Hardgainers typically find it difficult getting enough calories to gain weight and build muscle. The secret to consuming enough calories is to choose calorie dense foods. You have to be eating lots of high calorie foods and beverages or you will be fighting an uphill battle.
Gaining weight doesn’t have to be a struggle if you are eating the right kind of calories. This can be changed if you begin to analyze your daily diet plan to include more calorie dense foods. Let me explain more about calorie density.
What are High Density or Calorie Dense Foods
High density foods are foods which (measure by volume) contain a high number of calories per serving. Calorie dense foods tend to be high in fat and/or sugar due to the fact that all proteins and all carbohydrates contain four calories per gram whilst all fats contain nine calories per gram. Moreover, some foods are more “calorie concentrated” then others as they contain less water content etc. Let me explain.
Visualize two kitchen measuring cups side by side (both the same size); one filled with chopped cucumber and one filled with raisins. Each cup now contains exactly the same VOLUME of food, right? But did you know that the cup of raisins has 37 times more calories? That’s right! The cup of cucumbers contains 14 calories, while the cup of raisins contains a whopping 520 calories. If cucumbers and raisins both have four calories per gram, then how could this be? The answer has to do with calorie density. The cucumbers have a lower calorie density because they have a higher fiber and water content. The calories in the raisins are more “concentrated”.
Typical calorie dense foods include things like fatty meats, salami, candy bars, rice crackers, cookies, potato chips, anything which is fried, cola, beer (although there is low calorie beers on the market nowadays) and ice-cream. These are all examples of high calorie foods and drinks because they are high in sugar and/or fat.
When making adjustments to your weight gain diet plan to include more calories, do so in a healthy manner. Don’t just look to be consuming more calories, look at the nutrition value of foods. Let me give an example. We all know fruits and vegetables and nutritionally very good for us.
Fibrous carbohydrates and vegetables such as lettuce, asparagus, cucumber, and broccoli are very low calorie foods. This is because these vegetables are high in fiber and your body has a hard time absorbing the caloric content of fiber. These types of vegetables also have a high water content.
So now let’s look at some “calorie dense” foods which will help pack on the pounds. Leave the vegetables in the pantry if you want to gain weight, and replace them with simple carbohydrates such as fruits which have a higher calorie density. This is because simple carbs are more concentrated and they contain less fiber. Fruit juice is even more concentrated then eating the fruit itself. Instead of having the one medium size orange, which contains about 60 calories, drinking a glass of orange juice will serve you better as it contains about 160 calories. Fruit and fruit juice therefore make a great addition to any weight gain program.
Complex carbohydrates (starches) such as whole grains, pasta, cereals, beans, potatoes and rice also have higher calorie densities than fibrous carbs. A typical serving of pasta contains about 800-1000 calories. Pasta and other complex carbs are great foods for gaining weight.
Now that you know what carbs to eat, let’s talk about fat. There is a common misconception that all fats are bad for you and they should be removed from your diet. This is untrue, there are good and bad fats. Fats have a major impact on the calorie content of foods, so they are an important consideration. Just keep in mind that fat should consist of about 15-25% of your total calories. You want to be getting most of you calories from carbohydrates and protein.
In small amounts, unsaturated, “healthy” fats are not only good for you, but they can help you gain weight more quickly. Just one tablespoon of flaxseed oil and two tablespoons of peanut butter would add nearly 500 calories to your daily diet and you’d hardly notice that any extra food was added.
In addition, you can supplement your healthy diet with protein supplements. It is often difficult to eat enough protein each day from normal foods, so supplementing with a weight gain supplement such as a soy or whey protein shake can help increase overall caloric intake. You want to make sure the weight gain supplement is a good mix of both protein and carbs and doesn’t contain too much sugar.
For example, a post workout shake containing 40 grams of protein, 80 grams of carbs, and 2 grams of fat would provide almost 500 calories. If you wanted even more calories, you could mix the powder in juice instead of water and also add flaxseed oil.
