Diet and nutrition is the single most important factor in wanting to gain weight. You can do all the weight training you want, but if your are not feeding your body the necessary food and nutrients it requires for maintenance and growth, then it will all be a waste of time, not to mention unhealthy. Knowing what to eat to gain weight is essential for putting on the pounds. In a nutshell, your weight gaining diet should include high protein foods, high carbohydrate foods and healthy fats.
Identifying which foods contain these things can be confusing, however in this article, there are several charts which list the best weight gaining foods to eat on top (superior), followed by good, inferior and no-no. I like how simplified these charts are because you can immediately identify what NOT to eat. You just need to worry about knowing which proteins, carbohydrates, and fats to eat, otherwise known as good proteins, good carbs, and good fats.
Here are the charts…
Hard gainers typically find it difficult eating more food. What I found to be effective is increasing your meal frequency, trying to have 6 meals each day, but not eating as much per meal, making you feel hungrier throughout the day. Having less fatty foods will also be of great benefit as fats tend to make you feel fuller more quickly, so you eat less.
Include in your diet high protein foods such as fish (tuna and salmon), whey protein powder (for post workout shakes and inbetween meals), chicken and turkey breasts, low fat milk, high carbohydrate foods such as pasta, lots of fruit and veg such as avocado and banana, as well as good fats such as olive oil and flaxseed oil. When snacking it’s a great time to eat high calorie snacks such as dried fruits, seeds, nuts, low fat yogurt and cheese. You should be looking to incorporate all of these weight gain foods in your diet if you want to gain weight.
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Listen Lush Kush, its up to you to want to make a change. Exersise is very important when gaining weight is in mind. You want to grow right? Sitting around eating and not sleeping enough won’t help. A full body workout routine followed by a good diet will definately lead to results. Join a gym, go food shopping, act now its not hard. Remember at least 8 hours a day of sleep is required. It takes dedication, sweat and pain to get fit.Just think about the feeling you’ll have when you see results. Workout three times a week followed by the right amount of calorie intake. Start off tracking how much you eat and add 300-500 every week when results aren’t seen. Can’t seem to eat enough? Set an alarm while your sleeping and get up and eat! Then continue your rest. Its a process but well worth it. Goodluck
may i know why white rice or anything that contain white flour is not a good as carbohydrate source??
White rice isn’t nearly as healthy as whole wheat. Its bleached flower… it won’t benefit you in anyway… no nutrients it like using 5 pound weight for the rest of your life.
Why are peanuts on the no-no list? They are extremely healthy with tons of benefits, while you are right they are high in fat, it is good poly and mono unsaturated fat that makes a large benefit to your health, They are high in calories which make them perfect for the individual attempting to gain weight.
haha just found the previous comment section and agree with your follow up from other users. no need to reply. Thank you
Please send me information on foods to eat to gain weight. I weigh 102 pounds I need to weigh 135.
Thank you so much
@lambert: “white” rice, bread, crackers are grains have been stripped of the nutrients, the ones that make them so healthy. And they are high-glycemic. The body processes them very quickly and what you get are carbs that burn off quickly and therefore leave your nutritionally deficient faster. Whole grains contain most of the nutrients nature gave them without being processed out, as is the case with their bleached, white equivalents. When you eat the whole grains, you also get more fiber, which leaves you feeling full longer, and your body takes longer to process them, leaving you full longer. It’s like the old, candy bar vs. apple PSA. The candy bar will give you a quick boost, but it won’t last long. The apple gives you energy to burn over a longer period of time. Rather simplistic example, but same concept. There is more in the Wikipedia article: https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Glycemic_index
Maybe others have heard this as well, it was recommended that post-workout a whey protein shake should be taken with high-glycemic product, namely, dextrose. I see that dextrose is amongst the no-no list, as it should be. But the reason it is recommended pre- or post-workout is that it absorbs into the bloodstream faster, which helps deliver the protein faster as well. And carbs are needed to deliver protein into the bloodstream. What is your take? I add 60g of dextrose to a whey protein shake (69g) of water and fruit.
