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Healthy Diet Plans >>  How to gain weight
How to gain weight


In today’s world of fitness and well toned figures or physiques, everyone wants to have the perfect body. On one hand, there are several people, who struggle with obesity problems and work very hard to try and keep the extra pounds off and on the other hand it is also common to see people who are so skinny that they want to put on some weight. There are some people who are naturally thin and manage to stay that way, in spite of eating whatever they like, in any quantity, without spending hours, working out. Strange as it may sound, most of these people often ask questions about how to gain weight, because there are a few risks that have been associated with being underweight or too skinny. Some of the most common risks of being underweight are complications during any form of surgery, lower immunity and delayed recovery after any illness.
Fortunately, these problems can be dealt with by following some simple “how to gain weight the healthy way?” tips.

How to gain weight?

Ironically, gaining the appropriate amount of weight, in the right manner is just as challenging as losing weight. In most cases, people only gain weight fast or lose weight rapidly, due to unhealthy practices. Therefore, people who are looking for options on how to gain weight fast should reconsider and look for healthy ways to gain weight instead. The best option for gaining weight the healthy way, is to eat foods that are high in energy density. This means that the energy or calories present in a food item is higher than the actual weight of the food. Also bear in mind that there are many factors that influence weight gain and one of them is metabolism. People who have a high or a fast metabolism will find it more difficult to gain weight, as their bodies then to burn calories and fat at a much faster rate.

How to gain weight with a fast metabolism?

There is one simple solution for people who want to gain weight, but have a very high metabolism. The solution is to consume more calories than your body can burn, in the whole day. The first step you need to do is find out how many calories your body burns in the day, by using a “daily calorie needs calculator” for about a week or two. Once you have an estimate of how many calories you burn in a day, you need to make sure that you eat at least 500 calories more, each day. If the extra 500 calories do not make that much of a difference, you will probably need to increase your caloric consumption by around 300 calories more for each day. You could increase more calories, but then there is a risk that your body may store a higher amount of fat, instead of muscle. You may need to wait for a few weeks, before you actually begin to see results. Even though weight gain may take a while, it is important to remain consistent with your caloric intake.



What to eat to gain weight?

It is important to watch what you are eating, because even skinny people can get sick by eating too much of the wrong kinds of foods. Eating too much junk foods, processed foods and fried foods is unhealthy for everyone, including thin people and therefore, these have to be an occasional indulgence. If you are trying to gain weight, you can eat an additional amount of foods from the following food groups:

•    Meats: Chicken, fish, eggs, turkey, beef and pork  
•    Dairy products: Milk, ice cream, cottage cheese, yogurt and cheese
•    Grains: Rice, oats, grits, pancakes, pasta, rolls, muffins, cereals and bread
•    Fruits: Canned fruits, fresh fruits, frozen fruits and juices
•    Vegetables: Fresh vegetables, canned vegetables, frozen vegetables
•    Oil: Butter, margarine, mayonnaise and spreads
•    Nuts: Cashew nuts, almonds, pistachio and walnuts

Make sure that you never skip a meal as it could make a big difference between weight loss and weight gain. Unless you are suffering from any other medical condition, you may also drink a very small amount of alcohol, before your meal, to increase your appetite.

What you should avoid when trying to gain weight are caffeine and nicotine, because they stimulate and boost your metabolism (that is why so many smokers are on the thinner side). Therefore, it is best to refrain from such stimulants, so that your body retains the maximum nutritional value of what you eat.

How to gain weight fast for girls?

Contrary to the common belief, no one likes to be too thin, or look like a bag of bones. Of course, while any woman would enjoy being able to eat her favorite foods, no one wants to look lanky or painfully thin. Gaining weight for girls is slightly different, as most women want to develop curves, instead of fat and muscles. Nobody wants a love handle or a double chin, which is bound to show up, if you gain weight the unhealthy way. Spending hours at the gym in order to gain weight will give a woman more muscle mass than curves. Moreover, hormones can play a very important role in how a woman fills out, when gaining weight. Therefore, it is important for any woman to undergo a proper analysis to identify the fat weight, water weight and muscle weight that is ideal for them.
Submitted on September 30, 2010