for weight gain is calorie in must be Greater Out compared to calories.
It sounds simple and all you have to do is increase your daily allotment of McBurgers? OK, not so fast. You want to do this in the right and healthy way and slowly. So without further ado, here are some tips for your bag of tricks.
nutrition
1. Based on your daily activity, determine how many calories you are consuming now and how many calories you need. For this you can use a good online tool. Whatever the number is, it represents the number of calories you need just to maintain the weight you are (I know, I ended my sentence with a preposition—I’m crazy like that). you know what the number is, you increase You’re daily caloric intake is, oh, let’s start with an increase of 500 calories per day. Your calorie needs change when you gain or lose weight or change your activity level or change in health so always stay updated on what your calorie target is. A food diary is a great tool, especially in the beginning.
2. Try to eat more often-yes!! If you eat 3 meals a day, try adding some healthy snacks throughout the day.
3. When you have your regular meals, increase your portion sizes. If snack #1 was going to be yogurt (I know… yuck!) then have 2 yogurts instead. For dinner, have a second serving of vegetables. Aim to try to increase your portion sizes with each meal.
4. Pay attention to good food and drink. Whole grain breads are dense and you can cut thick slices and put on your favorite toppings like peanut butter, honey, hummus… hmmmmm. While choosing vegetables, choose those which have low water content. Things like cucumbers have a lot of water in them so you will feel more full when consuming but you take in fewer calories… you don’t want that… you want potatoes, carrots, corn etc. Same goes for fruit. Choose something denser like a banana over an orange (dried fruit is good!)
5. Fat is where it’s at (my mom said I was always good at rhyming words) Fats are great because they pack 9 calories per gram while carbs and protein only have 4 losers. but… pick up healthy fat. Nuts, seeds, peanut butter, avocado, hummus, oil… all good! And the good news is that you can add some of these to almost everything you eat. cook eggs? Cook them in oil… Toasting? Spread some hummus on… eating a salad or cereal? Sprinkle some nuts or seeds and add a little more oil to your salad. You can add healthy fats whenever you sit down to eat. Add some dried fruit to salads or granola. Top your potatoes with oil or cheese or go wild and put some chili on top of them.
6. Bored of eating? Drink your calories. There are lots of healthy meal replacement drinks that are good but why not make your own smoothie? Add it to milk, fruit, honey… whatever… then sprinkle in some seeds. You can also try replacing some of your water intake with juice or the occasional sports drink.
7. Remember, slow gains are best. Increasing your weight too quickly only increases the likelihood that your weight will come from fat mass and not lean body mass. Gains of about one-half to one pound per week should be your goal.
Exercise
1. Get some muscle. You want to make sure that you add some lean muscle and that all of your weight gain is not just from fat. If you incorporate a resistance routine three times per week (like body weight exercises or lifting weights) you can gain some lean muscle mass and what’s even better…increased workload your appetite Can also increase… WIN!! If you want to gain muscle mass, then also include some extra protein in your diet. Protein intake that is too low can actually make your body lose weight so keep your intake at a healthy level. Beans, peanuts, chicken, tuna… all good!
2. Avoid extra “cardio” type workouts like jogging and focus only on resistance exercises.
3. After a workout, have a light snack that includes protein such as an egg on toast, whole wheat crackers with cheese or simply a glass of chocolate milk. Protein will be the building block to help repair and build muscle after your workout.
4. Include stretching routine in your day. Okay, this in itself won’t help you gain weight, but with the added resistance training, stretching will help keep your body pain-free and your body moving properly.
Help
**Tell friends and family what your goals are so they can get involved and help you with your goals. Join an online group with other like-minded individuals so you always have someone to talk to and bounce ideas off of. Don’t overlook it – proper support is important for anything in life.
Source by Darcy Broadbent
