We often stress about about losing weight, having the perfect shape and about toning our muscles to perfection – all for shedding those extra kilos. But, how many of us talk about gaining weight?
Most people do not realize that gaining weight is far more difficult than losing weight. But the fact is that losing weight is done lot more easily than gaining weight. Many skinny people struggle to gain weight and try consuming more junk food which in reality does not help. So what to eat to gain weight and stay healthy, is the focus of this article.
What to Eat to Gain Weight and Stay Healthy?
One needs to understand his/her body requirements to gain weight. Every individual requires certain amount of calories, if the calorie intake is high you will be overweight and if the calorie intake is low, you will be underweight. So what you require is eat the right food or food to gain weight.
Foods to Eat to Gain Weight:
1. Red Meats:
If you are a non-vegetarian and desperately trying to gain weight, then it’s a good idea to keep your eyes on, and stomach filled with red meat. Red meats contain fats and are also rich in proteins and iron, all required to gain healthy weight and strength.
Red meats are the foods to eat to gain weight but never overeat meats. You should always remember that red meat has high cholesterol content so it is necessary to include other foods like nuts and vegetables etc. in your diet to keep the cholesterol levels under control.
2. Peanut Butter:
Peanuts are a good source of energy and butter contains fats and vitamins D and E. It is a good idea to combine the two and include them into your daily diet to gain weight. Peanut butter is also rich in protein and fats and helps you gain weight in a healthy manner. A single serving of peanut butter includes 100 calories and four grams of protein. Real peanut butter is also high in magnesium, vitamin E and vitamin B3.
3. Pure Buffalo Milk:
We are all aware about the benefits of drinking milk. Drinking milk (especially buffalo milk) provides us with calcium, vitamins and fats. We generally prefer cow’s milk over buffalo’s milk. But, in order to reap more health benefits, all you have to do is replace cow’s milk with buffalo’s milk which is rich in healthy fats, hence a good food to help gain weight.
4. Fruits:
Healthy Fruits play an important role in keeping us strong. It’s a well known fact that mangoes, papayas, bananas and pineapples are full of natural sugars and provide good energy. Every doctor and dietician would suggest including fruits in one’s diet. Fruits are the healthiest and tastiest way to gain weight.
5. Nuts:
Nuts as we understand are full of nutrients. The truth is apart from nutrients, nuts are a rich source of fat and have high content of fibre. Including nuts as snacks will help you gain weight. A handful of nuts can make you feel full for hours. Almonds are a great choice as they are very high in good fats.
6. Potatoes:
When you are on a weight loss programme, the doctor or dietician will first ask you to cut down the intake of carbohydrates and potatoes are the first to be excluded from this diet. Hence, it is a good idea to include them into your weight gain diet. Potatoes are rich in potassium too, which add to their benefits.
Other Things to Keep in Mind while Trying to Gain Weight:
One needs to understand that only food intake does not help in increasing weight. An individual should understand his/her body type. Genes also play a major role in one’s physical build.Sometimes, even after consuming food to gain weight, you may not beef up. This could be because of heredity reasons. If your parents are thin and lean, there are chances that you will also be the same.
One should understand that human body can change to a limited extent through weight training and increased food intake. Normally, it is seen that people who are trying to regain weight after an illness are easily able to increase weight as compared to those who are naturally thin. So, what to eat to gain weight and stay healthy, if you are a true-blue skinny?
Let’s Look at This Issue in Detail and also Explore a Few Other Ways to Gain Weight:
- You must always focus on the quality of food rather than quantity of food. The secret to healthy weight gain is to make your calorie intake as nutrient-rich as possible. You should never radically change your diet, you should just increase the calorie intake with each meal by including nuts, cheese and healthy side-dishes like almonds, sunflower seeds, fruit or whole-grain wheat bread.
- Apart from concentrating on healthy foods, you must also include exercise as a part of your daily regime. You should include the right exercises, which target the larger muscles of the body and help in the growth of muscle mass. For weight gain one should follow and focus on free weight exercises which put stress on the muscles and help them expand. The best weight training exercises for building muscle mass are resistance training exercises such as dead lifts, squats, barbell rows, bench presses, bar dips and pull ups.