So, let’s summarize your plan for quickly and easily adding more calories to your diet. Continue eating the same healthy foods, just eat more of them. Healthy high calorie snacks is a great way to increase calories. Replace low density foods with high density foods. You could eat salads all day until your face hurts, but it won’t do much good for weight gain. Eat plenty of starchy carbs including whole grains, pastas, rice, and potatoes. Don’t be afraid of adding some fat to your diet, just ensure it’s no more then 15-25% of your total calories. Some of the “good” fats will actually help you to gain weight. Most importantly – just because you need to eat more calories doesn’t give you permission to stuff yourself with unhealthy foods.
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{ 30 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi I am 13, 38kg, and would like to put on more muscle. I know what foods to eat, and I workout with light weights, but I’m sometimes not really hungry for a morning or afternoon “small meal”, as is reccomended for those trying to put on muscle. Any tips?
Thanks, great site, Jim
im turning 19 on sunday and im a toothpick. i’ve been like this for as long as i can remember. i see all these programs and adds on how to lose weight but this is the first i’ve seen on how to gain it. i eat healthy and everything and still maintain a weight between 118 and 125. and that doesn’t sound bad, but im 6′1″ and i know i should weigh more.
protein powders help out. I work at ups in the warehouse so i get a nice workout everyday. I had a huge problem gaining weight my first 2 years there. I began taking protein shakes last year and just recently switched to mass gainers. Im not sure if 13 is too young to be taking protein powders (you should try to construct your own healthy/power foods list before you add in supplements anyways) but you can look more into that if you like. My best advice for a 13 year old is to keep going once you get tired. the more tired you get, the stronger you will become afterwards (as long as you are not injuring yourself*** and you also gotta eat right before and after working out)
I am a soldier in the us army i am currently in Iraq…i have developed a very nice and consistent work out plan…to go along with it i take a protein shake when i wake up…..i take another one sometime in the afternoon time (no specific time)…and one before i workout about 45 mins to an hour before i workout…plus i eat three to 4 times a day…and i eat snacks throught out the day…you HAVE TO GET YOURSELF TO EAT WHEN YOU REALLY DONT FEEL LIKE IT AFTER ABOUT A WEEK YOU BODY WILL DEVELOP ITTS OWN HABIT TO EAT AT THAT TIME AND THEN YOU WE BECOME HUNRGY AT THOSE TIMES YOU ATE SOME FOOD UNWILLINGLY……FOR THE FIRST WEEK IT IS TOUGH BE IT GETS ALOT EASIER TO WHERE YOU DONT REALLY THINK ABOUT IT.i have put on a nice amount of muscle in the last 3 months…it very possible the sercet to doing it is stay consistent….you have to keep the same eating habits just like its second nature.You really don’t have to work that hard when you work out either…I think its all about the eating side of it.
Hi I am a vegetarian and I am looking for the healthiest weight gaining power bars that have no to very little sugar
I hope you can help
Thanks Glenn
Nicci and whoever else,
i used to have small frame as well, i am 6′3, first of all u must realize that to essentially become bigger requires hard work as well as a decent period of waiting 6 months to a year for proper gains. The most important aspect is consistency. People hit the gym hard and eat well but only for a few weeks or months expecting to be massive, clearly not long enough, you need to also be eating as much as you possibly can, stuff your face with good foods like pasta, rice, banana’s etc, if u feel u need to, get a weight gainer, not protein powder (for now) but a high calorie shake, someone of your stature should be getting about 4000 calories, a lot i know but it worked for me. warning stay away from pro hormone pills etc
The next part is the exercises you should be doing in the gym.
i can’t stress this enough but the true mass building exercise is squatting: i will not explain the science behind it but squatting is the best exercise, add any other compound exercises as well like deadlift, bench press, shouolder press etc but don’t do curls, waste of fucken time. (warning due to our ectomorphic stature extra care needs to be taken when doing deadlifts and to a lesser extent squats, get a proper instructor to show u how to do these awesome exercises otherwise serious damage could occur.
so remember eat fucken well and alot about 4000 calories, and squatt in gym with deadlift bench etc
as they say muscle is built in the kitchen not in the gym.
good luck
Heyo. “Flake” here. im not overly underweight but my BMI is about 17.2 (183cm, 60 kg) and i plan to up that to a bmi of about 23ish. thanks for the advice here. its rather good!
I am a 15 yr old living in england.
i weigh around 73kg and have a bmi of 22
any tips for putting on weight and muscle
thanks
Hey, am 14 and have been working out ever since I could get in to the only gym in town (July seventh when I turend fourteen) I have always been skinny, and in the two months of working out I have only gained 4-5 pounds, maybe even less.