Also, you recommend incorporating cheese into snacks, but it is on the inferior list. Swiss and feta are healthier cheeses, but I don’t want to sit around eating it by itself. I like feta on pasta or with olives and pita. I don’t want to eat swiss alone. What cheeses do you suggest?
@Tim Cottage cheese is an excellent protein source which is great when trying to gain weight.
Interestingly, the eating plan of a rookie NRL football player included eating lots of bananas, peanut butter sandwiches, and protein shakes!
can anyone help me?????
i m a vegetarion and my age is 16, and i now also weight only 50kgs. but i want my weight to be aroung 60-65kgs….. i eat sufficiently but then also i m not ganing any weight.. i seriously want to put on my weight but with vegetarian food only………
please help me and suggest me a strict diet plan that i can follow and can gain some weight in very less days……… please help me i want to gain weight in as much less days possible
I AM THIN and i want to gain wait but i am not vegetarion
what should i eat
Why is avocado under carbohydrates? The one I’m eating now has plenty fats but almost no carbs.
This is a perfect article for my assignment! I need to find out who to reference as ‘David’ doesn’t have a last name i can correctly use for my assignment. I have to reference APA style. So feel free to comment a name i can refrence or even better, comment with the APA reference done :). Thanks!
I am a 11 year old kid and i would really like to lose at least 10 pounds because I’m 30 pounds over weight and i am jealous of all of my friends because they have no stomach and when i see their stomach it is like gosh I wish i was like you and if they were as fat as me they wouldn’t have self esteem and i just want to lose weigh how do i do that if somebody can answer my question
Why is beef inferior? I love an eye fillet! And I thought it was a good source of iron?
And I love my lamb.. Not to mention chicken bores me =( This will be tricky.
I have been trying to gain weight and successfuly went from weighing 54kg and I am 5’7 to now weighing 60kg within 5 weeks. But I’m noticing fat deposits on my stomach so I’m thinking I need to be more careful than just increasing my kilojoules and doing some weights.
Hello
I don’t want to become a body builder but just want to gain weight and a perfect figure. I want beautiful back,hips and upper beauty. Right now all these parts have no muscles and are flat :( Do you guys think a gym can help gaining weight plus perfect body shape or yoga?? I’m really confused. Any help appreciated.
Thanks.
can i gain weight soon by taking raw eggs daily? please give me some tips to gain weight sooner.
hi i am 26 yrs old, i have 3 children and only weigh 6 stone, i have recently started suffering from real bad panic and anxiety and i vomit everytime i need to leave the house or everytime i need to eat or after iv eatin, im pretty much sick at the thought of anythin lately, i am bein reerred to a dietitian but docs have told me im at risk if i dont put on some weight soon , cud u plz send me a list of food that will help me put weight on very fast, i feel i have been eating alot but not getting anywere help lol
I’ve eaten a mixture of all of the fore-mentioned foods all my life (although I haven’t eaten too much brown rice or wholemeal pasta because it tastes like shit and there is nothing wrong with white rice or pasta). I am completely healthy have a good enough body and have no problems maintaining a healthy weight. Unless you’re training to become a champion body builder, none of this information matters! I just feel I need to inform people through all the scaremongering. Just imagine what the bodies of Roman soldiers must have looked like! or the Vikings? do you think they had all this bullshit blocking them from enjoying real food? I think not! “bring me my boar and my whore”
How to increase weight by natural food items?
hi, good day.
i am 17 yrs-old, and im turning 18 this June, i just wanna ask if 46 kg is fit for this age and i am also short only 4’9,, i wanted to loose weight.. i started eating less and take tea. i found that after a week i again eat a lot.. hehehe can you help me please thank you . God bless’)
i eat a lot but dont gain weight. does exercise can help? please answer.
How to increase weight by natural food items? i am 26 years old just 52 Kg.
Well jst an update in the last month I have put on 2llb whooo it’s not a lot I no but for me it’s amazin am so pleased lol I just want to keep eatin loads to put on more I am 6stone5pound but am gonna work my arse off to get to 7stone any ideas for puttin weight on fast let me no xxx
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