In your weight-gaining diet, you should consume more calories than you spend, it is recommended to eat every 3 hours, avoid skipping meals and add calorie foods but at the same time healthy and nutritious, such as olive oil, fruit smoothie, oats. , avocado and walnuts.
It is important to remember that even in diets with the aim of gaining weight, you should not increase the consumption of processed foods with high sugar and fat content, such as coxinha, hamburger, French fries or soft drinks, these foods are rich in sugar and saturated fat. , which promotes increased body fat and the risk of heart problems due to increased cholesterol and triglycerides.
To find out how much weight you need to gain, see what your ideal weight is using the following calculator:
This calculator helps you know how many pounds you need to gain weight, but it is not suitable for children, pregnant women, the elderly and athletes, as it does not differentiate the amount of muscle and fat present in the body.
Eating fat in a healthy way is about more than eating more or eating high-calorie foods. Here are 6 essential tips for anyone trying to gain weight the healthy way:
Eating every 3 hours is important to increase calorie intake throughout the day and promote weight gain, as it is recommended to eat more calories than your body spends. In addition, a good daily balance of calories from carbohydrates, proteins and fats should be maintained, as this promotes muscle mass gains.
For this reason, it is important not to skip meals to avoid damaging the body’s nutrient supply and to maintain adequate levels of glucose and amino acids in the blood, which favors recovery and growth. muscular.
The inclusion of proteins in all the meals of the day makes the amino acid levels in the blood constant throughout the day, favoring a good muscle recovery during the training days.
Proteins are found in foods such as meat, chicken, fish, eggs, cheeses and yogurts, making sandwiches with effective combinations such as chicken and cheese sandwich with wholemeal bread or toast with cheese and yogurt.
Food sources of good fats such as nuts, peanuts, avocado, coconut, olive oil and seeds are excellent options for increasing diet calories by a small volume. Food. In addition, these fats also help gain muscle mass and do not stimulate fat gain in the body.
For example, some examples of using these foods include adding peanut butter to bread or smoothie, eating nuts as snacks, adding a scoop of coconut to yogurt, and making avocado vitamins for snacks.
Eating at least 3 fruits a day and adding a vegetable salad for lunch and dinner can increase the amount of vitamins and minerals in your diet, which are essential for proper metabolism functioning and muscle mass building.
Fruit can be eaten fresh or in juice or vitamin, which can be added to snacks or as dessert for lunch and dinner.
Drinking plenty of water and staying well hydrated is critical to gaining muscle mass, as hypertrophy, which is the increase in muscle cell size, only occurs if cells have enough water to increase in size. Volume.
Therefore, it is important to know and take into account the daily water intake, remembering that carbonated drinks and artificial juices do not count as liquids for the body. In addition, it is important that the consumption of water is done between meals, since if it is done with food, there may be changes in the digestive process.
To get the extra calories turned into muscle and not fat, it is important to exercise 3 to 5 times a week, especially strength training and non-aerobic exercise, ideally consult a physical education professional so that a training plan is made. adapted to the needs and objectives.
The following table shows an example of a 3-day weight gain diet menu:
It is important to go to the nutritionist so that you can adopt a personalized diet, as the amount of food varies depending on age, sex, physical activity and criminal history. In addition, if necessary, the nutritionist may recommend the use of vitamins or nutritional supplements. Learn about some supplements to gain muscle mass.
It is important that weight gain is done through a varied and balanced diet, avoiding the consumption of processed foods high in sugar or saturated fats, some of these foods are snacks, cold cuts, bacon, mayonnaise, sauces, sweets, soft drinks, fruit juices. , biscuits, cakes, fast food, frying, among others.
Consuming these types of foods can promote weight gain due to the accumulation of fat in the body and not as a result of increased muscle mass, which can lead to various health complications in the long run.
The average time it takes to gain muscle and gain weight is about 6 months, but in 3 months you can already see changes, however, this varies from person to person, as it depends on the diet and the fact that the person is exercising. activity that promotes muscle growth. Find out how long you can gain muscle mass.
Discover more strategies to increase lean mass by watching the following video:
Ideally, weight gain should be produced by increasing muscle mass, which can be achieved through a balanced diet and regular physical activity, keeping your body defined and healthy. Discover 8 tips to gain muscle mass.