How do I gain weight?

While it is not as common a goal as losing weight, there are a significant number of people who have weight gain as their goal. The reasons are as varied as people, but could include a desire to gain weight for a sport, a desire to gain a few pounds after rehabilitating from an injury, or you are simply underweight and have trouble stepping on the scale, or have been told by your doctor. asked to do so. gain weight.

Before embarking on your weight gain journey, I would be remiss if I did not encourage you to visit your Dr. for a check-up first. You may not even be underweight. While I’m not a fan of BMI, underweight is defined as having a BMI below 18.5. (The media plays an important role in the way we view our bodies and you may be fine in the skin you are in) However, there may be medical reasons why it is difficult for you to gain weight and your doctor will make it A good place to start. Okay, all cleared by your doctor? Next, let’s look at ways to help you gain weight.

Weight gain will generally follow the same formula as weight loss, but in reverse. If calories have to be lower than calories to lose weight, then it stands to reason that the opposite will have the opposite effect — and it does! So the universal scientific formula for weight gain is that calories should be greater than than calories consumed.

It sounds simple and all you have to do is increase your daily McBurgers allowance, right? Well, not so fast. You want to do this well and in a healthy way and slowly. So without further ado, here are some tips for your bag of tricks.

NUTRITION

1. Determine how many calories you are eating now and how many calories you need based on your daily activity. You can use a good online tool for this. Whatever the number is, it represents the amount of calories you need just to maintain the weight you are (I know, I finished my sentence with a preposition, I’m crazy like this) Now that you know what the number is, you need increase your daily caloric intake for, oh, let’s start with an increase of 500 calories per day. When you gain or lose weight or change your activity level or have changes in health, your caloric needs change, so always keep up to date with what your calorie goal is. Food diaries are a great tool, especially in the beginning.

2. Try to eat more often, YES !! If you eat 3 meals a day, try adding a couple of healthy snacks throughout the day.

3. When you eat your usual meals, increase the portion size. If the snack n. 1 was going to be a yogurt (I know … yuck!), So have 2 yogurts instead. At dinner, have a second serving of vegetables. The goal is to try to increase your portion sizes with each meal.

4. Focus on good foods. Whole grain breads are dense and you can cut thick slices and top with your favorite topping like peanut butter, honey, hummus … Mmmmm. When picking vegetables, choose those with the lowest water content. Things like cucumbers have a lot of water, so they will make you appear fuller while you take them, but you eat fewer calories … you don’t want that … you want potatoes, carrots, corn, etc. The same goes for fruits … choose the densest ones like a banana over an orange (dried fruits are good!)

5. Fats are where they are (my mom said I was always good at rhyming words) Fats are so good because they contain 9 calories per gram, while carbohydrates and protein have only 4 losers. OBJECTIVE … choose healthy fats. Nuts, seeds, peanut butter, avocados, hummus, oils … all good! And the good thing is, you can add some of these to everything you eat. Cook eggs? Cook them in oil … Having toast? Spread some hummus … Got salad or cereal? Sprinkle on some nuts or seeds and add a little more oil to your salad. You can add healthy fats each time you sit down to eat. Toss some dried fruit into a salad or granola. Coat the potatoes with oil or cheese or go nuts and sprinkle some chili on top.

6. Tired of eating? Drink your calories. There are plenty of healthy meal replacement drinks that are good, but why not make your own smoothie? Make it with milk, fruit, honey … whatever … then sprinkle in some seeds. You can also try replacing part of your water intake with juices or the occasional sports drink.

7. Remember, slow gain is best. Gaining your weight too quickly only increases the chances that the weight you gain will come from fat mass and not from lean body mass. A gain of about a half to a pound per week should be your goal.

EXERCISE

1. Gain some muscle. You want to make sure you add some lean muscle and that all the weight gain isn’t just from fat. If you incorporate a resistance routine three times a week (such as bodyweight exercises or weight lifting) then you can gain some lean muscle mass and what’s even better … increased workload can even increase your appetite … WIN !! If you want to gain muscle mass, add a little extra protein to your meals as well. Eating too little protein can cause you to lose body mass, so keep your intake at a healthy level. Beans, peanuts, chicken, tuna … all good!

2. Avoid extra “cardio” type workouts like jogging and focus on resistance exercises.

3. After a workout, have a light snack that includes protein like egg toast, whole grain crackers with cheese, or just a glass of chocolate milk. Protein will be building blocks to help repair and build muscle after your exercise.

4. Incorporate a stretching routine into your day. Okay, this in and of itself won’t help you gain weight, but with additional resistance training, stretching will help keep your body pain-free and your body moving properly.

SUPPORT

** Tell your friends and family what your goals are so they can participate and help support you in your goals. Join an online group with other like-minded people so you always have someone to talk to and share ideas with. Don’t discount this – having the right support is key to anything in life.

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