Gaining Weight

Here are answers and opinions from contributors:

• The best way to gain weight easily and safely is to work out and eat food anytime after 8:00 pm. The reason why is your body is relaxed at this point so your body does not burn off the calories which cause weight gain.

• If you really want to gain weight, do what has worked for the majority of Americans: Go on a diet! While you will experience a loss in weight intitally, your metabolism will slow down, and your body will shift into weight storage mode. When you do begin eating normally again, you will gain weight quickly and effortlessly. If you want to gain a lot of weight, diet for a long time. If a little weight will help you, even two weeks can reset your body's weight thermostat.

• Go to Dietitian website and click on 'underweight' on the left. Try the 'healthy body calculator' which personalizes a diet to suit your lifestyle and height. I have to eat around 15000kJ a day to gain 1kg per week. It has helped me so far, but I had to keep a diary at first to make sure I was eating enough. Generally if you are full all the time, you are probably eating enough to gain some weight.

• Just increase portion size, I gained a stone which I very much needed to in 3 weeks, but slightly decreasing my activity and increasing portion sizes. also drinking calorie drinks which I didn't before easily adds up calories. that's not to say have loads of soda because it's not good for you, but juices or squash, tea, coffee etc. do it in a healthy way, don't go binging on bad foods.

• Don't eat breakfast Exercise to make yourself tired, then eat a large lunch, then exercise some more and eat a large dinner, then go to sleep. Eating large amounts of food and then going to sleep is an easy way to gain weight because you don't work any of the food off.

How to gain weight?

While most of the people find overweight problems and struggle to keep the kilos off, others find it just as challenging to put weight on. It is due to improper diet and unhealthy practices that make many people lose their weight.

Risks associated with being too skinny include complications in surgery and slow recovery after illnesses. However it can be recovered by having proper diet that puts on weight. The energy density of foods is important factor to gain weight. Energy density refers to the amount of energy or calories compared to the weight of the food.

Some people are just naturally thin no matter how much they eat and the envy of those who gain weight easily. If you are thin and want to get bigger and gain weight, here's some "how to gain weight" information that I think you may be able to use.

Following are some of the guide lines for gaining weight
Good habits:
To gain weight, eat food with extremely high caloric value. Try to increase your food intake without consuming too much fat and sugar. Regular meals, especially breakfast, are important if you find it difficult to gain weight. Taking your time with meals and making sure you are relaxed is also important to ensure that your digestive system functions properly. Having some fixed timings and avoid eating in between so as to increase the hunger for food.

Eat more
Eat five or more meals a day. Drink plenty of fluids that supply calories like juice, milk, milkshakes, and sports beverages. Eat starchy grains and vegetables, such as rice, oats, pasta, potatoes, kumara, carrots and pumpkin. Add condiments such as yoghurt, sour cream, sauces and dressings to plain foods and salads. Eat bread with fatty spreads such as avocado, peanut butter and olive or canola oil margarines. Eating an extra 1000kJ over and above your daily needs can produce a weight increase of around 1kg per week.

Protein
Protein is essential to the body, for repair, to enable the immune system to function and for recovery from illness. If you are recovering from illness, it is important to include adequate protein in your diet. Good vegetarian sources of protein include: cereals, nuts & seeds, Soya products (Soya milk, tofu, tempeh etc) and pulses. Milk, yoghurt, cheese, and free-range eggs are also excellent protein sources for the non-vegan.

You must ensure that you include a protein source at each meal. Try to choose the energy dense sources of protein that are relatively soft and which do not contain to much fiber, for example, the Soya or dairy sources of protein. Eat dry fruits daily. Small size cashew nuts, almond and raisins have bundle of energy.

What Should You Eat To Gain Weight?
The following diet for gaining weight can supply those extra calories. Eat at least these group food items.

a) Milk Group: milk, cheese, yogurt, cottage cheese, ice cream.
b) Meat Group: meat, fish, poultry, eggs, dried beans and peas, nuts.
c) Vegetable Group: fresh, frozen, canned, juiced vegetables.
d) Fruit Group: Fresh, frozen, canned, dried, juiced fruits.
e) Grain Group: Cereals, breads, rolls, pasta, muffins, pancakes, grits, rice.

Alcohol can also be taken in small sips, perhaps before meals, as it may help improve your appetite. Alcohol must be taken after your doctor’s permission only. If you like oily food then try adding some vegetable oil or vegetable margarine to your food, particularly to mashed pulses, salads and potatoes. Go for fried foods if you love eating it.

Avoid Caffeine and Nicotine
Caffeine and nicotine are good stimulants and help to increase the metabolism of our body. Avoid having these stimulants in excess quantity to help your body retain maximum nutritional value from what you eat.

Eat Late
Having snacks at bedtime may help to gain weight, as long as it does not interfere with sleep. To gain optimal nutritional value from the food you have eaten you must relax after having meal.

Eat Frequently
If you have food just for one or two times than it slows down the weight gain since it makes you feel that your stomach is full. Go for smaller meals and snacks throughout the day since it increases the food intake of our body.

Exercise
While doing exercise it should be done such that muscles are stretched out. You don't have to do it excessively; rather you must subject your body to out of the ordinary stress each workout to grow muscle and to gain weight.

Inborn factors can play a large role in physique. If our parents are thin means we have less chance to put on weight. Many non-nutritional factors can also contribute to low body weight, such as stress or nervous tension. Good nutrition, rest, relaxation and regular exercise help in increasing body mass. So be happy and eat healthy food after all "Health is wealth".

By Yogesh Ambekar
Published: 8/23/2004