- Apart from exercising and including proper nutrients in your diet, you should never forget to keep the body hydrated, as this is the most essential part of building and maintaining healthy body weight. You can keep yourself hydrated by drinking enough water and also by intake of foods that are naturally rich in water content. If you are desperately seeking an answer to the question of what to eat to gain weight and stay healthy, then ensure that your digestive tract and liver health are optimum too. People believe that a thin individual’s protein intake should be high. But the truth is that protein consumption should be half of the individual’s body weight and should not exceed the required quantity. So always take care while designing your own weight gain diet.
- You should not keep your stomach empty for more than four hours. One must understand that the body needs a continuous supply of energy for the organs to function. Remember, our heart is always beating, blood is continuously circulating throughout the body, and the brain and muscles never stop working. When an individual skips his/her meals, then one is actually depriving the body of the fuel it requires to function. Eating regular meals prevents one’s body form losing any important tissue.
- While gaining weight in a healthy manner, meal timings play an important role. Considering today’s fast paced lifestyle, healthcare experts advise us to include plenty of fruits and vegetables in our diet. Numerous studies have shown that a well-planned, nutritious, plant-based diet is associated with a lower risk of obesity, heart disease, diabetes and stroke, as well as with longer life expectancy. If you would ask us about what to eat to gain weight and stay healthy, we would also advise you to include at least five servings of fruits and vegetables in your daily diet.
Exercising Right:
Why does Oxygen play an important role in weight gain?
Gym trainers normally prefer an aerobic exercises for gaining weight and building muscle. It is important to understand the working ability of a muscle which simply depends on blood circulation, oxygen and nutrition. The human body uses two different systems to supply the muscles with energy. One is through the aerobic system where carbohydrates and fat react with oxygen to metabolize into carbon dioxide and water and in the second, which is anaerobic, carbohydrates are used for energy production without oxygen and metabolized into lactic acid.
An aerobic exercise simply means exercising without use of oxygen. Hence, when an individual’s body does not use oxygen to produce energy it means the individual is exercising anaerobically and not aerobically where oxygen is used to the fullest. Oxygen plays an important role in weight loss and gain programmes.
Exercises which consume too much oxygen, help an individual lose weight and anaerobic exercises use muscles at high intensity in short duration’s which uses the fibers in the muscles.
Anaerobic exercise are done at a high level of intensity; any exercise done at high intensity can come under the said category. This type of exercise is good for bulking up and can be taken up by skinny people. Aerobic exercises can also be turned into an aerobic exercises.
One needs to understand that the key word here is “intensity”. For example, dancing, swimming, water aerobics, biking, walking, hiking, kick-boxing and many other activities are all types of aerobic exercises, but they can be anaerobic too if they are performed at a high intensity.
Benefits of an Aerobic Exercises for Weight Gain:
An aerobic exercise has numerous benefits, like: improved muscle strength, enhanced muscle mass metabolism, decreased soreness, improved energy levels improved bone strength and density, improved joint protection and blood sugar control.
These exercises also help in preventing health problems like cardiovascular disease, type II diabetes, arthritis and pain in the lower back. It also strengthens an individual’s immune system.
Apart from the above mentioned benefits, anaerobic exercise also reshape the body and improve the appearance of the individual. Strength training helps an individual get a toned and athletic body which helps in reshaping the body and enhancing the individual’s appearance. It also helps to improve ones energy levels.
One should understand that the body relies on glycogen stored in the muscles for energy. Hence, an individual receives more energy through regular anaerobic exercise which increases the body’s capacity to store glycogen.
One should also remember that anaerobic exercise has great benefits for overall health but before undertaking any exercise programme, one should consult a healthcare expert who can guide him/her according to his/her body type.
The best way to gain weight without getting oneself into any health complication is to have a good combination of food, water and exercise. This is the best tip to gain weight. So eat the right energy rich foods to gain weight, stick to a high intensity workout and see your thin body transform into a well shaped muscled bod, in no time!
