How to Gain Weight - To gain weight, increase
your food intake by 2,500 Calories for each
pound you want to add.
Why Gain Weight?
To gain weight, increase your food intake by 2,500 Calories for each pound you want to add.
In some sports, like football and hockey, a few extra pounds can come in handy. In other sports,
athletes who are underweight may not have enough energy to work at their peak performance.
In other sports, some athletes may have trouble just maintaining their normal weight.
What Should You Eat To Gain Weight?
To gain weight, you have to take in more calories than your body burns. You do this by eating
more food. But even then, gaining weight may not be easy for some athletes. If you're training
hard, you may burn everything you eat and then some.
To gain a pound of muscle, you need to eat 2,500 Calories more than your body uses. You can
realistically gain about one to two pounds in a week. That comes down to eating 350 to 700
Calories extra every day.
The following diet for gaining weight can supply those extra calories. Eat at least these
recommended servings every day.
Milk Group
(milk, cheese, yogurt, cottage cheese, ice cream) 4 or more servings
Meat Group
(meat, fish, poultry, eggs, dried beans and peas, nuts) 3 or more servings
Vegetable Group
(fresh, frozen, canned, juiced vegetables) 6 or more servings
Fruit Group
(fresh, frozen, canned, dried, juiced fruits) 4 or more servings
Grain Group
(cereals, breads, rolls, pasta, muffins, pancakes, grits, rice)
16 or more servings
How Do You Go About It?
There are several ways to increase the number of calories you eat. You can:
Eat larger portions at meals.
Eat more meals each day.
Have snacks between meals.
You can also increase your calories by substituting high-calorie foods for lower-calorie ones.
Be aware, however, that only some high-calorie foods are nutrient-rich. Others, unfortunately
are low in nutrients. It's important to supply your body with all the nutrients if needs.
The following foods are rich in both calories and nutrients:
Nuts
Dried fruits
Shakes and malts
Cheese
Sandwiches
Pizza
Foods that are high in calories but low in nutrients also can play a role in a weight-grain diet.
But you should eat these foods in addition to, not instead of, adequate amounts of nutrient-rich
foods. Some high-calorie, low-nutrient foods are:
Soft drinks
Salty snack foods, like chips
Cakes, pies, cookies
Doughnuts, sweet rolls
Jams, jellies, syrups
Gaining Muscle instead of Fat
To put on muscle, you need to exercise as well as eat more. If you eat more and don't exercise,
you'll just gain fat. To make sure those extra calories become muscle, you must exercise. Heavy
muscular work-outs, like strength training, will use the extra calories to stimulate muscle cells to
grow.
How Can You Measure Muscle Gain?
A scale will tell you how much weight you've gained. But it can't tell you whether that weight is
muscle or fat.
To find out which you've gained, measure your body fat before you start your weight-gain
program. If you've gained fat, you'll see an increase in the percent body fat. If you've gained
muscle, you'll see either a decrease in percent body fat or no change.
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