Basically, I have started eating protein bars after workouts (Isoflex, 30g protein, about 400 calories) and wonder if I should also should be taking weight gainers/protein shakes too?
Dont want to get massive big, but I hope to gain a few pounds in time for hockey season.
Thanks, zac
im a 21 year old 5′3 and weight an average of 105 pounds….any tips on gaining the weight?
I’m 19 years old and about 3 months ago I weighed 165 pounds (6′3″), I put myself on what I thought was a good weight gaining diet, Breakfast a bowl or two of Life cereal, two pieces of whole grain toast with peanut butter and honey, a banana, a glass of juice and a glass of milk, Lunch, a sandwich usually tomatoes lettuce salami cheese dijon mustard (all the good stuff), pasta salad. Dinner, Either a big plate of pasta with some whole grain buttered toast, and/or some sort of protein, I love steak, chicken’s good, pork is delicious, fish… not so much but I eat it on occasion. During the day I will eat a couple pieces of fruit, an apple orange, etc. and a whole bunch of dried fruit, probably a cup’s worth of raisins or apricots, or anything of the like. For a work out I do a yoga practice every morning along with about 100 push ups, I started at 20, and if my abs aren’t too tired from yoga I’ll do some sit-ups. I am now about 185, and pretty much all my weight gained was muscle.
You don’t need all this fake shite to help you gain weight, you just need dedication and a little bit of common sense. When I was 14 I was a hardcore athlete on my way to the olympics (long track speed skating), but training in the gym eff’d up my muscles in a way that I won’t ever be able to skate again without excruciating pain, this was a level 9 national team coach’s training program (for those skeptics out there).
Alot of gyms in my city don’t even allow anyone under 16 because they know of the dangers when underdeveloped muscles are strained like that. Anyways, just a little bit of insight, I know all you 13 year olds want to be nice n jacked so you can get all the ladies come highscool, goodluck and I hope you don’t mess yourself up like I did.
Well i’m a 14 year old girl with virtually no appetite, I get fully very quickly and i’m vegetarian so I’m only about 36kg. What foods (low sugar, relatively healthy) can I eat to help me gain weight. (I eat 3 weetbix for breakfast and usually have rice or pasta with vegetables for dinner)
hello, i’m a 21 yr old guy, i’m about 190cm n only weighing about 70-75kgs, used to do gym for a while but didnt see my self gettin bigger, so i’m thinkin of puttin some weight first than do it again, i tried a weight gainer but it didnt seem like it was work for me, so any other ideas?
thanks….
My age is 22 height is 5.3 wieght is 40. I want to put on weight . Plz suggest
Hi my names Caleb, I live in Australia, the Blue Mountains to be exact. Im 6′ 4 – 85kg (187 lbs). I find that the best way to gain muscle is to maintain a HEALTHY high calorie diet. Not all fats are bad for you. So if you weigh 150 lbs you should be consuming anywhere from 2550 – 3000 calories PER DAY. I know it sounds daunting, but with a HEALTHY high calorie diet, consistant – diverse workout program and determination it will become frighteningly easy and with the rightt traing you’ll start to gain mucsle in just a few short weeks.
I am 67 years old and weigh 142 lbs. I have lost approx. 20 lbs over the last 10-15 years and I would like to know how many calories a day I should be eating to gain some of the weight back? I do not eat breakfast, “Healthy Choice” type frozen dinners, turkey and baloney, etc for lunch, and mainly seafood, shell fish and pasta for dinner. I am not a “big” eater.
If you really want to gain eat high caloric foods four times a day and in very large amounts like summo wrestlers and try as much as you can to limit straneous activity or u could be burning up all your calories. If you seriously workout a muscle group give it ample time to relax like a week. About eating big i get scared when its time to eat because i stuff myself until i sometimes throw up but its worth it so far ive gained over 7 pounds.
hi!! i turned 61 in april and i weight about 155lbs. i’m in pretty good shape. two to three times a week, i run five to seven miles. i love it!! my only problem is that i want to gain weight and i can’t. until a year ago when i increased my running time and distance, i had some belly fat; now i don’t. i want more strength and definition so i’m thinking about lifting weights again. what specific foods should i consume to build more “muscle” and shape. i eat three health meals a day and no fast foods or sweets. i’m open to meals with protein powder shakes before/after runs. thanks!!
