Wish to know all the healthy ways to gain weight?
Most of the people have trouble in losing weight and are tired of being overweight, while some people eat all they can but still do not gain weight easily. It is not difficult to gain or lose weight, but it takes hard work, patience and consistency.
When I started with my workout to gain weight, I ate everything I could but wasn’t able to gain any even then. I was a beginner then and I wasn’t sure about where I was going wrong and no one was there to guide me. The only thing I was lacking in was consistency. I was eating 3500 calories a day, 2000 maybe on next day and 3000 the day after. Since I was not counting my calories it became a difficult journey for me. Now that I’m experienced in this field,I suggest everyone who are into fitness either to gain or lose weight to maintain a diary or book where you can record everything you eat and keep a track of calories you have consumed in a day so that you know if you’re going in the right direction or not.
Now talking about weight gain, one of the most common mistake that people make(including me) is that they eat anything and everything just to meet their calorie requirement. We calculate our calorie requirement for a day and then keep eating everything just to make sure we meet our calorie requirement. But this approach is not going to help much, as all the weight we gain comes mostly from fat and not muscle.
We need to gain weight in such a way that most of it comes from pure muscle and minimum fat.
For this, the first step is to calculate not only the daily calories required to gain weight, but also the particular amounts of protein, carbohydrates and fats require. You can calculate the following macros here: Daily Calorie Monitor
Once you calculate your calorie requirements, follow the below guidelines that will help you gain healthy weight.
Healthy Ways To Gain Weight:
- Meet Your Calorie Requirements but Also Keep Your Macros In Mind: Yes you must aim for a calorie surplus to gain weight, but also keep a check on your macros. As I mentioned earlier to gain healthy weight you must fulfill macros too. If your body need 120g of protein and 100g of fats, you have to eat this much protein and fats then. Any less or more will affect your gains.
Hence you should keep in mind that if you wish to gain healthy weight, then you have to keep track of your macros as well as your calorie requirements which can prove to be the quickest way to gain weight. - Eat Clean Foods: This is also an important step. Most of the people I see try to complete their calorie requirement by eating loads of junk food like pizza, burger, soda etc. It wouldn’t be difficult to get 3000 calories a day from junk foods but is it going to help you? Certainly Not!
These foods are low in nutrition profiles hence they will only lead to unhealthy fat gains. To gain weight the healthy way you must take help of quality whole foods which are high in protein or carbohydrates like chicken breast, oats, peanut butter etc.
Here’s an article on Healthy Foods to Gain weight.
Hence my suggestion is that if you wish to gain healthy weight, take help of clean and healthy foods instead of junk foods. - Keep a day for Cheat Meals: The best approach that I personally follow is to eat clean for 6 day a week and keeping Sunday as your cheat day. On this day, reward your body with foods that you like that may include pizzas or burgers or anything. This helps in increasing your metabolism as well as your motivation. Keep this day of your week for offering your body whatever it needs.
- Train Heavy For 4-5 Days A Week: Try to work out with heavy weights in a rep range of 6-10.
Focus more on compound movements which involve more than one muscle like deadlifts, squats, bench press, pull-ups etc. These movements help in releasing more Growth Hormone in body and will make sure you get big in no time. Read the Top Exercises to Gain Weight article for a clear picture. - Use the Right Supplements: If you wish to gain healthy weight, then the only 2 supplements you would need are Creatine and Whey Protein. I suggest mass gainers to only those who are hard-gainers and just want to gain weight regardless of fat or muscle.
To make your own weight gain shake, mix
1 scoop whey protein+2 spoon raw oats+2 scoop peanut butter+ Hershey’s Syrup in blender and consume this shake once in breakfast and once after workout.
For creatine, I have written a post just for using Creatine the right way to Gain weight in Creatine for Weight Gain. - Sleep For 8-10 Hours: Do not compromise on your sleep. It is one of the most important step in gaining healthy weight which most of the people ignore. Your muscles are not built in the gym but when you are sleeping. You need to give time for your body to repair your muscle tissues. While sleeping, your body releases 70% of the Human Growth Hormone and repairs all the damages muscle tissues. Hence if you wish to gain weight the healthy way, sleep for 8-10 hours straight. Try to drink warm milk before bed for a better sleep.
These were the top healthy ways to gain weight. Do not expect results within days at it takes time for body to grow and change. Let us know about your suggestions and queries in the comment box below.
I guess it depends on the body. If you are underweight then you need to eat more frequently, choose nutrient-rich foods, try smoothies and shakes. And if you are over weight then you need to do just opposite of it.