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What do you eat ?
(What’s the best weight gain diet ?)
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Starting your plan
What you need to eat to gain weight (and when) is individual to you.
For example the amount of calories you need to eat depend on what you do during the day, your current weight & height (affecting your metabolic rate), if you play sport, etc.etc.
However there are 4 ‘rules of thumb’ that are essential in selecting the best weight gain diet :
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- Add at least 600 calories per day
- Breakfast
- Balanced Diet
- Sports Nutrition
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Taking each one in turn :
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1. Add at least 600 calories per day
OK you should be eating exactly the right amount of calories for you. i.e. work out your resting metabolic rate and then adjust it for what you do during the day (job, sport, etc.)
However in most cases simply adding the right amount of calories to your current diet will make all the difference.
Don’t force yourself to eat ‘loads and loads’ – you won’t be able to keep it up and it won’t be a lot of fun. Linked to this your metabolism will adjust and burn a lot (& you might also get some nasty side-effects)
The easiest way is to add about 600 calories per day to your diet – ideally splitting this into 3 times 200 calories during the day. For example add extra pot of yoghurt at lunch, a dessert during dinner, etc..
That way you will achieve ‘gradual’ healthy weight gain which is fun and will last.
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2. Breakfast
The single most important meal for gaining weight is breakfast. For weight gain you can’t ‘catch up’ during the day – and if you start the day with a negative energy balance, your muscles are tucking into your stored reserves.
The good news is that (unless you have a physically demanding job) you don’t need to have a ‘builders breakfast’ every day !
Simply making sure you have breakfast, ideally as healthy as possible, is all that is needed.
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3. Balanced Diet
On this site you will see lots and losts of emphasis on absorption. The reason is that your absorption rate affects the way your food converts into extra weight.
If it’s poor then a large proportion of your food is simply ‘passing through your system’ and it will slow down the way you gain weight.
Generally speaking the healthier your diet the better your absorption rates.
There are 3 key items you need to focus on.
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- Firstly water – you simply can’t beat it ! Make sure you are drinking enough still water as it makes a huge difference to your absorption.
- Secondly vegetables & fruit. You need all those vitamins & minerals to help your body absorb.
- Thirdly balanced meals. Your mum was right ! Protein (meat, fish, etc.) and 2 veg are the best. Take on board the comment about breakfast above, but if you don’t have a healthy dinner (and only eat ready meals or take-aways) you are slowing down your results. Meals cooked from fresh ingredients are the best.
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4. Sports Nutrition
If you want to gain weight in the right place you need to spend some time in the Gym or do sport. The right training plan will make all the difference.
If you don’t do exercise there is a real danger you will end up with a ‘fat tum & skinny legs’. In most cases there is a tendency for all the extra weight to go around the waist (fat cells love to huddle together)
Don’t worry about losing weight when playing sport or doing exercise. Simply make sure you have enough ‘fuel’ in your system for your muscles to use. Most people usualy have enough, but if you are training (or playing) for longer than 30 minutes you need to ‘top up’
So…. make sure you have something to eat within 1 1/2 hours before starting, and top up with a snack during and then make sure you have something (ideally protein) afterwards.
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How do you Start ?…
Hopefully the above will give you some ideas – but the key to successfully gain weight is to use a step by step plan.
So you know exactly what to do in the next few days and weeks. For example what to eat (daily meals plans, etc.) as well as what to do to get a great shape.
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The Top 2 Weight Gain Meal plans
Within the next couple of months we will be opening a ‘walk-in’ advice centre in Cambridge to provide ‘face to face’ advice.
But if you don’t want to wait (or Cambridge is not convenient) then the 2 downloaded plans shown below are very effective and will provide you with clear easy to follow weight gain advice :
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The ‘Hard-gainers’ Nutrition and Training Guide
We especially like Vince’s nutrition and training guide.
The reason is that it has been designed as a ‘step by step’ plan that will show you what you need to eat and the right exercises to get the best possible weight gain results.
As Vince’s pictures show (on the right) it will not only help you gain weight ‘all-over’ but you can also use to get a great shape.
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The ‘Women’s weight gain guide’
One of the best (and most specialised) plans on the market specifically designed for women is Jayna’s weight gain guide.
Jayna wrote the plan based on personal experience – she had always been skinny, (like many women) hoped that after having had a baby she would put on weight and had tried lots of different supplements.
Based on her experience she wrote a ‘manual’ containing detailed diet plans, as well as advice on the right exercise to get shape & curves.
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More information
How to select weight gain products
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