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Weight Gain
What To Eat To Gain
Weight
Increasing your intake of junk foods and greasy foods is not a good way
to gain weight. Junk foods usually contain unhealthy trans fats or
saturated fats. Even though you need to increase your calorie
consumption to gain weight, those calories should come from foods that
are good for you.
Healthy fats include omega-3 essential fatty acids sources like tuna,
salmon, flax, and walnuts. Good sources of protein include lean meats,
fish, poultry, nuts, seeds and legumes. Healthy carbohydrate sources
include fruits, vegetables and whole grains.
It may be easier to eat five or six smaller balanced meals per day
rather than eating three large meals, especially if you are not used to
eating much at one sitting.
Protein powders and nutritional supplement drinks can be added as
in-between meal snacks if you still need more calories. Some protein
powders are flavored and only need added water and some others can be
blended with your choice of juice or milk to improve the taste.
It would also be a healthy idea to add a small amount of flax seed oil
and some psyllium powder to add some omega-3 essential fatty acids and
extra fiber.
Dietary Supplements and Gaining Weight
A high-quality multivitamin and mineral supplement is a good idea to
make sure you are getting all of the vitamins and minerals you need.
Some people find that their muscle mass increases with protein
supplements that contain certain blends of amino acids such as creatine
and glutamine. Some people who are very ill may need liquid nutritional
preparations that are available through their doctors.
Resistive Exercise To Gain Weight
Exercise is also important for healthy weight gain. Resistance training
exercises such as lifting weights will help to increase your muscle
size. Aerobic exercises such as running and stationary bicycling are
better for fat loss and excessive aerobic training may cause you to lose
more weight. Resistance training can be done at a health club, gym or at
home with the proper equipment.
Remember that it can take a while to gain the weight you need, but be
patient and continue to choose healthy foods until you reach your goal
weight.
Use these tips and tools to help gain weight:
Start with this Calorie and Nutrition Guide to find out how many
calories you will need to reach the weight you desire.
Use a food diary to track your calorie intake to be sure you are getting
all of the calories and foods that you need.
You can also use an online program such as Calorie Count Plus to track
your calorie intake, your exercise and your changes in weight. Calorie
Count Plus has a large data base of nutrition information for almost any
food you like to eat.
Add healthy calories to breakfast with an extra slice of whole-grain
toast and peanut butter.
Mid-morning and afternoon snacks should be nutritious, not junk. Trail
mixes contain healthy nuts, dried fruits and can add healthy calories to
your diet.
Don't add calories to your meals by choosing unhealthy fried foods such
as french fries, chicken nuggets and fish sticks. Choose healthy foods
such as baked potatoes, baked chicken and fish, just make your portions
a bit bigger.
Keep your meals balanced. One meal should have a healthy protein source
such as fish, low fat meat, chicken or legumes plus two or three
servings of vegetables. Green vegetables add lots of vitamins and
phytonutrients while starchy potatoes and corn add extra calories.
Drink healthy beverages such as milk and fruit juices to add calories.
Don't choose sugary sodas, which only add calories and no nutrition.
Design a weight training program with help from About.com's exercise
site and our weight training site.
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