Best Nutrition & Diet Tips for Those Trying to Gain Weight

Gaining weight is equally difficult as getting rid of those excess pounds. If you fall into the skinny genes’ category, you know for sure that this is true. Your chubby friends may be envying how effortless it is for you to keep your body slim despite eating a bunch of French fries like they do. Many times, you’ve told them, “But you know what guys, I actually want to gain some weight.”

And they keep telling you, “Oh come on, we’ve been starving ourselves to achieve that flat belly!”

Really, all you want is to transition from the underweight status to normal weight. But what steps can you do to achieve that goal?

Know the Cause

There are reasons behind why someone is overweight or obese. In the same way, there are various causes for being underweight. It is important to find out what’s the exact cause so you’ll know which bigger problem to solve. For example, are you a picky-eater? Do you constantly skip meals? It’s bad to skip meals especially breakfast. Are you not eating enough?

Besides these minor problems where you can easily make the necessary changes, you should also find out if there are underlying health issues which may need proper medication. These are some of the serious reasons why you lose weight without trying:

• Hyperthyroidism

Hyperthyroidism is also known as overactive thyroid. It is characterized by various symptoms including goiter, bulging eyeballs, high temperature, increased heart rate, fatigue and significant weight loss. This happens when there is too much production of the hormone called “thyroxine” which increases and speeds up the body’s metabolism. As a result, you lose weight without trying to. This site explains more on that.

• Tuberculosis

It’s a disease that is caused by bacteria called Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Its symptoms include fever in the night, cough that lasts for more than three weeks, extreme fatigue and weight loss.

• Eating Disorder

You probably heard about that extreme fear of gaining weight to the point of starvation and yet, you still feel too fat. To make it short, it’s probably what you can call “fear of food”, an eating disorder known as anorexia nervosa. Really, it’s difficult to achieve a healthy weight when you have this condition.

• Depression

When someone suffers depression, appetite can be suppressed. Thus, lack of appetite for prolonged period of time can lead to significant weight loss.

Other health problems that may be the underlying reason of being underweight are enzyme deficiency and cancer. If you experience symptoms of those health problems, consult your physician to get the needed treatment and advice.

Take note too that genetics play a role in your weight and physique. If one or both of your parents are slim and underweight, there’s a higher chance, you’ll inherit this trait as well.

Come Up with a Healthy Meal Plan

Just because you need to gain some new pounds real quick doesn’t mean that you have the license to binge on donuts, pizza, burgers, French fries, soda, ice cream and other fast food. No friends, you got the word “calories” all wrong. While your chubby friends dread that word, there’s actually a friendlier version of it—you know, something that’s still healthy.

To gain weight, you need to up your consumption of healthy calories, protein and fats. And where do you get that? Below are some examples:

• Whole-grains including oatmeal, whole-wheat bread and brown rice.
• Lean meat, olive oil, eggs, seafood, beans, nuts, seeds, milk, butter, yogurt and cheese.
• Fruits and veggies such as avocados, apples, broccoli and other leafy greens.
• Root crops such as sweet potatoes.

Find interesting recipes that make use of these ingredients. That said, you might want to check this out: https://www.stylecraze.com/articles/yummy-breakfast-recipes-to-try-out-for-weight-gain/#gref

Diversify your menu each week. That way, you’ll increase your appetite and enjoy eating different meals you’ve tried preparing.

Eat Five Times a Day

What does a five-meals-a-day look like? That would include breakfast, midmorning snack, lunch, midafternoon snack and dinner. You can even stack up different kinds of seeds and nuts in your fridge so you can grab a bite every time you feel like it. That’s what you should do actually—munch on healthy snacks every time there’s a chance. Having a break at work? Go get yourself a healthy fruit smoothie or eat a yogurt.

And oh, from time to time, there’s a so-called “cheat day” you can always include in your routine. But make sure it stays that way: cheat day, not days or several cheat days. On that particular day, you can treat yourself, eat whatever you want. Chips, pizza, ice cream—you name it! What is one day to loosen up a bit, right?

Don’t Skip Any Meal

Now this next tip is very important. Take note: Don’t skip any meal, especially if that meal is breakfast. I don’t know about you but if you ask me, I always look forward to breakfasts. Maybe, I’m really a breakfast person—someone who’s too excited to wake up to sunny side up eggs, freshly brewed coffee’s aroma, French toast, butter and fresh fruits—aahh, I’m drooling!

If waking up early seems daunting to you, the ultimate reason why you skip breakfast, it’s about time you think of fun reasons to wake up to each morning. Also, make sure you get enough sleep the night before. Once and for all, folks, fix your sleep schedule. It can be a hard battle but it’s worth the fight to summon the morning person in you. Visit the site Diet Fitness King for more fitness tips.

And speaking of not skipping meals—don’t underestimate the power of snacks especially if they’re nuts!

Bonus tips: Learn how to manage stress and lift some barbells. We cannot mention it enough—stress can take a toll on your health. Find a way to reduce your stress levels. Also, go ahead and focus on your strength training. After all, you wouldn’t want that added weight to be converted as excess fats, right? When you do strength training, you’ll accumulate a healthy muscle mass rather than unwanted fats. Also, exercising can boost your appetite. Hey, aren’t you too ravenous after an hour of swimming?

Do these tips and you’ll say goodbye to your skinny genes. Yes, it’s possible to gain weight the healthy way. Do it now.