Healthy High Calorie Foods To Gain Weight
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.
Are you tired of being the skinny guy that struggles to pack on the pounds? Read my reviews of the best weight gain programs to gain weight and build muscle mass fast!
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July 18th, 2008 at 3:14 am
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
July 20th, 2008 at 3:03 pm
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.
August 5th, 2008 at 3:34 am
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)
August 6th, 2008 at 11:00 am
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.
August 22nd, 2008 at 3:55 am
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
September 8th, 2008 at 8:58 am
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
September 10th, 2008 at 11:55 pm
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!
September 13th, 2008 at 7:14 pm
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
September 14th, 2008 at 7:38 pm
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
September 20th, 2008 at 5:06 pm
im a 21 year old 5′3 and weight an average of 105 pounds….any tips on gaining the weight?
September 26th, 2008 at 1:10 pm
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.
October 4th, 2008 at 11:48 am
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)
October 13th, 2008 at 8:49 am
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….