Most people want to lose weight, but what if you want to gain it? It can be difficult to know how to do it safely and effectively. Here are some tips on how to safely gain weight.
Being underweight is not as big of an issue as being overweight, but it’s still a problem.
There are a lot of risks involved with not having enough mass on your body and some of these include:
- Osteoporosis
- Problems With Skin, Teeth, and Hair
- Greater Risk of Getting Sick
- Fatigue/Exhaustion
- Anemia
- Irregular Menstrual Cycle
- Impaired Growth/Healing
The biggest concern with people who are underweight and trying to gain weight is that they can fall into very poor nutritional habits. There are a lot of unhealthy ways to gain calories.
In fact, fatty liver disease has been found to be more prevalent in skinny people than it is in overweight people.
We don’t want to be a skinner sick person, nor do we want to be a heavier sick person. You get healthy to gain weight, you don’t gain weight to get healthy.
So what can we do to gain weight in a safe, healthy way?
Stop Carb-Loading
Some people who are underweight think that the only thing that matters is the calorie count. Because of this, they eat food like potato chips, burgers, and fries to gain more calories.
You shouldn’t be eating frivolous empty carbs, you should consider nutrition.
Healthy, real foods are the best way to gain weight in a safe way.
Healthy Fats
Fats are going to have more calories per gram compared to carbohydrates and proteins, which makes them more efficient.
Fats also burn cleaner inside of our system than carbohydrates, which burn like diesel fuel. When fat burns clean, it doesn’t leave residue in the body.
The best way to increase calorie count without having a negative effect on the body is by focusing on clean fats.
Create A Food Diary
To gain weight, a good target is to add an extra 500 calories per day. I recommend keeping a food diary about how many calories you’re consuming on a daily basis.
Then you want to consider things like age, metabolism, and how active you are. I recommend taking a week to figure out what kinds of food you’re eating and the calorie amounts of those foods.
The goal is going to be to increase that calorie count by 500 through healthy fats. Find out where you can substitute delicious superfoods like avocado, coconut oil, cleaner meats, smoothies, or nuts in place of the foods you eat now.
Dairy
Try to look for clean dairy forms that are organic instead of conventional forms. Try to also look for cleaner meats, like grass-fed beef, free-range chicken, and wild-caught fish.
Smoothies
Smoothies are an easy on-the-go way to gain weight because you can include so many nutrients in them.
Healthy fats, healthy nut butter, oils, and/or healthy nut milk all blended into a smoothie is a great way to get healthy fats in while increasing the calorie count.
You’ll find that when you start tracking calories, it’s rather easy to get the extra 500 calories when you spread it out between meals.
Protein
You want to be consuming plenty of protein. Try to shoot for 30 grams of protein per meal, but make sure it comes from clean sources, meaning natural and organic.
If your insulin is under control and you’re not a carb addict, you can start adding in more delicious superfoods. These foods are higher in carbohydrate content but are still going to give you a lot of nutrients.
Whole Grains
- Steel-Cut Oats – I would not recommend these unless your insulin is under control and you cut a lot of carbs out of your life.
- Brown Rice – Follow the same guidelines as with steel-cut oats, but is also a good choice.
- Bean-based Pasta – These pastas are made out of either garbanzo or black beans instead of grains, gluten, and pesticides.
Fruits & Vegetables
These are good to add in the early morning, anytime before noon. These tax your digestive system very little, clean up the toxicity in your body and come with a lot of extra water content.
Some of my favorites include:
- Berries
- Grapefruit
- Lemons
- Limes
- Honey
- Sweet Potatoes
These are all great options for vitamins, B vitamins, and minerals, as well as the nutrients from healthy carbohydrates.
Summary
Those are steps for you to follow and start to gain weight.
- Track your calories with a food diary
- Increase your daily calorie count by 500
- Focus on healthy fats & clean proteins
- Add in cleaner, healthy superfoods
I hope this article helps you. I’m here to make health simple and help guide you towards a healthier lifestyle.