Hey all. I have already started this weight gaining thingy few weeks back. And I must say it works! True enough, we need to switch our eating patterns to a more high-caloric, dense foods. The first week could get you feeling uncomfy of having to “stuff” snacks in between meals (something I do not do when I was underweight) but hey, surprisingly, the week after, my body unconciously craved for some munchies in between meals. And that’s where my appetite started roaring. I am so happy now that I’m gaining.
Here are my stats:
Female
Height: 150cm
Previous weight: 39kg
Current weight: 43kg
And I’m still eating more now :) Wanna reach to 45-46kg and maintain it just nice.
Good luck to all!
difara, thank you so much for your post! My appetite comes and goes and I recently lost 3lbs due to stress. I feel weak and tired all the time. I’m looking to gain those back and 3 more to bring me to 5ft 110lbs. Maybe even more. We’ll see how it goes. I absolutely hate stuffing myself and forcing myself to eat and I love my veggies, but you have given me hope. If my body can adjust in just a week that would be wonderful! Thank you all for your comments and good luck!
I am 29 6′4″ and weigh around 140 lbs. I eat 8 or more times per day and I can not get weight on me. I have went to doctors about this problem and they tell me I am lucky. I have had friends suggest that I have a tapeworm, although I have yet to have this proven to me. I have about 3% body fat and nothing I have tried to do is putting weight on me. What high calorie foods should I be eating to gain weight?
Hi All
Eating high calorie food is key. An average man should consume around 2500 calories per day and a female 2000 calories. If you require to put mass on, you have to work your way to eating more calories per day.
On average a bodybuilder eats up to 7500 calories per day to gain mass. (This is based on the bodybuilder bulking up). The aim should be to eat consistently throughout the day, ensuring you have the daily required nutrients in your food plan.
An excellent way of gain mass is to drink meal replacements, because it has the nutrient in it and provides extra calories. The following foods are good for gaining weight: Nuts, Full fat cheese, Bananas. If you can eat 2/3 Bananas at night it’s a good way of gaining some weight.
Hope this helps!
hey its mike
i been working out steady for about six months, i recentlly have started using supplemnts and high calorie intake. i was 150lbs worked out off and on and drank like a fish! i was diagonsed a diabetic last year when i left the hospital i was 125lbs. anyway my gains have recently broke through im currently at 152lbs i must say working out always feel good but i noticed better results supplementing and following strict or at least well planned diet
I agree with some of you the way to gain weight is to eat a lot of food when you dont really feel hungry. I have gained probably 15 pounds in a few months by eating little 1$ pizzas they have 750 calories when im not hungry. Just eat when your not hungry and take in at least 3500 calories a day and youll gain. Some people take in 7k-10k a day and have gained 35-40 pounds over the summer in offseason. Stacking calories and carbs is a key way to gain weight. Just try to figure out an eating schedule where you are eating often and it should help a lot.
Hey im 16, 5′6 and 121.5lbs as of today, and I have gained 4 lbs in a week while still working out and running.
I’ve been trying to gain by eating about 4000 calories a day with a balance of protein, carbs and fat, and I plan to gain more.
I eat peanut butter, cheese, clif bars, seafood and protein shakes as well as pie, cheesecakes and carbs such as dried fruit. throw in nuts, granolas and protein cereals as well as fruits and vegtables for vitamins and fiber, because you still need these.
Also, drinks like odwalla or carrot juice can really boost your vitamins without making you stuff with salad, which leaves room for other food.
Just don’t binge too hard at one sitting, unless you need to. You will just crap it all out at once, it might even make you loose weight due to diahrea.
If you could use some fat (like me, a runner) don’t be afraid of ice cream, milkshakes, pie and cheesecake. Just make sure you eat other foos as well, and aim for hearty, homemade pies with some fat and protein.
Seafood is high in protein, so hit the tuna, shrimp, salmon, and mussel or oysters. I never eat pork and hardly eat beef, I think it’s inferior protein to fish.
I am 46 and have a hard time gaining weight or feeling hungry enough to eat. I lose weight faster than I can gain. I want to gain weight and keep it. I am so tired of the up and downs of my weight. What do you suggest?
I enjoy this page and agree with how important high density foods are to gain weight. At 6′4” 200 lbs., my diet mostly consists of consuming as many carbonhydrates, and protein as I can and only consuming liquid that is either calcium or vitamins. I am active when it comes to weight training and feel as though it is vital to incorporate eating and lifting.
A key component in my lifestyle which is necessary for gaining weight is eating a meal after a hard work out. Many people overlook this and consume food before exercising because they feel as though lifting on a full stomach is beneficial.
If you lift on a full stomach, your body will use enzymes and energy to break that food up. Because of this, your body will not produce the energy needed for high intensity exercise. If you wait to eat after you work out, your body will save the energy needed that would of been used to digest food, therefore resulting in a more satisfying exercise.
If you are trying to gain weight and muscle at the same time, obey a difficult weight trainging program and also a strict diet. Commitment will be the factor of your results.
I am 32 years of age & 5′9″ I weight 158lbs I workout 4-5 days per week 2 hours within those days. I eat 7 eggwhites eggplant and homefries in the morning, everyday..lunch i eat subway 6″ tuns with lettuse cucumber and onions. with salt and pepper.. as for dinner it seems to me my dinner is always the same, chicken chicken, with vegi’s and yams sometimes pasta slides.
i recently just started to make pasta ziti with chicken with ragu’ sauce. and i am trying to consume protien that has 650 calorie before and after workouts. so what am i doing wrong being that i know how to workout cause i use to be a trainer, i think im doing something wrong here, my triceps are not growing and its been a big issue and yet my biceps grow like its nothing. so as for foods what am i doing wrong? thank you
To Sami, as well as many others out there.
I consistently weighed about 155ish lbs at 5′10 and was very active in the gym and outside but still never really seemed to gain too much weight. I recently bought a kitchen scale and started keeping track of EVERYTHING I ate and tracked my intake (50% carbs, 30% protein, 20% fat).
I found I was actually still under how many calories I should be eating for my weight, lifestyle and body type. Though I had 3 good sized meals a day, I was only getting about 2800-3200 calories a day, while my activities used about 3200-3400 calories a day.
I have been struggling since to maintain about 4,000 calories a day but I immediately began to gain weight. In the first week, I went up about 7 lbs. This is typically not a good thing but considering my body fat was 2-3% I have a feeling I was essentially starving myself.
My weight gain rate has slowed to a normal rate since and it is still early to give conclusive results, but for the first time for me I can destroy my muscle groups at the gym and feel like doing it again later in the day. I have energy the entire day, and my performance in the gym has increased, most noticeably in endurance.
Also, spread your meals out throughout the day, like every 3 hours. It keeps your metabolism up and makes it a bit easier to consume 4,000 calories.
For tricep work outs, my favorite is to bring a backpack with filled water bottles/jugs to add weight and do push-ups and dips. That added with my regular weight routine is a killer.
Also, change up your tricep work outs frequently so the muscles do not develop a habit and get used to certain work outs. I try to never do the same exercise twice but change it each session I work that group.
i’m 53 and a bit of a mess at this point. i have chronic pancreatitus with the relative digestive issues as well as diabetes since my pan dosn’t make insulin. i’m currently trying to recoop from my 2nd pro-
lapsed rectum surgery. have had a total of 17” of intestines removed. my weight has always fluctu-
ated between 125-140 but is now down to 115 (i’m 5′-4″) and my skin has begun to hang where at least
some muscle used to be. also, the texture is getting a little “funny”. i’m not eating or sleeping well anymore and often don’t feel like eating or am not hungry. i feel like i’m melting away. my husband feels that i’m not getting enough protein or nutrients etc. and my body has gotten all it can out of itself and that’s what’s going on since i’m not eating properly. i’m also taking a lot of pain meds. doctors have not been much help with the diet issues. have even tried a nutritionist. nobody is interested enough to provide me with a meal plan. they just tell me to eat a low fat diet.
my husband’s ready to shoot them all. i need someone to “show me the way”as i also have vomitt-
ing issues and am not sure what to eat anymore. can you help me. thanks so much